Maureen Helen: On the Edge of Eighty
Every week when I introduce the next writer in the attic, I say how excited I am to welcome them as my guest. It's probably starting to sound as if I'm just saying it because I must, but it's true. Every week I...
Thinking Out Loud: On Assessing Kids
At the end of each year, I pack away my kids' school work into boxes. It takes me hours to sift through, mainly because there's so much that catches my eye and I can't help but read it. I'm always surprised,...
Midweek Moment #58: Everlastings Everywhere
Everlastings seem to be everywhere at the moment, including a forest of them on a verge just down the street from our house. They cover the whole verge, and have turned a boring streetscape into a floral feast for the eyes. The other day, I tied the dogs up...
Monique Mulligan: On Self-Doubt and Perfectionism
I'm excited to welcome my good friend, Monique Mulligan, into the attic today. Many of you already know Monique from our Midweek Moments, and you've seen her wonderful photography. Today you get to see another side of her as she...
Some Thoughts on Death and Dying
There's been a bit of an existential theme happening with my kids lately, and they've wanted to talk about death and dying and the universe. My older son wrote a poem about a child's funeral. He came up and read it to me and, naturally, it...
Midweek Moment #56 and #57—A 2-for-1 Special!
Life swept Monique and I up in a whirlwind last week so we weren’t able to share a Midweek Moment. My excuses are two book launches, a trip down south, and kid commitments. I'm also trying to make inroads into Novel #2 and preparing my website for an...
Robyn Mundy: Being a Travelling Writer
I have a special guest in the attic today, all the way from Norway where she's just returned from a voyage to the Arctic: Robyn Mundy. Robyn is the author of the novels Wildlight and The Nature of Ice, and is co-author of...
Emily Paull: Being a Writer in Your Twenties
This week, Emily Paull joins me in the attic. Emily is a writer, a blogger and a bookseller. In 2014, she was Young Writer in Residence at the KSP Writers Centre in the Perth Hills. Her work has appeared in Trove, METIOR, [Re]Sisters and Shibboleth and other...
Midweek Moment #55: Golden Sunsets
At the lake where I walk, about halfway around the path there's gap in the fence. If I nip through, there's a dirt track that takes me past the line of Moreton Bay figs, out through the rushes, and into a marshy area that juts out into the lake. I need my...
Karen Cades: Getting Back in the (Writing) Saddle
I'm thrilled to greet my first international guest in the attic, my American friend, Karen Cades. We first 'met' in an online writing class back in 2010 and have kept in contact ever since—one of the upsides of social media. Karen started her...
Midweek Moment #54—Rain and Shine
Monique and I have chosen shots that indicate the recent weather patterns. It can’t make up its mind—rain to sunshine to rain again. It's glorious one day—blue sky and warm enough for short sleeves—and the next it’s wild and wet again and we need our winter...
Jenn J McLeod: Embracing a Second Chance
Today, I welcome author, Jenn J McLeod, into the attic. These days, Jenn lives the gypsy life in a fifth-wheeler caravan, her days spent writing heart-warming, small town fiction: tales of friendship, family and contemporary country...
What I Want to Write About …
Lately, each time I've sat at my computer the words haven't come and I've ended up faffing. Yet my mind is overflowing with ideas and things I want to write about. So, in the end, I pulled out my notebook and pen and made a list...
Midweek Moment #53: A Reflection in Rust and a Light in the Dark
We've just said goodbye to our French exchange student, Guillaume. Hosting a student from another country forced us to get out and about, and be tourists ourselves. In the three weeks he was here, I'm sure we saw more of our own city than in the previous ten...
Michelle Johnston: Being a Writer and a Physician
Today, I welcome writer and Emergency Physician, Michelle Johnston, into the attic. Michelle is an Emergency Physician, mother, and writer, which she combines in an endless variety of ways, depending on the day. She works at Royal Perth Hospital, a...