Snapshot Poetry #4—Childhoods Cushioned With Green
A quick snapshot poem this week: It's not often these days that I get to take my children to a park, or to the beach, or to anywhere with wide open spaces close to nature. Their days are so heavily scheduled:...
Hey, I Have a Guest in the Attic …
I'm very proud to introduce my first guest author to the attic: Lily Malone, author of His Brand of Beautiful (Escape Publishing, 2013), The Goodbye Ride (2013), and Fairway to Heaven (2014). Lily lives in Margaret River with her husband and two young...
Bottling the Kids
There’s been a lot going on this year—mostly good, but not all of it. Normally, I cope. Normally, I feel good about the good things, but I've had trouble feeling good at all this year, about anything. I think I've worked out why: I don't like this new...
Snapshot Poetry #3—My Father’s Hands
These hands held mine each Sunday night and clipped my nails, while I wriggled and watched the clippings fall like sawdust into the crease of the newspaper. As broad as the spades they pushed through the dirt, they hammered and sawed,...
Let Her Go, by Dawn Barker
Dawn Barker has done it again with her second book, 'Let her Go'. I loved 'Fractured' (click the link to see my review) so I was looking forward to another of her psychological/ethical/suspense/thriller stories—and I was not let down! 'Let Her...
Lost and Found, by Brooke Davis
This novel hit the bookstores with a bang and much has already been written about it, so I won't repeat too much of the story. In a nutshell, it's about seven-year-old Millie Bird, whose mother has abandoned her in a department store following the death of...
Snapshot Poetry #2—Privileged Moments
I've used the word privilege before when talking about being a doctor, because there are many privileges afforded the medical profession. Doctors share people's lives in a way few other professions do. We witness intimate and private moments normally...
Snapshot Poetry #1
I thought I'd start a creative diversion—some poetry. I do not consider myself a poet by any stretch of the imagination, but sometimes phrases come to me, such as this one yesterday while I was out walking the dogs. I thought I'd try to catch these...
Another Excerpt from the Novel
IDA'S LAST BABY fter that, Len and I gave it another try. This baby was breathing when they took him from me, and I saw him, silent but alive. 'Henry,' I said. 'His name is Henry, after my...
Versatile Blogger Award and more …
My dear writing friend, Maureen Helen, has nominated me for a 'Versatile Blogger Award'. Thank you, Maureen, not just for the nomination but also for being a wonderful role model and friend. Now, I'm meant to tell you Seven...
Gilgamesh by Joan London
I've just finished 'Gilgamesh' by Joan London. This novel was shortlisted for the 2002 Miles Franklin Award and longlisted for the Orange Prize and the Dublin Impac. It's also been published in Europe, the UK, and the USA. The title of the book comes from...
My Writing Process
I've been tagged by two writers to join in a blog hop about writing and the writing process: Laurie Steed is a short story writer and Patricia Hackett Prize winning author from Perth, Western Australia. His work has appeared in Best...
The People Smuggler, by Robin de Crespigny
“People smugglers are the vilest form of human life. They trade on the tragedy of others and that’s why they should rot in jail and in my own view, rot in hell.” Kevin Rudd, 2009. Robin de Crespigny gives us a truer picture of this...
Finally Made It …
I finally made it to Melbourne this weekend, just a little later than planned ... Friday started with a trip to the hairdresser for pre-flight coif and colour. Given the fact that this was the first time I'd coloured my hair, I was a little...
Writing With(out) Kids
I haven't spent much time on my novel since I returned from Varuna. There are many reasons for this—every time I've sat down to write, the phone has rung, or there's been a knock at the door, or a child tapping on the attic door, or someone...