Messages From Readers
I'm not sure if readers are aware of how much authors love hearing from them—it really does make our day! It's always a thrill to hear from people who've enjoyed reading your book, and it's even more special when they share their own stories and memories prompted...
Mildura Writers Festival and the Tina Kane Emergent Writer Award
I returned home around midnight on Sunday after spending four wonderful days at the Mildura Writers Festival. I should clarify that while I've returned physically to Perth, my mind, and heart, are still in Mildura. The festival was one of the most special weekends of...
Social Media For Writers
A couple of weeks ago, I asked you to send me your questions about social media. I received quite a few, too many to answer all in one post, so I chose the questions that seemed to have the broadest appeal. As you'll see, my answers are lengthy as I've tried to write...
How I Got An Agent
A few weeks ago, Lauren Keegan invited me to be part of her monthly blog series, How I Got An Agent. You might remember Lauren from this amazingly honest and moving post she wrote for Writers in the Attic last year. She wrote about rejection,...
Launch of ‘The Sisters’ Song’
I know it feels like months since The Sisters' Song was officially launched by Natasha Lester, but I've been rather busy and haven't had a chance to put the photos together and make a video. However, my diary was actually clear today, so it's done. And for those who...
Publication: The First Four Weeks
Now that school has returned, I'm looking forward to getting back into some semblance of routine. It's been utter chaos in the attic since my book was released: I haven't known which day of the week it is, I've forgotten to eat, I don't know what's in the fridge or...
Louise Allan: Music, Always
This is #65 in the series for Writers in the Attic and the final post for 2017. This series has been the most successful I've ever started on this blog, in terms of duration and readership. Each post has had well over 300 views and some over 2,000! It’s been an...
How to Write a Book Part #5: Seeking Feedback
It’s no news to any writer that seeking feedback on your work is one of the hardest things about this writing business. Yet, if we want to be published, at some stage we must put our words, stories and characters out there to be scrutinised by others. It’s as...
How to Write a Book #4: Learning the Craft
In a previous post for this series, I wrote about how hard it was to wear ‘L’ plates again after deciding to become a writer in my early forties. Today, I’m going to talk about how I actually learnt the craft of writing. At the time I started writing,...
How to Write a Book #3: A Glimpse Into My Editing Process
Editing your own writing is hard, so today I thought I'd give you a glimpse into my editing process using an example from my novel. Most of my novel has undergone extensive editing—only a handful of scenes came to me fully formed. I've discovered that I...
How To Write a Book #2: Take Your Writing Seriously
Continuing with my series on 'How to Write a Book', this week I thought I’d write on another aspect I found particularly difficult to put into practice: Taking my writing seriously. I'm never comfortable giving advice—I prefer to write about my experiences in...
HOW TO WRITE A BOOK #1: Give Yourself Permission to be a Learner
I’m often asked questions about my book. Things like: What's it about? (Family, music, dreams) How long did it take to write? (Six years) What inspired it? (Many things—life, things I’m interested in, family stories) What made you want to write a book? (I wanted to...
Replenishing the Empty Well
Today I felt like journaling. It had been a few months since my last journal entry because I hadn't had much to say. But today I felt like writing again so, for a change, I decided to type my thoughts straight into a Word document. This is different to how I last...
No More Edits and That’s a Promise.
Last week, I finished editing my novel and sent it back to Allen and Unwin. A few days later, one of my editors emailed to say: 'It has been such a pleasure to read the revised manuscript this week. I think you’ve tightened the pace of the novel and fleshed out the...
New Release Date for ‘The Sisters’ Song’
I have a new date for my book's release: January 2018. Whilst this means I must wait another four months' to see my book on the shelves, it also means that I have more time to complete these final edits and get my novel into tip-top shape. Once this book is...