The Story Behind My Story: My Grandfather
In the lead up to publication of my novel, I’d like to write more about the ‘The Story Behind the Story’: the genesis of my novel, and the people and places that inspired it. My Grandfather My paternal grandfather was...
On Signing a Publishing Contract and Getting to this Point
So, at long last, I got to sign one of these: A publishing contract. It took a while to reach my hot little hands and as soon as I’d signed it, I had to return it to the publisher for counter-signing, so I haven’t been able to gaze at it and...
A Plug for the Booklength Project Group
I was just going to reblog a post I wrote on ‘Coping With Negative Feedback On Your Writing’ for the Booklength Project Group (BLPG), but then I thought I might as well give a plug for the group, which I convene. We meet at Mattie’s House, part...
Rewrite is Done!
I finished rewriting my novel last week. The elation and relief! I looked back over my blog posts and saw that I’d started rewriting it in early June last year, so it took me nearly nine months to complete. I won’t reiterate how hard I found it at times...
My Week: Story and Sculptures
I’ve interrupted the novel rewrite to show you this: That’s how many pages I have left to edit. It’s a thin stack, isn’t it? Only 25 pages thick. Twenty-five. That. Is. All. I’m a slow writer, and it’s given me a boost to see...
My Week—Back-to-School and Back-to-Writing
1. It’s been back-to-school here, which isn’t anywhere near as frantic as it used to be: Only half my children are still at school, I only had one school to get them back to, and they’re now old enough to do most of it...
The Story Behind the Story
ON WRITING ‘THE SISTERS’ SONG’ My novel, ‘The Sisters’ Song’, has evolved and that’s the only way to describe how it came into being. It’s nothing at all like what I set out to write, and this draft, Final Draft 3.0, is very different to...
Thank You, 2015
Here’s a summary of my 2015—it was a good one … THE NOVEL As most of you know, my novel, Ida’s Children, was shortlisted for the 2015 TAG Hungerford Award. It didn’t win, so I sent it off to an agent, who gave...
An Early Xmas Gift to Myself: Time to Write
For the past few months, I’ve only been able to snatch brief spells of writing time due to Year Twelve exams, school camps, graduations, speech days, and general running about for the end of the school year. There was...
My Week: Wildflowers and Writing
1. I had a lovely time out and about last Sunday on a wildflower walk around Forrestdale Lake. Being spring, the wildflowers were out, looking colourful and inviting. I just wish I could remember their names—my memory isn’t what it used...