On Ted Kooser, Journaling and Playing With Poetry
It doesn’t happen very often, but every now and then I read or hear about something and it strikes me immediately as something I must do. This happened to me in October 2020 – I was driving home, watching the road, probably thinking about the next thing I had to...
Portland Jones: Turning Family History into Historical Fiction
It’s with great joy I welcome Portland Jones back to the attic today. She visited back in 2019 – read that post here – but our friendship goes back to 2014, when we were both shortlisted for the City of Fremantle – TAG Hungerford Award. Portland has just...
Dinuka McKenzie: Just an Everyday Woman
I’m thrilled to welcome crime writer, Dinuka McKenzie, to the attic this week. Dinuka’s crime-fiction novel, The Torrent, won the 2020 Banjo Prize, and its publication was much-awaited. She’s recently signed with Harper Collins for a further two...
Querying Agents and Publishers
I’ve made another video and in this one I talk about querying agents and/or publishers. I include a few pointers on what you need before pitching, whether to try for an agent or publisher first, how to research which agent or publisher might be a good fit for...
Goodbye to a Decade
I originally shared this post on Facebook, but I think it’s worth sharing here on my blog, too. ~ It’s a new year and a new decade. (I won’t be a purist and mention that decades start at 1 and end at 10, because I accept we’re about to enter the 2020’s.) Ten...
Holden Sheppard: Finding the Courage to be Visible
Holden Sheppard is a dear friend of mine and I’ve long admired and respected his writing, so you’ve no idea how proud I am to share this post for Writers in the Attic. Although I had an inkling of Holden’s journey and I’ve seen some of the ups...
Morna Seres: The Process
This week, another Varuna-housemate-now-lifelong-friend* joins me in the attic. Morna Seres has worked as an actor, actor’s agent and even as a salesperson of virtual reality funerals. She fell into writing and in this post talks about managing the ups and downs...
Ashley Kalagian Blunt: Going Where the Writing Takes You
One of the reasons I love hosting this series is because every writer is different — in the way they approach their craft, their sources of inspiration, how they set up their writing days and how they structure their writing lives. Certainly, there are common threads...
Leah Kaminsky: If We Could Talk to the Animals
Writing as an Act of Courage I’m delighted to welcome Leah Kaminsky into the attic today. Leah is incredibly accomplished, being both doctor and author, and a multi-award-winning one at that. She writes with intelligence and compassion on enormous and haunting...
Alice Nelson—Losing the Key: Letting Go of Our Novels
Gosh, I have some amazing writers visit the attic! I get such joy out of reading the sometimes heartfelt, sometimes practical, but always different and always special pieces that authors pen for this series. Today, I’m thrilled to share another beautiful piece,...