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,...
Varuna 2019
So I’ve returned home from Varuna, a writers’ house in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains of NSW. I’ve spent time at Varuna before (see here and here), back in 2014 when I was the recipient of a residential fellowship, so I knew it was exactly what I...
Annabel Smith: Finding (the Right) Reasons to Write
So very happy to have Annabel Smith grace the attic with her presence today. She was one of the first authors I met when I started writing and she has more wisdom about books, writing and publishing in her little finger than I’d hope to attain in a lifetime....
12 Tips on Giving a Good Author Talk
As a published author, you’re expected to speak at writers festivals, libraries, book clubs and to writing and community groups. But, if you’re anything like me, the notion of public speaking might fill you with terror. I’m not, by nature, a public...
Laurie Steed: The Short Way Around
I’m thrilled to welcome Laurie Steed to the attic today. Laurie and I first met at a blogging workshop back in 2013 and, over the years, have become firm friends. Last year, after our début novels were published within a few months of each other, we not...
Rashida Murphy: Sesame, Lilies and Conquistadors
My guest in the attic this week is Rashida Murphy. Rashida is a Western Australian author whose writing I’ve admired since we first met at a writing course in 2012. At the time, we were both starting out and in throes of writing our début novels. Since then, our...
Three Things I Need Before I Can Write A Novel
At the end of last year, I wrote a post called The Trouble With Second Novels after I’d abandoned my second attempt at writing a second novel. At that time, I was trying to keep myself buoyant because I was feeling rather deflated—I’d hoped to...
Susan Midalia on Finding the Extraordinary in the Everyday
Writers in the Attic is back! I’m so excited to be hosting this again as I’ve really missed it. I already have some amazing writers lined up for future weeks, and more are coming, and I promise you that WITA 2.0 will be just as good as the first...
Shirley Patton: The Sisterhood and It’s Never Too Late to Follow Your Dreams
I’m thrilled to be able to shine a light on another début author, one with whom I have a few things in common—we’ve both moved states, although Shirley moved from Western Australia to Tasmania and I did it the other way around, and we both came to writing...
Kate Murdoch: From Painting to Writing—Change and the Creative Path
I’m so pleased to introduce you to Kate Murdoch, the author of Stone Circle, a historical fantasy novel set in Renaissance Italy. As you’ll read in this essay, writing wasn’t Kate’s first artistic pursuit. Prior to becoming an author, Kate had...