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, this...
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. Annabel...
Kelly Van Nelson: From Blank Canvas to Colourful Dreams
Today, I welcome Western Australian poet and fiction writer, Kelly van Nelson, to the attic for a Q&A. Kelly's powerful poetry collection, Graffiti Lane, celebrates freedom of speech and the underdog rising against all odds. Her poetry and short stories have...
Lee Kofman: On Imperfection and Writing
As I read the first memoir penned by today's guest, I remember thinking, When I grow up, I want to write like this. I was underlining phrases and making notes in the margins, such was the beauty of the prose. But, even better, there was a searing honesty about her...
Laurie Steed: The Short Way Around
‘It’s as if short stories are love letters from the perennially shy. It’s as though these stories are quiet whispers that somehow echoed out into the world. As my lifeline and release, they enable me to be and love, and never grasp too tight for my place in the world.’
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...
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 season. Without...
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 slightly...
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 exhibited widely as a...
Lauren Chater: Survival Lessons—How Writing Changed My Life
Riding the ups and downs of the lead-up to publication can be rather nerve-wracking and is much easier if done with a friend, so as authors whose début novels came out within a couple of months of each other, Lauren Chater and I have become friends over the past...
Writers in the Attic: Michelle Johnston
I'm happy to say that Writers in the Attic is back for 2018! To ease the pressure on myself a little, I've decided it will be more of an occasional series, but I promise it will be just as interesting and varied! My dear writing friend, Michelle Johnston, is kicking...
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...
Milly Schmidt: On Stapling Your Rejections to Your Chest (and wading into battle)
My last guest in the attic for this year is Milly Schmidt. I've become an avid follower of Milly's blog since I first came across it earlier this year. I hasten to add that I'm one of more than 5,000 followers—we all love her down-to-earth, honest posts, and they're...
Stephanie Parkyn: On Building Heart (and finding writing wisdom in unlikely places)
Today's writer in the attic, Stephanie Parkyn, and I have much in common: we're both debut authors, we're both published by Allen and Unwin (or soon-to-be), and we've both lived in Launceston,Tasmania—I grew up there, and Steph now lives there. Steph writes...
Shahina Braganza: Converting Chaos Into Order
Most of the guests who visit the attic are people I've met relatively recently, but today's guest and I first met many years ago in Hobart, Tasmania, when she was still a schoolgirl thinking of studying medicine and I was a much younger mum and doctor. We lost contact...