I was recently interviewed by the lovely Monica Kade at Career Confessions, and her questions really got me thinking. You can read the interview at http://careerconfessions.wordpress.com/col-md-2
I was thrilled to discover that Beneath the Shadows had made it into the Sunday Telegraph’s bestselling fiction list, debuting at No. 5 on 20 Feb, and even climbing to No. 4 on 27 Feb. To Kill a Mockingbird and Kim Edwards’ Lake of Dreams took the top two spots, and another Random House book, A Little Coffee Shop in Kabul, featured both weeks too. I have everything crossed that readers keep enjoying the book and the word of mouth continues!col-md-2
I really enjoyed being interviewed by Aimee Burton last week, and you can check out our chat here. (Make sure you’ve clicked through to this story by clicking on the headline first in order to access the link).col-md-2
DURING FEBRUARY I’VE BEEN…
BUSY WITH… Promotion for Beneath the Shadows. So far I have visited three gorgeous independent bookshops and four libraries proudly supported by Dymocks, and met lots of lovely people. I have only noticed one person nod off briefly during my talks (FTW!), and I think I managed to speak fairly coherently to a brilliant turn-out of 80 at one of my local libraries, Joondalup, on Tuesday night.
THINKING ABOUT… Natural disasters – surely everyone is due for a break right now. My heart goes out to those who has been affected this past month, whether by fires and storms in Perth or the earthquake in Christchurch. I first saw the terrible news from New Zealand on twitter, and it quickly became apparent that it wasn’t a good idea to watch streaming coverage. I’ve been very interested in the subsequent debate about how the media should/shouldn’t report such events, I think it’s a really important issue but a difficult one to resolve. If you are interested, check out these two articles by Jonathan Green on ABC’s The Drum, and the response from Lyndal Curtis on the same site.
READING… I am alternating between Lauren Oliver’s Delirium, and Thich Nhat Hanh’s Peace is Every Step (I’m a big fan of the Buddhist monk/Zen master genre!). I’m also desperate to get back to The Distant Hours by Kate Morton.
WRITING… I’ve been working on an article about London-inspired books and films for the holiday goddess travel book that will be out later this year (www.holidaygoddess.com). It’s been a wonderful piece to research, and as a result I now have an extra-long list of books to read and films to watch.
PLAYING… I’ve been building a lot of towers in my spare time, with an array of multi-coloured blocks. I’m busy trying to teach my daughter to understand that ‘per-pol’ is not the default colour of everything, and loving all the new words she comes out with every day.col-md-2
The brilliant fundraising initiative for Queensland flood victims known as Writers on Rafts – the brainchild of Rebecca Sparrow and the Queensland Writers Centre – has only one week left. For just $5 a ticket you can enter a draw to win all sorts of writing and reading related prizes.
My books are up for grabs on there, as well as the opportunity to have feedback on the first 5000 words of your manuscript and a complete synopsis. Check out the long list of authors who are involved at http://writersonrafts.com – and don’t miss the chance to attend the Ultimate Girly High Tea, with some brilliant Australian writers including Anita Heiss, Kate Morton and Mia Freedman.col-md-2
To read more about Beneath the Shadows, my writing background and my current bedside reading, visit their website at http://auslit.net/, or click here.col-md-2
My good friend Natasha Lester has invited me onto her blog to talk about that tricky business of the commercial/literary fiction divide. It’s a frustrating but necessary topic that both of us have become familiar with over the last year or so. To read our thoughts, click here, or visit Natasha’s blog at http://whilethekidsaresleeping.wordpress.com/
Thanks for having me, Natasha!col-md-2
Today I’ve been talking to the lovely Lisa Heidke about the beautiful and mysterious North Yorkshire moors, my setting for Beneath the Shadows. Read it here:
http://www.lisaheidke.com/component/myblog/Welcome-Sara-Foster-.htmlcol-md-2
During the week I had the great pleasure of chatting to Claire Williams from Flourish magazine about Beneath the Shadows. You can read the interview online at www.flourishmagazine.com.au.col-md-2
