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Hello Jenn J McLeod! Read all about Jenn’s latest book Simmering Season

Jenn J McLeod

Jenn J McLeod

Jenn J McLeod’s debut novel  House for All Seasons reached No. 5 on the Nielsen Bookscan list of bestselling debuts of 2013.  Her success is all the more lovely to watch as she is a particularly gregarious and generous writer and blogger, as I found out when she interviewed me on her blog some time ago. I’m thrilled she has agreed to be my guest today and tell us all about her latest release, Simmering Season. 

Welcome to my blog, Jenn! Tell us what inspired you to write SIMMERING SEASON?

Two (weird) threads combined: Reality TV and school reunions!

The Susan ‘I Dreamed A Dream’ Boyle after her Britain, You’ve Got Talent audition (and the You Tube clip that went viral). Sure, I related to the song and her situation. I, too, was not getting any younger and hoping someone would discover I had talent – writing, not singing! The media frenzy that turned the woman’s life on its head almost overnight made me fearful of the consequences. Who was looking out for her? The trolls were horrible and she was never going to fit the mould or the industry’s crushing standards: how to look, act, speak. It made me wonder …  “How does someone cope? What would happen if …”

I have a love/hate relationship with reality TV shows that get people’s hopes up then discards them and this comes out in one Simmering Season character, Brian Henkler – a kind of man so desperate for his is fifteen minutes of fame he’s prepared to forget his family. The kind that reminds me of a balloon pumped full of air that floats so high you stick your fingers in your ears in anticipation of the inevitable “pop”? He’s like that; so is the situation I create with a school reunion that brings home more than memories for his wife, and local publican, Maggie Lindeman.

As mentioned, the other thread in the story is school reunions. As Maggie says in Simmering Season…

“The idea of a school reunion is both terrifying and fascinating.” The thought of summing up her achievements in a synopsis and spruiking them does not sit well with Maggie. To her, a school reunion was like a swollen river about to burst its banks; just going for a look could be dangerous, while staying away was impossible.”

 What did you enjoy most about writing the novel?

Creating the characters and letting them write their own stories. Sounds weird, doesn’t it? I admit to scoffing when I’d hear published authors talk about their characters taking their own direction. I’ve since learned it does happen – well it does with us pantsers! It happened that way for me with House for all Seasons, with secondary characters refusing to stay in the background – like Maggie Lindeman. While I’d love to one day write a House for all Seasons prequel (Gypsy’s story), it was Maggie who won this time.

Simmering Season Jenn J McLeod lgeNow that SIMMERING SEASON is on the shelves, what are you planning to write next?

Simon & Schuster have contracted books three and four in my Seasons Collection, so I’m very excited to say I have typed THE END on book three, SEASON OF SHADOW AND LIGHT (Out April 2015.) Also, book four has moved from swirling around my head, to actual words on paper. Even though I was sad to leave Calingarry Crossing behind after book two, a move seemed right. Besides, I didn’t move too far away. I’m slowing moving east though! (Time for a little coastal fling by book four.)

Tell us one of the things you love about being a writer?

Apart from the creative process (creating personalities and places and bringing them to life) I’d have to say the camaraderie and mutual support I’ve found among writer friends – both f2f and online. It’s almost tribal. We are only missing the secret handshake and code words.

What? What do you mean there’s a secret handshake? Nobody told me about it. L

When you hit a roadblock in your writing, how do you get going again?

I included a favourite Elizabeth Edwards quote in Simmering Season, which tends to sum up my roadblock strategy:

“She stood in the storm, and when the wind did not blow her way, she adjusted her sails.”

When I face turbulent times (yes, I have been knowN to get quite hysterical!) I walk through the storm – but not alone. I have a silent partner, a ‘J’ – as in Jenn ‘J’ McLeod – who is my wise reader and ego buster. I don’t think I’d manage a book every year without a plotting partner who digs me out of big black writer holes, calms me, believes in me, and lovingly tells me to “get real” and ditch the writer ego (along with all that flowery prose of the first draft).

Then, of course, there’s Facebook. I have THE BEST author friends online who really understand the highs and lows of this biz. I get so much enjoyment out of watching their successes. Supporting aspiring authors is a great way to remember how far I’ve come and how lucky I am. Positive thoughts help shift roadblocks pretty fast.

What else are you feeling passionate about at the moment?

Two things:

1.    Book three – Season of Shadow and Light. (In the back of Simmering Season, readers will find a sneak peek and I am super-excited about this one.)

2.    De-cluttering and simplifying my life – see answer to next question!

Tell us about one of your favourite places, somewhere you like to go when you need to relax and recharge.

Home is where I relax the most, with my two little fluffy heartbeats at my feet. Where I’ve lived for the last decade is a touch of country on the Coffs Coast – a property tucked away in a rural hamlet in the Coffs hinterland, but only ten minutes to the beach. However …

Home is going to change soon. A plan is afoot to sell-up and downsize and make a fifth-wheeler motorhome (with writing desk!) a portable abode so I can see this big brown land that is chock-a-block with small towns keeping big secrets. Thirty years ago I travelled around Australian in a F100 and a tent. I cannot wait to return to some favourite spots, while also discovering new places (and I’ve earned a little luxury this time).

I love book recommendations. Tell me about one book you’ve loved in the last year?

It is a toss up between the prolific Dianne Blacklock (her latest, The Best Man, has such a great collection of characters) and a debut author, Anna Romer, who wrote Thornwood House. Both these authors deliver on various levels. I enjoyed the storylines immensely, but when the writer/writing teaches me something – either craft-wise or general knowledge …  Bonus! Dianne Blacklock always teaches me something about character development and Anna Romer’s book is a sensory journey into the Aussie bush.

And what are you looking forward to reading this year?

I seriously need to start working my way through my e-reader. While such devices are convenient (especially when you are de-cluttering and downsizing) without the physical teetering tower of print books on the bedside table, the e-reader can be a case of out of sight out of mind. But there are two authors in particular with books out right now: Helene Young has a new book (Safe Harbour), plus there’s a debut from Kylie Kaden (Losing Kate) that looks really interesting.

Finally, where can people go to find out more about you and your books?

My website has book blurbs, videos and reviews. I also have the “Odd and Occasional Newsy Newsletter” and love it when someone signs up.

Thank you so much for hosting me, Sara. Readers can find out about my books and me (including a snazzy DIY book trailer) on my website www.jennjmcleod.com

Jenn is also to be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JennJMcLeod.Books and on Twitter (@jennjmcleod). Thanks so much for your visit, Jenn!

This month I’m giving one reader the chance to win a copy of Jenn’s latest novel, SIMMERING SEASON, and all you have to do to be in with a shot is to leave a comment below telling us which song you’d choose to sing on a TV reality show!  I’ll start it off by choosing ‘Let It Go’ from the movie Frozen, since it is ‘performed’ regularly in our house at present, and I know it pretty much off by heart! Make sure you’re also subscribed to my newsletter here – and look out for more giveaways in future.

Competition closes midnight, 30 April 2014, and the winner will be announced the following day.

 

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Hello Anita Heiss! Celebrating the launch of TIDDAS

Anita Heiss (Photo: Amanda James)

Anita Heiss (Photo: Amanda James)

Anita Heiss is a powerhouse in Australian literature, and a proud member of the Wiradjuri nation of central New South Wales. She has written numerous fiction and non-fiction books, and her autobiography Am I Black Enough For You was a finalist in the 2012 Human Rights Awards. If you follow Anita via Facebook or Twitter you’ll know that she is also extremely busy at festivals, in schools, as an Indigenous Literacy Ambassador, and so much more that you might wonder how she finds the time to write, let alone sleep! Therefore, I’m delighted that she has popped by to answer my questions about her new novel, Tiddas. 

Congratulations on your latest release, Anita, and welcome to my site. Could you tell us what inspired you to write TIDDAS?

Two things inspired me to write Tiddas – one was my desire to acknowledge the strengths, challenges and value of life-long friendships, and how we grow and change over time as individuals, but also within our circle of friends. I wanted to pay tribute to the role my tiddas have played in my life over time, and how they continue to enrich my life everyday. The best way to do this was by writing about a group of friends who support each other, love each other unconditionally, and even though they can disagree on many things, their shared values will nearly always keep them tight.

Secondly, I wanted to write about a place that brings me an unusual sense of peace, and that’s Brisbane. I had already written novels set in Sydney (Not Meeting Mr Right), Melbourne (Avoiding Mr Right) and Canberra (Manhattan Dreaming & Paris Dreaming), but Brisbane is my home-away-from-home. I was inspired to showcase all that I love about the city-with-the-country-style heart and hospitality. And I hope my readers fall in love with Bris-Vegas too.

 TiddasWhat did you enjoy most about writing the novel?

This was the first novel where there were five characters that all had equal importance to the story. It was five women’s lives I wanted to follow – their own personal journeys as well as their collective journey. And so, I really enjoyed getting into the heads, hearts and quirkiness of each of the women. As a method writer I loved having to go through their daily routines and emotional highs and lows. I cried writing some scenes, I laughed writing others (don’t want to give anything away here). I also really enjoyed the research process: catching the ferry from West End to Southbank, wining and dining in various cafes and restaurants, sitting at the general store in Brookfield, running along the river front like my characters Ellen and Izzy do.

Now that TIDDAS is about to hit the shelves, what are you planning to write next?

Good question. As I write these answers I am about to start penning a short story about love. I am nervous because I am known for my verbosity and I find it easier to write 10,000 words than 3,000 when it’s fiction. It will be a challenge. Aside from that I don’t really have a plan for another book right now, and I think as this is my fifth novel in seven years, I should probably give my brain a break. An idea will present itself soon enough and the process of researching and writing will start all over again.

Tell us one of the things you love about being a writer?

Being able to create the world that I wished we lived in.

When you hit a roadblock in your writing, how do you get going again?

This is a common question but the truth is that because I am a plotter – I map out the entire novel chapter by chapter – a roadblock doesn’t really bother me that much. Because I know what will happen in the novel before I sit down to start writing in full – I know what happens next chapter and even at the end – then if I get stuck on something, I just move onto the next chapter and write, going back to the problem scene later. I can’t remember really having writer’s block in recent years. Having said that, I may write a lot of text that eventually gets deleted, but I am a huge advocate of plotting to solve the potential problem of ‘road blocks’. Of course, when that fails, I reach for the chocolate.

What else are you feeling passionate about at the moment?

I’m feeling passionate about the ongoing denial of human rights for Aboriginal people living under the NT Intervention / Stronger Futures legislation (http://stoptheintervention.org/facts). I cannot believe more Australians aren’t angry about it.

You’ve travelled a lot – tell us about one of your favourite places.

I’ve often commented that Manhattan was my all time favourite holiday destination for it’s soul and excitement, but I’ve just returned from my sixth visit to Barcelona, and it really is a place I feel I could live in. I stay in El Born which is walking distance to the port, the Picasso Museum, Parc de la Ciutadella (Citadel Park), the zoo, fantastic restaurants and bars. The local Catalan people are friendly, the food is always memorable, the vibe relaxed and cultured. I do believe Barcelona is the new Paris for it’s romantic aura and style.

I love book recommendations. Tell me about one book you’ve loved in the last year?

I highly recommend Melissa Lucashenko’s Mullumbimby – it’s got everything: romance, history, family dramas, Aboriginal culture and politics, and she’s very funny!

And what are you looking forward to reading this year?

2014 is my ‘catching up on reading year’ as I’m not working on a major project, and flying a lot means I can read on planes and at airports. So I am looking forward to reading lots of titles including the ones by my bed right now: Toni Morrison (Home), Julie Wark (The Human Rights Manifesto), Georgia Blain (Darkwater), Lisa Walker (Liar Bird), Stephanie Dowrick (Everyday Kindness), Us Mob Writing (By Close of Business). My writing tidda Lisa Heidke is releasing two novels, Tennis and Friday’s Fortunate Life, in coming months and she hasn’t let me even look at drafts of those, so I’m psyched to read them. I’m also looking forward to reading Ellen van Neerven’s collection of short stories (September, UQP).

Finally, where can people go to find out more about you and your books?

There are no really mysteries about me, and you can see more at www.anitaheiss.com I’m also on Twitter and Facebook .

Thanks so much, Anita!

NOW IT’S YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A COPY! Every month I offer my newsletter subscribers the chance to win books, and this month you can win a copy of Tiddas!  Since Tiddas is all about friendship, all you have to do to enter is to give a shout-out to one of your friends and tell us why they are great in the comments below. The winner will be drawn at random after the competition closes at midnight WST on 1 April. And don’t forget to sign up to my newsletter here, if you haven’t already. Good luck!col-md-2

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Hopping on the blog: writing plans and processes

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Natasha Lester

Last week Natasha Lester kindly invited me to take part in a blog hop on writing processes. Natasha is the author of two brilliant works of fiction – What is Left Over, After and If I Should Lose You – and teaches writing at UWA Extension and the new Writers Centre which has recently opened in Perth. You can read her blog here to find out why she plans to diversify this year and more on the novel she’s working on. Now she has passed the baton to me, and although I’m still feeling a little fuzzy headed having only just declared maternity leave over, I will do my best to explain what I’m up to this year and how I write…

What am I working on?

A new novel called The Spirit Road. Set in the Lake District, it’s about teenage secrets and family betrayals and has numerous twists and turns. There are some serious issues in there, but I’m having a lot of fun trying to fit it all together. Fortunately, I wrote half of the book before my youngest was born, so it’s nice not to have to start from scratch. I’m sure all my books benefit from resting time, but that isn’t always possible when writing to deadlines, so I’m pleased this one has had chance to sit for a while. Some distance has given me the chance to assess how it’s going a little more objectively, and I am delighted that I’ve only felt the need to cut 4,000 words so far!

How does your work differ from others in its genre?

Indie Side cover 4My books straddle a few different genres, which I think is a good thing until we try to market them! I like to write fast-paced family/relationship suspense dramas, almost thrillers, and I’d say that readers of Kate Morton, Jodi Picoult and Heather Gudenkauf would, hopefully, find much to like in my stories. Although you’ll discover some common narrative threads in my novels, I like to experiment with narrative strategy too. So, for example, Shallow Breath is told from seven people’s point of view, whereas Beneath the Shadows is from only one perspective.

Like Natasha, I also have plans to diversify – I love a challenge and it’s exciting to explore new ways of creating stories. My most recent work is a short story with an apocalyptic twist for an anthology of independent writers, including Hugh Howey, Jason Gurley and Michael Bunker, called The Indie Side.

Why do I write what I do?

Natasha had a great response to this question last week, and mine is similar. I write the stories that nag away at me and don’t leave me alone until I’ve finished them. I have heaps of ideas, but most of them naturally fall away. It’s the ones that stay with me that I begin paying attention to, because I realise I have found a topic or character that I want to explore, and hopefully if I feel that way then readers will too.

How does my writing process work?

First of all, I try not to let things get in the way of writing time. It’s a never-ending challenge, with children’s needs and all the duties of daily living, not to mention trying to keep up with websites and social media and promoting a backlist of books.

When I sit down to write I work to a loose plan, but if the writing is flowing then I go with that, and I only go back to reconsider my plan if I get stuck. I edit as I go – one of the bonuses of having a tandem career as a book editor is that I’m used to critiquing work so I try to look objectively at what I’m doing and make those painful cuts if necessary.

 

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Jason Gurley

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Kate Danley

And now, I am very excited to tag in three of my fellow Indie Side writers, who will join the blog hop next week to tell you all about their writing. Jason Gurley is a star of the indie scene with a whole host of well-received novels, and not only that but he’s a talented cover art designer too, and designed the beautiful cover for our anthology. Kate Danley is a USA Today bestselling author of fantasy titles, whose debut novel, The Woodcutter, was honoured with the Garcia Award for Best Fiction book of the year. Finally, Mel Hearse is a journalist and fiction writer who is releasing a series of short stories this year as well as working on her first novel. I’ll link up to their posts next week.col-md-2

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Short story release – From the Indie Side

Indie Side cover 4Last year, a succession of stars aligned. I met a warm and enthusiastic author and reviewer, Susan May, who had kindly attended one of my speaking events. As we began chatting it became clear we were both very interested in the changing nature of the industry, and a friendship blossomed. When I mentioned my admiration for Hugh Howey and the way he had taken control of his writing career, Susan decided to investigate. A few months later, after interviewing Hugh, she told me she’d had an idea. An indie anthology of short stories in the thriller/speculative/sci-fi genres. Hugh was on board. Would I like to be involved?

You bet I would! What a wonderful opportunity for me to stretch my writing direction and try to write a short form thriller. This one little project snuck into the maternity leave I’d vowed I would take, and so I wrote my story, Cipher, with my newborn sleeping (and sometimes not sleeping!) in the background.

Cipher is the story of Beatrice, who leaves her family behind to visit her father. She never imagines she might not see them again, but then a bomb goes off close to home. Beatrice has to rely on a stranger’s help to find out what’s happened – and whether or not her husband and children have survived. When I’d finished writing I had the pleasure of reading the other stories in the anthology, and they are wonderful without exception.  Here’s a rundown of what you’ll find in From the Indie Side:

The Winter Lands (Jason Gurley)

Jonathan Froestt lives alone in a retirement home. His family is gone. His friends are all dead. For over sixty years, he has been writing a novel, the pages collecting in his apartment in stacks. Nobody has ever read it. Until today.

Going Gray (Brian Spangler)

When their community is engulfed by a deadly, caustic fog, sixteen-year-old Emily and her family decide to escape to the one building they can think of that might be able to withstand the fog’s corrosive force: the shopping mall. But a trip to the mall has never been so desperate, or so terrifying.

Queen Joanna (Kate Danley)

Thrust into a loveless marriage of state, Queen Joanna soon discovers her new palace is home to many dark secrets. And when a face in the mirror confronts her with a dire warning, she realizes her life is at risk. Has she awakened a curse—or been struck by madness? “Queen Joanna” presents a haunting twist on the legend of Bloody Mary.

Mouth Breathers (Hugh Howey)

Moving to a new town, starting off at a new school, meeting new kids… it’s never easy. And it only gets harder when the new town and the new school and the new kids are on a different planet. But sometimes, something happens that makes it worth all the trouble.

The Man With Two Legs (Ernie Lindsey)

Many winters ago, the man with two legs managed to escape the oppressive maiming rituals of Tritan’s government. Now he stands on a hillside overlooking the city, a bomb in his rucksack, determined to bring about two impossible results: his mother’s rescue and freedom for his people.

Made of Stars (Anne Frasier)

A genius vampire named Sinclair creates an alternate world where vampires can experience a traditional human life of love, marriage, and children. Sixteen-year-old Gabriel is Sinclair’s beta tester and volunteers to fall in love with a coffee-shop girl. But when the pain of love becomes overwhelming, Gabriel questions his decision. “It’s too real,” he tells Sinclair. “You made it too real.”

Gyre-Witchery (Kev Heritage)

All Tam wanted was to be loved. Was that so hard? Made outcast because of her green eyes—the sign of witchery—Tamina, a well-meaning simpleton, is shunned by a superstitious people who blame her for the ills that have overtaken their small island. It was not her fault that she put on weight while the others starved, or that wild animals slunk at her side, or that men and women both desired and despised her. But change was coming, brought upon the back of a terrifying squall…

The War Veteran (Susan May)

For seventy years, World War II veteran Jack Baker has endured vivid flashbacks to that horrific June day on Omaha Beach. But tonight, the flashback will be terrifyingly different. Tonight it becomes real. Tonight, Jack’s seventy-year-old secret will come back to claim him.

The Greater Good (Mel Hearse)

When Lanie wakes up in a hospital bed with no idea how she got there, she tries desperately to work out why she was on the old loop road that’s been all but abandoned by the locals. Thinking there must be an obvious answer, Lanie leaves no stone unturned in her quest for an explanation. But when all is revealed, she is left with only one question—and no good answers.

REDOUBT (Michael Bunker)

Phillip is a militia commander who has planned for a decade to defend the pacifist Vallenses of Central Texas with his army if ever the world tips over and goes to hell. He never thought he’d be on a skiing trip to New Mexico when the end comes.

The Man Who Remembered Today (Peter Cawdron)

Kareem wakes with a headache. A bloody bandage wrapped around his head tells him this isn’t just another day in the Big Apple. The problem is, he can’t remember what happened to him. He can’t recall anything from yesterday. The only memories he has are from events that are about to unfold today, and today is no ordinary day.

You can’t go wrong with this collection, and what’s more for a short time it’s on sale at 99 cents on Kindle! In day one it has hit the No. 1 spot in the Science Fiction anthologies section and is heading up the charts! You can also find it on Kobo and NOOK. And if you would rather win one of those old-fashioned copies you can hold in your hands, then all you need to do is sign up to my newsletter, and leave a comment below, telling me whether you prefer paper or e-books… easy!col-md-2

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AWW Challenge 2013 wrap-up

At the beginning of last year I signed up for the 2013 Australian Women Writers Challenge. This fantastic challenge began in 2012, and was devised by Elizabeth Lhuede to focus attention on literary works by Australian women. You can read all about the background here. I entered at the middle level – Miles – which asks you to read 6 titles, and I was aware that, considering the year ahead, even this might prove a challenge. Nevertheless, I made a strong start, and I had read three titles by February – Kate Grenville’s The Secret River and Searching for the Secret River, and Kate Morton’s The Secret Keeper.

In February I entered an intense researching and drafting period for my new book, which is set in the Lake District, and so my reading veered away from Australian literature for a few months as I focused on Northern England. However, during this time I also read and enjoyed The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty. I stopped writing in July, and I had a lovely period of reading, adding The Good Wife by Emma Chapman, and Elemental by Amanda Curtin to my tally. I was absolutely engrossed in both these books. Emma’s novel is a hugely impressive debut which absolutely deserves the praise it received in the New York Times recently! Elemental was the second Amanda Curtin novel I had read (The Sinkings was the first), and I was swept up in the story of Scottish Meggie. If you’re looking for beautiful, poised and poignant writing, and unique stories, go no further than Amanda.

So, by the end of July I had read all the titles I needed to complete the challenge. Surely I would read lots more by the end of the year.

Then, this happened:

Sara Final Edit-22

 

END. OF. READING!

Yep, since August reading has been very restricted. My two girls have kept me extremely busy in the latter half of 2013. If I had the chance to sit down with a book the chances were that I’d be asleep within five minutes.

However… I also work occasionally as a freelance book editor, and I have been on Bronwyn Parry’s editorial team for a while now. During 2013 I worked with her on Darkening Skies, and editing Bronwyn’s books is always a pleasure. I also worked on Jenny Bond’s Perfect North (Hachette), a beautifully written epic tale about a doomed hot-air balloon expedition to the North Pole, and Jenny Valentish’s fabulous and hilarious debut My Life in Reviews, which will be published by Allen & Unwin in 2014.

So that takes my final tally to 9. Hurray!

My reading wish list for this year includes anything I haven’t read that’s on the AWW wrap-up list or the impressive inaugural 2013 Stella Prize long list. That’s before I even look at the new releases. So it’s a no-brainer to sign up again for the AWW challenge in 2014. Care to join me? col-md-2

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Writers Ask Writers: Tools of the Trade

This month we’re focusing on which tools we find essential in our writing life. In addition to the usual Writers Ask Writers group, it’s a pleasure to welcome Angela Savage, prize-winning Melbourne crime writer and author of three novels, most recently The Dying Beach, as our guest contributor. Thanks for playing, Angela!

Angela Savage

Angela Savage

 

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Tools of the trade?’ So simple this month, I thought, with my cocky hat on, when I began to think about this topic – all any writer really needs is a pen and some paper.

Wrong! Turns out we need quite a lot, as the others attest too. Here are some of the tools I came up with, just for starters:

TOOLS TO GET THE IDEAS DOWN

During the course of writing my books, ideas and phrases pop into my head throughout the day. Over the years I have learned to equip myself with some method of recording them so I can examine them later in more detail. I’m not especially fussy about what this is: small notebooks, the ‘Notes’ section of my phone, if I’m desperate then even a spare, clean nappy! As long as I can write on it then I will use the best thing available. My phone is usually with me, but where possible I’d rather write by hand, and so I keep small notepads in my bag. These notes are all collated and transcribed onto the computer at a later date.

TOOLS TO ORGANISE MY THOUGHTS

My laptop is an HP (a MacBook is on my wishlist – ahem, Santa!). I have used Word for a long time, and I like Scrivener too, although I have yet to completely find my way around it. Despite my stationery fetish, I would never use a posh notebook to jot down my ideas, because my brain darts around so much that I end up with pages of random notes and have to keep rereading them. I like perforated notebooks so I can tear out pages and collate them properly. I save the pretty notebooks for diaries instead.

TOOLS TO RESEARCH AND IMPROVE

I wholeheartedly agree with Annabel that the internet is a godsend when it comes to research. I do have all sorts of reference books at home, various dictionaries and thesauruses, but more often than not I go online first nowadays. One of my favourite reference books is the Reverse Dictionary, which takes you from a definition/concept to find associated words or phrases.

TOOLS TO INSPIRE AND/OR SPREAD THE WORD

Websites, social media platforms, phone calls, marketing materials, there are heaps of tools available to writers nowadays to help spread the word about our books. So much so that the whole thing is utterly daunting – but invaluable nevertheless.

TOOLS FOR MOTIVATION

There’s plenty of moral support available online – just check out any writer’s feed on Twitter – and the world wide web is the place to find out about author events near me, new books, and all sorts of things that will help me along the way.

I also love quotations, and pin them where I’ll see them: fridge, walls, computer home screen. Catchy little numbers like this:

The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all the world needs dreamers who do.

MORE TOOLS, MORE TOOLS!

Last but not least, and by no means exhaustive, I need babysitters, Lindt chilli chocolate, a comfy chair and a fraction of uncluttered desk space, and preferably silence, or amenable background noise. And if I had more of that most precious tool – time – to think about this, I’m sure the list would grow. And this is all before I get to the really tough bit of actually writing a story.  Turns out my toolbox is quite extensive after all.

 

PWFC author collage

Writers Ask Writers

Check out what my writer friends had to say about their most valued tools of the trade:

Angela Savage:  …the less rigid my writing needs, the easier it is to capture inspiration when it strikes.

Annabel Smith: To me, the truly essential tools of the writing trade are intangible things like inspiration and time to write.

Emma Chapman: Being surrounded by signs of previous work helps me to stay present and to carry on.

Dawn Barker: At the start of each new novel, I buy myself a new notebook to keep everything together.

Amanda Curtin: I couldn’t get by without my post-it notes, markers in every colour, and more pens and pencils than the average person would use in a lifetime.

Natasha Lester: …my most loved tool is the amazing writing software program, Scrivener.

 

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Writers Ask Writers – OCTOBER’S 12 BOOK GIVEAWAY!

This month, if you live in Australia we are offering you the chance to win 12 BOOKS in our latest and greatest giveaway!!

GIVEAWAY OCT 13

In addition to copies of our latest novels we have each added to the pile one book that inspired our work. Alongside Shallow Breath, I’ve chosen The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony. While writing Shallow Breath I read many books on animal behaviours and human–animal bonds, but The Elephant Whisperer stood out amongst the others for a number of reasons. It is a fantastic story – all the better because it is true – of how Anthony rescued a traumatised herd of elephants and rehabilitated them on his private conservation reserve in South Africa. Anthony recounts the great lengths he went to in order to ensure the herd’s safety, and how he managed to form a unique bond with these elephants, after they had witnessed humans slaughter the rest of their herd. I wasn’t just moved by the story, I was also impressed by how Anthony managed to combine realism with idealism when discussing conservation. This delicate line is one my characters struggle with in Shallow Breath, and it is an issue I came across again and again when studying the environmental and animal rights movements. Anthony’s work helped me to develop my own fictional herd of elephants, and my character, Kate, who loves them – and it also proved great food for thought as I considered some of the broader themes of conservation and interspecies relationships found in Shallow Breath. As I finished writing the novel in March 2012, I discovered that Anthony had died suddenly when he was about to begin promoting his new book, The Last Rhinos. I am so thankful he found time to write these books amongst all his other dedicated work to saving the magnificent animals of Africa.

Unless we can allow not only elephants but all wild animals their place in the sun, we can never be whole ourselves.

Lawrence Anthony

1950-2012

Enter the giveaway:

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Writers Ask Writers: Why I Write

PWFC author collageThis month the Writers Ask Writers group has tackled perhaps our most challenging question yet: Why do we write?

One of my earliest attempts at ‘writing’ was an epic poem entitled ‘Susie and the Green Washing Machine’. I’m pretty sure I wrote it for the hell of it, because I felt like it, and I didn’t intend anyone else to read it. I was about six or seven years old, had no notion of publication at the time, and I wasn’t one to stand up and recite verse at family gatherings. The poem itself is obviously crap by any critical standard, but I will always love it just as much as any novel I write. It reminds me that before I had other goals in mind, flexing my imagination was just pure and simple fun.

The foundations of my writing consisted of reading – otherwise I wouldn’t have known what a poem was, or that it was possible to craft such a thing. So one of the fundamental reasons I write is because I have always been a reader. I write because my mum passed on the value of books to me. I write because of all those other writers who have provided me with words to absorb. You might even say I write because of invisible chains of imaginative impulses that stretch back and back through time.

I write if I’m bored. So I’m rarely bored. My heart sinks if I search in my bag and find I’ve forgotten notebook and pen. As a last resort, I can craft stories in my head, although my memory often quickly loses or warps them. Nowadays the ‘Notes’ section of my phone has plenty of phrases and story ideas waiting for my attention.

I write to remember the most significant moments of my life, often in diaries and poems, not for publication.

I write to defy flesh and bone and fly away to other lives, other worlds, and the possibilities they hold. It’s my way of connecting and reconnecting with the world, with myself, with you.

I write for myself, because it’s the only way I can make my stories authentic – if I don’t find meaning and purpose in them, how can I hope that you will?

I write for you, because I want you to be fully submerged in the tale I’m telling, and when you come up for air I want you to have found value in the time you spent in one of my fictional worlds.

I write to try to look life in the eye – both when it thrills me and when it terrorises me. I write to explore the vagaries of human nature, the dichotomy of what is said and what is done.

I write to get to know myself a little better.

I write because it means a story that formed inside my head, while I went about my life in Western Australia, now sits on a shelf in a small library in Virginia, USA. And I get a geeky, writerly thrill about that.

I write because there is always something more waiting to be written.

 

In the blogs that follow you’ll find five distinct answers to this question of why we write, and yet all of them resonated with me. Annabel Smith talks of ‘the deep satisfaction of pounding at a sentence, a paragraph, and beyond, to create something which others will connect with and be moved by’. Natasha Lester discusses the gifts of both writing and reading, saying, ‘when I am given a story by a writer, I feel it as an abundance: an abundance of experience and of emotion and of people.’ Dawn Barker describes writing as ‘an escape, an intellectual challenge, and an incredibly frustrating puzzle that gives me immense satisfaction when I solve it’, while Amanda Curtin takes us on a trip to Scotland and a lightbulb moment: ‘So this is what I’m supposed to be doing’. Finally, Emma Chapman provides five reasons for writing, including the lifestyle of a writer: ‘the flexibility of working from home, of being able to travel, and of feeling free.’ I gained great value and insight from their posts this month, and encourage you to click through and read them all.col-md-2

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My latest production…

Our baby girl

Our baby girl

I have been a bit quiet lately, and it’s not just that I have been busy writing my new book. We welcomed our second daughter into the world just over two weeks ago, and I am a very proud and busy mum at the moment. I plan to spend the next few months focusing primarily on our family, but Book 4 is well on the way, and I have a few other exciting projects in the pipeline, so keep checking back for writing news. Meanwhile, if you have read my previous books you can find plenty of extras at www.beneaththeshadows.com and www.shallowbreath.com. Happy reading!col-md-2

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