The Perks of the Job

June 29, 2015 at 8:42 am

Since becoming a published author there have been a lot of ups and downs. Some things about this business are fun and inspiring and make me feel like I’m achieving something. Others can be a bit more challenging. But for a bookworm like me, especially one who doesn’t have much of a disposable income, there has been an additional perk. Since becoming a published author, I’ve become involved in a book reviewing scheme, which means I am regularly given books (not ones my publisher produces) to read and review. At the moment I have five books on my bedside table, […]

Different Hats

June 22, 2015 at 4:43 pm

As a writer who writes fiction but trained as a journalist, it sometimes still surprises me how quickly I can swap writing ‘hats’. Today for instance, when at work, I noticed something in a press release that, according to my journalistic training, held a bit too much opinion for that kind of article. It may surprise you to know that the general news is supposed to be devoid of opinion and should focus solely on established facts, leaving opinion for columns devoted to that kind of thing. Of course, in practice, it doesn’t always work out that way, but I […]

Award winner?

June 15, 2015 at 4:13 pm

When The Heir received a silver award in Literary Classics’ science fiction category in 2013 it was an exciting moment for me. However, I have difficulty telling people about it, probably because I’m a bit of a cynic. So many books I see have won awards. I’m sure they are all deserving of them but there just seems to be so many awards around these days sometimes it loses its meaning for me. Is it just a question of continually trying until you find an award your book can win? It reminds me of how all the kids get a […]

Eye contact

June 8, 2015 at 2:25 pm

I had another book signing on Saturday, and in spite of my nerves, it went well. When you’re an introvert, as many authors are, it’s challenging to go into a bookstore, sit at a table, and try and convince passersby that they need to buy your book. I’ve long found it one of the most difficult things about my role as an author. The only thing I find more scary is going into a bookstore to ask for a signing in the first place! 🙂 It taxes all my reserves from the moment I take my seat. Straight away I’m […]

Little Gnome – a new innovation

June 1, 2015 at 1:03 pm

On the weekend I took my family to the opening of a new bookstore not too far from me. They’re called Little Gnome, and while little they may be, their aims are big and hold a ray of hope to every local unknown author. That’s because Little Gnome, a coffee/bookshop, is anxious to support local authors, even (and especially) those who are self-published. They do have well-known books also, but are primarily trying to support those who are not so well-known. You might not be aware, but if you’re self-published usually bookstores don’t want to know about you. Even when […]

Supporting Aussie Authors

May 25, 2015 at 4:26 pm

On the weekend I had the pleasure of going to the Emmaus College Fair at Jimboomba. While I took my own books, I went on behalf of my publisher, Wombat Books/Rhiza Press. In spite of being unprepared for some things that are required at these kinds of events (in fact, I forgot a lot of things that I normally remember. I have made a checklist for next time.) they were helpful and supplied me with everything I had neglected to bring with me. We did quite well on the day and I was pleased to see the locals were interested […]

Avenues to Authors

May 18, 2015 at 4:10 pm

When I was younger authors seemed to be people who were a world away from the book I was reading. It wasn’t common to know anything about them other than their names. Favourite authors from my childhood days, such as Enid Blyton, Walter Farley, Louisa May Alcott and LM Montgomery are still largely mysteries to me. I wouldn’t know them if you showed me a photo of them. Not only that, if you wanted to find other fans of the same books you had to find them in the schoolyard. Sometimes it was difficult to find anyone, especially if I […]

Mothers’ Day Reflections

May 11, 2015 at 4:08 pm

Last weekend it was Mothers’ Day (I’m not going to enter into the debate here about where the apostrophe should be. Suffice to say, there was more than one mother at our Mothers’ Day celebrations so, in my mind, the apostrophe goes after the s). It was a busy day, with lots of treats made at our house, as we were hosting the celebrations, which included my parents, my brother and my husband’s parents. In spite of the busy-ness, it was a good day. I got a nice new teapot which I promptly used to make so tea for my […]

Fear and Frustration

May 4, 2015 at 4:05 pm

I love everything about being an author, with the exception of one thing – trying to sell my books. Not all of it is a chore. For example, I’ve found that I’m not bad at online marketing. For much of the first couple of months of this year I concentrated primarily on online marketing with some success, but once my son went back to school in term two, I knew it was time for some up-close-and-personal marketing. The main route we authors try for this is one that can be a source of delight if we succeed and much frustration […]

Lest we forget

April 25, 2015 at 11:59 am

When I was twenty I had just started a full time job, had a good circle of friends and was enjoying discovering life through various hobbies and pursuits. When my Great Uncle Joseph was twenty he was sitting in a boat in the dark with the 9th Battalion, sailing towards the coast of Turkey. He probably watched the sun rise while ducking for cover from fire from the Turkish forces as he climbed the cliffs at what is now known as Anzac Cove. He would not live to see the sun set. Yes, my uncle holds the unfortunate distinction of […]