My new novel, The Verindon Alliance, is coming out on 1st May 2020. I’m so excited to finally have a new full-length story to share with you. My last full-length release was Once Confronted back in October 2016, which seems like a long time ago now.  It’s almost like starting all over again. I’ve had to get back into the new release head space, which is rusty after lying dormant for more than three years. I’ll be continuing to post both on my website and social media accounts in the lead-up to The Verindon Alliance‘s release, so make sure you […]

Today’s the day. Exactly five years ago today, I became a published author with the release of The Heir (Verindon #1). I was full of hopes and dreams and even so, didn’t realise how fulfilling becoming an author would be, in spite of the hard slog it is at times. It’s been five years of ups and downs, of three more books released (two in the Verindon trilogy and one contemporary drama), of being sometimes elated and sometimes depressed by reviews. Of sitting at tables at bookstores and conventions trying to catch the eyes of passersby to see if they […]

Up until now, this year has been a quiet one as far as author opportunities go, even after the release of Once Confronted in late 2016. So I went looking for opportunities and thankfully I’ve found some. 🙂 I find that sometimes an author has to keep her nose to the ground when sniffing out new ideas for marketing, and fellow authors can be a great help with that. It was through two other authors that I found some US radio shows that are happy to interview authors from all over the world. I was interviewed by one a couple […]

I have an award-winning book! On 1st July 2017 my latest novel, Once Confronted, won an award. 🙂 Once Confronted, my first contemporary drama, gained the Literary Classics silver award in their college fiction category. The Heir (Verindon #1) also won a silver award in the science fiction category in 2014. This brings my total number of writing awards to four. I also gained two Australasian Religious Press Association awards in my days working for The Queensland Baptist newspaper. It’s such a thrill to win any award. This one has especially delighted me, given that the story of Once Confronted […]

It’s now only six weeks until Christmas day. Does that scare you? I think I’m on track with all my Christmas shopping and everything, so I’m not too worried. Some presents have already been bought and wrapped in preparation for putting them under the Christmas tree. There are more still to buy but in most cases, I have a good idea what I’m going to get, so I feel reasonably prepared as we draw closer to the festive season. As Once Confronted has just been released, this time of year is also phenomenally busy as I try and be everywhere […]

It’s almost the end of October and things are getting busy. All those end-of-year events seem to start in October. I had to be careful when scheduling the book launch for Once Confronted, as a few people had kids who were preparing for formals around that time, so were busy helping them get ready. Then there are the early Christmas parties and other end-of-year preparations, as there isn’t a lot of the year left. I work for Australian eBook Publisher, a self-publishing company, and we have also suddenly become very busy. I think some people are hoping to have their […]

How many authors do you know who have YouTube Channels? I know quite a few, although it still seems to be a rarity in some author circles. I’ve had my own channel for some time now, and every new book of mine that comes out provide the opportunity to upload more videos, as I have created book trailers for each of my books. I hear varying opinions on whether creating a book trailer is a worthwhile thing or not. Some people seem to think they’re a waste of time, others think they’re extremely useful. If nothing else, mine have been […]

This afternoon I held a book launch for Once Confronted. I hired a nearby church hall and went down in the early afternoon to get everything ready for the 2.00 pm start. It’s amazing how many things you need to take with you to an event like this. I needed a sign people could see from the street so they could see where to turn into the car park. I needed another sign to point people to the right building. I put up posters and blurbs and book review quotes for all my books, with food and drink enough to […]

Once Confronted is out now! It was released this weekend and I’ve already held an online launch. The local launch is next weekend. To celebrate its release, I thought I’d tell you the story behind it. It’s a little long, but I hope you can get through to the end. 🙂 On Saturday 20th April 1991 I was working alone in a bookstore. I had objected to working by myself, as I was worried that something might happen. However, I was told that I would not be allowed to work at night by myself but that nothing would happen in […]

Getting a book launch together requires a lot of organisation, not just for things like choosing a location, catering, sending out invitations, etc, but what to do at the book launch itself. Given that the online launch of Once Confronted is now only a week away, and the local release is only two weeks away, I have been doing a lot of brainstorming as I seek ideas of what to do at each launch. The online launch has to consist of things that can be seen on social media. Fortunately, I’ve had a bevy of author friends who have given […]