It’s been a while since I’ve had time to blog but I thought I’d better make time, especially now I’m getting back in the saddle, so to speak. In the middle of the celebrations for the fifth anniversary of The Heir’s release in June, I injured my hip to such an extent that I was hospitalised! Fortunately, the online marketing I’d planned was already organised, so it proceeded on its merry way while I convalesced. However, the hip problem had an unexpected snag that has proved difficult for someone who earns her living editing and tries to spend a good […]

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 […]

If everything goes well, Adele Jones, Jeanette O’Hagan and I will be attending Gold Coast Supanova in late April! 🙂 We had great fun when we went to ComicCon in September last year and enjoyed seeing everyone participating in cosplay and getting into the swing of it. We did our best to join in – I had a dress with stars on it (and a TARDIS) to lend a sci-fi theme to my costume, and I also wore my old wedding tiara to stand in for a crown, as is featured on the cover of book two in the Verindon […]

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 […]

I think I was born to be a story-teller. All my life I’ve loved story-telling in all its forms. The story can be mine or it can be someone else’s. It doesn’t matter. The enjoyment is in the telling. 🙂 It’s interesting as I look back on my life, as I can see how all the things I’ve learned along the way have helped me with my desire to be a story-teller. After all, if you want to be an author these days it’s not enough just to be able to tell stories, you also have to be a marketer […]

You’d think that after six years, I’d be over it. I first submitted The Heir to Wombat Books in 2011. I was terrified of rejection and worried they would say the book was crap. Fortunately, they didn’t, although it still needed a lot of work, which we gave it until its ultimate release in 2013. Yet here I am, about to submit my latest manuscript to my publisher, and I’m terrified of what they’re going to say. I worked on Raydon’s Muse for most of last year and managed to finish it in December. Since then, I have been going […]

During the week, the book trailer for Once Confronted was completed. Here it is, in case you missed it: Making trailers for books is still a relatively new thing and I don’t think a lot of authors do them. So far, all my books have had trailers, with The Heir having two, bringing the total of the trailers I’ve got for my books to five. They’re fun to make, although they take a lot of effort. Just finding a basic idea for the trailer can be tricky, and then you’ve got to work out content, sequence and music, all the […]

It was a mammoth effort but we did it. The cover of Once Confronted has been finalised. Hooray! I’d like to thank all those people who voted on the two different cover options that my publisher put up on her Facebook page. You can see the post here. For a while, both covers were neck and neck, before the second cover pulled away and won with more votes. It was great to see so many people involved in the process and it was a big help. I preferred the other cover and was unsure about the second, mainly because I […]

Last week I talked about fonts and how they can often make or break the cover of a book. But there are a lot of elements to a cover, and the font is only one of them. I think the most contentious point I’ve seen relates to the cover image. Should the author try and find a photo (or have one taken) that shows the characters in the book? For some, this might seem a no-brainer. However, I’ve encountered numerous readers who detest images of characters on the covers of books. The ones I’ve spoken to believe it prevents them […]

During my time as an author I’ve discovered just how difficult it can be to get book covers right. They should be clear and represent the story within its pages, although there are various different ways that can be achieved. The cover of my debut novel, The Heir, definitely has its lovers and haters. We’ll soon be working on the cover of Once Confronted, and I think we’ve got an idea of where we’re going with it, but I’m sure there will still be a bit of to-ing and fro-ing with it. One of the most important things to get […]