It’s a real delight to introduce Meg Caddy, an up-and-coming Australian writer whom I mentored back when she was a high school student. Meg was already a passionate and dedicated writer then, with a remarkable work ethic for someone of her age. It wasn’t only her talent that impressed me, but her willingness to listen to critique and to re-draft over and over in an effort to improve her work. [...]
I recently had the pleasure of reading Alison Goodman’s new novel, Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club, a heady and highly original blend of Regency romance and dark fantasy. I think this novel, and the sequels to come, is going to appeal to a very wide readership, as it combines meticulous research with great pacing and strong characterisation. And of course, there’s the uncanny element, which sometimes verges on [...]
In this post I'll introduce you to two very special members of my canine family. As I mentioned in my first doggy post, for several years I was a foster carer for a rescue group. I've ended up with my own small pack of rescues, several of whom stayed with me because they were too old, sick or behaviourally challenged to be re-homed. Sometimes, of course, it's just love at [...]
I met British writer Margaret Skea at last year’s Historical Novel Society Conference in London, when we both stayed in the student accommodation at Marylebone Hall. Margaret is an award-winning writer of both short fiction and historical novels. Her new book, A House Divided, a sequel to Turn of the Tide, was released last month. I was delighted when Margaret agreed to an interview. Margaret, congratulations on A House Divided [...]
Hi all and apologies for not posting more regularly. I am really under the pump work-wise just now with the manuscript for Blackthorn & Grim Book 3 due to be submitted by the (extended) deadline of late January, so I am not attending to my social media very well. I have done a recent interview with the lovely Anne Gracie for Word Wenches, where she and I discuss Dreamer's Pool, [...]
Pan Macmillan's Australian edition of Tower of Thorns will be officially released on October 3. I have a couple of public appearances coming up to mark the occasion. The US edition, a lovely hardback, comes out from Roc on November 3. Saturday October 3: Book Launch at Stefen's Books in Shafto Lane, Perth CBD starting at 11am. I will do a reading, answer questions and sign books. From around [...]
We're getting close to the release date for Tower of Thorns (Blackthorn & Grim book 2) and I'm excited to share the news that the audiobook edition from audible.com is now in production! Like Dreamer's Pool, Tower of Thorns has three characters who share the narration chapter by chapter. For the audiobook edition we have, again, Natalie Gold reading Blackthorn's chapters and Nick Sullivan reading Grim's chapters - in this [...]
I was delighted when Tasmanian author Prue Batten agreed to an interview to coincide with the release of her new historical novel, Tobias. Prue was formerly a journalist and now describes herself on her website as ‘a cross genre writer who is also a farmer, dog owner, gardener and embroiderer.’ Prue also enjoys cooking – no surprise, really, since both gardening and cookery involve the same alchemy as writing fiction [...]
September's book is Hear Me Roar, edited by Liz Grzyb and published by Ticonderoga. The subtitle is 17 Stories of Real Women and Unreal Worlds. As the editor says in her introduction, the anthology features ‘the stories of women who, every day, need to be strong and brave in many different ways that aren’t always recognised as such.’ I love the fact that these stories are not all about warrior [...]
How do you decide which point of view to use when writing a story – first person, third person, a combination, or something else like a diary, letters, or even second person? How do you know which will work best for your particular story? The reader who raised this question asked me whether I deliberately chose first person for my young adult books (the Wildwood and Shadowfell books) because it [...]
