That question I used to dread... "So how's your book going?" is the type of question I used to/get a lot these days, but has been struggling to answer for a while. "Which one?", as in "Which one are you referring to" has been my first reaction response ever since my 2018-debut-to-be WHAT THE WOODS KEEP sold to Imprint Macmillan in 2016 (along with my book # 2, OASIS). I've been evasive in my responses, true, but only because it takes energy and time to explain the difference between 'I have a book contract' to 'I am a published author/You can buy/read my book NOW' to my friends, family and an army of acquaintances curious about the status of my writing career but not involved in the publishing in any way themselves. The truth is, it can take years for a book to be published. Factors affecting the book publishing process are many and, guess what, they are rarely in your control. When I first signed with my agent, she ask...

Back in August, I got an email from NaNoWriMo (that's National Novel Writing Month ) organizers, inviting me to guest-blog for them. The theme was writing tips and/or motivation, but it was open to interpretation. I quickly said 'yes, please' (that's my usual tactic where writing is concerned) and got to work. The use of visuals for inspiration and motivation emerged as a topic for me to write about and NaNoWriMo folks liked my pitch. So here's me reblogging this piece (all images are licensed under Creative Commons and you can find details in image captions on the original posting available here ). I'd like to thank NaNoWriMo for reaching out and for running my guest-post on their blog. Can a picture inspire a thousand words? Can a picture inspire a thousand words? NaNoWriMo investigates the power of images in our writing lives. Author Katya de Becerra describes how using an image board brought her novel’s setting to life: For me, a book begins...

Swinburne Writers Festival opened yesterday with a symposium on Teaching Writing and Editing in collaboration between Swinburne University of Technology and The Wheeler Centre.  One of the Festival’s largest panels – What Makes a Good Story – brought together Dr Carolyn Beasley , Dr Jacqueline Ross and Larry Schwartz , and was moderated by Nicholas  Brasch . The panel also featured a ‘mystery guest’ volunteer from the audience (this was a nice touch). The panel was gender and genre balanced.  Nicholas led the discussion before inviting further questions from the audience.  Here are some insights I took away from the panel – arranged by the questions the panellists were asked.     What film/book would you take with you to an uninhabited island? Both Carolyn and Larry would take either a ‘How To Build A Boat’ or ‘How To Survive on a Deserted Island’ volume with them, because they do not wish to stay on this island forever. Se...

I have the best of news to share! After an on-again off-again search for literary representation for my young adult fiction, I have now signed with the wonderful Amy Tipton from the Signature Literary Agency . I’m still up in the clouds in reaction to Amy’s enthusiasm for my book. From the very first email exchange we had, I’ve been blown away by Amy’s friendliness, professionalism and, again, enthusiasm! I’ll be blogging about my writing/publishing journey as things happen and as I’m allowed to reveal those things, but for now I can say that I’ve been busy polishing my manuscript to make sure it’s at its best. You can read some recent interviews with Amy here , here and here . Some backstory I’ve been writing short fiction and slipstream poetry since my early teens (though mostly not in English). During my exchange year in California I made my first serious detour into creative writing in English, but it wasn’t until 2011 that I attempted (and completed...