Bestselling Australian author
This is my latest knitting project – it’s a pretty baby jacket. I’ve never knitted a baby thing before, and there was a very good reason I suddenly had to knit this. As an author, I draw on real-life experiences in my stories and my characters. In real life – I travel a lot for…
Talking to other authors, particularly the top-selling authors, is a great way to learn. Not long ago, the fabulous Eloisa James spoke to a fascinated audience at the RNA meeting in London. Eloisa writes historical novels that are regulars in the New York Times bestseller lists – and I was ready to learn whatever she had…
I am totally thrilled to announce (drum roll, trumpet fanfare … etc) the second Coorah Creek novel – The Wild One. I know I say this about all my books – but I totally loved writing this book. It was great to re-visit the town and the characters from Flight To Coorah Creek – but…
I was writing when I heard the news that Terry Pratchett had died, and that made it even more heart-breaking. Is it wrong to cry on the death of someone you haven’t met? I don’t think so – and I am certain I was not alone in doing just that. We all knew it was…
It was magical! How often have we heard that said? People say it about special moments in their lives. About Christmas. And weddings. Birthdays and trips and even unplanned and unexpected moments. Just what do we mean by magical? A couple of weeks ago, magic was the topic of a fabulous workshop I attended, led…
I was going to blog this week about a big hole in the ground in Wales – but got diverted by the sad loss of Leonard Nimoy – universally known as Mr Spock. Spock was possibly my first great love – when I was about 11. Leonard Nimoy and the Star Trek creator Gene…
I recently travelled back in time about 200 years – into the heart of the industrial revolution. I explored the coal pits and the iron works and the factories that were part of that amazing period of history. I found it fascinating, inspiring and in many ways very moving. It was a story of great…
This week the RNA announced the shortlists for the Romantic Novel of the year awards. As the RNA website administrator, I spent a lot of time working with the shortlist images and uploading them for everyone to see. One thing that immediately struck me was the incredible diversity of the novels on that shortlist. Some…
There are times I really hate sex – literary sex, of course – what else? Everywhere I went this week, I was confronted with posters advertising the film version of 50 Shades of Grey. Not exactly unexpected, but it got me to thinking about sex in story-telling. To be honest up front, I haven’t read…
There it is – hovering in the top corner of my screen like some digital vulture. Do you see it on your screen too … the SEND button. I’ve recently sent a new book off to my lovely publisher. And am about to send my equally lovely editor the corrected pages of my soon-to-be-released second…