Riding the changes
Lucy Culliton still life, currently showing at the Mosman Art Gallery I was talking to a neighbour the other day whose close friend is a novelist. She was saying that her friend’s now given up writing...
View ArticleHappy New Year
My wishes for you, for a better 2015: To find even the tiniest way to follow your heart a bit more this year, and wishing you the courage to do so. Just more: more health, more love, more fulfilment,...
View ArticleRunning away with the circus
It being school holidays my friend Jess and I decided to take the smalls to Circus Factory at the Powerhouse Museum. We thought it might be more fun for them than us. How wrong we were! Wending our way...
View ArticleFive books worth reading
We’re in the process of packing up the house for renovation so I’ve spent the last two weekends culling furniture, clothes, crockery and – wowsers – about 100 titles from my bookshelves. It was either...
View ArticlePerfect, perfect song
Totally addicted to this new track by Florence + The Machine: “And with one kiss, you inspired a fire of devotion that lasts for twenty years. What kind of man loves like this? To let me dangle at a...
View ArticleThinking visually: behind the scenes at Major & Tom
Under the jacket, A Life in Frocks Pages from A Life in Frocks: a memoir It’s hard to imagine publishing a book that won’t allow me to use visual cues to get my message across. There’ll be a jacket...
View ArticleA few of my favourite things
TO READ: THE STORIED LIFE OF AJ FIKRY Bookish folk, this is for you. The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin is a perfect novel about a failing bookstore, its cranky owner, a perky sales rep...
View ArticleFeeding the book
Owl by Nathalie Lete Neil Gaiman calls it his ‘staring at the wall’ phase. Carrie Tiffany hosted a workshop at Faber Academy and described it as being like ‘a car without gas’. Kazuo Ishiguro writes...
View ArticleSome news
Early artist’s impression of one of the characters in Precious Things by my dear, talented friend, Jessica Guthrie Exciting news, which I can finally share with you lovelies! This was published in...
View Article8 lessons learned
Kathleen Turner in Romancing the Stone, aka me at my desk. Carrie Bradshaw we ain’t. I recently sent off the last big structural edit for Precious Things and it’s such a relief. It was the most fun...
View ArticlePutting imagination into (cover) images
Mood board for Precious Things HarperCollins is in the process of designing the cover for my first novel, Precious Things. I’m so excited to see it – it should be ready in the next few weeks, and...
View ArticleWriting groups and getting into character
An image to work from: my late 1800s, early 1900s character So I’ve joined a writing group. Our plan is to share a piece of writing – possibly a chapter, possibly a short passage – in the interim since...
View ArticleOne month to go…
In the midst of seemingly endless proofreads and edits it’s been easy to lose sight of the fact that the publication date for Precious Things is almost here. Just over a month until the book hits...
View ArticleThe path to publication: a timeline
Inspiration for an historical chapter in Precious Things: Anna May Wong in the 1930s One of the topics I’m always interested to hear other authors talk about is how their novel came to be published,...
View ArticleMerci Beaucoup
A little something to say thank you for following the blog. Click here for a free sampler of the prologue and first chapter of Precious Things, and here to pre-order the book from Booktopia. For more...
View ArticleHappy International Women’s Day
I write about women for women. Motherhood, marriage and career, as well as art and fashion; these are the themes that most intrigue me and are what I want to read about myself. Let’s face it, the only...
View ArticleCulture Street article
Do you follow Culture Street? It’s a great site featuring reviews of the latest films and books, recipes, giveaways and interviews. I’m thrilled to be featured as their April Author of the Month, and...
View ArticleCreating Characters that Matter
Is there any better time of the year in the book lover’s calendar than Sydney Writers’ Festival? It’s my favourite Sydney event; when authors, journalists and thinkers from around the world grace our...
View ArticleFairfax interview for SMH, The Age & Canberra Times
A few weeks ago I had a lovely chat with Canberra Times journalist Karen Hardy about writing Precious Things. Here’s the resulting article, which was syndicated across Fairfax newspapers last weekend:...
View ArticleAdventures in audio
We hear about people making big life changes all the time, but how do you know when you’re having an epiphany? In my experience, most lightbulb moments have been more like the faint glow that seeps in...
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