Hello world! This writing caper sure is a rollercoaster ride. Dizzying ups, such as the buzz of creating a new story, getting some positive feedback, an acceptance, a good review, an invite to speak at a festival or a gorgeous letter from a fan; followed by screaming, white-knuckled downs, such as a[…]

Hello world! I am a sucker for a good old inspirational quote. I think that’s why I  like Twitter – those short snippets of inspiration that slide through my feed make me smile and nod. They reaffirm. They motivate. And, well, inspire! This week I thought I would[…]

Hello world! It is no secret that I first fell in love with children’s literature when I was a young primary school teacher – and my first children’s lit crush was for picture books. Now many years on, with my children grown and me no longer teaching, I[…]

Hello world! It occurred to me the other day that if ASIO decided to check my recent internet search history, I might be brought in for “questioning” to “please explain”. I might even be a “person of interest”. In the past couple of weeks my search topics have ranged from[…]

Hello world! I’ve been working on the structural edit for my new middle grade novel. At times, it’s been tough. Other times, exhilarating. I’ve added a few new scenes and ramped up the drama. I’ve cut out one thread entirely. I’ve elaborated on some elements and pulled back on[…]

Hello world! Last week I wrote a post titled When writing is hard. With hindsight, I should probably have called it When writing is harder than normal. That might have been closer to the truth. Because, let’s be honest here: writing is rarely easy. As ole Ernest Hemingway so[…]

Hello, world! The past twelve months have confirmed one thing in particular for me: I really do love to write. Quite simply, I am at my happiest when I have an idea brewing or a story in progress. When I don’t, well, truth be told, I get a little grumpy. But[…]

Crack the champagne. Open the box of chockies. I’ve done it. Finally. When I left Walker – more than a year ago! – I made a long list of all the things I was going to do, now that I was going to have all this extra time on[…]