From Hook To Book

Apr
25

Best (Poetry Comp.) Advice I’ve ever had…

    “The more unique your perspective, the better your chances of success…”   skb     [Image: Night view – beneath the Eiffel Tower © Chris Bell]

Apr
25

Eiffel Tower Perspectives
Apr
21

Character Tracking: Help, two of my characters are missing?

Where do characters go between chapters when they don’t appear in those chapters? Are they standing just off-stage? It seems a couple of mine nipped completely out of sight (and mind) and one forgot to come back at all. Problem was they didn’t even send a post card? Or wave … Read More

Apr
13

Writing a novel is easy as baking a cake, isn’t it?

It’s been so, so long since I baked a cake, but with a special friend (and great baker) visiting on short notice last week, I thought, why not? Of course, I can bake a cake. I used to whip up a teacake, an hour before playgroup, without using the recipe. … Read More

Apr
04

Young Writers’ Resources

Last week I ran a Show Don’t Tell Creative Writing workshop for a fabulous group of year nine elective students. I was thrilled to see them blossom from shy at sharing and writing to becoming fully engaged and those pens flew across their notebooks. I promised to check out some … Read More

Mar
28

Writing Stages

Writing a novel consists not only of multiple layers of story, characterisation and meaning, but varying phases of actual writing and enjoyment. I’m at the bum-on-seat stage, working through my LONG Excel list of “fix ups”, cross checks, rewrites, rethinks, research chase-ups and rewriting the rewrites. Some of this stage is step-by-step … Read More

Mar
21

Charlotte Brontë and Me – Publishing then and now

I’m reading Charlotte Brontë Selected Letters (Oxford University Press 2010). It’s reassuring to learn that Charlotte and her sisters went through many of the same travails to get their work published as we face today. They even had to make up pseudonyms and change their sex to be taken seriously. … Read More

Praise for No Small Shame

Christine Bell’s No Small Shame is impossible to put down. Her writing is wonderful, wise and empathetic. No Small Shame is a masterful debut novel, and an excellent addition to Australia’s historical fiction genre. Full review.

- Better Reading

Bell’s evocation of setting is an outstanding feature of the novel. Her social and physical landscapes of the years 1909 to 1919 are vivid with sensory and historical colour. Full Review.

- Westerly Magazine

Once I started reading No Small Shame, I could not stop. I was utterly swept up by Mary’s story and her refusal to settle for the life she is expected to lead.

- Kate Mildenhall, Author (The Mother Fault, Skylarking)

This is a novel of darkness and hope, full of insight, and written beautifully, with intelligence and sensitivity. A wonderful debut … Full review.

- Robyn Cadwallader, Author (The Anchoress, The Book of Colours)

Be prepared to be transported into the past, to be caught up in a slice of Aussie history but, mostly, swept away in a completely relatable and beautifully told tale that will move and, in the end, fill you. Outstanding. Full review.

- Karen Brooks - Author (The Chocolate Maker's Daughter, The Darkest Shore ...)

An absorbing, convincing and heartbreaking picture of a woman trapped in an impossible marriage. I ached for Mary and grew to love the defiant spirit shining through her doubts and fears.

- Jane Sullivan, Literary Critic and Author (Storytime, Little People)

Mary O’Donnell’s journey to self-awareness will have you turning the pages until the heartbreaking climax.

- Lauren Chater, Author (The Lace Weaver, Gulliver's Wife)

Mary’s compelling journey and her indomitable spirit are heartbreaking, moving and inspirational. This novel is a well-researched examination of the roles and rights of women at that time, the struggles and discrimination they faced, the hardships they were expected to endure and the small victories they celebrated, often silently.  Full review.

- Cass Moriaty, Author (The Promise Seed, Parting Words)

No Small Shame is a beautiful and inspiring story about female power. Christine Bell gives us a brilliant story of female heroism and shows us that women are capable of much more than we could ever really know. Full review.

- Courtney Dyer, TheBookSlut.com

Compelling and addictive. … a rich and absorbing experience. Full Review.

- Angela Wauchop: Backstory History Journal

What distinguishes the novel is its rich characterization. Each character in this carefully drawn work lifts off the page, evoking our enduring interest and empathy.

- Nadine Davidoff, Freelance Book Editor

An epic tale of a woman who finds her voice and ultimately, her agency. Meticulously researched, ambitious in scope and compelling in realisation.

- Christine Balint, Author (Salt Letters, Ophelia's Fan)

My heart hurt, my heart soared, and I was left thinking about the amazing women who paved the way for women today. Full review.

- BJs Reviews

No Small Shame is an important reminder of how far we have come in Australia … and how much we need to protect. It is a story crafted with great empathy – and immense believability. Full Review.

- Dr Wendy Dunn, author/poet (Dear Heart, How Like You This? Falling Pomegranate Seeds: The Duty of Daughters)

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