Baggage limit? But there are books to buy!
How can a travelling author be given a baggage weight limit when there?are?books to buy? Lots of books. Plus lots of amazing new book shops to visit, not to mention literary museums and quirky stationery shops! And when one location?turns out to be the very setting and inspiration the?author?was searching … Read More
The BIG Question in your Novel?
The first time I was asked: “What is the big question in your novel?” I responded with a blank look. BIG question??? Hmm! Hadn?t really thought about a BIG question. I was just writing what I hoped was a cracker of a story and following my main character’s journey through … Read More
Not All Writers are Born, Some are Made in Writing Courses
I find the current TAFE arts funding cuts and fee increases so sad and disappointing. Fifteen years ago, I drove past a sign down on the Mornington Penninsula with a screaming headline, DO YOU WANT TO BE A WRITER? Yes, yes, yes, I had always wanted, dreamed, aspired to be … Read More
A bookshop worth travelling for – the iconic Shakespeare and Company!
Stepping into one of the most iconic bookshops in the world is an almost holy moment, whether you’re religious or not. And a visit to Shakespeare and Company was one of my ?must-dos? during my research trip to Paris. Shakespeare and Company bookshop has existed in Paris in two forms; … Read More
Dumb Economy – What are we doing to our libraries and librarians?
Good grief, people. I’m dismayed. A trip to my local library?and they’ve installed an automatic book checkout. What the…? What is the world coming to? I can understand auto checkouts in hotels. I’ll even say (after my initial refusal to use them) that auto checkouts at the supermarket can be … Read More
Reading to Write
I?ve recently read two marvellous though very different books.? Both shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award, one in 2010 The Book of Emmett by Deborah Forster, and the second a current contender Bereft by Chris Womersley. Almost all of my reading over the past three years has focused on either … Read More