Posted on 15 Comments

I’m The Next Big Thing apparently!

TNBTBanana
Okay, I know this Next Big Thing thing is BIG, and even though I’m fond of my town emblem, the banana is probably NQR. (Oh, anyone familiar with edits will know those letters stand for ‘Not Quite Right’. And I should know as I am mid-edits for the very first time. NQR is now tattooed on my brain!)
So what is Next Big Thing?
It’s a kind of online chain letter (and who am I to break the chain, given we are two days out from the next Apocalypse).
Sara Foster (who took part in my Author Harvest blog – delightful woman) tagged me as part of The Next Big Thing. I get to tell you about my current book (see Q&A below) and then I drag tag four unsuspecting, gullible, naive, lovely, supportive, generous writer friends: Allison Tait, Cate Ellink, Kerrie Paterson and Lily Malone to do the same. Then we promote each other to billy-o. (That’s okay as I am particularly keen for you to get to know these ladies. All three have debut novels due out next year, like me. 🙂
So, without further excuses (or desperate measures to avoid this “Amway of the author network”) here goes…
1) What is the working title of your current/next book?
House for all Seasons – my debut novel – will be available March 1, 2013. The Simmering Season will follow 12 months later. (Both perfectly timed for Mother’s Day).
2) Where did the idea come from?
See inspiration answer – Q9
3) What genre does your book fall under?
Contemporary Australian fiction (and I love the tag line on my gorgeous cover “Small towns can keep big secrets”)
4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
Oooh, what an exciting thought! Four strong females. Too easy…
Cute as a button Abbey Cornish (Sara), Tall, lanky kick-arse Cate Blanchett (Poppy), fiery, feminine and fabulous Nicole Kidman (Amber), all-around good egg, Toni Collette (Caitlin).
5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Four women, four unravelled lives. The truth will bind them forever. (Okay, so that’s two sentences. (Yes, I am author. I recognise that! But it’s my blog.)
6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
The delightful Clare Foster (Curtis brown Literary Agency) sold my two books to the amazing Larissa Edwards, who heads up publishing at Simon & Schuster, Australia.
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft?
The first draft (50,000) words was courtesy of NaNoWriMo 2010.
8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I am influenced and encouraged by different books for the authors specific styles/strengths: Lisa Heidke’s witty dialogue; Posie Graeme-Evans’ stunning scene-setting, Sara Foster’s wicked weaving of plots and characters; Monica McInerney’s eclectic cast and clever characterisation; the mischievous Marian Keyes for the giggle factor, and Jodi Picoult’s tackling of real-life issues.
9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I remember it was early spring. I was sitting outside relishing the warmth on my face after a cold, cold winter and appreciating the different seasons we get to experience here in Australia.

The changing seasons inspire me. I love the contrast – and contrast makes for great characters and conflict. So I wanted to create four female characters as different as the seasons.

10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?
Why, the blurb – of course!

Bequeathed a century-old house, four estranged friends return to their New South Wales hometown, Calingarry Crossing, where each must stay a season at the Dandelion House to fulfil the wishes of their benefactor, Gypsy.

But coming home to the country stirs shameful memories of the past, including the tragic end-of-school muck up day accident twenty years earlier.

Poppy, a tough, ambitions journo still craving her father’s approval;

Sara, a breast cancer survivor afraid to fall in love;

Amber, a spoilt socialite addicted to painkillers and cosmetic procedures;

Caitlin, a third generation doctor frustrated by a controlling family and her flat-lining life.

At the Dandelion House, the women will discover something about themselves and a secret that ties all four to each other and to the house – forever.

So here we are. The Next Big Thing is done and dusted. Quite painless (although maybe I haven’t got it quite right as I think I’ve been double tagged with Pamela Cook in the new year. But that’s okay. Looking forward to it.)
Over to you fellow DIGRITS: Lily, Kerrie and Cate.
Posted on 11 Comments

Author Harvest ‘bales up’ Loretta Hill

Hi Loretta, let’s start by telling me if it’s scones and tea or some other homemade delight you have whipped up for me today!!!!! 🙂
As you can see, three of my kids are running around like blue arsed flies and the baby has been screaming all morning, so I haven’t had time to bake. Actually, I haven’t had time for breakfast yet. Feel like a bowl of cereal with me?

(Hmmm, feeling a little Fruit Loopy, actually.)

At home… 
My mum says garden gnomes make a house a home! Are you loud and proud in your love of garden gnomes at home, a closet gnomer or with a strict ‘no gnomes’ policy at your place?
I have no gnomes. Actually, the thought of getting some has never occurred to me. To be honest they kind of creep me out. I have no idea why. Maybe I’ve seen too many horror movies where inanimate objects come to life. An evil dwarf running around with a shovel scares the hell out of me!

(Hmm, okay, did NOT need that image! *cue scary music*)

What vegetable (or fruit) have you always wanted to grow at home?
Hmmm… well I love avocados. I would love to have them on tap in my garden but I’ve heard they’re pretty hard to grow. As I’m definitely an amateur gardener I think I would be wiser to practice with something that doesn’t take as much watering or maintenance – like a cactus.

(Avocados are easy. You need a male and a female and … voila! A happy ever after! You’re good at those :))

If I came to your home and looked in the refrigerator, what would I find?
First of all, please don’t! My fridge needs a clean out. It’s a jungle in there. My family tends to show love through food. And for some reason, can’t think what, they all think I’m struggling with the kids and everything. So whenever someone comes to visit which is almost daily – (I have three sisters and a mum who lives just up the road) they bring something. You’ll find currently in my fridge… half a mud cake, half a casserole, half a pot of curry, a tub of fried noodles, a lunch box of tuna fish sandwiches, a take away container of chilli con carne and the list goes on…

(And I’m getting cereal?! Crack open that mud cake, Loretta! Sheesh!)

If you sorted your wardrobe by colour, what colour would stand out? (Ahh, do you sort your wardrobe by colour?!)
I tend to have a lot of natural shades. Ie. brown, beiges, whites, blacks, oranges and reds. But half my clothes don’t fit me at the moment. I’m sort of still trying to lose my pregnancy weight. I say, “still trying” because despite my rock hard willpower (kidding) it’s kind of hard getting on the exercise bike with one baby on the hip and another trying to cut it’s fingers off in the spokes of the wheels.

(Ouch!)

What are you wearing now? (Be honest!)
Pyjamas. When I said I hadn’t had breakfast yet, I probably should have mentioned I wasn’t dressed either. You don’t mind do you?

(No, but if you coud take the child currently sticking those same fingers in my Fruit loops…!)

Whose home would you like to housesit and why?
That’s a hard one. There isn’t a particular type of home that I want, unless you’re talking hillside mansion overlooking the beach with it’s own cleaning and cooking staff. Honestly, my sights really aren’t set that high. I’d just be satisfied with a house that had no toys in it. Not a single teddy bear, car, gun or push button singing machine that is supposed to teach your kids the alphabet but really just drives you insane. I think if I could just have a space, just for one day without a single laugh from the cookie monster, that would really clear my head space, which is a little cluttered. Can you tell?

(Gun? Maybe let the kid have the Fruit Loops!)

Country curiosities…

We love a sunburnt country (slip, slop, slap and all that). What’s your ideal hat? Or are you a boots person?
Well, last year I was a boots person 😉 But this year obviously it’s hats. A “Hard Hat” of course. Yes, this is going to turn into a shameless plug for my new book, out this month : The Girl in the Hard Hat. It’s about a woman called Wendy who comes to town to find the father who abandoned her at birth but gets a lot more then she bargained for. To be precise: Three hundred fifty men with an attitude problem and a bad boy called Gavin who won’t leave her alone. It’s packed with all the fun it’s predecessor, “The Girl in Steel-Capped Boots” had : lots of laughs and of course, a delicious spine tingling romance.
By the way, you can attach broad brims to hard hats if you’re out in the sun a lot. My heroine Wendy is not big on that though, she’s too busy worrying about cyclones rather than sun stroke.

(I have a book coming out in a month. Of course I love a shamless plug, Loretta, and that question was just for you!)

If you were a tree (or animal) what kind of tree (animal) would you be?
I’d be a bird. I’d love to fly.

Now for the big question… Why did the chicken cross the road?
Because the hot rooster on the other side winked at her.

(See? Happy ever after – as long as that wasn’t one of those monster mine truck that just … Uh-oh! 🙁 )

About you…

Your turning point: I remember my turning point with House for all Seasons (See? Shameless plug!) When was that point in your life that you realized that being an author was no longer going to be just a dream but a reality and a career?
I guess when my first book got accepted for publication. I realised that in achieving my goal, one journey had just finished and now I was beginning a new one. Getting published is definitely only chapter one in a career as a writer.

What is the hardest part of writing for you?
Starting a new book. I think it’s because I lack confidence in the story. When you first start you always think, “this is just rubbish” and you have to keep reminding yourself “Of course it’s rubbish. It’s the first draft.” And just push past that barrier till you start to get more comfortable with your new world.

If someone was to write your biography, what do you think the title should be?
Madness, Multi-tasking and Motherhood.

(Working title: Fruit Loopy and Fabulous ;))

What question have you always wanted to be asked in an interview? How would you answer that question?
My fantasy question would be: “Would you like nanny?”

My fantasy answer would be. “Yes, please. When can she start?”

(She? Come on, Loretta, this is fiction. Go the manny!)

Now… About “The Girl in the Hard Hat”

To tame a bad boy you will need:
a. One hard hat
b. Three hundred and fifty sulky FIFO workers
c. A tropical cyclone

Wendy Hopkins arrives in Wickham to search for the father who abandoned her at birth.
 She never expected to get mixed up in construction site politics at the Iron Ore wharf just out of town. But when she takes a job as their new Safety Manager she becomes the most hated person in the area. Nicknamed, “The Sergeant,” she is the butt of every joke and the prime target of notorious womanizer, Gavin Jones.
However, to solve the mystery of her past, she must persevere. Only she can save these workers from the coming storm, find a man who wants to stay buried and …put a bad boy firmly in his place.

Find out more about Loretta and her charming stories: www.lorettahill.com.au

Thank you Loretta and thank you readers.

If you enjoyed this (or if you want to know about my March 1 online launch fun – right here – subscribe to my blog and I will let you know what, when, where.

Posted on 22 Comments

Author Harvest ‘bales’ up Karly Lane

Hi Karly,

A ‘quick’ trip down the highway and here we are. Karly. Congratulations on rural romance book three — Bridie’s choice. Speaking of choice… Do I need to make one? Is it scones and tea or some other homemade delight you have whipped up today?

Photo: Marie Miller

Tim Tams… you can’t go wrong with Tim Tams…plus I don’t want to kill you with my cooking….

(And after reading some of your answers, below I am not going to complain. You join my list of ‘do not let this woman near a stapler’ people – right alongside Juliet Madison and Jaye Ford. Ouch!

A little Jenn fact: Karly Lane was the first person I saw demonstrate ‘The Tim Tam Slam’. Impressive!

Now, Karly, at home…

My mum says garden gnomes make a house a home! Are you loud and proud in your love of garden gnomes at home, a closet gnomer or with a strict ‘no gnomes’ policy at your place?

No gnomes here…no self-respecting garden gnome would set foot in this mad house!

What vegetable (or fruit) have you always wanted to grow at home?

Kiwi’s actually…and blueberries…

(Yum!)

If I came to your home and looked in the refrigerator, what would I find?

Depends if you’re fluent in species of mould .I’m pretty sure I’ve grown a whole new variety in the food in the back of my fridge.

(Ahh… not so yum!)

If you sorted your wardrobe by colour, what colour would stand out? (Ahh, do you sort your wardrobe by colour?!)

Oh you’re are a funny one, Jenn…sort!!!!! I’m lucky if my clothes get from the folding basket TO the wardrobe!

(I love that you call it a ‘folding’ basket rather than an ironing basket. LOL I have one of those too.)

What are you wearing now? (Be honest!)

Well thanks to the stupid weather we’re having at the moment, I have a combination of winter jeans, summer t-shirt and jumper…with thick socks..I look sexy 😉

(I know what you mean…. about the local weather, not so much about the looking sexy bit!!!)

Country curiosities…

We love a sunburnt country (slip, slop, slap and all that). What’s your ideal hat? Or are you a boots person?

I don’t do hats…but I love my boots.. bring on winter, I say! You can NEVER have too many boots!

If you were a tree (or animal) what kind of tree (animal) would you be?

A cat.. who had one of those ‘special’ owners who leaves the mansion to their pets in their will…I wouldn’t be a good stray…I need to belong to a rich person…yep, I think I could handle that.

Now for the big question… Why did the chicken cross the road?

Cause chooks are stupid. Obviously it saw something move in the wind and ran across to see if it was editable…well, that’s what my chooks would do anyway, despite the fact the greedy things have more chook food than they can eat right there on this side of the road…

About you…

Your turning point: when was that point in your life that you realized that being an author was no longer going to be just a dream but a reality and a career?

The day I saw my first book on a shelf.

(I remember that day too! I remembering buying the book and saying, “my friend wrote this”. Your 4PAN writer friends were all so excited for you. It’s lovely being a member of such a supportive bunch.)

What is the hardest part of writing for you?

Having the patience to work through a plot problem.

(That sounds like what I call ‘a black hole’. Nasty place.)

If someone was to write your biography, what do you think the title should be?

Memoirs of a Sex Goddess Housewife…

(With a ‘folding’ basket, a mould-filled fridge and not-so-sexy sock feet! Hmmm!)

What question have you always wanted to be asked in an interview? How would you answer that question?

Q. Are you really a Sex Goddess Housewife?

A. Why yes…yes I am.

(Cute!)

Fun stuff…

What does your protagonist think about you? Would he or she want to hang out with you, the author, his/her creator.

Of course…my characters want to remain alive in the sequel.

If I said to you, “Just entertain me for five minutes, I’m not going to talk,” what would you do?

I would attempt to cook you something…I’m told that’s pretty funny.

What food would you be?

I don’t think I’d like to be food…would kinda suck really…not much of a life expectancy is it?

(Unless you are in your fridge apparently!)

What was the best thing before sliced bread?

A really sharp bread knife.

Name 5 uses for a stapler that has not staple pins.

  1. a paper weight,
  2. a book mark,
  3. a bug killer,
  4. a weight to pin a spider in place till hubby comes home to kill it,
  5. for getting someone’s attention when the TV is too loud to hear you.

 (Crikey! I gather this is on a bad plotting day!)

How weird are you? Rate yourself on a scale of 1 (not) to 10 (very).

1 …I’m completely sane…everyone else is weird.

Tell us about your latest Allen and Unwin release 

Bridie’s Choice

Bridie Farrell and Shaun Broderick come from opposite sides of the tracks. But unlike Bridie’s family, who are perennial strugglers, the Brodericks are the wealthy owners of Jinjulu – one of the most prestigious properties in their local district.

All her life Bridie has longed to leave the small town she grew up in. But time afer time family responsibilities have kept her anchored there. Meanwhile, Shaun’s dream of taking over the management of Jinjulu is dashed by his dictatorial father who tries to rule Shaun’s life both on and off the farm.

The Brodericks are dismayed when Shaun falls in love with ‘that Farrell girl’, whom they deem unsuitable. And they don’t just make their feelings clear to Shaun but to Bridie as well.

Faced with a choice, Bridie must decide whether to turn her back on her heart or her dreams in order to make the biggest decision of her life…

From the author of the bestselling rural saga North Star and Morgan’s Law, this absorbing novel is about alternative destinies and the power of love.

While you’re here, why not leave a comment. Or subscribe to jennjmcleod.com to have future posts delivered to you inbox.

Thank you Karly and readers. http://karlylane.com

http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=651&book=9781743311608