Category: House for all Seasons

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Life Imitates Arts Cruelly Sometimes

Oscar Wilde said, “Life imitates art, more than art imitates life“.  I wish it did so we could all get our happy ever after.

You may have read an earlier blog about my latest work-in-progress House for all Seasons.

I’ve based one of my four female characters – a breast cancer survivor – on a wonderful woman called Pam Leicester. (Pam and I once made a pretty good team, winning a national road safety award for our NRMA Young Driver Education program.)
I worked with Pam through her initial diagnosis, through surgery, then Chemo. She was inspirational. In my novel, my character’s courage and determination to get through her ‘bucket list’ comes from my memories of Pam.

Sadly, I heard Pam (she’s the shorty in the pic) lost her almost ten-year battle last week. It was the day before her 45th birthday.

As a writer, through Sara’s character, I can at least give Pam the happy ever after she deserved.

Always remembered.

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I did it!

What an amazing experience!

What the NaNoWrMo process has done is really brought that elusive ‘voice’ out in my writing. I did a basic outline at the end of October and talked about the idea with my writing buddy. Then, on November 1st, I started typing my new ms–House for All Seasons. Thirty days later I have a begining, a middle and an end. I love it! Here’s a sneak peak:

House For All Seasons
Former friends–Poppy Hamilton, Sara Fraser, Amber Bailey-Blair & Caitlin Wynter–haven’t seen each other since high school when a terrible muck-up day accident divided them, eventually driving them away from the small Australian country town of their childhood–Calingarry Crossing.

Now thirty-something, the women are surprised to receive instructions from trust company called Madgick & Associates. In order to qualify for an inheritance, the women need to spend a designated season each in the old Calingarry Crossing estate–the Dandelion House.

They have no idea how the season will change each of their lives.

Written in four parts–Tall Poppy, Surviving Summer, Amber Leaves and Wynter’s Way–going back home turns out to be just the magic each of them need.

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Remembering a time

I have a fascination with 11:11 whenever I see it on a digital clock. It’s amazing how many times I will look at the time for no real reason and there it is – 11:11.
I’m not sure when it started or why. Since I am a believer in old souls and new lives, I tend to think something significant must have happened in a former life (or if you are a Flash Forward fan at present, maybe something will happen at 11:11 in the future).
I must be thinking about this now because it’s 11/11/09 – a time to remember.
Speaking of remembering a time, I am trying to remember the time reference in relation to the dandelion – not the yellow flower, but the fairy wand, the gossamer ball stage of the plant. As kids, didn’t we used to blow on it to tell us the time or something????
Anyway, in my current novel (in my fictional town of Calingarry Crossing) I am thinking of having the characters refer to the old estate as the Dandelion House. (The old lady who once lived there made herbal treatments and dandelion tea.) Up until now I have called it Magpie House, but I fear that name sits cringe-worthy alongside crikey, g’day and where the bloody hell are you.)
While to many the dandelion is a pain in the **** weed, I remember a yellow hill of flowers when I was young (on my uncles farm in Bute, SA). It looked amazing, especially when the flower heads did a little Mexican wave in the breeze. I also think maybe the time reference (whatever it was) might fit with my story.
If anyone remembers how it worked, pls let me know.