Category: MY BOOKS

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Julia Gillard forces me to rewrite!

I’ve been joking lately that I need to get my latest ms published BEFORE Julia Gillard becomes PM because one of my fav scenes in the first chapter includes this:

You’ve made it.’ Max raised his glass to hers. ‘As of last night, she still has her nose firmly pressed against that glass ceiling — not you, Pop. I don’t doubt she’ll break through sometime soon but — ’
‘You know what? You men so piss me off.’ Poppy tried holding onto the growl stirring inside. ‘She’s Deputy Prime Minister for crying out loud. Does that not compute in your testosterone-fuelled brains that she’s made it already? Why is it not enough to be the best you can be? Why do we all have to win prime ministerial office or bloody awards to prove ourselves?’

Today Julia Gillard became Australia’s first female Prime Minister – and what a speech-maker. As a political speech and press writer some years ago, I obvioulsy did not understand the power of anaphora. But talk about anaphora overload.

OMG – I’m sitting here watching her press conference on TV just now and she just said:

“I didn’t set out to crash my head into any glass ceilings.”

Damn! Back to edits!!!!!

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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.