Posted on 26/02/2019 by Jenn J McLeod — 2 Comments

Look who’s reading my novel!

It’s Sally from McLeod’s daughters.

I know I should be acting professional and super cool as if having your novel turned into an audiobook is as natural as breathing. But it’s not. It’s just not. It’s an amazing feeling to hear your work read back with such passion and emotion. Hearing a narrator of Kathryn’s calibre, and the amazing job she does bringing each character to life makes me the happiest writer on the planet.

Boxed CDS of Mp3

Kathryn Hartman

As I listen to Ava and John’s story, I’m not sure which is stronger: my joy, my immense pride, or the childish buzz making me giggle and hit replay at all my favourite bits. (And there are a lot of them!)

I thought writing multiple points of view in a story over 140,000 words was a tough gig. I never thought about the narrator’s task.

As a character, Ava is complex and even though her story spans thirty years, Kathryn portrays her brilliantly and with heart. Nina is sassy and smart and makes me laugh, while John…? Oh John, John, I love him so. But bring in Blair…! What a gem! I laughed and laughed and loved every scene with Nina.

With all those characters, plus Ava’s Italian dad, Marco, was not difficult enough for the narrator, I had to throw in a wise, old Italian woman. Dear Sonya comes across so perfectly; I may have to write more books featuring Italian mamas.

Kathryn told me, when it comes to narrating, she always feels equal parts privilege and fear, just hoping she tells the story as the author intended.

Having recorded the work of many talented writers, including Nicole Alexander, Karly Lane and Sandie Docker, Kathryn said she also feels very fortunate. “What an amazing, gifted group of friends you are!”

But my favourite feedback was this: “Jenn, you should be so proud of ‘A Place to Remember’. You have written a beautifully unique story of love, with wonderfully developed characters and heart touching emotional insight. There were many places that both myself and the engineer had to stop recording just to catch our breath.”

That is music to any author’s ears.

Now… Are you ready to relax and listen? Enjoy 14 hours and 9 minutes of fabulous storytelling? Narrated by Kathryn Hartman (words by yours truly).
Listen On iTunes
Listen On Google Play
Listen On Audible (Amazon) – Hear an extract for free!

Buy the CDs at Booktopia and NookAudio

Library lovers – you’d be doing me a great favour by requesting your local library make either the CD of the Mp3 version available to borrowers. (Available through Wavesound Audio)

Do you remember Sally Clements, in McLeod’s Daughters? Wife to Nick (Myles Pollard).

NOW do you understand my excitement? I’m slowly ticking McLeod characters off my bucketlist, too.

With Bridie Carter, Herd of Hope, Bondi Bech 2018

With Aaron (Alex) and creator and mate, Posie

I am, after all, The Lost McLeod’s Daughter. But you all know that already, right? Here I am sharing Christmas with the gang, and yes, look closely and you’ll see I am legless – literally! *wink*

BTW – I announced this in my newsletter, but if you’re not signed up you will have missed out on lots more news, including the first big book giveaway — a giant 100 book raffle to be drawn in March.

It’s not too late. Sign up at the top of this page (on the right) and I’ll add you to the list.

I’m going back to listen to my book!

Posted on 31/10/201631/10/2016 by Jenn J McLeod — 2 Comments

Author, Nicole Alexander, writes a letter to her 29 y.o. self

To 29 year-old Nicole,

I’m on the precipice of making a life altering decision without even knowing it. Having just arrived back in Sydney after working in Singapore for three years, I’m excited. I’m grateful for my ex-pat experiences but super pleased to be back in Australia. I’ve been offered a marketing role with the National Trust. It sounds like a really good position in an area I’ve always had a huge interest in, Australian history and genealogy. And I love Sydney. It’s a buzzy place and I have lots of friends here and some family. It seems like a new beginning and I’m ready for it. The only regret I have is that it’s not the bush where I grew up.

Two weeks before I’m due to commence work, the telephone rings. It’s my father. We talk about the bush and our properties, the earliest of which were settled by my great-grandfather in 1893. When dad asks if I’ve ever thought about coming to home to be involved in the family business, instead of being custodian of someone else’s history, I’m already back there in big sky country.

It’s a rash decision, but I’m packing up my Paddington terrace and shipping my belongings 810 kilometres northwards. My Sydney based sister is like, what the ….. . My friends in shock. My mother, worried about my coming home to live in an isolated environment after eight years in big cities.

If I hadn’t been so keen to go home to the station I may well have given a little more thought to what I was letting myself into. Forget MacKellar’s ‘droughts and flooding rains’, the outback isn’t that romantic. It’s tough and it’s hard for a young inexperienced woman to fit in when you’re working with a team of men, even if you are the boss’s daughter. If I’d known then that I’d have to carve a place for myself on the property, that I would eventually learn how to do everything, that it was necessary to do these things to earn respect, both from my co-workers and for my own sense of achievement, that there was a large gender bias towards women working in the field, that I would end up managing such a huge business, that I would fall off bikes, be smashed against yards by cattle… well, I probably would have said no.

But I didn’t know, and in not knowing I seized the opportunity and have never regretted it…. Except when I’ve been in pain!

Good for me

With love and Panadol, from my much older and wiser self! nx

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Nicole Alexander is a part-time grazier and author. Her 7^th novel, River Run is out now.

Website: http://www.nicolealexander.com.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorNicoleAlexander

[bctt tweet=” What advice does author @AuthorNicole give her 29 y.o self? #LetterToMyself https://www.jennjmcleod.com/blog/a-letter-to-myself-author-list” username=”jennjmcleod”]

To leave a comment: you need to scroll the to very bottom of this page (damn WordPress theme!) And thank you for doing so.

To see the list of authors taking part in this letter-writing blog series: CLICK

Wanting to honour the lost art of letter writing through this blog series, I also opened my fourth novel with a character writing a letter. And not just any letter. It’s a story — perhaps the most important he’ll ever tell.

The Other Side of the Season

Life is simple on top of the mountain for David, Matthew and Tilly until the winter of 1979 when tragedy strikes, starting a chain reaction that will ruin lives for years to come. Those who can, escape the Greenhill banana plantation on the outskirts of Coffs Harbour. One stays—trapped for the next thirty years on the mountain and haunted by memories and lost dreams. That is until the arrival of a curious young woman, named Sidney, whose love of family shows everyone the truth can heal, what’s wrong can be righted, the lost can be found, and . . . there’s another side to every story. For more books: CLICK

Posted on 01/05/201511/12/2016 by Jenn J McLeod — 5 Comments

Dear reader…

As I pat another book on the bottom and send it out into the world to fend for itself, I want to say thank you.

I feel privileged to have my third novel on the shelf alongside so many wonderful Australian fiction books. Thank you for buying Australian.

But I have a confession…

While a ‘mother’ does not pick favourites, it might be…might…that Season of Shadow and Light is the book I really, really like (maybe even more than the others).

Hang on a minute! In saying that, House for all Seasons was my first, and firsts are special – right? (That’s what my big sister told me while growing up!) And Simmering Season was the book that will forever remind me of Mum (the nursing home scenes in particular). So how can I not love that one?

But Season of Shadow and Light is special for different reasons, and even a little personal. Following on with the family theme of this post, it is the third book published and I was the third child!

More importantly this novel is also a story about love…

Different kinds of love. And as I always say:

“People are people, parents are parents, family is family, love is love.”

And this fictional family needs saving in more ways than one, so I hope you enjoy Paige’s journey, as well as Alice’s very special love story, some thirty years earlier.

Will this story raise a few eyebrows? I thought it might. But the positive reviews keep coming and, hopefully, and I’m hopeful Shelleyrae, at Book’d Out, is on the mark with this gem:

“Jenn J McLeod is an author for all seasons and all readers.”

I truly believe the pen is mightier than the sword and fiction is a powerful way to start a conversation. Acceptance often comes from understanding so it can be that through our stories, authors can provide readers with a safe place to explore and appreciate social differences. I hope Alice’s story achieves that in some small way.

Another thing I enjoy about writing is the camaraderie of the Australian author network. If you enjoy my small town stories, why not make it a point to read more Aussie authors? I support the Australian Women Writers Challenge.

People I can’t do without…

In my ‘thank you’ at the back of this book, you’ll find some author names — my network of writer friends keep me in check, let me try out ideas, and inspire me. Whatever the contribution (large or small), my thanks go to them all, especially Nicole Alexander, Fiona Gregory (Green), Shannon Garner, and my Simon and Schuster Musketeers—Karen M. Davis and Anna Romer. A shout-out, too, to Kate Belle’s daughter (who comes up with some amazing Little Miss conversations), and Helen Lacey for sharing Santo, the wall-eyed Pinto.

You will have noticed that my novels sometimes draw on the works and sayings of the wise and wonderful, quoting some while being inspired by others. In Season of shadow and Light I acknowledge the works of A.B. (Banjo) Patterson, Elyne Mitchell (The Silver Brumby) and Anna Sewell (Black Beauty). Also to Vivienne Green, thank you for your saying, which I do try to live by:

‘Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.’

And to L. Frank Baum for lending me Toto, the little white dog. And to United Productions of America, the creators of the Mr Magoo cartoon character—although my Banjo is a complete opposite to the near-sighted, bumbling retiree, it was fun reliving my child-hood while reimagining a real life Mr Magoo.

Early reviews, like this one, have thrilled me:

“ . . . an intensely powerful read, exploring the topics of love and trust whilst simultaneously exposing the effects and depths of deception and betrayal within families and communities. Not one to mince her words, McLeod tells this story in a no-holds-barred manner that leaves the reader with absolutely no doubt as to the importance of the story, it’s characters, and the lessons we can all learn from having read it. Five stars and marking this one as a Must Read!” J’aimee Brooker (AusRom Today)

These early weeks are a nerve-wracking time for any author. So, dear reader, your support and feedback is vital. Please, don’t be shy about contacting an author to let them know you enjoyed their stories.

YOU matter to us.

YOU matter to me.

And you can let me know what you thought any time:

Email: Here

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JennJMcLeod.Author

Twitter: @jennjmcleod

Simon and Schuster Publishers

The really important message that I hope comes through this story …

Please donate life. Consider organ donation and discuss with loved ones your wishes. Maybe do it now: www.donatelife.gov.au.

HAPPY RELEASE DAY TO ME!

*WIN – BOOK PACK GIVEAWAY

For your chance to WIN all THREE Jenn J McLeod novels* simply leave a comment below. From now until the end of May Jenn drops into some of her favourite author blogs to say hello to readers old and new. She’ll then collect the comment names from each author blog post, picking a lucky winner from one major draw and announcing the name end May on her blog. www.jennjmcleod.com

*Book Pack: House for all Seasons (#5 Top Selling Debut novel, 2013), Simmering Season, and Season of Shadow and Light. (Australian postal address only)

Winner announced here, end May.

Tag: Nicole Alexander