-
Music for the muse
When I write, I must listen to music. My inner muse demands it. Without music, she refuses to create. While writing the draft of my latest book, Blood Secret, I listened to one song on repeat for the months it took. One song, one book. It was the same with my first book, Forgotten Blood (coming later this year). Though I needed a different song for that book. Amen, by Enigma was this book’s song. It wasn’t the images in the video that inspired me, I didn’t watch the video. It wasn’t the words in the song, I was too immersed in the words emerging as I typed. It was…
-
COVID-19 uncertainty and the negative impact it can have on creativity
Stay at home. That’s the chant governments across the globe are sending out to their citizens. Social distancing is the best defence we have against COVID-19, and it’s proven to work. But social distancing isn’t the only part of this pandemic, there are many other impacts; economic, social, and mental. Let’s focus on just one, the effect uncertainty has on creativity. While trying times and forced isolation may have been productive for Shakespeare, not everyone can funnel fear and uncertainty into their creative works. I’m a pure introvert, so you’d think staying at home more would be a dream come true. All that extra time to write, right? But I’m…
-
What is the difference between Urban Fantasy and Fantasy?
“Speculative Fiction” is a wide umbrella term that includes many sub-genres, including horror, science-fiction and fantasy. Urban fantasy is a sub-genre that evolved from fantasy. Up until the 1990’s, bookstores didn’t really know where to put these books – they weren’t horror, and they certainly weren’t fantasy. With the growing popularity of authors such as Laurell K. Hamilton and Kim Harrison, the genre soon got its own section in the bookstore. A section that rivalled the more traditional fantasy. Despite some overlapping similarities, urban fantasy and fantasy offer readers two completely different experiences. Let’s take a very quick look at the similarities and differences. Both genres tend to have the…
-
Life is a challenge – but we must keep swimming.
It’s nearly two years since I’ve posted on this website, and during that time I’ve faced some of the biggest personal challenges in my life so far – depression and anxiety, grief, betrayal. I think sometimes the only thing you can do is keep your head above water and once the waves settle, start swimming again. So that is what I did. I kept my head above the water and I hope now it’s safe to start swimming again. So, what’s happened writing wise since my last post? I finished my book! Yay me. ? I got lots of positive feedback from my critique partners and beta readers, though the…
-
Are my 2017 goals on track?
It’s the middle of June, time to review if I am on track with achieving this year’s goals. I hate the word ‘should’, so considering I’m a bit off track, I need to consciously avoid using it in this post, just so I don’t beat myself up too much. Okay, the first goal for the year – Finish editing ‘Forgotten Blood’, this is the first novel in my Soul Guardians trilogy (Young Adult Urban Fantasy). Did I do that? Nope, not done yet. I got distracted with a new science-fiction series idea. Bad excuse. Bad me. I have achieved heaps and I have spent hours editing and adding words. However,…
-
Cooktown Writing Retreat
No internet distractions. Room with a view.
-
Bali Writing Retreat
I’m in Ubud, Bali until the 24th February with my critique partner, Elsa Holland. I plan to have my manuscript finalised by the end of the month to send to Harlequin Teen… and so, I can’t post more… busy writing and editing… (and sneaking peeks outside the window).
-
Happy New Year. It’s goal setting time!
I’m a ‘lists’ person. I always have a list by my side in some shape or form. This could be a shopping list scrawled on the back of an old envelope and shoved into my handbag, or a ‘to do’ list laying beside my computer. I even have a ‘dreams’ list hidden in an old journal and a Wishlist saved on my Amazon account. So, now that it’s the start of a new year, I thought it prudent to revise my goals list and really look at what I want to achieve in 2017. My Goals for 2017: Finish editing ‘Forgotten Blood’, this is the first novel in my Soul Guardians…
-
My Precious
I’m broke. But not too broke for a new laptop. 🙂 This isn’t the model of my dreams, but at half the price, beggars can’t be choosers. It was a need, not a want. My critique partner, some writer friends and I are going on a writing retreat to Bali next year (February 2017). My old laptop is purple, which I love, but it’s very, very old and the battery doesn’t last more than an hour or so. Considering it takes about 10 minutes to start up and then another 10 to shutdown, it’s not exactly a good portable choice for going to cafes to write. So, what’s a broke…
-
Finally…
So I’ve finally: finished my Associate Degree in Creative Writing, started to work on figuring out how to use WordPress, decided on a flexible design template that I think will meet my needs, created a website banner using PicMonkey (that hopefully looks a little bit professional), and created a post (after nearly two years). Now for the rest of my ‘to do’ list … Q. How do you eat an elephant? A. One mouthful at a time.
