Every year I work at building my career as a writer. There’s no grand plan, just a desire to reach out to readers where possible, share my experiences and gain new ones. My main method is to ‘say yes to everything’ and see how it goes.
Which is why 2018 started with an author talk at the Booklovers Club and ended with one too! Back in January I was busy promoting my novel Towards White and got to talk about it to this bunch of lovely people:
So many readers have bought Towards White with the proviso ‘I don’t usually read sci fi, but it’s so interesting I’ll give it a go’, and then they’ve been amazed by how much they enjoyed it, which of course makes my heart sing because it is a cross-genre book designed to appeal to a variety of readers, particularly fans of thrillers, mysteries or sci fi. I’ve had readers message me throughout 2018 saying they cried at the end, that they couldn’t put it down, or that it made them miss their bus stop / stay up too late / get behind on their work. They’ve sent me pics of the book in their gardens, bedrooms – even while camping!
I did a lot of interviews when the book first came out last October, but the fun continued this year too. I talked about it to listeners of The Book Podcast, when I was interviewed in January…
…to listeners of Radio Northern Beaches when I was interviewed in February…
…and to the Sydney Mechanics School of Arts through this YouTube clip in March:
To balance out all the fun and glory, I blogged about writer resilience in April, sharing a ‘writer resilience’ soundtrack I created in YouTube to lift fellow artists on otherwise down days.
June brought me no down days, however, as I had two book launches! The first was for an anthology I edited, ‘A Noise on an Island’, a fascinating project where writers had to create a story within a strict set of parameters. The premise involved a strange noise in an old abandoned quarry on a tropical island off the coast of Queensland. Writers could create any character they liked set on that island. The second launch was to raise money for The Kids’ Cancer Project with a co-authored children’s book ‘The Guitar Wizard’, which had won the 2017 WABIAD Award for Best Book in the Open Category. It’s a story about an entire universe in peril, a teenage girl who loves music and her pet lion!
In June I also got to meet a heap of special friends at Supanova in Sydney!
I taught a lot this year too, helping both adults and young readers with their creative writing. All this in fact:
Author Talk or Luncheon – 1-2 hr talk
Creative Writing Skills Bootcamp – 5-6 hr workshop
Make Talk Matter: Dialogue Masterclass – 2-3hr workshop
Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy – 1 x 6.5 hr or 2 x 3 hr workshops
The Year Your Book Gets Written – 11 x 2 hr workshops + 10 hrs mentoring
Turning Life Into Fiction – 1 x 6 hr or 2 x 3 hr workshops
Write Your Life Story – 1 x 6.5 hr or 2 x 3 hr workshops
How to Self-Publish a Book – 4 hr seminar
Blogging for Connection – 3 hr seminar
Writing Technique Development Day – 1 day class for writers aged 9-18
Upper Primary Focus – 2-3 hr workshop for writers aged 8-12
High School Focus – 3 hr workshop for writers aged 12-18
July was particularly busy, helping young writers prepare for the Northern Beaches Young Writers’ Competition:
Then in August, I judged and presented my report for the Mosman Literary Awards:
In October I lead a writers’ retreat on the Central Coast.
I also blogged advice for writers about various literary techniques – namely filter words, point-of-view and what I term ‘over blight’.
On top of all that, I also had five short stories accepted for publication this year, woo hoo!
“Shy”– coming soon, Manawaker Studio’s Flash Fiction Podcast.
“Diamonds in the Sea”– coming soon, The Patchwork Raven.
“The Polite Watchman”– coming soon, The Martian Magazine.
“The Call of the Gypsy Fetcher”– coming March 2019, WhimsyCon Anthology.
“The Final Squeeze”– published (AntipodeanSF Magazine, Issue 245, December 2018).
Finally, December saw me at the Booklovers Club again, this time to talk about Collaborative Writing. My head swelled with all the praise my fellow collaborative writers gave me for being a good editor-in-chief! I thought them equally marvellous for their ingenuity and team spirit. Collaborative writing’s all about teamwork!
Next up? More of the same, of course! I hope to use this recap to inspire me in 2019 to keep juggling my creative support business, family, and actual writing, so I can fit in extras like all of the above, which I love so much. Hopefully it inspires other writers and readers out there too! Happy New Year, everyone!
