Welcome
I write contemporary romantic fiction with fresh, character-driven plots set in exotic locations.
It takes some time for a modern woman to see past the spectacularly bad dress sense of a spectacularly beautiful man.
Out now, my romantic comedy short story The Truly Awful Shirt Shop, published by and available free from Australian Women Online.
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“If you're interested in 'balancing' work and pleasure, stop trying to balance them. Instead make your work more pleasurable.” Donald Trump
July2010
Who do I write like?
I have a different voice in my short fiction compared to my long fiction. My longer fiction is suspenseful with a powerful romance. I'm strong on setting and use dialogue to drive the story forward. I'm more experimental in my shorter works. I use short fiction to play with an idea and style and see where it takes me.
But who do I write like?
Tempest sounds like James Joyce.The Truly Awful Shirt Shop sounds like David Foster Wallace. My Turkish story sounds like Dan Brown. My Italian story sounds like Dan Brown.
Now that's encouraging.
June2010
Time for some research and to outline the next story
“Surrender to the flow.” Mike Gordon, American musician
I use my holidays to develop new story ideas. Last year I worked on stories set in Italy and Malaysia although the latter was a work trip. This year it will be an Australian story and I'll work on setting and do a detailed outline while I drive across the Nullarbor later this month. It's easy grab ten minutes to capture a scene of work out a plot point whereas working on a WIP would drag me away from all the holiday social activities.
My good friend and critique partner, Shona Husk, has her second novella, Boyfriend in a Bottle, released. It's a clever, erotic romance that begs for a follow-up.
May2010
Romancing the West Conference
“The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.” Albert Einstein, physicist
Each year Romance Writers of Australian sponsors and auspices the Romancing the West Conference and this year was another success. The speakers, Fiona Lowe, Juliet Marillier, Nikki Logan and Fiona Palmer, gave helpful and inspiring presentations that included writing exercises and question and answer sessions. A perfect mid-year boost to get my own writing moving again. Spending time with other writers is inspiring.
Become a member and follow us on Facebook, Romancing the West, to get early information on the 2011 Romancing the West Conference.
My good friend and critique partner, Shona Husk, has her first novella, An Elemental Tail, released. One of the best new, imaginative talents around.
April2010
Scriptfrenzy
“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” Oprah Winfrey
Script Frenzy is an international writing event in which participants take on the challenge of writing 100 pages of scripted material in the month of April. Writing a script is a good way to get dialogue and action on the page.
And when the story is published and Hollywood comes calling I'll be ready.
March2010
The Truly Awful Shirt Shop
“I just met a wonderful new man. He's fictional...but you can't have everything.” Mia Farrow as Celia, Purple Rose of Cairo, 1985
It takes some time for a modern woman to see past the spectacularly bad dress sense of a spectacularly beautiful man.
Out this month, my romantic comedy short story The Truly Awful Shirt Shop, published by and available free from Australian Women Online.
Feb2010
Putting work out
“A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.” Roald Dahl, author
Competitions are a great way to get feedback on work and a good result can land the work on the desk of an editor or agent. Feedback draws attention to blind spots in the writing and gives valuable 'reader' perspective. Overall placings tell a writer how their works measures up agianst others in a very competitive industry.
Jan2010
Happy New Year
“Creativity is the power to connect the seemingly unconnected.” William Plomer, author
New year, new challenges and new ideas. The Perth Film Festival and outdoor theatres are in full swing so I can watch movies under the summer sky with a glass of wine in my hand. It's the time of year to make plans and promises and try to make 2010 the best one yet. It's also a time to defeat those behaviours that don't help any more and develop some new ones.
Dec2009
Merry Christmas
“Practice random acts of kindness and senseless beauty.” Anonymous
It's that mad rush into the holiday season when you try to finish off all the things that you promised yourself you'd get done in 2009. By the time you cover work, family and social commitments then there's not a lot of time left for writing. At this time of year the focus should be on family and fun. Recommit to everything else in the new year.
Nov2009
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)
“I am an unpredictable journey.” Claire Forlani, actress
National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30. Because of the limited writing window, the only thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.
I participated in 2006 and 2007 and took the challenge again in 2009. It's a great way to break the back of a work in process. I achieved only 18,000 words this time but it's a lot more than I would have written without the group surge.
Oct2009
Manuscript with the publisher
“The rule which forbids ending a sentence with a preposition is the kind of nonsense up with which I will not put.” Winston Churchill, statesman
A passionate loner and a conflicted artist vie for an Ottoman treasure. The battle over the treasure threatens to keep them apart but the danger and their irresistible attraction throw them together. Some things are meant to be forever. The first three chapters of my contemporary romantic suspense novel are with the publisher.
My good friend and critique partner, Loretta Brabant, has her first novel, Kiss and Tell, released. The sparkling dialogue and emotion-packed writing caputure you and don't let go.
Sep2009
Little Gems Anthology: 2009 Turquoise in my hands
“Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” A.A. Milne, British writer
When a magical sea nymph rescues a deep-sea fisherman from a life-threatening storm neither can return to their former lives. Tempest, is a romantic fantasy about lovers who give up everything for each other.
This is my first publication as a fiction writer since I resumed writing two years ago. A very exciting time.
August2009
Little Gems Anthology: 2009 Turquoise released!!!
“All things being equal fat people use more soap.”
Little Gems Anthology: 2009 Turquoise is a collection of sixteen short stories that contain a turquoise motif. Turquoise can be a gem, a name or any other use in the story. The anthology is assembled as a result of a competitive process that yielded over seventy entries. My story, Tempest, is a romantic fantasy about lovers who give up everything for each other.
July2009
Extraordinary opportunities
“The facts although interesting are irrelevant.”
An unexpected trip to Sarawak, Malaysia will provide a second opportunity to research a new story. My work is characterised by larger than life characters in exotic locations. This will be my first work set in Asia with an Asian hero. While it's a lot of time away from my manuscript developing new stories it is a wonderful opportunity to research new settings and characters first hand.
June2009
Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances
“There is no substitute for a genuine lack of preparation.”
It's often hard to find time to write in a busy life so holidays have been when I can relax, do some people watching, and soak up some atmosphere. This year I will find my new characters in Italy. They will meet, have a romantic adventure that changes their lives, and realise that they can only ever be really happy with each other.
May2009
2009 Romance Roadshow
“She who has the gold makes the rules.”
The Romance Roadshow returned to Perth on May 23 at the Good Earth Hotel. It was a chance for aspiring and developing romance writers to meet multi-published authors and improve their own skills. Tutorial subjects included Deep Point of View, Romance Heroes, Effective Story Dialogue, World Building, Urban Fantasy/Paranormal and Sealed Section and were given by talented and popular Australian authors, Keri Authur, Denise Rossetti and Kelly Hunter. One of the best things about being a writer is meeting and working with other writers.
April2009
My own website
“When shall you live if not now. Seneca”
Live at last. It's hard to know when, as an aspiring writer, you should take that leap into the virtual world. My plan was to create my own website when I was accepted for publication. Later this year my short story Tempest will be published in the Little Gems Anthology: 2009 Turquoise. So here I am.
Welcome to my website. I hope you find a lot to enjoy about romance writing in its many forms.
