Over the last weeks, I’ve been reading Irish-Australian writer Adrian McKinty’s Sean Duffy series (you can read Karen Chisholm’s overview of the series here) and am entranced by the acuity of his observations; the blinking humanity revealed when the lights go up. The feeling was similar over ten years ago when I first read James Lee Burke. With more than 20 titles so far in his Robicheaux series, Burke’s lyrical prose continues to distil what it is to be human—the flaws and vanities, petty obsessions and manifestations of love. In these writers’ hands, crime lies where the fragile membrane between coping and not breaks; where a civilisation’s codes of behaviour constructed and defended to protect both the weak and the powerful are breached. Crime is in the cracks. But that’s how the light gets in, too.
Accidental Aid Worker by Sue Liu
Accidental Aid Worker is Liu's story of how wanting to help a community became life-changing. It is also an exploration of the complexities of aid, both moral and logistical.
My Life and Other Fictions
My review of Michael Giacometti's bold collection of short stories, My Life and Other Fictions, is published in the Newtown Review of Books today. There is much to savour here. A thought-provoking gift for Christmas.
Self-publishing 101
Do you have a story? Today, I went to a full day workshop to hear from two insider heavyweights about the ins and outs of self-publishing. Sue Liu and Anna Maguire are experts in their fields. Sue is a successful self-published author of Accidental Aid Worker. Anna Maguire, Digireado, is a veteran of the book …
Women Writing Women
I spent a recent Saturday at the Symposium of the 2017 Rose Scott Women Writer’s Festival, its theme this year, Women Writing Women. An intimate festival, held in the beautiful rooms of The Women’s Club overlooking Hyde Park, its limited numbers allow for mingling between writers and readers. This year, it drew such well-known writers as Delia Falconer, Tegan Bennet Daylight and poet Kate Middleton, launching her most recent collection, Passage (Giramondo, 2017).
Improve your writing — 6 steps to better outcomes
Anybody can improve their writing. Good writing is a combination of mechanics and artistry. This short course provides some fundamental steps that can improve your writing dramatically. From short notes and emails to long proposals or submissions, you can learn how to get better outcomes with written communication.
No Crazy Lady here—Rosie Waterland’s clear-eyed reckoning of her life
My review of Rosie Waterland's Every lie I've ever told is up at the Newtown Review of Books now.
Anything is possible, Elizabeth Strout
Elizabeth Strout, winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Olive Kitteridge, is an author of piercing insight. Many a religious and philosophical tome has been written on moral righteousness but in her slim books, Strout’s characters show us how to live a good life.
Are your documents letting you down?
You can learn six process steps to better writing
Digital respite—the power of solitude
Why do we fear solitude? Sinking into our own thoughts, without distraction, can be a saviour.
Your Second Draft 