Critiquing tends to evoke strong opinions in the writing community: people either swear by it or avoid it like the plague. So, will it be a benefit or handicap to you? This depends on who you partner with, your openness to feedback and how long you stick at it. Embracing critiquing can improve the quality of your writing immensely. I know, because I’ve seen it work repeatedly. When I started The Novelists’ Circle group in 2010, I had no idea what an effective tool it would be for so many fiction writers. That first night there were three nervous writers …
A not-to-miss OWL for those considering self-publishing | Donna Munro
Two years ago, I released my first book The Zanzibar Moon. It wasn’t the only manuscript I had written, six are filed away. Some had been sent to publishers and rejected over many years. I admit I did not send them out enough, but I was working full-time, a mum and other things got in the way of my publishing dream. Turning 52 made me devise a plan. I found at that point in my life I desperately wanted to hold my own book. It was time. With a background in graphic design and small publishing, I was confident I …
Setting and Context |A PEEK BEHIND THE SCENES WITH STELLA QUINN
Episode: 2 New York New York City! The beautifully illustrated Literary Places describes New York as “a seething megapolis of taxi cabs, dive bars, movie stars, uptowners, out-of-towners, priests, pimps, players and phonies”, but suggests despite the teeming busyness … the city can be a lonely place. A place to hide, as well as to show off. I wonder how out authors this week chose to use it? (Baxter, 2019)
Simply Writing | TIS THE SEASON TO BE QUERYING . . . PART 2
Welcome back to my two-part post on query letters ☺ Of course, every season is the season to be querying, as long as you know what you’re doing. Hopefully, this and my last post will help you on your way to gaining the requests you’re after.
Cover Crush| March
Another speedy month has driven past and here we are already well into March. I was excited to see our Member’s New Releases and, as always, they did not disappoint. This month we have a feast for the senses. A visual cornucopia of romantic elements that draw the eye and capture the imagination. Nearly every corner of our wide breadth of sub-genres is captured in this month’s new releases, and I won’t deny that the choice for the Cover Crush this month was a hard one.
Member New Releases | March 2019
Member New Releases | March 2019
Just a Love Story | Lyn and Dave
Part 4: **Trigger warning: Domestic violence **
Volunteer of the Month | Jayne Kingsley
Jayne writes contemporary romance filled with fashionable and fun heroines and hunky heroes. She holds a Bachelor of Design and spent 12 years working in the Fashion industry before hanging up her stilettos (temporarily) for life as a mum. She currently resides on the picturesque south coast of NSW with her two young daughters and her own real-life gorgeous hero Jayne’s hobbies include drinking coffee and wine, depending on the time of day, and adding shoes to her already ridiculously large collection. She spends her days working as personal assistant to her two delightful girls (and writing happily ever afters …
The Tasting Table| Advice from the heart
This month felt like the perfect time to revisit sage advice from a cross-section of authors who have already visited us at The Tasting Table. With the recent events surrounding plagiarism, there’s been some insightful blogs from authors such as Nora Roberts and Courtney Milan, who are both affected. There is a total of twenty nine authors identified as being plagiarised so far, including our own Anne Gracie. This causes unrest and worry for other authors, published or not, which is completely understandable.
Worldbuilding – not just for fantasy writers! | Sue-Ellen Pashley
Worldbuilding is often seen as the domain of fantasy writers. But it’s so much more than just creating a fantasy world. It’s in the foundation of every story – even those set in the real world. It encompasses where we set our story in both location and time, it’s the mood of the book, the way our characters move in their setting and environment, the reason why our characters interact as they do. The world pushes on our characters and the characters push back in some way – just as we do in real life! It draws the reader in, …