Author: Jenn J McLeod

Australia's nomadic novelist living on the road a purple and white caravan called Myrtle the Turtle. Come home to the country: House for all Seasons (#5 top selling novel in 2013), Simmering Season (2014), Season of Shadow and Light (2015), The Other Side of the Season (2016), A Place to Remember (2018), House of Wishes (2019)
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I’m sixteen again

I feel like I’m sixteen again – and that’s not a good thing for me; at sixteen I was watching all my friends maturing ahead of me.

Knowing I was a late bloomer, as my mother used to call it, was of no comfort at all with my best friend getting everything at fourteen – her waistline, her breasts, her periods – while I still looked like an anxious, Amazonian eight-year-old at sixteen.

I learned then that it’s no good trying to rush things (stuffing bras comes to mind). It wasn’t going to happen until it happened.

Enter me – now!

I’m a long way from sixteen, but I find myself again watching from the sidelines as people around me grow, win publishing contracts and enjoy writing success.

I know my time to bosom – I mean blossom – will come (and padded bras are definitely NOT the answer this time either) but in the mean time I’m feeling…anxious.

The good news is that I know I have grown in many ways.

How do I know this? Because I no longer feel the urge to write mean comments on the toilet door about all the big-busted girls – LOL.

I’m seriously thrilled to pieces for anyone who achieves publishing success (it’s bloody hard to do) and I’m encouraged knowing that it does happens to lovely, everyday people — like me. I know this because I met one of those lovely people today in our newly-formed mid-north coast writers’ group. Karlene Lane has just secured a contract with Allen & Unwin and I’m really looking forward to sharing her journey.

As for me, I just have to be patient. It WILL happen.

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My lucky penny

It’s said: find a penny pick it up and all day long you’ll have good luck.
Well…my short story A Penny For Your Thoughts has won a place (out of 59 entries) in the RWA 2010 short story anthology – Little Gems – Topaz Edition (and I sooooo wanted to be bound between those beautiful covers, especially designed by Helen Katsinis.
And threre’s a short story about this short story.
After submitting five different short stories over the last couple of years – stories that I’d slaved over, re-writing dozens of times – it’s amazing that the winning story was an 11th hour idea.
I already had my entries organised. Then, just days before the Little Gems contest was due to close, I was out walking my dogs when I came up with the concept (yes, it was going to be a lost dog story at first, but changed when I couldn’t find a girl’s name that went with dog!)
So it became a story about a lost penny instead
Because I have a really short memory, I had to cut the walk short, dragging panting and confused dogs back by their leads at a zillion paces a second so I could pound it out on the keyboard while still fresh in my mind. That night I sent it off for a final check with my grammar gurus – Bootcamper Shayne and super CP, Rae (kia ora, Rae). (Gotta be a message in there about not stressing over the little stuiuff – just write!)
Anyway, what I call my ‘awe. that’s kinda cute’ story (and I actually didn’t think I did cute well) has me feeling very lucky to be in such great company with other placegetters.
Jennifer Kay
Dorothy Martin
Shona Husk

Cath Ryan
Lilian Begelhole

Helen Ellis
Cara Gabriel

Fiona Gregory

Alicia Hope

Sandra Linklater

Maggie Mundy

Shayne Sands

Bronwyn Stuart
My thanks to the generous group of people who coordinate and judge these awards. A huge task with fifty-nine entries this year. For more info see the RWA blog.  I’ll post a short extract next week
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Fasten your seatbelts

Is there such a thing as real fiction?

Yes… and it’s called Border Watch (re-titled and re-released as Wings of Fear), the debut novel by Queensland author (and pilot) Helene Young.  So, ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seatbelts and let Helene take you on a fabulous journey, flying with the dedicated and intensely private Captain Morgan Petland (and crew) as she and hunky ex-SAS soldier, Rafe Daniels, work together to expose a devastating terrorist threat on Australian soil.

This story is HUGE.

It has depth of both plot and character that you rarely see in the contemporary romance-suspense genre, giving readers a story as rich as our big brown land and as vast as the pristine coastal waters that surround it. Helene’s vivid descriptions of life, the land and the sea in the N/E tropics will make Aussies glow with pride (and make those not lucky enough to live here want to visit.)

The author, like her heroine, is not afraid to tackle the difficult stuff head on and this story boldly touches on the political, the personal, and the cultural by exposing chinks in Australia’s defence systems as well as chinks in the personal armour of Captain Petland and aloof Customs Agent, Rafe. As a result, readers are guaranteed plenty of turbulence for Morgan, both in the air and in love. Helene also skilfully weaves substantial sub-plot and back-story through this novel so that each character has ample baggage to deal with. (In fact, I’d say excess baggage charges are applicable for this lot. LOL)

I certainly had no problem remaining seated until Captain Helene Young turned off the fasten seatbelt sign on the last page. I actually didn’t want the journey to end at all, reading the last one-hundred pages without stopping.

What I loved.

Everything. Helene really knows how to build up emotion and sensual tension. My tummy tripped at one point – and it’s been a long time since a darn book has done that! LOL. As for that wonderfully outrageous co-pilot – come on Helene, she’s too real not to be based on someone. I loved getting to know Lauren and Gav and enjoyed being up there with the crew, part of the playful banter and the camaraderie.

What I learned.

Lots and it’s a bit scary! I had no idea just how vulnerable we were. God bless the guardians of our coastline who dedicate their careers and lives to protecting our beautiful country.

What will linger long after I’ve read the book.

Helene’s descriptions of our menacingly magnificent far north. I so want to go there. But until then (and until her next novel) perhaps I’ll just read Border Watch again. It’s a very real journey.

Get to know more about Helene Young and her writing here http://www.heleneyoung.com/ and become a fan – like me – of the facebook group Australian Outback Romances and Mysteries