Jenn J McLeod

Posted on 09/08/201609/08/2016 by Jenn J McLeod — 1 Comment

Author, Rowena Holloway gives advice to her 35 y.o self

Hi there Rowie,

It’s me, your fifty-year-old self. (Yes, I know. I can’t say that without swearing either!)

Listen, I know you are in a very dark place right now. I’m here to tell you that you will overcome this.

In fact, this is the best thing to happen to you. Truly.

Now, don’t roll your eyes. Remember, I’ve been there too.

Ahead of you are some difficult months. You will question everything, particularly your self-worth. There will be dark thoughts and tears. Many tears. Tears are okay. Even these dark thoughts are okay because they help you discover inner strength and renewed purpose.

There are those who don’t understand, who tell you to ‘get over it’, who think you are making a fuss about nothing. Ignore them. Those people have their own lessons to learn. Let them go. They leave room for some wonderful people coming into your life. People who share and encourage your passion for creativity. And though it doesn’t seem like it, you do have some special people in your life right now.

The best advice I can give you is to trust your instincts. You’ve been bullied so long you’ve lost confidence in this, but your instincts are good. Listen to your gut. Trust yourself. And believe in your passion. Your passion will help you find your path.

Right now you feel like a failure, like everything you’ve done, everything you’ve achieved, has been wasted. It hasn’t. Everything you’ve learned throughout your life is going to converge into a very useful skill-set to support your passion for writing. Nothing is wasted. All roads lead to the right path, and that path, when you find it, is amazing. Believe that.

I’d love to reach back and wipe away some of those difficult days you’re still to face, but they are necessary. Without them, you won’t discover your strength. Without them you won’t know what you can survive.

So keep moving forward and don’t waste energy looking back. I guarantee your forties are going to be great.

Love from your fifty year-old self

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Rowena Holloway considers herself a reformed academic. After being bullied out of a career she loved she now pours all that passion into writing stories of fractured families and killer secrets. As the middle child of four siblings, she knows a thing or two about secrets—as to what she knows about fractured families, she’s keeping that to herself although some clues might be found in her fiction.

Her short stories have been included in the Stringybark anthology Yellow Pearl and the 2011 Anthology of Award Winning Australian Writing. Her novels Pieces of a Lie and All That’s Left Unsaid have each been nominated for the Ned Kelly Crime Fiction Award.

Her third novel, Ashes to Ashes, is due for release in 2016.

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rowenahollowayauthor/
Twitter https://twitter.com/RowenaHolloway
Website http://rowenaholloway.com/

[bctt tweet=” What advice does author @RowenaHolloway give her 35 y.o self? #LetterToMyself https://www.jennjmcleod.com/blog/a-letter-to-myself-author-list” username=”jennjmcleod”]

To see the list of authors taking part in this letter-writing blog series: CLICK

Wanting to honour the lost art of letter writing through this blog series, I also opened my fourth novel with a character writing a letter. And not just any letter. It’s a story — perhaps the most important he’ll ever tell.

The Other Side of the Season

Life is simple on top of the mountain for David, Matthew and Tilly until the winter of 1979 when tragedy strikes, starting a chain reaction that will ruin lives for years to come. Those who can, escape the Greenhill banana plantation on the outskirts of Coffs Harbour. One stays—trapped for the next thirty years on the mountain and haunted by memories and lost dreams. That is until the arrival of a curious young woman, named Sidney, whose love of family shows everyone the truth can heal, what’s wrong can be righted, the lost can be found, and . . . there’s another side to every story.

BUY now from Amazon, Kobo, iTunes, or

Posted on 04/08/201603/08/2016 by Jenn J McLeod — 23 Comments

Author, Tess Woods, Writes To Her 18 y.o Self #giveaway

So Tess,

You’re eighteen – finally old enough to go out clubbing after five months of university purgatory where you were the youngest. Here’s some life pointers from your forty-three year old self:

That guy you’re in love with? Babe, he’s just not that into you, he never will be and he’s actually a bit of a tool. Let it go! Now that guy who is your great friend but you don’t want to risk the friendship by taking it to the next level? Yeah, him. I’m here to tell you the friendship dies anyway, so go for it – when he tries to kiss you in a few months at The Metro, let him!
Stop freaking out about your hair. They’re about to invent this thing called GHD – it’s a ceramic hair straightener. Sit tight, it’s coming and it will solve all your problems.
Ignore your dad when he tells you that no man will want you because you’re too opinionated and strong willed. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. The relationships you have will be with men who love you for your strength of character so don’t question that for a minute. Also God is sending you a daughter called Lara as karma for your strong willed nature, just you wait!
Some serious stuff is going to go down between your mum and dad. Hang in there, I promise it will all be okay in the end and the fears and worries you’ve been carrying around like a lead weight in your gut for your whole life about the situation at home will all be resolved in the next few years. It’s going to get really ugly first, but you’ll all come out the other side just fine.
Take your Ventolin inhaler everywhere, don’t be lazy with it.
Don’t waste any time worrying that you won’t get married and have children, I know this is the main thing you want in life, so let me tell you, it happens okay? Now go and live it up, you’re young, go have fun with your friends and forget about finding Mr Right! Btw, the first two guys you think are Mr Right are actually your practice runs. The third one is the keeper!
You’ll still be super close to your childhood bestie when you’re in your forties. I know you’re worried now because you’ve gone to different universities and she’s hanging out with actors while you hang out physios and doctors but through thick and thin, she’s going stick with you forever and she’ll be right beside you in your darkest moments.
Eat less crap. You’re forming bad habits and I’m paying the price here!
When you fail your first year of university and are completely devastated, don’t be, you’re about to have the most amazing year ever and you’ll be really glad you failed.
Guess what, you still love Sting and Pat Cash at forty-three! And they are both still HOT!
When your friend Jess tells you that she feels like her life is pointless and then goes to get in her car – DO NOT let her get in that car. Take her for a coffee or you’ll be heartbroken forever.
Brad Pitt doesn’t marry Gwyneth Paltrow, I think you should be prepared for this.
That passion you have for human rights will only get stronger with time. You do great stuff here, you should be proud! And they free Nelson Mandela, he becomes the leader of South Africa – no shit!
Stop aiming for perfect, it’s never going to happen. You will continue to make monumental stuff ups, lots of them. It’s always okay in the end.
Finally, don’t throw anything out. All your old crap will become retro this and retro that. Hang onto everything and wait for eBay to get invented.

Love from your much-older-ever-so-slightly-wiser-still-mostly-hasn’t-got-her-shit-together-yet-self!

Tess Woods- smaller photo Love at First Flight Print Cover About Tess Woods:

Tess Woods is a physiotherapist who lives in Perth, Australia with one husband, two children, one dog and one cat wo rules over all of them. Her debut novel, Love at First Flight, first released as an eBook in April 2015, received worldwide critical acclaim, hit the best-seller charts in Australia and was voted Book of the Year in the AusRom Today Reader’s Choice Awards 2015. Tess was also top ten nominated as Best New Author. Love at First Flight is the first HarperCollins Australia digital book acquisition to be given a print release in August 2016. Tess’s short story, Destiny in a Day was released in the anthology Hot Stuff: Surfing Love and she is currently putting the finishing touches her second full-length novel, Beautiful Messy Love. When she isn’t working or being a personal assistant to her kids, Tess enjoys reading and all kinds of grannyish pleasures like knitting, baking, drinking tea, watching Downton Abbey and tending to the veggie patch.

You can learn more about Tess on her website www.tesswoods.com.au or you can connect with her on Facebook or Twitter.

WIN! A signed copy is up for grabs.

A-weema-weh, a-weema-weh

Yes, the lion was sleeping. Wish I had been. Instead we were up at 5.30am and dressing in so many layers I looked like the Michelin Man.

“It’s fun”, they said.

“A not-to-be-missed experience,” the brochure claimed.

Not only was it only 3 degrees, it was a foggy day in Dubbo today. We thought the fog might have ruined the up close encounters. Instead it added a serenity until about 10am when it finally lifted.

We walked about 10 km and we’re totally exhausted, but what an experience. Not hard to tell my favourites. We are going back for more tomorrow.