House For All Seasons – Page 2 – Jenn J McLeod

Posted on 11/12/201310/01/2016 by Jenn J McLeod — 7 Comments

Subscribers? This is all about YOU.

Have you ever seen an announcement like this on a blog you follow:

“Come on over and subscribe to my blog to win….” to which you have grumbled (as I have): “But what about me? I’m already subscribed to your blog and a Facebook fan. Have been for ages. What do I win?”

Well, in recognition and to say thank you to my loyal subscribers and Facebook Author Page Likers (many of you have been with me from the early days of this wild ride) I have this special treat.

Yes, there is a catch, although I am hoping the prize is worthy.

YOU can have YOUR NAME entered into a draw to win a pre-release copy of Simmering Season just by sending a friend along to sign up.

That’s right! YOU WIN! The minute I get my hands on copies next year (mid-March maybe) the book could be in the mail to YOU!

How?

Simply ask any fiction-loving friend(s) to come home to the country right now and subscribe to (using the email capture thingy – top right of screen). YOUR FRIEND will go into a draw to win a copy of House for all Seasons and YOU will be eligible for the Simmering Season prize.

How do I know you referred someone so I can add your name?

New subscribers need to get YOUR NAME into the Simmering Season barrel by leaving the following comment:

“Knock, knock, [insert your name here] sent me.”

(But wait … Send more friends and get more Simmering Season entries.)

So this giveaway really is all about YOU, lovely subscribers. One of you will get a book and so will a friend, simply by subscribing.

Yes, I am hoping to bring the odd (take that any way you like) newsletter to readers in the coming months and that, too, will have treats, sneak peeks, and the ‘odd’ exclusive for subscribers, so perhaps it’s not a bad idea to stay subscribed.

Open to Aust/NZ subscribers (current as at: 12 December 2013). Draw to take place under strict guidelines (ie before I start drinking) on 18 December, 2013. Announced here by way of ‘subscription post!’ Posted in the mail on the 19th.

Okay, so, Due to circumstances beyond my control, Christmas arrived! So, it will be a new year pressie instead.

UPDATE: Two cortisone injections later I can sort of type again without pain, but briefly, and long enough to jump on, thank you for your patience and understanding, and announce the winners. With so many knock knocks in the comments, there was no surprise when i pulled out the winning name: Shannon Garner (who wins the pre-releae copy of Simmering Season.) From her referrals, the winning knock, knock is…. STACY! I’ll be in touch, ladies, and arrange delivery of your books.

Just because, Gailene and Anne, your names will automatically go into the next giveaway I do! Thank you for your continued support.

Posted on 04/09/201304/09/2013 by Jenn J McLeod — 3 Comments

Imagine – House for all Seasons on the big screen!

movie deal What author doesn’t dream about having their novel made into a movie or an Australian mini-series?

I never considered this a possibility for House for all Seasons. I mean, why would they bother? We all know the ending – right? The ‘twist in the tale’ that people have been raving about is, well, it’s out there… Well before the first scene has been shot the cat is out of the proverbial bag and the horse has well and truly bolted.

It appears that knowing the ending of the story is not the death knell for a Hollywood blockbuster.

Case in point: Ryan Gosling (hubba, hubba) is tipped to play the lead character in the movie adaptation of M. L. Steadman’s The Light Between Oceans. Do we not know how that story ends? What would makes us want to spend money at the box office to see the film when we all know we are going to ball our eyes out as the credits roll?

Is it a Kleenex conspiracy perhaps?

No, it’s because we want to see characters we’ve fallen in love with, cried with, hoped for, laughed with come to life. It’s the characters. We want to fall in love all over again.

I’ve been discounting the movie dream all this time because I figured while Calingarry Crossing is a town keeping big secrets, the secrets in House for all Seasons are out. But if it’s about falling in love with the characters then I reckon my girls would be brilliant on the big screen.

What do you think? If you have a favourite character and an actress in mind to play her, let me know and I’ll pass it on. 😉

Ahhhh! Time to reignite the movie deal dream, perhaps.

Posted on 13/05/201331/10/2013 by Jenn J McLeod — 7 Comments

It all started with a box…

I’ve made it to just over ten weeks as a published author without waking up! Hmm, it must be that I am already awake and it is NOT a dream after all!

What an amazing experience it’s been since that box of books arrived ten weeks ago. Thank you to all who have embraced House for all Seasons. And to those who have reviewed, shared, recommended… Super-huge hugs to you all.

Generous, goosebump-generating reviews continue to appear online. Then, just yesterday when I thought House was done and dusted in reviewland, and as I tried to find some joy on the first Mothers’ Day without Mum, I had a pinch-me moment.

My Dad rang to say “that book of yours is in the Sunday paper”. Here I was thinking poor Dad had knocked down one too many beers to get through the day. But there it was – House for all Seasons.

The Sunday Herald book section was always the place of dreams where I’d scan the titles and author names in awe wondering what it might feel like to see your novel alongside other great storytellers.

Well, folks, here it is – and on Mothers Day. (Not sure how you managed it, Mum, but thanks for working your magic. You knew how much I wanted to be in that section of the paper. Of all the days too; now I know you’re looking out for me.) SMH-Sunday,12May2013-Page95

Another feeling I find hard to put into words is receiving emails from strangers to tell me the story has touched them in some way and brought them joy.

Suddenly they don’t feel like strangers anymore.

I’ve made some great new friends (both writers and readers) and I look forward to meeting new people at the Sydney Writers Festival at the end of this month where I will be attending the ABIA Awards (Aust Book Industry Awards – another place of dreams) knowing that anything is possible in this business if you are prepared to do hang onto the dream, do the hard yards and stick it out.

Decades of learning, years of writing, months of promotion planning and strategising has finally come together. (My best tip for any writer starting down the same publishing path as me… Start thinking like a published author and you’ll start planning like a published author. You cannot be too prepared. More how-to information for writers is available in my monthly blog post with Writing Novels in Australia. )

Some highlights (apart from the launch, of course) include booksignings, festival appearances, author chats and my Blog Crawl (just look at the fabulous authors who have hosted me).

Perhaps the most significant is this… Because people have been so good to me along the way, I’ve always said I wanted to give back. But first I needed a few runs on the board. With House for all Seasons doing so well, I feel I have some cred. So a couple of weeks ago I offered to mentor a young local writer in the hope of getting her on the path with less detours than I experienced as I stumbled blindly for years. Who knows, I may just be blogging about her good news one day.

Highlights from the last ten weeks. And to think it all started with a box…

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I look forward to taking readers back to Calingarry Crossing next March when we release Simmering Season.