Tag: Rachael Treasure

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A Guessing Game, A Book To Win, A Blog To Hop

While many, many people have inspired me in some weird and wonderful ways over the years, there is a group of Australian authors who have definitely influenced my writing.

Call it cocky, quirky or crazy, I used to amuse my ‘unpublished’ self by writing an author into each novel, never imagining:

a) I would be published and

b) the author – with title – would escape an editors red pen.

Guess what? I AM published (soon) and the author’s name DID stay in the final version of House for all Seasons, out March 1. (Pre-order here).

But which author gets a mention?

HINT: It can’t be Lisa Heidke and Bronwyn Parry as I have already included them in novels yet to be published — like this.

From The Simmering Season (coming 2014)

Maggie refused to get up before she’d read at least three chapters of her latest Lisa Heidke novel. The author had a knack of portraying motherhood and the every day, showing real woman struggling to balance work, family and dreams, just like Maggie. Only in fiction there was a guarantee of happy ever after.

Bronwyn Parry features in one of my favourite (and earliest) works – which means it may never see the light of day!)

From MOSAIC…

Throwing open the flap on her knapsack, Gina took a quick inventory: denim shorts; a black, cheesecloth top; beach towel; the super, scrunch-it-up-all-you-like jacket she’d owned for years; her new digital camera and the latest Bronwyn Parry novel.

So… are you a smartie? Can you correctly guess which author made it into House For All Seasons?

Any one who leaves a correct guess on this post today (Thursday 24-01-13) will automatically get one extra entry in my Australia Day Blog Hop Book Giveaway -starting Friday 25 at 12 noon (AESD) – on this blog. So leave your guess now and pop back on the weekend, read the Australia Day Blog Hop post, and you can double your chance of winning.

If you want another hint, you will find the author’s name on this list (my ‘most read’ Goodreads data).

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Pick me! Pick me! (but make it quick, quick, quick.)

Do you have a burning desire to tell a story and see your name in print? Will writing a novel (whether published or not) tick that little to-do off your bucket list?

This week I am guest blogger on ABC Open talking about “When Writers Rally” and hoping to encourage aspiring writers to consider their path to publication like the tortoise, rather than the hare.

With the internet rapidly changing the face of publishing there’s a sense of urgency in the air. It seems almost anyone can publish a book these days. But how can we do that burning desire justice? How proud (or JK Rowling rich) your final product will make you might just be a matter of how you approach the task.

For my tortoise tips, including links to writing groups, see the ABC Open Blog. (Image used courtesy of Marie Miller. Taken at the 2012 RWA National Conference and ARRA Book Signing event in which over 100 authors attended, including regional, best-selling writers: Helene Young, Bronwyn Parry, Annie Seaton, Fiona McArthur, Rachael Treasure and international guest Alexandra Sokoloff.)