How (Not) To Write A Debut Novel
A long time ago, in a land far, far away, a writer slaved over a mechanical typewriter… He didn’t know it at the time but he was writing what would one day become his debut novel. The typewriter had been procured at the local market for the princely sum of...
How To Gain The Attention Of An Award-Winning Director
I’ll cut to the chase. Pitching to a director is relatively easy. You just walk up to them and introduce yourself. Having said that, preparing to act on your intentions is where the real trial lies. It is not dissimilar to the act of writing itself. You must swallow a...
How To Demolish A Community
At present I am an artist-in-residence in Bajesdorp, a small community in Amsterdam. However, perhaps not for very much longer. The community is facing a difficult future. The Dutch government has sold the land it stands on to a developer. In a few short months they...
Loreless Revisited: A Debut Novel One Year On
I published my debut novel, Loreless, just over a year ago. So much has happened since then. I have published two more books in the past year. The most recent release, the second novel in my series about a teenage witch trapped in the body of a five-year-old, is...
Did Marilyn Monroe Have Unfinished Business?
I recently published my third novel, the second in a series about a witch with a twist. In The Promptuary I introduce a gone, but not forgotten, twentieth century icon. I’m sure you have heard of Marilyn Monroe. Early on in the writing process I established a sort of...
How To Commemorate A Published Author’s First Anniversary
I have an anniversary. I have officially been a author/publisher for one year. A lot has changed in a year and I decided it’s time to take stock of it all. I have two books on the market. A third, closely followed by a fourth, are going to the presses in a...
How Transforming Into A Refugee Drives Creativity
I have spend just over two weeks as an artist in residence in Bajesdorp and the village keeps throwing up surprises. Not everyone here is an artist, but that does not mean they don’t do other inspiring things. I have learned that several members of the community are...
Celebrating Becoming An Artist In Residence
I’m not entirely certain becoming is the right word. In the case of the artist part, I am already one. I reside in a world of creativity. There you go. A statement I never thought I’d proclaim. I reside in artistry. A World on its End I have had a tumultuous time over...
A Change Is Better Than A Holiday
I’ve had a mammoth week of change. I moved house three times, went to a writers’ conference in Dublin and started a new life as an artist in residence. I’m exhausted, but happy. Some weeks are much better than others. Change beats holidays hands down. Ireland It was...
Mr. Lee And Tuk-tuk Number 3
Angkor Wat is one of many temples around Siem Reap—one of very many temples. We were tourists for a day. Mr. Lee was our tuk-tuk driver. He said he lived 10kms out of town and was trying constantly to get us to book him for more trips. I understand completely, it is...
The Trials Of Independent Author Time Management
I kind of lost the plot for a while (slight pun intended). I forgot to manage my time. I got caught up in the business of publishing. I have been obsessed with watching my sales rankings and trying to optimise my book’s descriptions, categories and...
Stream Of Consciousness And Writing At The Speed Of Light
I’m doing an experiment. I am trying to put as much down on the page as possible in the shortest amount of time. I am hoping it will also make sense and not be mindless dribble. A lot of the blogs I write use a technique called stream of consciousness. They are...
The Importance of Reader Opinion
As an independent author, where the online realm is my bread and butter, a reader’s opinion is crucial. Reviews on online stores are extremely important. They give other consumers a better impression of the books they are interested in. It’s called social proof. The...
First Live Author Interview: Chatting With Lisa White
This week I was interviewed by fellow independent author Lisa White. It is the first time I have put myself out there on film as an author. Not only do I think filming interviews like this helps an author to get more exposure to readers, it can also assist other...
Attempting to Dissect a Bad Review
I recently received a rather confronting review on Amazon about my novel Loreless. Some of it was positive, some bordering on an insult and, in part, outright scathing. At least that was how I read it and I feel compelled to react. As an author, I have been advised...
Don’t Look Back In Anger
One of the finest songs Noel Gallagher ever wrote was “Don’t Look Back in Anger”. I rediscovered it yesterday and it is stuck in my head and won’t leave me alone. I was a fan of Oasis in their early days. Then they lost it and they lost me. I was only interested in... Is There A Secret Weapon For Writing Great Stories?
Recently I attended a free online writing course. It proposed to solve the common problems which most writers encounter. It also promised to increase writing productivity. It sounded like getting the keys to a secret weapon. Naturally, as a writer, I was inquisitive...
How To Make An Old Year New Again: Part 2
In part one of this post I looked back on my independent author experience up to now. My journey is not influenced by the ringing in of a so-called new year. Just as with the old year, in the new year I will be celebrating a growth and not a rebirth. I am aware my...
How To Make An Old Year New Again: Part 1
It’s the wrong way around. Old is not new. Every year we celebrate the so-called new year. It is not new at all, it is a year older. We should be celebrating a growth and not a rebirth. The commonly held idea is that we can make a new start with the beginning of...
Should Patti Smith have won the Nobel Prize?
A few months ago, in March of 2016, I saw Patti Smith perform for the first time. Before seeing her live show I knew her music but nothing about her background, nor anything about her real personality. I was both impressed and moved by her performance. At the Nobel...
How To Write A Really Big Story
I find myself in unknown territory. A year ago I started writing a story about a witch. It almost grew by itself. At some stage I decided the story had the potential to be bigger than just one book. This is when I realised I should write a series. I put the idea aside...
Taking Stock Of Where You Are As An Authorpreneur
Not that long ago I began writing in earnest. I plunged into it and along the way discovered I have a talent which had laid buried for most of my life. I made a change. I decided to pursue my creativity. It has opened doors for me. It has introduced me to a whole new...
The Real Life And Death Of A Fictional Character
Creating great fictional characters draws on all of a writer’s knowledge of mankind. Quite often a character is a conglomeration of people they have met in real life. Some people have a greater influence on the development of a character than others. Some leave a...
A Witching We Will Go: Time To Celebrate A New Novel
Very soon my second book, about a whole other witching world, will hit the stores. Even though I have been through the process once, it still feels like the first time. My writers journey started in earnest in July this year. At that stage I set up my own publishing...
The Seed Which Grew Into A Novel
It all started about a year ago. The seed which grew into a novel. It fell in my lap, out of the sky. The idea came and I just went with it. Don’t think, write. Let it come. It seems to work best. Before I knew it, there it was. I had created an alternative world. A...
Adventures in Cambodia: Surviving an Embassy Excursion
A little over a year ago my family had a stopover in Cambodia on our way to visit relatives in Australia. We had some interesting experiences in what is a very colourful country. This was one of them. My son needed a new passport. He also needed one fast. We were...
Dear Amazon: Exclusive versus Independent
Dear Amazon, It’s been a hoot, but I’ve done some soul searching and decided that I am doing my readers a disservice by abiding by your exclusivity agreement. A few months ago I started my first independent publishing venture with my book Loreless. At the time...
And Then What Happened to Billy?
Many of the readers of Loreless want more. They expect a sequel. They want to know what happens to Billy. My intention with the book was to encourage people to find out more about indigenous culture. However, readers seem to be more interested in the characters and...
Is Writers Block A Figment Of Your Imagination?
What is writers block? What is any form of creative block? Is it real or is it invented? I don’t know whether what I’m experiencing is a block. I only realised it when I wrote the title to this post. I gave it that name, but is it really what I think it is?...
The Self-Help Guide to Self-Help Gurus
Learning the ropes as an author and independent publisher involves gleaning information from all kinds of sources. Inevitably you are drawn into what the internet has to offer. There are thousands of experts and gurus out there who are more than willing to share their...
Perseverance Is Everything
I have been struggling. Perseverance is getting me down. Writing itself and being a dedicated author is not a problem. It’s more about coming to terms with finding an audience. Creating a novel is only part of my job as an author. I have to make sure others can...
Kakadu: Boating With Sharks, Crocodiles and Wisdom
Going on a river cruise in Australia’s Kakadu National Park is quite unlike any other cruise you are likely to undertake. You won’t come across many places in the world where you find yourself sitting in a boot which is floating on waters teeming with crocodiles...
A Publishing Aftermath and a New Beginning
A couple of weeks ago I published my first book. I sent Loreless out into the world. To use a well-worn cliche, it was a baptism of fire. Now in the aftermath I realise I am at the beginning once again. For months and months I had no fear. I was convinced of what I...
Adventures Of A Writer In The Wild
I’m sitting here alone. A writer in the wild. On a Wednesday morning I share a big wooden table with a group of writers. It is located in a yoga centre in a small side street in the old part of Amsterdam. Usually there are several of us scribbling on block pads or...
Fairies and Tantrums: What Happened The Day Before The Launch
About a week ago everything changed, again. I sent my book Loreless out into the world. To use a well-worn cliché, it was a baptism of fire. On the morning preceding publishing day I wrote down my thoughts. Now they make interesting reading. Escaping with words I...
Never Lose Sight Of The Big Picture
I just discovered this stream of consciousness. I wrote it a few months ago. Sometimes, its good to have this kind of thing to put it all into perspective. Lack of a view of the big picture happens to be one of the biggest battles with writing professionally. The...
Overcome Your Fear In The Recording Studio
There was a time when I was afraid of the recording studio. I thought that it would show me up for my inadequacies. I thought I wasn’t good enough. I was wrong. Studios are friendly places. They are full of like-minded people trying to create something and you, as a...
Prince’s Legacy: Coincidences And A Strange Development
After working for six months on my new book, I have experienced a strange coincidence. Life throws the strangest things at you. When I started writing about Anais Blue, I never expected one of the characters in the book would die. I don’t mean die in the book, but in...
How To Make Yourself Creatively Accountable
If you are trying to make a living with a creative endeavour you need to hold yourself accountable for what you do. Writing requires enormous dedication. There is a large percentage of the population who have thought about writing a book. Supposedly this figure is...
The Curious Case Of Constable W. H. Willshire
William Willshire was one particularly bad egg. Central Australia in the 1880s was considered the outer frontier. In some ways it still is, and continues to be most people’s image of what epitomises the Australian outback. When William Willshire went to serve as...
The Not So Great War
Over a hundred years ago, my grandfather went off to war. He was young, and possibly, panting at the bit to go. He may have gone earlier if it hadn’t been for age restrictions. It was to be a great adventure. Every able-bodied man wanted to be part of...
The Library
Here I am again in the library. Not just any library. This one is special. When I first decided to write seriously this was one of my first discoveries. Like a lot of discoveries, you want to keep it to yourself. If too many people know about it then it won’t be a...
Hobby Is A Dirty Word
Yesterday, I had a bit of a moment. My so-called hobby was challenged. Over the past few months I have steadily been building up momentum as an author. I set up a website. I have had my book edited, I have had a cover designed. I have absorbed oceans of tips on...
The Bureaucrat
He peered up at me from his little hole and hissed, “Tip”. “Huh?” Again, this time a little louder and a lot more snake-like. “Tip!” The penny dropped. “Aah.” We had just spent the best part of an hour trying to get...
Research and Memory
Research takes a lot time. It also involves an enormous amount of reading. Most of it goes in and gets lost somewhere in the recesses of your brain. You can’t absorb everything in detail. Somehow your brain filters out the unimportant stuff and you’re just...
Emerging from a Musical Wilderness
Emerging from a Musical Wilderness We have been in the wilderness. It’s been five years since the last Whittlesea album was released. This means that it has been more than six years since we were in the studio. That’s an incredibly long time between recordings. It...Discover a part of Australia you never imagined existed.
Read Loreless
Do you like stories about witches? Ghosts? Powerful entities? You must meet Anaïs Blue.
