NaNoWriMo is fast approaching and for the first time in five years, I'm stepping out of Payton's world, and leaping into a new one, this time alongside Liv, Casey, Ali, Lilah, and Andy!! Earlier this year I started working on a new story for LoNoWriMo, a writing endeavor which ultimately failed miserably, except that it birthed this idea! I've been very slowly chipping away at this all year, mostly in the planning sense, but occasionally writing, and today I decided to sit down with Kindred Spirits and get back in the writing groove before diving in on November 1st. And boy was I shocked by the outcome... 

I knew going into writing Kindred Spirits for NaNo that, being an eBook, which I had already chipped away at through the year, there wouldn't be enough of it to sustain me throughout November. Thankfully though, Kindred Spirits is only the first book in the Sisters of East Hartleigh series! If all goes well, I'll be moving onto the second eBook, Burning Desire, fairly early in the month, and if they stick to their intended word counts (honestly, who knows how that will go), I'll get started on book three, Shaken Ground, ​before the end of November. 

I've learned my lesson, and I make no promises about keeping this blog updated, but who knows, stranger things have happened! Watch this space for (very) occasional updates on how it all goes! 

After focusing solely on one project for so long, I had almost forgotten what it feels like to be passionate about something new, but I've finally put my first novel aside - I'm not finished with it, just getting some breathing room - and I'm working on something new. 

The first of my newer projects is actually a sequel to the first, which is currently titled Bound to Shift. I'm about two thirds of the way finished with the first draft, and I don't think anyone will be more surprised while reading it than I have been writing it - there are twists and turned I never saw coming, which as the writer doesn't seem possible... but here we are. I've loved adding in new characters to the dynamic of Payton, Zachariah, Ava, Neil, and the others - I thought Maxfield would be my favourite of the new players, but Laura was a total dark horse and stole my heart. She's so great - you're going to love her. 

Since I started working full time, finding the time to write has been a real struggle. There's always other things I could be doing in my spare time, like washing, or playing the Sims, or doing dishes, or playing Don't Starve... you get the idea. But without fail, every November I sit down, and I find the time to write 50,000 words (except for 2016, but I made up for it a few months later). So when Alyce turned to me last December and asked me to join her on a crazy venture she was calling LoNoWriMoFoCray (Local Novel Writing Month For Crazies), I jumped at the chance. The idea is that every three months, lining up with NaNo, we would write 30,000 words (at least, that's the goal for now). When February actually started and I realised what that meant... I wasn't as enthused as I had been. But so far it's been going really well.

This semesters WordCon event was honestly fantastic. One of the better ones I've attended. On day one we were lucky enough to have guest speakers come in from Penguin Random House, Hardie Grant Egmont, Noble Word, and more. 
Rob Griffith organised for Marisa Pintado, the commissioning editor of children's and YA fiction, and Pooja Desai, the in-house designer, both from Hardie Grant Egmont to speak with us about the various intricacies of their jobs, from how they got started to what they do on a day-to-day basis. It was inspiring to hear from these incredibly accomplished women, and certainly reignited the desire to get started on a career in the publishing industry. 
Next up we heard from Dr Andrew Macrae who spoke to us about being writers in the age of distraction. The most interesting part of this lecture, in my opinion, was when he spoke about the theory of flow state. This is a mental state in which you "a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process". I feel like I've only experienced this sort of focus a handful of times, and it truely is an incredible experience. Learning more about the psychology behind this was truely fascinating. 
Following this, after lunch of course, Robyn Doreian interviewed Cate Blake, who works for Viking books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. She spoke about the intricacies of pitches - both successful and non-successful ones - as well as the shape of manuscripts she receives and what she looks for while she is reading through these various submissions (of which there are many). I was most inspired to hear her say that when reading a manuscript it is not the smaller details like language use and such that catch her attention, but rather the story overall and the voice of the author. I was incredibly excited to hear this, because at this stage in my writing - the third draft of my manuscript is slowly taking shape - it's easy to fall into the trap of spending painstaking hours focusing on syntax and never making a dent in the overall work. To hear that voice and story should be the main focus of the author - because these are the elements an editor is not so readily able to help with - was amazing. I was overcome with the desire to go straight home and get to work on my manuscript again. 
I, of course, did not go straight home and do this. And I'm so glad I didn't, because if I had I would have missed hearing from book publicist, Emma Noble. 
Emma Noble spent many years working in the publishing industry and now runs her own public relations company, Noble Words PR, which specialises in the book trade. She was an incredibly inspiring industry professional to hear from, and really made me think about the various avenues this course I'm finishing can lead in to. She also gave each of us a cop of her book, The DIY Book PR Guide, which is amazing and I can't wait to read it in full. 

Day two of WordCon started off with Luke Horton introducing Sam Cooney who runs TLB, the not-for-profit organisation which publishes The Lifted Brow, a quarterly literary magazine. Sam spoke to us about the intricacies of the company, from it's beginning to now, however the most interesting part of this presentation for me was when Sam spoke about the relatively new book imprint they've started, Brow Books. The passion he had when talking about the kinds of books they have, are, and will publish was incredible and really drew my interest. I am very interested in purchasing the novel The Island Will Sink by Briohny Doyle. Sam's discussion about submissions to The Lifted Brow and the process they go through for selection was incredibly interesting. 
After this, author Adam Browne spoke to us and showed us some of his short films, which were very engaging. His passion for his work was clear and it was lovely to hear from someone who writes more sci-fi based work, especially hearing how his fascination with history ties into his writing. His illustrated book was by far my favourite of the work I saw, seeing the way he paired his art with his text was amazing, and the drawings themselves were absolutely stunning. 
After breaking for lunch, we came back to see Brad Webb speaking with Chester Eagle, and incredibly accomplished writer, editor, and publisher. I will admit that during a lull in the conversation I began to read from the mini-mags of his work that he provided us with and I was blown away by his writing. I had to force myself to stop reading so that I didn't miss hearing the rest of the discussion. Needless to say I will be visiting the Trojan Press website to download some more of his work when I've got free reading time. 
Next up, André Elhay gave a presentation on his forthcoming novel The Career Creative Survival Guide: 10 Steps to Making it. ​The tips he gave us were really interesting and definitely opened my eyes to the way that creative industries operate. I'll be honest and say that the idea of something like thinking five to ten years ahead and making a plan is terrifying to me, but at the same time, I think it's incredibly important to keep your eye on the future. 

The day was finished up with the launch of The Last Word which, like I said, went really well. We had a great turn out, heard some amazing pieces from the authors that penned them, and celebrated the amazing amount of work that everyone involved put into this product. 
I want to thank everyone involved in this production, from my fellow members on the editing committee - Sarah Cahalan, Nicola Horgan, Anna Bilbrough, and Lucia Valeria Alfieri - and my team on the publishing crew at Yarra Bend Press - Torben Jones, Steven Cini, Alexandra Mavridis, Sarah Cahalan, Nicola Horgan, and Brad Webb. 
This was an incredible experience to be a part of, and I'm incredibly excited to get started on my next project - whatever that may be. 
For more information and content, or to get your hands on a copy of the collection, visit the website! 

Naturally, when I realised that they actually were my novels, I was so incredibly excited! And I don't know about you guys, but I think they look incredible. Later that week, my sister went an hour out of her way to come and pick up the books that needed to be delivered to my family (sorry, she was "visiting"... sure, Jamie-Lee, the books had nothing to do with it, I believe you). 
Two days ago, my mother texted me, demanding I immediately begin writing the sequel, because she's already finished it and wants to know what happens next. Yesterday, I got a phone call from my brother with the same request. It's an amazing feeling to know - no matter the quality of the piece, since it's just a draft after all - it was at least readable! It's coherent! 

After I rewrote these sections, I also added them to the InDesign layout file in preparation of mock-up printing in a few short weeks! 
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Today has been a good day! It's official! But now, unfortunately, I think I need to turn in for the night. (I might be sneaky and do a little reading before bed). 

My favourite songs are all sad. I don't know if it's the raw emotion behind the lyrics, the soulful feeling of the melody, or the ability to transform pain into beauty, but I am mesmerised by it. 
It was songs like this, dealing with ideas like grief and heartache, that inspired me to write my first short story, For the Living, Not the Dead. 

When I first started to write this piece, I hadn't yet decided who had died, who was eulogising them, or what their relationship was. I was simply writing a funeral scene as way of exploring the feeling of loss. I decided to keep this ambiguity in the opening paragraphs even after I had decided that the main character, Lacy, would be saying goodbye to her four year old son, Riley. 

Throughout this story, I tried to explore how I imagine the grief of such a monumental loss would feel - I wanted Lacy to feel like she had lost everything; her family, her faith, and herself, while also showing that despite her feelings, she wasn't alone.

Originally, the story ended with Lacy visiting her grief councillor, who she saw often, and speaking outwardly about her improvements, while inwardly reflecting on her inability to move on, and ultimately decided that she didn't need to move on. This ending felt wrong to me - inauthentic. So when I revisited the story for submission to The Last Word anthology earlier this year, I made the decision to rewrite that scene. The new ending not only feels more authentic to me, but helps the story feel more complete and rounded. 

For the Living, Not the Dead, is a story that means a lot to me. Not only is it the first successful short fiction piece that I have written, but it holds emotion I hadn't previously explored or let out in another capacity. 

If you're interested in receiving this story, along with a large collection of other short pieces exploring memory, click the link below and RSVP to The Last Word anthology WordCon Launch party. (If you are unable to attend this launch, but are interested in receiving a copy of The Last Word anyway, click over to the 'Contact' tab, send me a message, and I'll see what I can do.)