CELEBRATE BRIDGET ZINN AND POISON'S RELEASE DAY!

This is Bridget Zinn! And this is POISON!!

Sometimes, you see someone that just makes you think, "Wow! There's something truly special about this person." I remember coming across Bridget's photo a while back and thinking just that. She had this joyous light emanating from her, and you knew those lucky enough to have known her would have had a bit of that light shining on them too. In a way, they're passing a bit of the same onto us, letting us share in this moment with them. With Bridget too. I'm thankful for that.

You can tell just by looking at Bridget, she would have been a good friend. She would have taken her time to give a thoughtful answer to any question. She would have helped find you a good book. 

She was a librarian. She loved books!

So when I saw a post about joining in to celebrate Bridget's release of POISON, I jumped right in. I thought, in a way, Bridget was somehow taking us over to her library shelves and pointing out a really good book, and that book just happened to be called, POISON, and she just happened to be the author.

I thought maybe I could see her smile.

I was sure I did.

                         

Sixteen-year-old Kyra, a highly-skilled potions master, is the only one who knows her kingdom is on the verge of destruction - which means she's the only one who can save it. Faced with no other choice, Kyra decides to do what she does best: poison the kingdom's future ruler, who also happens to be her former best friend. 

But, for the first time ever, her poisoned dart…misses.

Now a fugitive instead of a hero, Kyra is caught in a game of hide-and-seek with the king's army and her potioner ex-boyfriend, Hal. At least she's not alone. She's armed with her vital potions, a too-cute pig, and Fred, the charming adventurer she can't stop thinking about. Kyra is determined to get herself a second chance (at murder), but will she be able to find and defeat the princess before Hal and the army find her?

Kyra is not your typical murderer, and she's certainly no damsel-in-distress—she's the lovable and quick-witted hero of this romantic novel that has all the right ingredients to make teen girls swoon.

Join me on my road trip to Tasmania!

Road trip to Tassie!                                         Devils and mystery! Landscapes galore!   The Tasmanian tiger? Anything is possible, but for now follow me along.                                                

We began, as most things should, with strawberry ice cream and a demented strawberry! This little fellow was in some serious need of some lovin'!

Still, the ice cream was amazing! I had four cones, and then we drove to the coast and Bicheno, our home for two days! 

This quiet coastal town is near Freycinet National Park, and Wineglass Bay where it is said that the Bay during whaling days was filled with blood and blubber enough to resemble a full wine glass. YUK!
On a clear day, you can still see the whale bones from that time. 

Big, big, rock! I am using super power thrust to shift it. Whoops, no, I'm just waving!

   A part of Freycinet National Park. Simply idyllic! Somehow I was talked into running up to the lookout, which was absolutely amazing, but very steep! My hamstrings are still asking, "Why?"

This little friend was waiting in the parking lot on our return!

 Now I love cherries! They are simply a drug to me. I have no control. I go absolutely mad. My children will tell a story of how I grabbed onto a electric fence when I thought a cherry tree was on the other side. I did not know it was electric. I did not know the cherry tree was actually a crap apple. I am simply blinded by cherries, cherries, cherries! And this place was just so, "Wow!" A farm that was celebrating 190 years within the same family! Just amazing! And yeah, I had one kilo from this farm alone. About five kilos over the entire trip!

 Notice a few things about this sign! Go on take a good look!

We found this on our way through the lake district heading toward the highlands.
See the thing is, there's nothing like feeling a tree!

 As we get higher, the landscape begins to change. Trees are a passion of mine, and so it appears from the sign above, a passion for many. They talk to me. Add it to the list of weird, but this one wanted a hug!

 Getting into the Highland territory where "The Hunter" was shot!

So ambient and a film makers dream. Stop at the side of the road, get your shot and you're on your way. I could hear the cameraman sigh!

Getting cold! One of the many rivers we stopped at on the way to our cabin in the mountains!

Can you not see the fairies running around this place? But no, we had crows tapping on our window and two of the fattest possums you've ever seen trying to get through the front door! A glorious spot!

Close up shot of the flowers outside the cabin!

And this is the boathouse at Cradle Mountain! Honestly, you could spend days and days walking the walks here. Advice - always let the rangers know where you're walking! The weather moves in quick!

    Crazy crow after my Jelly Tots! Has he no shame? My Jelly Tots, now shoo!

 Driving out of the mountain region!

 I had some spooky things happen on this trip. This place and its town topped the list!

What happened here will no doubt appear in one of my books!

Eyes followed us from this place mile after mile. I do believe we may have been escorted to take our leave! Advice-don't ask too many questions in a small town! I happen to always ask a lot of questions!

We ended our trip in Hobart and spent a day at Port Arthur and the prison ruins.

Now I know the prisoners here were treated appallingly, but walking around I couldn't help marvel at the remarkable land and views! It was undeniably one of the most spectacular locations I've ever been to!

No roof. No windows. But the walls of the church still stand, as do I after a lovely time away!

And I actually saw two Tasmanian Devils on the same stretch of road in the Highlands.
That is so incredibly rare, as is the land of Tasmania!

Happy Holidays my friends!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I love Thanksgiving.

The turn of the leaves. The crispness in the air.

One year in particular stays with me. Many came to our country place on the lake. We had a fireplace made of stones found on our property. It was where everyone gathered. A focal point that drew them in. It was where I watched them unwind.

I remember standing somewhat aloft. Taking it all in. Taking them in. 

The loons called. The turkey went in the oven.

How it fit in that old stove, I'll never know, but it did.

And it didn't explode.

We were all together. The effort had been made.

At the dinner table, we joined hands. As is a tradition in my house, everyone has to say what they are thankful for. It's always my favorite part, that and watching their faces as they decided what to say.

That one particular Thanksgiving is what I packed in my bag when I left the country of my birth. When I left the place on the lake, with its shimmering leaves of gold and red.

It came so I would never forget where I raised my glass and gave thanks. Where I was surrounded by smiles and love and the land that is mine. 

My home.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Wishing you all the very best! 

Enjoy your day. 

Enjoy your turkey. 

And remember every moment of thanks.

Hope y'all had a GREAT HALLOWEEN!

HALLOWEEN FUN!

I wasn't going to do my haunted house this year. Felt way too tired! But then this old woman came to our door with two little kids staring up at me. She asked if this was where the lady who did the haunted house lived?

Should I have lied at that point? Told her the lady moved? Haven't heard hide nor hair of her?

Nah! I told her the witch would be back come Halloween, and sure enough she was in all her finery.
Poor old witchy lost her voice by the end of it. Try talking like a craggy old witch for a few hours and see how quick frogs spout from your mouth. Or maybe it was from the spells? 

Had a ball! Hope you did too!!

Small Window of Balance

I have a small window, and I don't mean a window of opportunity, although I suppose you can go there if you wish. No this window is literally my bedroom window stretching along the top of one wall. Narrow and long, I can see the sky and the tops of trees as I lay in bed. It got me thinking about the life of a writer, of becoming so consumed there is only that narrow window with the real world peering in.

 A bird flies by. He might even perch on that scratchy branch and look in, but he's fairly unimpressed. Of he goes to do what he's meant to do. Fly!

And here lies the crux of what I'm saying.

Writer's are meant to write, but writer's are also meant to live.

I know there are times I become lost in what I'm doing, so lost that the real world has disappeared from me. There's a kind of film that's dripped over everything, a fog that swirls around me, so y'know I look a little drug induced walking my dog! Whatever!
But, one thing is true, I can't quite pull myself away from my work. It's dangerous! 

And yet, it is what I love about writing too.

You see, writing can consume, and I enjoy falling into its depths, but I'm also very aware I have to pull myself out. It is a conscious effort on my part, for there have been weeks, months that I have lost. They are gone forever, and on the pages that I have written in those two weeks or more, there is no marker to say what I have lost. There is nothing to say you left your family in the real world, your children, your friends, but believe me they will remind you.

Life is for living and writing is for life.

And a small window of balance.

I'm off to eat incredible french toast with caramelized bananas.

Now that, my friends, is balance!

WriteOnCon! Ninja attack!

I've been popping over to this wonderful on-line conference, listening to a few live chats, checking out a few entries, and I have to tell you that I just love, love, love this event! Every year it gets better and better. The energy they kick into putting this together just explodes out
buckets full of enthusiasm.

They've got agents, editors, blog advice, forums, professional panels, critiques, and advice galore!

Give it a try! 

Whether you're after Ninja's or just want to find out what's happening in the publishing world get on over to WriteOnCon!

WriteOnCon.com

Going for Gold-Agent News and Paul McCartney!

It's always exciting to read about other people's writing journeys,
but I'm going to keep this as brief as possible. Yeah, right!

It started with an old lady that came to visit me a few years back now. She came and sat down beside me in my house that overlooked the sea. She was interesting the way she seemed so real. Her voice. Her story. She whispered it in my ear.

 That was my beginning.
That was also when I thought you just sent out a nice little letter telling everyone how fantastic you were and they'd just believe you! Attach a few pages with it and Bob's your uncle, except Bob isn't really my uncle, and I had no idea what a query letter was or should be.

I sent out about three or four of those letters and oddly enough I ended up in correspondence over the next few years with the late Frances Hanna over in Canada. She'd been in the business a long, long time. She saw something in my writing. She asked for more.
She gave me a gift of belief and I am forever indebted to her for that. God rest her soul.
Would I have continued if not for Frances Hanna? I'm not even sure myself.

Those books were all adult and I wanted to take a punt on YA. I knew I had a certain immaturity, a latent teenager still hanging around inside me that wanted to stomp on my computer keys. So I let her.
I still couldn't quite get rid of that adult voice, or the slow pace I so much enjoyed when leaning toward the literary style of things. I loved the way words rolled, bounced, clung together.
I became lost in that for a while-
the sound of words.

One particular agent told me to, "cut it out," in the nicest kind of way. She told me to, "read this, and read that. Voice, voice, voice!"
Okay, okay! I get it!
Oddly enough, she's the very agent I ended up going with.
But I'm getting to that!

I wrote a query for my latest work. I hated it! I wrote another one! Didn't much like that one either!

It was off-beat, not traditional in any way. It had a good voice, maybe some intrique, a general idea of story and it got a lot of requests!

Huh?!

I couldn't believe it, but I was still trying to finesse that query just the same. I guess I'm stubborn that way. I never finished tweaking because I GOT AN OFFER!!!!

And then things got complicated.

I had previously entered a contest, Xmas in July over at Ruth Stevens site! Ten agents were participating. One of them already had my manuscript, the very one that had given me a boot,in the right direction!
I knew she was enjoying the manuscript. She sent me an email saying so!
That was really cool!

But then came the offer. Not from the emailing agent. From another beautiful lovely agent who really liked my manuscript, and she was really into magical realism. I am too! Oh dear! Now what?!

I let everyone else know. Being summer, many of the agents that had my full were away on holidays. Not a good time people to get into this sort of thing, and I believe not a great time to query either. Check out Janet Reid's blog if you don't believe me.
Still I got another offer, and then another after that, and then another! What the?

 I started feeling sick. I mean we all want this, right? It's what we dream of,
but then how do you choose? How do you know you're choosing wisely?

But here's the thing. Strip it all back. It was always clear to me who I should go with, who I wanted. I still took the necessary time to weigh everything up, which I think is important because then you go in with clarity, with 100% no hold backs. And my absolute "best for me, go with my gut, and what I've always wanted" agent was in Ireland on holidays! Huh?!!!!!
Didn't she know I was getting hysterical?

So this is what I did.

I gave Paul McCartney a call. He was very nice on the phone. Understood the predicament I was in and offered to help! I'll never forget his generosity!

Ireland isn't all that far from London, so we agreed on a plan.

You do remember Paul McCartney at the Olympics of course?!
And you should remember the song he sang?
"HEY JUDE!"

Yeah, that's right!

"Hey Jude," and good old Paul belted that song out with the entire darn audience following, and

my "absolute best for me, go with my gut, and what I've always wanted" agent heard them singing her name all the way in Ireland! 

She still doesn't believe that I arranged the entire thing,

but y'know no one's perfect!

So without further ado, I am now represented by the wonderful 

Judith Engracia at the

very agency I had a strange sense of belonging to since first discovering it --

Liza Dawson Associates.

I do want to thank Paul for his help in this matter!

He really is a terrific guy!