2018 - My Year of Reading

I’ve been thinking about my blog a lot lately, about how neglected it has been. It is sad and lonely without me, and in need of a little update I think. Many thanks to those who still visit.

I still consider myself a writer, but I am so much more. I am writing, on and off (I never completely stop), but nothing major, nothing large. I am mostly writing poetry and have been attempting to put together enough for a collection. In fact, I had finally motivated myself to making a goal to submit a manuscript to Five Islands Press - a spectacularly reputable publisher of poetry - during their submission period in November, only to discover at the eleventh hour that they had decided to “retire” this year with the manuscripts they already had and were closed for submissions now and forevermore. I admit, this bummed me out big time and I did all the usual pulling of hair, woe is meing, what is the point of it all etc etc... it wasn’t pretty. But then I remembered there were other things I enjoyed doing and kept doing them.

I’ve been making a lot of art. I LOVE colour. Colours. All of them. I have been learning new ways of making art, using new techniques, new products. I am quite in love with art jornalling right now and am forever trying to be more spontaneous and messy with it...I can be a bit controlled in my approach - a bit of a perfectionist, really - which is weird, because as a writer, I have always been a pantser and never a planner. If you are a writer you will understand this and probably swing more one way than the other.

Anyway, you’re here for my “Year of Reading” update, so here you go...

I gave myself what I thought was an achievable goal of reading 60 Books this year. Due to a rather large amount of lethargy and a particularly bad winter with my ongoing depression I didn’t quite manage it. I read, but much less than usual. My memory being what it is (or isn’t!) lately, luckily I record my reading on goodreads.

There were some great latecomers in the last quarter of 2018. Wintering by Krissy Kneen, A Superior Spectre by Angela Meyer, and The Fragments by Toni Jordan. As usual, I read quite a bit of poetry and sought inspiration in the pages of some great art books. I finally read Robin Hobb’s The Fitz and The Fool trilogy and I was absolutely blown away. I cried buckets. Another amazing standout was Trent Dalton’s Boy Swallows Universe. Simply spectacular. I devoured every single scrumptious word of it. Trust me, you need to read this book. Honestly. Just do it!

Another change in my world is the very late diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder. A short while back it would have been called Aspergers, but my diagnosis came after the latest changes to the terminology. The diagnosis didn’t come as any surprise to me, I sought it out after all, knowing it was more than likely given my son’s autism and my lifelong struggles with most everything, but especially social interactions and sensory issues. I have always, always, been weird. Funnily enough, even with the lack of surprise and the welcoming of the diagnosis, it took me almsot four years to settle into it. Almost fifty years of life pre diagnosis, takes some time to look back on, analyse, and assimilate. So many aha moments. So many what ifs. So many events and incidents. But I’m here now, and I’m getting a handle on who I am. 

So I’m thinking of making a bit of a change to this blog - or perhaps even starting a new one on a different platform. Rest assured there will always be books, for books were my first friends and teachers, but I will be adding some art and craft and conversation. Join me, won’t you?

As for 2019, I have dedicated it, the year of the kindle. I have so many unread books gathering dust (haha!) on my kindle that I think it’s high time I read them. So, for the duration of the next twelve months that is my plan. Like every other year, I will read as many books as possible, but only from my kindle. If I absolutely ’must’ read a new release during 2019, I will buy a digital copy of it, otherwise all new physical books can wait until 2020.  I can see already that I will miss reading poetry, but perhaps to fill this need I will endeavour to write more. Time will tell. Enjoy your new years celebrations. Health and happiness to you all.

2012 - My Year of Reading

The last two months have shown an incredible spike in the page views this blog has been getting. I haven’t blogged anything new in the last two months so I can only assume that Google has found me or that through you good people reading and sharing I’m getting some pretty good backlinks.

Anyway, in honor of this increase and to show people I am still indeed alive and kicking (well, kicking back anyway, I’m on leave) I thought I would end the year with a bit of a list of some of the books I have enjoyed in 2012.

I read some amazing fiction this year - 31 titles in total - but my top ten were:

Nine Days by Toni Jordan.

White Horse by Alex Adams.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.
Past the Shallows by Favel Parrett.
The Wrong Boy by Suzy Zail.
Revived by Cat Patrick.
Everything Beautiful by Simmone Howell.
House Rules by Jodi Picoult.
Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin.
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce.

  
I also read a lot of poetry, a couple of biographies, a handful of writing reference and one self-help. All up I devoured 55 books total for the year which isn’t half bad. The best of the non-fiction were:

The Road to the Dark Tower: Exploring King’s Magnum Opus by Bev Vincent.

Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King by Lisa Rogak.
Help! for Writers: 210 Solutions to the Problems Every Writer Faces by Roy Peter Clark.
Wannabe a Writer by Jane Wenham-Jones.
Tamam Shud: The Somerton Man Mystery by KerryGreenwood.

Well, that’s it! Why not get along to your local library and borrow some of these to read over the summer? If you do, come back and leave me a comment to tell me what you thought.

No matter how you spend this holiday season I wish you a wonderful time with good food, family and friends and all the best for a happy and safe 2013.

Toni Jordan - Author Interview Series

What authors/books did you read as a child? When did you first discover your love of books?

I've been reading for as long as I can remember. My earliest memories are of a book of children's poetry by Mary Gilmore (kind of strange--it wasn't a poetry-reading home) and the Faraway series by the awesome Enid Blyton.

When did you first realise you were a writer? What do you hope your readers will take away with them from reading your books?

When my first book, Addition, was picked up by publishers overseas, I thought to myself: 'Perhaps I do know what I'm doing.' I'd love it if readers enjoyed themselves, but found plenty to think about as well. I think readers can laugh and think at the same time.

Do you find it difficult to read purely for pleasure? Does everything you read come under your ‘writer’ microscope?

These days it's a very special book that enables me to lose myself. When I love something, I can't help thinking: 'How did she/he do that?'

Do you have to avoid reading certain types of fiction while writing your own? Does what you read while writing have an effect on what you write? In what way?

I couldn't possibly stop reading while I was writing. It takes me around 18 months to write a book. If I stopped reading fiction during that time, I'd go bonkers. I've never understood this 'polluting my voice' theory of reading.

Name five authors or books that have influenced or inspired your own writing in some way.

Sorry, must have six. The six people who make me want to give up: Peter Carey, Jonathan Franzen, Zadie Smith, Peter Temple, Richard Ford, AS Byatt. Freaks, every one.

If you were travelling and were told you could only take one book with you, what book would it be and why?

At the moment, it would be Freedom by Jonathon Franzen. I've been looking forward to it but haven't started yet. It’s a biggun.

What makes a book ‘too good to put down’?

I think this is what every writer would give their left kidney to know, but there's no easy answer. It's a magical thing, often unrelated to technical skill.

What makes you put down a book without finishing it?

I'm such an optimist that I firmly believe in giving a writer every chance. Who knows? Even if the book's a stinker, they might pull something out in the last ten pages that is so fantastic that the rest of the book falls into place. I've only given up half way once in living memory. Embarrassingly for me, it was Patrick White's The Living and the Dead. I really hated it and it made me incredibly angry, because I'd never read White before and I was so looking forward to it.

Do you have a favourite author? Who is it and what is it about their writing that draws you to them?

There's too many to mention. Apart from the six aliens I've listed earlier, I love Michelle de Kretser, Chris Womersley, Brian Castro...the list goes on. So many writers make me go weak at the knees.

If you had to list them, what would be your ‘top ten’ reads of all time (excluding the classics) and why?

Yikes. This changes on a daily basis. Excluding the classics, the books I try to read at least once a year are:

The Corrections - Jonathan Franzen

Possession - AS Byatt

Oscar and Lucinda - Peter Carey

White Teeth - Zadie Smith

Independence Day - Richard Ford

The Gathering - Anne Enright

The English Patient - Michael Ondaatje

The Acolyte - Thea Astley

Carpentaria - Alexis Wright

Flaubert's Parrot - Julian Barnes

What was your 2010 ‘best read’? What was it that made it number one?

AAARGH! Lisa you ask all the tough questions. I can't pick one because it was a tie: Peter Temple's Truth and Chris Womersley's Bereft. Wonderful, wonderful books. I don't write anything like this type of thing, but you can see the genius in them. They are both exquisite in every way.

What do you think of the non-traditional publishing methods – eBooks etc? Do you think the new technology will encourage more people to read? Do you think there’s a future for print books?

They'll be prying my pbooks out of my cold dead hands.

Find out more about Toni here.

2010 - the year that was...

Ok, so it's not quite over yet but to give me the chance to start fresh in 2011 (and to ensure I don't forget) I thought I'd get this one over with now...

When I look back on the past twelve months I could quite easily be disappointed with myself. I feel like I've made very little progress this year as a writer. I haven't sent out many pieces for publication. I'm still yet to complete a first draft of a novel (I say 'a' as opposed to 'my' because I now have three on the go - which could be part of the problem really), and I've failed (though not for want of trying) to have my short story collection Reflections reviewed...anywhere... There you go - failure with a big fat F!

However, when I looked to see what I've actually had published in 2010 (including blogs other than this one) I was surprised. For a year full of writerly-slacking-off I acheived more than I thought - 10 pieces published including 3 poems, 2 pieces in Victorian Writer, a guest review and a handful of interviews. Oh!! And oops, I forgot - a poem in the next Moving Galleries Exhibition...that's a big one, don't know how I forgot that! Not bad, considering the dismal effort I put in to getting anything published this year.

And of course there was NaNoWriMo - churning out just over 50,000 words in 24 days (6 days before deadline) was also a pretty mighty effort. Sure, many of those words wont deserve to ever see the light of day, but there's some good dialogue in there at least and enough 'story/plot/character' to build at the very least a longish short story...

And as usual I read & read & read - around 60 books in total but I won't be boring and list them. Thirteen of them were by Kate Forsyth. If you love fantasy and you haven't read anything by Kate - shame on you - she is an Aussie treasure. A few of my favourites for the year include Bereft by Chris Womersley, The Ghost's Child by Sonya Hartnett, Cormac McCarthy's The Road and Fall Girl by Toni Jordan.

As for 2011, as I said in the previous post I have a series of interviews lined up, so I hope you'll stay tuned for those. I hope to keep them coming all year. As for other 'writerly' goals for 2011, I'll save them for another post as this is already becoming a bit of a book...

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays etc...

An interview with the lovely Toni Jordan.

A month before the release of Toni Jordan’s second novel Fall Girl, her publishers have sold the film rights to her widely acclaimed debut novel Addition. I thought I’d ask her to come down from the clouds for a moment and talk to me about it.

First of all, congratulations! You must be super excited. Please tell me when and how you heard the news, and how you reacted.

It's been a long process. Addition was first published in February 2008, so I've had many meetings with talented, imaginative film-makers who had all kind of ideas for the book. In the end, Christina and Bruna seemed like a perfect fit.

Good news needs to be shared. Who did you tell first and how did they react?

It wasn't a 'OMG' moment, but rather something the rights team at Text have been working toward for almost 3 years. These things don't just happen without a great deal of strategy and hard work. I think the reaction from everyone was relief!

Were you involved in the process? Will you have any input before or during production?

Yes, I met with everyone who submitted a formal proposal and thought hard about who would be the best people to look after Addition. I knew nothing about either film-making or adaptations beforehand, so it's been fascinating. I don't know yet how much input the filmmakers want from me. I want to do whatever is necessary to help make the film a success, and that might be just getting out of the way and letting them do it!

If you could choose anyone you wanted to play Grace and Seamus who would you choose?

Oh I wish I was a visual kind of person! I can barely even picture what I look like. Sadly I have no idea.

Did you ever think about Addition becoming a film while you were writing it?

Never. In fact, when I was signing my original contract with my publisher, my husband Robbie and I had a small chuckle at the section marked 'film rights'. "Yeah, right," we said to each other.

How long do you think it will be before we see it on the big screen?

Ummm--no idea! These things can take years...

If there is one part of the book you’d hate to see them get wrong what is it? Why?

The only thing that really matters to me is that Grace is treated with respect. She is intelligent and sexy and funny, and I'd hate to see her become a twitching OCD stereotype. Her condition is just one part of her and by no means the most important part.

If there is one part you don’t want them to leave out what is it? Why?

Nothing really. Film making is a very distinct art form, and something that works perfectly on the page might not work on the screen. It's the spirit of the book, rather than the letter, that I want to see preserved.

I hear you’re thinking of asking for a cameo appearance in the film. Is that true?

It started off as a bit of a joke, but who knows?

Your new novel Fall Girl is due for release next month. Please tell me something about it.

I'm very excited about Fall Girl! I've tried to channel my love for screw-ball romantic comedies of the forties and fifities into a modern story--a novelistic 'Charade' or 'To catch a thief', something where you could imagine Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn as the protagonists. Except set in Melbourne. Those classic romantic comedies had it all: fascinating characters, intricate plots, witty dialogue and sexual tension to burn. I only hope I've done them justice.

The second novel can sometimes be daunting for a writer who’s had such success with the first. Was this true for you?

For a long time I could hardly write my own name. I was frozen, tight inside. Nothing worked, for over a year.

What was the most challenging part of writing Fall Girl?

The first draft was an absolute nightmare. Every day I forced myself to sit down and type out 1500 words of rubbish. Little beads of blood pooled on my forehead. It wasn't until the second draft that everything clicked and I was carried away by the fun of the story.

Grace is such an unforgettable character. How different from Grace is Della? What motivates her?

Della is very much a woman of our time--she is pulled in every direction. She feels the pressure of looking after her family, her career, her love life, all at once. Della has big issues to face. If she's not defined by her name, and she's not defined by her job, and she's not defined by her family or the house she lives--then who is she? I think many women today see themselves as a compilation of the roles they play. Della's search for her identity is what drives the whole book.

Which novel was harder to write? Why?

If I could just erase the pain of first draft of Fall Girl from my memory, they were both a joy.

Do you have any writing routines or rituals that help you with the process?

Yes--the secret to my success is Freedom for Mac. This fabulous fabulous program turns off your internet connection for a set period of time and won't turn it on again, even if you beg it. I'm evangelistic about it. Every writer should have it.

Have you begun work on novel number three?

Of course Lisa, you know how addictive writing is!

What a blast!

As some of you know (especially those who came along - thankyou!) My book - Reflections - was launched by Toni Jordan on Saturday December 12th at the Cranbourne Library. The launch has become a bit of a blur for me but the photos that my good friend Tony Tulloch took jolt the memory sufficiently for me to tell you that it was a great success. So many wonderful people came along to support me and I am forever thankful for that.

Both John Irving and Toni Jordan said wonderful things about me and about my writing, and when the dust had settled later that afternoon and I realised I'd signed 51 copies that day, I was further over the moon than that fabled cow!

Since that day I have sold another 15 copies of my book and the interest in it doesn't seem to be waning. I'm hoping for a review or two in the new year (fingers crossed) but for now I'll leave you with the jacket blurb by the lovely Angela Meyer...Thanks Ange!

Ready for lift off in 10, 9, 8...

My book launch approaches at a rate of knots! I am nervous and excited. It's a little hard organising a launch from 2000 miles away but I'm doing it anyway...

My short story collection, Reflections, will be launched by novelist Toni Jordan (Addition - TEXT) at the Cranbourne Library 11am Sat 12th Dec.

For those who can't make it - the collection is available for sale on the Ginninderra website (www.ginninderrapress.com.au).

That's all for now :)

Putting my best foot forward

Tonight I attended a seminar at the Victorian Writers Centre with Kirsty Wilson, publicist for TEXT. She gave us the rundown on the marketing of not just your writing but yourself. I'm the shy-retiring type (as those who know me would attest) so this part of selling your book to the publisher has always freaked me out a little bit...in fact it's always freaked me out way more than a little bit.

I've had 4 yrs of getting used to the fact that, if I successfully sell my novel, I will have to wiggle my bum (metaphorically speaking - the gospel according to John!) for the media. So that I don't look like a total nob-head when the time comes, I've been going up to strangers, usually other writers I haven't officially met yet, and introducing myself. I figure it's gonna take me 2 to 3 yrs to write this novel (hell that's a long time!) and by the time it's good to go I will have gotten past the simple introductions and be on to having sustained conversations...that's the plan anyway.

When I first met Toni Jordan at the 2008 Melbourne Writers Festival (remember to book your tickets early!) I asked her if it had taken her long to develop her public speaking style. If she had perhaps started off shaky, then improved. She disappointed me (and apologised for it - she really is lovely) by telling me it was all her and she could talk under water. As I'm not the best swimmer, I'll settle for being able to string more than two meaningful sentences together.

I'm getting in some practice on Fri. I'm being interviewed as a result of winning the Herb Thomas Memorial Trust Award for 2009. Got the call last week. Let's hope my feet stay on the ground and don't wind up in my mouth...