I wish everyone had the chance to meet Laurie Steed, or at least to get an email from him. I’ve been lucky enough to know him for several years and been the beneficiary of his gentle, insightful and uplifting guidance in my own writing practice. Laurie is a true writing soul – a person who believes, utterly, in the importance…
It’s such a pleasure to welcome Vanessa Carnevale back to the blog. Apart from being one of the loveliest people in the writing world, Vanessa also produces heartfelt novels with a deeply emotional core. In 2017, Vanessa released her first novel The Florentine Bridge and she’s followed it up this year with The Memories that Make Us. This book has the most…
One of the best things about getting involved in the online writing community is the lovely people you meet – and Vanessa Carnevale is one of the loveliest. What first put Vanessa on my radar was her excellent podcast – Your Creative Life – which is a must-listen for any aspiring writer. Then, earlier this year came the truly wonderful…
Well, this is a Book Birdy first! Sunni Overend is the first writer to be featured twice on the blog, which I think is testament to the fascinating nature of her personal writing story and also her fabulous books, which are a really fresh take on contemporary women’s fiction. Sunni first came on my radar last year when I was…
I am a complete sucker for smart and funny modern romance, and those sorts of books can be a little hard to find. Happily, The Hating Game ticks all those boxes, so it’s an absolute pleasure to welcome its author, Sally Thorne, to Book Birdy. Here’s a little taste of what this Canberra-based author’s debut novel is all about.. Lucy Hutton has…
When people tell me they don’t read or like short stories, I tend to feel a bit sorry for them. And, if I’m honest, a little superior. Perhaps even a little defensive. That’s possibly the wrong approach. As the wise and thoughtful editor, Laurie Steed, says in his introduction to Shibboleth and other stories (Margaret River Press) his response to short-story-prejudice…
I first read Love at First Flight last year, when it was released as an e-book and was completely captivated by the chemistry between the two main characters, Mel and Matt, who meet and fall in ‘lust at first sight’ while sitting next to each other on a flight from Perth to Sydney. Problem is – Mel is a married mother…
There are so many different types of authors in this world – but the ones that really excite me are those who seem to operate on a different plane to the rest of us. The ones who notice things that we (or I) seem to miss – and then convey these things using extraordinary, inventive language. The ones who reveal…
Imagine you’re at the start of your creative writing life. You have a short story. You have no idea if it’s any good. But you send it off anyway to a national, well-respected short story competition – the first one you’ve ever entered. You wait and wait. Then the results come in and you nearly fall over. You won? You…
You know how it feels when you’re a kid and it’s the night before Christmas, and you have that delicious sense of anticipation about what tomorrow will bring… Well, that’s exactly how I feel about the publication of Natasha Lester’s new novel A Kiss from Mr Fitzgerald. It’s just gorgeous. I know that so many women out there are going…