Yes. I too enjoyed Ted Lasso and am looking forward to the next series. The lovable streamed fictitious soccer coach’s advice to his dysfunctional team to “believe” feels so relevant on Sydney’s drab winter days.
Fresh from the excitement of being “in conversation with” the gifted and lovely storyteller Mary-Anne O’Connor (below) at the recent Willoughby Literary Festival, I went back to soak up Pamela Freeman’s session on The editing-to-publishing pipeline.
Pamela has long been a force in Australian writing. An award-winning, bestselling author of 57 books under three names in her own right, she is the Director of Creative Writing at the Australian Writers’ Centre and an extraordinary teacher.
It comes as no surprise that she presented to a full house at the popular festival. Her decades of cross-genre industry experience never dull her enthusiasm for stories, books, editors, writers and authors.
Many of her students have gone on to forge successful writing careers, including Joanna Nell and Petronella McGovern.
Pamela kindly launched my five-book House of Jewels series at Galaxy bookshop above Abbeys in 2022. She always lets me take selfies with her, and was happy for me to share her advice for aspiring authors.
In true Pamela fashion, her presentation sparkled with wisdom.
“If you have a goal, believe that it is reachable,” she said, and she is so right.
After all, if we don’t believe in the best narrative of our own writing lives, nobody else can make us successful.
Writing feel-good fiction – about hearts and hope and the power of love – is my own labour of love, and Pamela helped me to find it.
As for so many of us, my life is a kaleidoscope of light and darkness – a sunny mix of time with treasured family and friends, offsetting all the broken shards and shadows in this beautiful, imperfect world. For me, writing adds rich new pops of colour.
In my recently released 10th book, Plus One at Brighton Court, once again I warmly acknowledge Pamela and the other generous souls who continue to empower my writing life, including every reader. A thousand never-ending thanks!
Thanks, too, to Bolinda Audio and the other festival sponsors, along with the many volunteers and librarians who make the Willoughby Literary Festival and similar events possible.
You educate and connect us, nourish our love of books and ideas, and help us celebrate our diverse, shared cultures, achievements and dreams.
For the love of romance bookshops …
You might enjoy my recent Australian Romance Readers Association article thanking romance bookshops. In romance bookstores, women (and yes, a few wonderful heroes) are free to roam and browse and dream and please themselves. They select exactly what they want to read, simply because it makes them happy. Radical!
Romance bookstores are safe spaces, where romance readers are the pure target audience and where romance writers are welcome. From the romance writer’s point of view, any bookshop open to stocking their books is a Very Important Place.
All owners of any bookstores who show an interest in our work are angels and archangels. We are especially grateful when they offer up their spaces for launches and meet the author events. (Thank you, Galaxy and Better Read Than Dead in Sydney and Fables & Fancies in LA.)
In an unsentimental world, romance bookshops house the highest priests and priestesses of our genre. These brave entrepreneurs put their own hearts and bank balances out there for us, on the same limb as romance writers and each of our treasured readers. Thank you!
So let us continue to support and thank them with our patronage. It is lovely and it is right. And it is fun—#bookjoy at its best. Read full article.
What readers say …
My thanks to Gail for her review of my recently released Plus One at Brighton Court.
“This story was great right from the start… I highly recommend it.” Gail
Buy Plus One at Brighton Court e-book on sale for just 99c (USD) until the end of August.
Buy Plus One paperback (Australia)