Work, work, work

Well hello there again, lovely to see you!

I now have Tuesdays and Thursdays off, so I have time to get my own stuff done. I have been very lazy and not done much in the garden so am trying to get that mess sorted ready for planting season. It gets so very overgrown so quickly but still manages to be a place of recuperation and relaxation. If you are on my FB list you will have seen my spider lilies are looking a bit good, if not that is them in the header picture.

I have also been able to get a lot of editing, collating and a little writing done. I have my book of short stories just about ready to roll just going to give it to  a beta reader and try to reload photos elements on my new (to me) computer so I can make the covers one for ebook and another for print. They’re really the same but one is a full cover.

Now that I’ve made the changes suggested by my formal assessment, I’ve got Sinbad’s tale with an indigenous reader for comment (well, part 2 anyway), and Part 1 with a beta reader. Should get that back soon.

I collated my poetry into book form, tentatively – Creating Light and Dark. Because some of them are, of necessity, a bit dark…alright a couple are very dark but that’s how I roll. There are a couple of poems that I’ve done more than one iteration of and I can’t decide which to put in so am taking them to Writers’ Group tonight and see what they think. I am unsure what to put on the cover yet and should I put some pictures in the body to break things up a bit?

Which brings me to another problem, Smashwords has decided that the covers I presently have for the books up there are not suitable and I have to change them up to higher pixels. (Alright, that was couple of years ago and I still haven’t done anything about it. I blame photoshop, my broken old computer and being too busy in other spheres.) Anywho, I still need to change them and wish fervently I had Photoshop CS 3 or 4 to work with…sigh.

I have given an improved version of RIP to a beta reader and will give Fifth Era to someone tonight. Jenny’s story is re-edited and waiting. I’ve written a couple of short stories and a children’s story for comps.

On the art front I’ve done very little, but I have finished and had framed the portrait of my friend ready for the Percival Tucker Prize. It’s due in before Monday. I had to write an Artist’s CV and Artist’s Statement for that. That was easy, since I’m basically self-taught, it was very short.

Well there you are, you are up to date with my news. It is a bit weird to rabbit on about myself like that but I guess that’s what blogging is about. It helps me see more clearly that I have achieved something. How about yours? What are you doing or planning or both? Talk to me, I need your encouragement and am happy to give you mine.

Ciao for now, Rosa

 

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Appraisal

Bet you didn’t expect another one so soon,eh?

So my post is, obviously, about MSS appraisal. I recently paid for a structural appraisal of one of my novels. It cost a bit but in return I received 11 type written pages of assessment, which has helped immensely. The company was Ocean Reeve Publishing, Gold Coast Queensland. Ocean has been extremely helpful and kept in touch to make sure I was a) okay with the edit and b) continuing my efforts.

I knew there was something not quite right and the appraiser,Julian, guided me to make changes which have improved the tension and excitement and tightened the story.

I also got quite a bit of positive feedback which I shall quote below. (The negative stuff I will keep to myself and continue to work on. Come on, you didn’t think I was going to say anything bad, did you?)

“What has been done well is the overall plot pathway of the story, and the amount of research to build an artistic yet still believable world……The story has enough premise behind it, and enough research into the period to make the premise believable. (Glad he realised how much research I did; it was fascinating and exhaustive.)…The inherent allegory of the novel; respect for new culture, a love of learning, facing one’s demons, and the breakdown of friendship through circumstances and jealousy is appropriate…Overall the dialogue is one of the best aspects of the manuscript. The dialogue feels appropriate and organic….Overall the book was enjoyable for its good points – strong dialogue, believable world, strong allegory, and engaging finish. The quality of the writing requires little in the way of copy editing…

Well, you get the idea by now, I’m sure. There was, of course, a lot more in-depth analysis all of which was clear, consistent and useful.

This is where the Australian section of the novel is set – down Sunshine Coast way…

All I need now is to make contact with some members of the Gubbi Gubbi whose ancestral home this area is. I have tried to follow several leads for contact but keep coming up blank so if you or someone you know is Gubbi Gubbi please contact me as quickly as possible because with all the changes I’ve made I think I am just about ready to self publish or be published. Thank you and ciao for now, Rosa

Adventuring

Today it was Sinbad turn for an adventure. No , not the bloke in my novel…my dog. Heloved it as you can see. Stella and I took him to the beach at Emu Park. He had a great time. Running in, around and under people’s feet, then for some inexplicable reason pooing right next to some poor young woman lying on the beach…How embarrassing!  I had to bag his work and carry it with me until we got back to civilization and rubbish bins. Eeeuuuuw!

He had a new friend to annoy and harass.  Nappa is the pet of Stella’s son and was great fun to back and jump at until he got jack of Sinbad boundless, bounding energy.

After a long walk on the beach, and several sorties into the sea , we walked along the beachfront Broadwell celebrating the ANZACS – plaques, billboards,sculptures and other installations. A lovely and tiring mornig.

After a short rest we were off to pick white and purple mulberries at some Stella’s friends place. They we were delicious…

Home again and a few celebratory drinks later, we enjoyed the berries in smoothies before retiring. Which is now…I’m so tired. Night night, Rosa.

Townsville Writers’ Festival

Oh hush! I’m not even going to bother to apologise for not writing in this blog for so long. I have no real excuse, or rather lots of excuses and no real reason. So, let’s get straight to it.

I spent the weekend just passed at the above festival, attending talks and workshops, pretending that the rest of the world did not exist except as something to write about. I talked travel on Friday and  again on Sunday (memoir) with my friend Lindsay Simpson, who was my Prof for my masters; I studied poetry with Samuel Wagan Watson who is so inspirational; I went and listened to the Colin Roderick Lecture by Joanne Murray-Smith. ( I will try to find a published copy for you so you can be as reassured as I was that self-doubt amongst many other things is simply one more obstacle to overcome.) I listened to Ian See talk publishing. Hugh Lunn entertained me (and many others) with his stories about his stories.

There were many more talks I would like to have attended but the scheduling was tight. Maybe next time.

I caught up with a number of friends, Phil, Michael, Lori, Lila and Peter among them. Their stories are so interesting. We talked a lot but not enough, playing catch-up.

I also wrote some new pieces which hold promise. Now, that was pleasing!

I would like to thank all the organisers, volunteers, sponsors and presenters for a hugely enjoyable time. Alas, I didn’t take a single photo. I was too busy and to be honest it didn’t even cross my mind.

My brain is still buzzing and my enthusiasm is high. I will try to push ahead and send out my MSS to a publisher soon.

The one I’m preparing is a Sci-fi/Fantasy. YA, I guess, but hoping that adults will enjoy it as well. Is it horribly superstitious not to want to reveal too much at this point?It is, isn’t it? Too bad.

Also thinking that ‘Jenny’s Story’ should go out as well,,,just thinking.

It is hard to concentrate on writing and reading when the cooler months have arrived here in North Queensland. Today, for example, is a gift from heaven. Perfect. And, five more months to go. I’ve just spent five minutes staring out the window.

Sinbad, the dog not my book, is as furry and cuddly as always…Still as silly as a square wheel though.

Ciao for now, Rosa.

New 10 minuter

Well hi there! I am sad to report that even though I had the week-end off and all to myself I did not add to my word score on my new novel. Bummer! But, I do have a good excuse. I got side tracked and wrote a new 10 minute play. I do so love this medium. You may think getting one done in a week-end is pretty good going but again I have to confess, I did cheat a little. I re-jigged a short story and turned it into a play script. I think it worked all right. I’ll wait to hear from the POTheads about that. Our next meeting is in about 2 weeks, so will put it away and concentrate on the novel during that time. It is actually coming along okay, I’ve done about 18000 words and my characters are developing nicely. My protagonist is a nut (Now there’s a surprise!), but is she a serial killer? She is a sexual tease, but will her Psychiatrist resist all her efforts? The tension is mounting. How long to the climax? I have no idea. Jenny is totally unpredictable and keeps throwing me curve-balls. For instance, last week she tried to suicide. Why? I don’t really know yet but I think she is about to make some major disclosures…or not. She keeps me guessing. Other news – not much, just had Sinbad, the dog, sheared. Yes sheared. He is a minature labradoddle, so a little smaller than a medium dog. I have kept his wool. It’s like merino. Anyone know a good yarn spinner? Ha ha ha! I crack myself up. I haven’t written any poetry for ages, or done any painting. It’ll happen when its meant to. I can feel it building. Okay, it’s nighttime here so this is goodnight from me.   Cheers Rosa.

Serial now up and running

Well, here it is folks ‘Sinbad’s Voyage to Australia’ I hope you enjoy the read. Please feel free to give helpful feed-back. Get your kids to read it and ask them what they think so you can pass on suggestions to me. Thanks.