I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say the last two weeks have been amongst the strangest of my life. It has been a period of excitement and exhilaration, since the musical I wrote with Andrew Perkins, The Birds, had its world premiere. At the same time, I have been experiencing deep grief at the …
Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist’s Way, talks about writing morning pages. Dumping everything from your mind onto the page first thing in the morning. It’s meant to be uncensored, as a way of turning off your inner critic. I went through a period of doing this every day, but I had this weird thing going …
This is a strange week. I’ve sent off the third book in my fantasy trilogy to beta-readers. Once I get it back from them I will do the final edits before I send it to my publisher. And that, aside from proofreading the final version, will be that. The Tales of Tarya will be finished. I’ve …
I never dreamed of writing the “Great Australian Novel” or selling enormous amounts of books. I just wanted to tell stories. The world needs them. It always has. Stories reach people when all the arguments and debates don’t. There can be understanding and connection on an intuitive level. Points can be made without anyone feeling …
Sometimes writers play games with their own minds. They set up little rules. They have superstitions. As I came close to writing the ending of Pierrot’s Song I made a decision. I would write everything but the epilogue. Then I would go back and read all three books again. Only then would I think about …
I don’t normally post reviews on my blog, but occasionally a book crosses my path that I want to share with those who love fantasy as much as I do. Winterhued is one such book. The path to discovering independent authors is difficult. Their books aren’t easily available in book stores. Online search results are …
Last year I interviewed an author every month. For 2019 I’ve decided to shift my focus from writers to artists for a bit of a change of scene. Today I’m excited to introduce Jai, whose weekly comics offer insight into living with a brain tumour. With plenty of humour as well as fantastic illustrations, Jai’s …
We live in interesting times. Some would say dark times. It can be hard to see the light in the face of climate change and rising hatred. As a writer, or an artist of any type, it can be difficult to feel that what you do matters. Many of my creative friends seem to regularly …
In May this year I will travel to Auckland to attend the world premiere of a musical I created with brilliant composer Andrew Perkins. It is a musical re-telling of The Birds, a classical Greek play by Aristophanes. The original play is witty, biting and has themes that are more relevant today than ever. An …
Last week I sat reading the back of a bathroom door, as you do. Someone who know doubt thought they were extraordinarily clever had scrawled next to the toilet roll holder, ‘arts degrees, please take one’. Now, if I have the chance to overthink, I will. So I sat there, pondering how creative artists are …