I read Flaubert’s Parrot by Julian Barnes, a novel full of full of chronologies, bestiaries and other clever discourse devices, in 2014. I subsequently had a conversation with a friend about the moments in her past which, with the gift of hindsight, she was able to recognise as significant in guiding her to her current …
Strong Women
In 2015 I was enjoying Sunil Badami’s blog posts on Southerly. One in particular made me think. The first paragraph read “As I mentioned in my previous post, most of my characters and protagonists aren’t named; and nearly all of them are women. I couldn’t tell you why, other than that I was raised by a …
Obernewtyn – Isobelle Carmody
“Sometimes I am afraid for people like you who have to know things. Your kind will dig and hunt and worry at it until one day you will find what is hidden, waiting for you.” Date Completed: 256 Page Length: September 12 2017 Goodreads I house sat for my aunt and uncle the other weekend. …
Ending: A Short Story
Someone knocked on my front door. From my bedroom window I could see a dash of blonde hair but nothing else. Another knock. And again. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. When I opened the door she pushed inside, grabbed me by the throat and shoved me against the exposed brick wall. She loomed over me. …
Greed and Fear
A friend said to me the other day, every decision we make is governed either by fear or greed (I’m taking greed to mean wanting something you don’t currently have, there’s nothing mean or miserly about it). It’s not hard for me to agree with this statement and when I reflect on my own life …
Sweet Rejection
Being a writer comes with the bitter knowledge that you're going to be rejected... a lot. I have been lucky enough to have six short stories accepted (so far) but I also received 17 rejections this year alone. Those form rejections certainly sting but I take it in my stride, it's all part of the …
What does writing add to the world?
When I was considering a thesis topic as part of my Masters degree I had the following conversation with my then boss: "What would you do it on?" she asked. "Female relationships in fairy tales," said I. "What do you hope to get out of that..." I paused to think... She clarified, "As a practical …
The Unbearable Lightness of Being – Milan Kundera
“A person who longs to leave the place where he lives is an unhappy person.' Date Completed: August 13 2017 Page Length: 320 Goodreads The Unbearable Lightness of Being was, for me, one of those books that you’ve heard of but don’t know anything about. Someone had probably mentioned it at uni, and I know a …
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Letters From the Road: Gold Coast
Dear Dreamers, It's good to have family. Especially family that happen to live along the south east coast of QLD and can put you up on your way to NSW. My cousin in Brisbane and my aunt and uncle on the Gold Coast did (and continue to do) that. We've been wined and dined and …
Letters from the Road: Emerald
Dear Dreamers, I'm busting out the WordPress app on my phone for the first time. I really should have done it sooner. You may have gotten more regular updates that way. Oh well. Since last I wrote we have travelled from Townsville to Cape York and back again... and then down to Emerald. We've started …
