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Hello Everyone!


I've been slower getting this newsletter out to you than I'd planned because I was called back to Mum duties for a while. My Year 12 son is about to start exams, leave school, do auditions and embark on the rest of his life, so it's been a busy time here and I had to down the writing tools for a while.

Because this is my third child to go through this process, I was taking it in my stride, forgetting that it's his first time and it's a huge change in his life. There's such a build-up to these exams, and I think many of the kids are feeling stressed and anxious. I look back to my Year 12 and, even though I was trying to get into Medicine, it wasn't anywhere near as stressful or competitive as it is today. There were no mock exams, no 'predicted ATAR', no rankings—you went in, sat your exam and if your marks were good enough, you got in. It's not that simple anymore—nothing is as simple anymore—and the pressure on our young people is something that worries me, but that's another topic for another day ...

Anyway, in a couple of weeks it will all be over, then it will be December and Christmas, and then the New Year and ... the release of my book! Which brings me to:

BOOK NEWS!

GOODREADS GIVEAWAY

The giveaway on Goodreads has closed and the winners chosen. I hope you won one of the copies of my book, and I'd love to know what you think of it when you read it. I say I'd love to know, and I really would, but I'm also holding my breath!  

 
PRE-ORDER

The final copies of 'The Sisters' Song' are being printed right now, and the date of release is set for January 2, 2018. So, from that date you'll see it in bookshops and online. In the meantime, my novel is already available for pre-order from the following outlets:
 
GUEST BLOG POSTS

Coinciding with the release of my book, I'll be visiting a few blogs as a guest author. If you'd like me to write a guest post for your blog, please contact me by replying to this newsletter, or via my website, as I'd be very happy to. I can write about my book—its inspiration, the themes it explores, its development, or anything at all you'd like. Believe me, there are a mountain of topics I could cover!

BOOK CLUBS

My novel would be ideal for book clubs as it delves into many issues worthy of discussion. If your book club would like to read it, and if you'd like an author visit—either in person if you're close enough, or via Skype if you're not—then let me know by replying to this email or contacting me via my website, and I'll schedule you into my diary.

AUTHOR TALKS

I'm starting to take bookings for author talks already, too. I'm available to speak at libraries, to writing groups and at writers' centres. If you're interested, let me know by replying to this email or contact me via my website, and I can book you in, too.

ON THE BLOG

(IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)
The How To Write A Book series has been continuing on my blog:

In the third part of this series, A Glimpse Into My Editing Process, I showed the evolution of the opening of my novel, from its clunky beginnings to the final, refined version. (I should add that the version printed in my book is different again—it was altered, just slightly, in the proofreading!) 

Part 4 in the series was about Learning the Craft. As most of you know, I didn't study creative writing formally, but in a higgledy-piggledy manner that included a mixture of workshops and online courses, as well as attending various writing groups. (This week I realised I'd omitted one of the major sources of my learning, which was reading, but how to learn to write by reading others' novels probably deserves a whole blog post by itself.)

I hoped to have shared the fifth post in the series already, Seeking and Accepting Feedback, but it's not quite ready—nearly, so hold tight!

 
WRITERS IN THE ATTIC

I've had many lovely guests visit the attic over the past few weeks, so if you haven't had a chance to catch up on their posts, here's a quick summary:

A few writers talked about feeling like imposters: Tess Woods' post on 'What Makes a Real Writer' is about feeling like a fraud even after publishing two books, and Karen Lee's 'If the Cloak Fits' talks about hoping to one day be able to don the writer's 'cloak' and feel like the real deal. 

Fiona Robertson took up writing as a second career, and her post, 'Beginning Again' talks about starting over, and coping with the pitfalls and rejections of a writing life. Linda Strader's post ‘Dear Diary …’ is about turning a journal into a publishable memoir, and Karenlee Thompson's Conversations With God (or Who Dares Wins) tells the story of having the courage to approach her idol and ask him to write the foreword to her short story collection.

My most recent guest, Jodie How, wrote about her slow progress as a writer, and about being a generalist creative, as compared to a specialist, in Writer or Tortoise

All my slots for Writers in the Attic are now filled until I go on holiday in December. Because of my book's January release, I'm not sure when I'll be able to start the series up again. I'll endeavour to get it going in some shape or form as early as possible in the New year, so if you've written an essay and haven't yet sent it in, hold tight until 2018!
8-WORD STORY
It was a lovely surprise to see these webcam shots of my 8-word story on billboards across Brisbane last Friday. Until 24th November, Queensland Writers Centre is giving everyone the opportunity to have their work published on a Brisbane billboard. The only catch is, the story must only contain eight words, which is even tighter than a tweet! 

If you'd like to enter a story, click here: https://8wordstory.com.

WHAT I'VE BEEN READING

 

THE MINIATURIST

Jessie Burton
 
I was late to reading this book, and I'd heard so much about it I had high expectations. Set in Amsterdam in the 1680's, it tells the story of Nella, a young woman recently married to Johannes, a wealthy man who is twice her age. As a wedding gift, Johannes presents his new wife with a miniature house, a replica of their own. The story immerses the reader in wealthy Amsterdam during the golden age of the Dutch East India Company. I'd call it a 'coming of age' story, as Nella learns about relationships and the rules of Amsterdam society. I found myself wading through the first half of the book, but I'm glad I persisted as I really enjoyed the latter half. There are some quite unexpected twists ...

THE EMOTIONAL CRAFT OF FICTION

Donald Maass
 
As a literary agent, Donald Maass has much writerly wisdom to offer writers who want to be published. A lot of his advice is probably common sense and much of it comes naturally for many writers, but it's good to have it spelt out, and to read examples of work that illustrates the point he's making. I've read a few of Donald Maass' writing texts now, but I'll keep this book, in particular, handy, because I believe a good story is really about the emotional story of the characters and plot only serves to tell that. 

GIVEAWAY WINNER

This month's prize is a little package of goodies containing 'Go away I'm reading' chocolate, Lady Macbeth 'Out, damned spot' soap, Alice in Wonderland 'Curiouser and Curiouser' enchantmints, and an Agatha Christie tea towel.

And the winner is #109 on my subscriber list, Maureen Furr. Maureen, I'll be in touch soon to arrange delivery of the goodies!
 
A reminder to anyone who's not on my mailing list that if you sign up, not only will you receive this wonderful newsletter straight to your inbox, but you'll also be in the running for great, and useful, giveaways like this one! I only send my newsletters monthly, so I promise not to bombard you with spam. 
Well, that's it for October. To all Year Twelves sitting exams right now, and to all their parents, my thoughts are with you—just do your best and that's all anyone can ask.

I'll be back next month with more news.

Until next time, take care.
 
Louise x
Copyright © 2017 Louise Allan, All rights reserved.


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