Author Archives: susan

SMARTER FASTER BETTER

I have been reading finished a book called Smarter, Faster, Better by Charles Duhigg (author of The Power of Habit). If I was shelving it, I’d hover between ‘Business’ and “Self-Help’. The author has all sorts of surprisingly interesting things … Continue reading

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THE BOOKS THAT STAYED WITH ME

The Book That Made Me, edited by Judith Ridge, is a collection of 32 stories from (mainly Australian) YA and children’s writers. The royalties from sales of the book all go to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. As Judith Ridge says … Continue reading

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SPRING

Plum blossom, jonquil, japonica, grevillea…

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FAMILY SKELETON

This exquisite cover adorns Carmel Bird’s latest novel. It’s a sly, witty and sinister tale of family stories and family secrets, past sins and modern manners. It’s partially narrated by the skeleton in the cupboard – it insists on telling … Continue reading

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THRILL

Two friends of mine, Anne Myers and Andrea Gillum – fantastic emerging writers I met at Varuna, the Writer’s House in Katoomba, NSW – have stories in the 2016 edition of Award Winning Australian Writing. All sorts of competitions are … Continue reading

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READING

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IT’S ALL ABOUT YOUR WRITING

I’m going up to the junior campus of our local secondary college tomorrow to give a little talk about submitting work for competitions and for publication. I thought it might be useful on the blog, too – so here it … Continue reading

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VERITY GOES TO THE DAVITT AWARDS

An exciting time on Saturday night – Verity Sparks and the Scarlet Hand was awarded Highly Commended in the Best Children’s Novel section of the Davitt Awards. Sisters in Crime established the Davitts on its 10th anniversary, and named the … Continue reading

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SMALL ACTS

                                    I couldn’t see myself as one of those women – I thought that eating disorders only happen to women who are vain … Continue reading

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VERITY GOES TO THE UK

The Truth About Verity Sparks is being released in the UK any day now. Here’s a scan of the cover. You’ll notice (how could you not?) that both the cover and the title have been changed. Walker UK tell me … Continue reading

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