Djeran, Behind | Makuru, Ahead
April/May Wrap-Up
I’m going to stop opening these newsletters with ‘Wow, 2023 is bananas!’ because it’s clearly not letting up. I hope you’re all taking care of yourselves, though. Personally I need to get better at it, but I’m here if you need a virtual cuppa and a chat. There’s a lot going on on both a global scale and just in our day-to-day lives, and it’s so important we be kind to ourselves and each other.
Djeran, Behind
Looking over my wrap-up of the last two months, I’m pleasantly surprised by the variety of forms and genres. Poetry, non-fiction, graphic novels, adult crime, plus my usual YA. I just about read it all!
Read
Meta Poetical by Livia Jayne
Did I Ever Tell You This? by Sam Neill
Saltwater Boy by Bradley Christmas
The Isles of the Gods by Amie Kaufman
The Dry by Jane Harper
One Wrong Turn by Chenee Marrapodi
The Beauty Trials by Dhonielle Clayton
The End of the World is Bigger Than Love by Davina Bell
Hairy Holes by Brenton McKenna
Public. Open. Space. by Kate Larsen
A Hunger of Thorns by Lili Wilkinson
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
Long Macchiatos and Monsters by Alison Evans
Woken Kingdom by Poppy Solomon
Books read in Djeran: 15
Books read in 2023: 37
Write
I’ve been on a bit of a rollercoaster with my relationship with writing over the last month or so - basically trying to decide what kind of writer I want to be and what I want to do with my stories. But writing is becoming fun and carefree again, just as it should be.
The Whisper Tree was unsuccessful in the Text Prize and the Fogarty, and I wondered if my struggles with character and voice meant it wasn’t very good, but then I got some feedback from one of the publishers that has given me new hope and inspiration. I’m still taking a break from it, but I’m definitely feeling more excited by it. In the meantime, I’m finishing a first draft of a fun fantasy adventure novel called Boy of the Forest.
For my Short Story a Month Challenge, I wrote a YA dystopian in April to enter into an anthology call-out, and in May I submitted a 100 word microfiction into the Love to Read Local Flash Competition.
5 things I’ve loved this season
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Oat milk
Parkrun
Being vulnerable (a weird one, I know)
Stranger Things (yes, I am very late to the party)
Makuru, Ahead
Now that we’re in June, I can officially say my residency is next month! For two weeks in July I’ll be Artist-in-Residence at the Vancouver Arts Centre in Albany. I applied with The Inventor and the Comet so I’ll be looking to continue developing that. During Sasha Wasley’s wonderful Path to Published program, she suggested turning the book into two instead of trying to cram all the original plot into one book. I’m excited to brainstorm what that might look like.
I don’t know what Makaru’s two short stories will be yet, but I do know I’ll be writing them. Finishing them? We’ll see.
There’s also a few very exciting events coming up in the next few months! There’s some I can’t quite announce in this newsletter, but I’m excited to tell you all about them in the next one. The one I can share is that I’m hosting a creative writing workshop for kiddos with Vision Australia Libraries! We’ll be cooking up some truly fun story ideas.
Of course, you can follow me on Instagram for more updates.