About

It’s my belief that you can only be really great at one thing in your life. All the things that I am bad at—hosting a party, holding babies, turning up on time—contribute to being better at one thing: writing.

I started this blog to cover the progress of my yet-to-be-written first novel, but also to track the progress of all the other first novels that are being written, published and given up on around the world.  I write about ‘emerging writers’; what gets them through and what leaves them stranded.

This isn’t a blog about how to write (I’m sure people are lining up to tell you that) but a digression on how not to give up, in the permanent “why did I ever think I could…” sense.

If you are a first time novelist, published or not, I would love to hear your ups and downs. You can leave a comment at the bottom of any post, or send me an email through the contact page.

Below is a list of other things I am either not so good at, or very bad at. At the end, you’ll find where I’ve been published etc; a short but promising list.

Things that I am currently bad at:

Hosting a party

Turning off lights around the house

Talking and listening at the same time

Posture

Keeping my hair

Basketball

Talking to children

Reading long books

Small talk

Turning up on time to friend’s dinner parties

Dinner parties

Keeping in contact with old friends

Watching television without commenting

Using nail clippers (instead of my teeth)

Refilling water bottles taken from the fridge

Managing my book collection

Remembering to water the plants

Talking to strangers about their dogs

Standing against a bar in a non-sleazy way

Reading menus when people are talking

Watering indoor plants

Published etc

Visitors (Short Story) published in Dot Dot Dash Magazine vol 3 (Summer 2010).

Griffith Review Emerging Writer of the Year (Non-Fiction), 2009. Link

City of Birds (Long Story) published in Sitelines vol 6.2 (Spring 2009). Link to full text

Greyfields (Creative Non Fiction) published in Griffith Review: After the Crisis ed. 25 (September 2009). Link to full text

Desert Stories (Short Story) published in Sitelines vol 2.1 (Autumn 2005).

Stars in his Eyes (Reportage) published in West Australian Newspaper: Big Weekend (Saturday, August 9, 2003).

Malpractice (Short Story) published in Naked Eye (Summer 2002)