Talking

I was invited to speak at two events this month.

The first was at the Generation Women story telling night which is held each month in both Sydney and Melbourne. Women from several generations are invited to share their stories and this month’s theme was Secrets and Lies. Alongside some very illustrious and talented women I lined up to a sell out crowd to tell my secret. I have to confess to shaking a little in my boots and what was my secret? Well, you really had to be there. A very exciting experience.

My second talk was to a Probus group at the Docklands library. Probus, for those who don’t know, is a club for retirees who come together socially. Groups are scattered across Australia, far and wide. I spoke to a group of thirty about my writing journey, the many mistakes I made and how I was actually able to string a sentence or two together. Speaking for about forty minutes the time flew and it was a fun experience.

Watching

The highlight for the month was seeing Hamilton. I’m not really very knowledgeable about American leaders but this was not just an enlightening show of historic interest but an extremely entertaining show. The music was inspired and I wondered why rap had never been used before to convey the story. It was so very clever.

And yes, it’s still cold in Melbourne.

Reading.

My reading this month has been varied so watch out again for my reviews.

Writing

My beta readers provided some very positive and encouraging feedback about my new novel, The Palace Hotel. I am in the final stages of editing and tweaking and hoping that it may be released to the world toward the end of 2023.

The Melbourne winter seemed to hit colder and faster this year and we explored ways to stay warm without breaking the bank. Living in a mostly gas-powered home, we are trying to minimise our use and our carbon footprint which is very hard to do. We purchased an electric throw rug which, for $65 is worth every cent. The throw rug by Jason (as pictured above) heats up quickly and is ideal to drape over two people on the couch. It is machine washable, turns off by itself in case you forget, and feels very plush. No need to have the gas central heating on and it’s a fraction of our electricity bills. Jason is life-changing (in winter anyway), and I don’t know how we lived without it. Get one if you can.

Theatre: The Sound Inside

I was fortunate enough to attend the play, The Sound Inside by the Melbourne Theatre Company written by Adam Rapp.

Yale student, Christopher turns up uninvited to the office of his creative writing professor, Bella Baird. She is a published writer and he, an author wannabe. The two are lonely and mismatched but Christopher’s earnestness and persistence breaks down Bella’s barriers and the two strike an unexpected friendship until a life-changing dilemma is thrown into their connection.

The play was unexpectedly riveting despite the chunks of monologue by Bella who often spoke to the audience about her friend despite he being right there. This in itself was an interesting method employed by the playwright although somewhat taking the audience away from the story. That aside, the acting was superb, the story compelling and thoroughly enjoyable. Highly recommended.

Author Talk

I attended a fabulous event hosted by one of my favourite authors, Lyn Yeowart who wrote The Silent Listener (see my earlier review). The event was held at Robinson’s Books in Glen Waverley. Lyn was in conversation with another Australian crime writer, Rae Cairns. The discussion was riveting and entertaining. Having just finished Rae’s debut novel, The Good Mother it was really interesting to hear how she came to write it by drawing on her years as a youth worker in Ireland in the mid-90’s during “The Troubles”. Watch out of my review in the next couple of weeks.

Reading.

I should have increased this months reading but Crossroads is a meaty novel, equivalent to at least two short ones. That’s my excuse anyway. Watch out for my forthcoming reviews on these two during July.

Writing

My novel The Palace Hotel is due to come back shortly with lots of great feedback from my beta readers. So I’ll be polishing, enhancing and playing with my new novel in July.

Until next month…

My post is a little late but then I’ve been travelling, writing and reading…

Firstly to travels…

We took a mini trip to Horsham exploring the wonders of the Wimmera in Western Victoria, a solid four hour drive from Melbourne.

Then along the coast, past the Twelve Apostles, then across the border for the first time in more than two years ( because our borders were closed for so long) to beautiful Mt Gambier. It’s caves and blue lake are simply a wonder.

Interview

I had the privilege of being interviewed last month by best selling author, Kathryn Gauci who herself is an accomplished author of historical fiction.

A Literary World: An Interview with Sylvia Karakaltsas

Reading

This months reading was …

Writing.

The Palace Hotel is now with a couple of beta readers who will pull it to bits, hopefully not too savagely.

Until next month…