Author: lisahannett

Pitching Novels to Publishers: Spectacular Spectacular

Now, maybe it’s just me, but I was watching this the other day thinking, “This pretty much sums up what a novel synopsis / pitch to a publisher should be like.”     Let’s break this manic performance down. First, there’s the “hook” in the opening (indescribable wonderment), which is then supported by a list…… Continue reading Pitching Novels to Publishers: Spectacular Spectacular

Tuesday Therapy: Whatever Works

After three weeks of working on my novel, I’ve come to realise that all of the writing habits I thought I had were actually temporary. Or cyclical. Or anything other than habitual. So this week’s Tuesday Therapy, which comes from Deborah Kalin, author of Shadow Queen and Shadow Bound (both published by Allen & Unwin) couldn’t…… Continue reading Tuesday Therapy: Whatever Works

Place as Person: River Anthology Guest Post

The lovely Mary Victoria, who shared some words of wisdom for Tuesday Therapy a few weeks ago, is running a series of blog posts on her website as part of the excitement surrounding the River anthology, edited by Alma Alexander. (Which, btw, includes stories by Mary Victoria, Tiffany Trent, Jay Lake, Deb Taylor, Keffy R.M.…… Continue reading Place as Person: River Anthology Guest Post

Starving — err, I mean feeding — my book addiction

Getting this ArtsSA grant has been fantastic for my writing — it has given me the means to take several precious months off work to write The Familiar. But no one ever said that writing was a lucrative business, and being a “writer on a grant” reminds me of my really frugal scholarship days… (Which,…… Continue reading Starving — err, I mean feeding — my book addiction

Ancient Bathrooms

For a couple of weeks, I’ve had this article open in a tab on my desktop, about a 1,600 year-old bathhouse recently discovered in Israel. It’s just a feature piece, but the photo is captivating, as is the whole concept. It’s discoveries like these that really make me wish I had a time machine. I…… Continue reading Ancient Bathrooms

Hooray! Sale!

By now this news is floating all over the internetz, but HUZZAH! The oubliette streak continues! Spent the day offline, and got back on to discover that ‘Prohibition Blues’, which Angela Slatter and I co-authored, will be appearing in Damnation & Dames, a cool new anthology edited by Liz Grzyb and Amanda Pillar. Our story…… Continue reading Hooray! Sale!

Tuesday Therapy: Never Stop Learning

Alan Baxter is a man who practises what he preaches. He is the author of two dark fantasy novels, RealmShift and MageSign, a stack of short stories, and reams of non-fiction. Yet he hasn’t rested on his laurels. Alan continues to learn and grow as a writer, and to help others do the same: based…… Continue reading Tuesday Therapy: Never Stop Learning

And another one…

Who knew it was possible to get TEN (I had to count them, and yes, there were TEN) stars?? Scary Minds has posted their review of Bluegrass Symphony, and, well. I’m gobsmacked. “Glowing” doesn’t quite cover it… It’s more like “incandescent”. ‘From the Teeth of Strange Children’, ‘Depot to Depot’ and ‘Forever, Miss Tapekwa County’…… Continue reading And another one…

“Like reading memoirs of the damned…”

Another fantastic review of Bluegrass Symphony comes hot on the heels of the one I posted about yesterday! Wow! Marc Nocerino has written a thoughtful and well-considered review of the collection for the most excellent She Never Slept — from which the title of this post is taken. Seriously, how cool is it to have…… Continue reading “Like reading memoirs of the damned…”