Time Marches On…

Here we are in the middle of May!

Does time go faster as we age?

I remember being a kid, and counting down the days till Christmas; the hours till Cracker Night: the minutes to my birthday…. So slowly did time move.

I remember wishing to be older; desperate for people to take notice of me. Who stopped and listened to the ideas of a child?

I remember craving to be an adult: to make my own decisions.

And, most vividly, I remember how slowly timed moved. A month seemed like an eternity……

And thus, I probably wished many of my best years away, oblivious to what they really were, and how lucky I was to be young!

Hurry! ’25 Stories of Life and Love in Australia’ is on Special!

Stop press!

For three days only, my first anthology is available on Amazon Kindle at the special price of 99 cents!

Containing some real gems such as ‘A Question of Trust’ (a tale of an innocent girl and her secretive partner), ‘Fresh Pickings’ (a story of youthful passion versus parental control) and ‘Family Values’ ( a precocious child visiting his grandparents), this is a charming introduction to my other collections.

My first customer came back and bought three more copies!

Remember, this offer is strictly limited.

Why not get in now and sample my fiction? To date, this book has had nothing but 5 star reviews!

(Hope you’ve got a Kindle!)

25 Stories of Life and Love in Australia

A Wonderful Surprise!

I suppose everyone’s psyche thrives on praise and recognition. Certainly, fiction writers struggling to be noticed would surely relish every scrap of positivity: and I’m no exception.

What a smile it has brought to my face!

Australian romance writer, Kate Loveday, has given me an honour of the highest degree. She’s listed me on Goodreads  as one of her two favourite authors, citing my second title, ‘A Taste of Life and Love in Australia’.

Wow!!

I’m overwhelmed!

Thank you, Kate!

If you enjoy romantic vignettes, maybe you, too, would find this title just to your liking!

A Taste of Life and Love in Australia

A Taste of Life and Love in Australia

Self-publishing: Read about my Journey

Those of you who have read my blog consistently would have an inkling of some of the high-points in my life as a do-it-yourself  author. The actual publication of my seven titles, and many positive reviews thereof , figure highly on my list of pluses. But they are certainly not the full story.

So I was delighted when the popular Australian rural fiction writer Nicole Alexander invited me to talk about my venture into the world of the self-published.

Here is the link : http://nicolealexander.com.au/2013/05/3337/

Enjoy!

‘A Taste of Life and Love in Australia’ Makes the List!

The vicissitudes of life can create joy, sorrow, or any number of emotions.  I for one like to dwell on the positive.

Therefore, it gives me great pleasure to announce that my second title, ‘A Taste of Life and Love in Australia’ has passed the criteria and been approved for listing by Awesome Indies.

Why is this so exciting? Well, it demonstrates that ‘A Taste…’ has been deemed to be of professional quality by a person qualified in the judgement of literature.

The ‘Awesome Indies’ list aims to assist readers in discerning and selecting well-written, evocative books. Spanning the genres, you’ll find high-quality titles.

Three years ago, who would have thought that a book written by myself would be amongst them?

A Taste of Life and Love in Australia

Little Things Mean So Much…

In today’s world, compliments are rare. It seems all too easy for folk to pass over the doings of others, and forget to say those little things that amount to praise, or take those actions that give others a boost.

So I count myself extremely fortunate today to have met a friend that has just paid me the type of compliment I most desire. He tells me he has borrowed one of my titles : ‘A Taste of Life and Love in Australia’ :from the local library, and is about to start reading it….

This knowledge made me smile: and the glow of pleasure it produced lasted for hours. My mood lifted, just as sunrise lifts curtain of darkness. The day went from hum-drum to fantastic: and all because he’d chosen to sample one of my titles, and bothered to impart his decision to me.

It got me thinking: how  little acts of kindness or interest in others can achieve what no pill can; and often, what society’s  great god, money, cannot.

Reflections on the Internet: The age of Computers.

Ten: even five: years ago, the internet and I were almost strangers. I’d grown up in an era where computers were absent from homes and schools. Sure I’d heard of them, but they seemed to be part of another world, a world of which I did not belong.

When, a few years back, I decided to start writing, computers became a part of my life. They were a massive improvement on the old-fashioned manual typewriters that I’d grown up with, and never quite mastered. Using them was, to me, a battle, and one that I rarely, if ever, won.

But an even greater revelation of the worth of computers soon entered my consciousness. Instead of being an occasional adventure, using the internet became a regular event. Topics from avocado to zoology were covered, usually in fine detail, and often from a variety of sources.

I wonder what my parents and grandparents would make of today’s modern lifestyle where home and business computers are the norm.