THE CURE FOR ISOLATION IS CONNECTION!

A long time ago, when I first started writing and this website, blogs were a big thing. I'd pop in here and tell you all about my day, and hopefully you'd leave me a comment and tell me about yours.

Yesterday, my son turned 21! Yes, 21! And I made a mistake. Every April book usually comes out on his birthday, and for some reason, I thought this year's was the same. So I thought Hayden's birthday was today, rather than yesterday. Good thing I worked out on Sunday, that wasn't the case!

Last year, I made a decision that I wanted to go camping a lot more than I had been. When I was a kid, our family used to camp a lot; we saw some amazing and wild parts of Australia, places I'll never forget. So with all that in mind, I bought this little ripper (which is now called Dusty Rose, after all of your input! I also call it the office) and started to plan a route up in the north of WA.

Did you spend much time in your library as a kid? Do you still now?

I loved our little library at the Orroroo Area School when I was a kid; if I lived in Orroroo, I'd still love it. I remember our library being full of fun things like beanbags so we could snuggle in and read, tapes and games.

Writing is a mysterious business. It's a lot of smoke and mirrors; living with imaginary people, crazy Google searches and staying in my head a lot. My imaginary friends talk loudly to me sometimes and too quietly for me to hear at others.

Ah, how much love do we have for Detective Dave Burrows? Well, I for one, have a lot! And obviously you guys do too, because we’re here publishing the 5th in the Detective Dave Burrows series in nine weeks, this baby is going to be on the shelf.

Here we are on the 4th of January. It’s only going be what feels like a few days time we all say: ‘wow, it’s December already, where has the year gone?!’

Anyway, I wanted to start the new year with a bit of a ditty on me for all the new people who have recently discovered my books; I’ve had a few people who have got in contact over Christmas and said they’ve read my books for the first time. I LOVE hearing this!

A new rose for a new year. Gorgeous, isn't it? I'm not sure what rose this is - I think it might be Peace, which, if so, is the perfect rose for me coming into 2022. What about you?

Merry Christmas. I hope it’s full of love and laughter for you all. I’m sure many of us have mixed feelings about this Christmas. Some of us haven’t finished harvest, and the thought of having to stop for a few days, even to rest, is annoying.

I'm not one for maths. Which makes writing a really good profession for me! And, you would think there isn't any maths at all, tapping out words on a keyboard. But this is a myth! I've been told a few times that the only way to make good decisions is to base it around facts.

As you can see, my whiteboards are beginning to fill up with ideas, character descriptions and a few other things.

You know that horrible sinking feeling when you go to a place in a car park, thinking your car is going to be there, and it's not? It’s a damn horrible feeling, huh?

Last week, I wrote about needing to write two books at a time to make my deadlines. I was getting involved with NaNoWriMo to help do this.

I've never been one to conform. I always push the boundaries of whatever I do, whether it was rebelling against the constraints of society as I grew up, or rallying against being told what to do (yes, I was a HORRIBLE teenager!) or writing.

Who remembers these books? The Reader's Digest Selections, with four books in one. A bookworm's dream. Well, that's how I saw them when they turned up in Mum and Dad's mailbox.

Well, it's November, and November can be an important month in writer-world. November means NaNoWriMo. What does that mean, you might ask?

Tuesday is the D-Day. Deception Creek Publication day.

Ugh. I'm nervous. I always get nervous when a book comes out - you'd think it would get easier, but it doesn't. I have a need for you readers to like my characters, like my story and basically like everything about the book!

I’m often asked what it takes to write a book. Having finished my 19th novel about twelve hours ago, I reflected on the question, whilst sitting on the patio with a wine, screaming: ‘thank god that’s done!’.

So, I compiled a list.