Modern Monday

29 Monday Jun 2015

Posted by Zoetic Words in LIFE, MY BOOKS, THE WRITERS' LIFE, TORN

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books, conference, electronics, gizmos, Melbourne, music, planes, travel

When I started writing a historical novel, it was hard not to notice how many things I take for granted. The list grows regularly. Like travel for example. I’m booking a trip to Melbourne for a writers conference. I’ve decided to just go down for the barest minimum – down Friday morning and back Sunday evening. Just a three day weekend action packed then back Sunday night for work on Monday.

It does my head in if I think how long that would have taken for my characters in 1850. There were no flying visits in those days! No flying at all although one of my characters might just have had a broomstick she could ride…

What would they think if they time-travelled to 2015? Electricity, gas, electronic gizmos, kitchen gizmos, cars, traffic, recorded music whenever you wish to plug in some headphones and I’m sure you can think of a million other things which would be objects of wonder for those from a simpler time.

On the other hand, what do we miss, with all our technology and convenience?

We live our lives at a much faster pace, there is information coming at us from every direction, fewer ‘home’ musicians who would play for a sing-a-long, family time without the idiot box in the corner, when people would play games, read books aloud to the whole family. Even books were a much more precious resource. How many of you can remember when every new book was something to treasure and marvel at? When libraries were the only source of reference books, unless a fast talking travelling salesman had convinced your parents to invest in the latest expensive set of encyclopaedias.

Oh and when I pack for my conference in August I’ll be grateful that my 23 kilos of baggage allowance isn’t consumed by all those layers of clothing and corsets, neck to knee and smothered in petticoats to within an inch of your life! Yes there are pros and cons which are fun to think of and important for a writer to know so that your experience reading is as authentic as I can make it without any of us having to live that life. Pity really though I’m sure, if we could travel back to that time, after a while we would miss at least some of our modern conveniences.

What would you miss most? What do you miss most, even from your own lifetime? I’d love to hear from you.

New Year’s Resolution

28 Sunday Jun 2015

Posted by Zoetic Words in LIFE, MY BOOKS, THE WRITERS' LIFE, TORN, Uncategorized

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going on alone, hope, looking to the future, planning a new life, strength to go on

New Year? In June? Yes, well, I’m being forced to think about where I am, where I’ll end up if I keep on my current direction, and whether that’s what I want. I fear change will come whether I’m ready for it or not so it seems prudent to make some New Financial Year Resolutions, to set the direction for the year ahead.

Change is one thing we can count on and yet we almost all of us resist change sometime or other. The more drastic the change the harder it is to force oneself to make it, usually.

Mary Ellen, in Torn, is forced to make a life changing journey. How will she cope with having to move away from everyone and everything she has always known and loved to a country and a life on the other side of the world with people she barely knows? Leaving behind what you know and love can be like tearing out your heart. Having to do all of that when your body is in a weakened state by starvation would only make it harder. When you have lost your family and friends in death by the same starvation would test the mettle of anyone.

Would going on be easy? Of course not. What would she be thinking, whether she wanted to or not? Would she sometimes feel guilty that she survived when her loved ones did not? Would she sometimes wish she had not lived to watch them die? Of course. She would sometimes wish she didn’t have to go on without them.

What could give her the strength to go on? How could she drag herself back from the edge of the abyss of self pity and depression? What would give her comfort in the harsh world she finds herself in? Would she willingly put herself in the position where she could lose everyone she has come to love all over again? How can she motivate herself to begin all over again?

Questions I’ve had to answer for Mary in my book and some of the questions we might sometimes have to ask ourselves in real life.

Why do I write?

26 Friday Jun 2015

Posted by Zoetic Words in LIFE, MY BOOKS, POETRY, THE WRITERS' LIFE

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from the heart, Thanks, words

Why do I write?

For the love of great words
And of using them right
For the comfort they bring
In the darkness of night

In my own humble way
Trying to comfort and cheer
But it doesn’t require
High cost, calories or beer.

Because when it comes right
I feel such satisfaction
It’s a beautiful thing
Getting positive reaction

So here’s a ditty for you
Coming straight from my heart
From soul deep inside
Thanks for liking my art.

Word of the Week: Focus

25 Thursday Jun 2015

Posted by Zoetic Words in LIFE, THE WRITERS' LIFE

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focus, goals, Michael Hyatt, SMARTER goals

Yes, I know it’s not Wednesday but I’ve got a new word of the week. Maybe the month or the year! It won’t be a surprise I’m sure when I say it’s focus. I have been asked to find a word which will keep me ‘on target’ and what better word is there than FOCUS. What a good word to keep me on track, what is my central point, where to keep my attention or activity. Where is my centre, my heart, my core, what’s at my nucleus?

Firstly, what is worthy of my focus? What will get me where I want to go? What can I do which will get me there in the best, fastest, most efficient manner? What is your goal? For today, for this week, this month, this quarter, this year? No, it’s not new year and that ship has sailed so my new focus is on this financial year 2015/2016. This time my goals are not going to be nebulous, unformed things but clear, concise, SMART or should I say SMARTER. Thanks to Michael Hyatt at http://michaelhyatt.com.

Specific; Measureable; Actionable; Realistic; Time bound; Exciting; Relevant.

This isn’t something I’ve just read about today but something that has been bubbling along for some time. As the saying goes, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” Not before time and, of course, not for the first time, my goals are smarter, clearer, specific.

There are so many distractions out there that you don’t have to look for them. There is so much information available in the age of the internet that I can easily lose sight of my big dream. So, when I don’t know what to do next, what’s my priority? Focus.

Do you remember what your biggest dream is? How often do you think about where you are going and how you will go about achieve getting there? So, what are you focussed on? Where are you going? That’s a rhetorical question that only you need to know the answer to. The next question is, have you found the road there? Is it a road less travelled? A path forged by one of your mentors? Or, are you intending to create your own path?

Whatever it is, go for it. Make your dream come true.

Weekend wonder

21 Sunday Jun 2015

Posted by Zoetic Words in LIFE, MY BOOKS, THE WRITERS' LIFE, TORN

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achievement, Brisbane, Convict settlement, employees, Hero, horses, Moreton Bay, To Do List

This weekend I did something I can’t remember having done for a very long time. On the train home Friday evening I wrote my To Do List for the weekend. This evening I am about to cross the last item off the list! I’ve even done a couple of things that didn’t make it onto that list.

As is so often the case, I don’t have a whole lot to show for it but I know what I did and that feeling is pretty darn good. So often in this world we work hard and have little or nothing to show for it. It’s not always like that and for my characters in my book it certainly wasn’t the case.

Moving to Moreton Bay in what was New South Wales, Australia in the 1850s was a courageous thing to do. There were few of the facilities and conveniences they had in Ireland in that time and next to none of those we take for granted today.

Brisbane in the Moreton Bay area had been a convict settlement holding some of the worst, hardened criminals. The convict settlement was closed in 1835.

My hero brought with him a number of his horses though not all of them. He had to begin by building houses, stables, outbuildings, yards and everything else he and his employees and horses needed. That kind of hard physical work can be very satisfying. You can look around and see the work of your hands.

You don’t get that same sense of achievement in an office. But that To Do List with those items crossed off looks pretty wonderful to me.

Wednesday with Wheels

17 Wednesday Jun 2015

Posted by Zoetic Words in LIFE, THE WRITERS' LIFE, TORN

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bikes, cars, paddle wheelers, wheels

Highpoint of the week – I got my car back from the panel-beaters! It’s been away for several weeks so I’ve missed it very much. I have to say I did take for granted having comfortable fast-enough-for-me wheels at my disposal anytime I need them.

It wasn’t always so. Can you imagine living in a world where you either rode a horse, a carriage or Shanks’ Pony. Of course roads were very different too, those which could legitimately actually be called a road. Life was a lot slower by necessity. A trip to town to do get supplies might have taken all day, give or take a shop or two. Those scenes were fun to write, after some solid research, of course.

There are so many uses for the wheel in transport. For those who can’t afford a car there are bicycles of all kinds, custom built jobs, mountain bikes, kids bikes with training wheels right back to the old penny farthing. Wheels have gotten bigger – and smaller. From skateboards up to personal mobility scooters, from paddle wheelers to the landing gear on aeroplanes, then the tiny wheels which take the heavy lifting out of suitcases!

So, where are you wheels? Where-ever you are and whatever you do today, may it be wheely fun!

Sleepy Sunday

14 Sunday Jun 2015

Posted by Zoetic Words in LIFE, THE WRITERS' LIFE, Uncategorized

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Cruising, Dreaming, Make it happen, Moreton Bay, Writing Retreat

The sun sidles around the curtains to warm me awake. I stretch and languidly take my time before opening my bleary eyes, rubbing them before I decide I can believe what they show me. There to greet me, warming not only my body but also my heart, is my wonderful husband, bearing two steaming mugs and a rack of toast ready to be slathered with the waiting curls of rich creamy butter and the sweetness of honey or tart Vegemite, or Lemon and Lime Marmalade. The beautifully polished oaken tray is decorated with a lovely cut crystal vase of roses from our garden. Their fragrance makes a valiant but unsuccessful battle to overtake the aroma of the coffee but I appreciate the effort.

He greets me with a “Good morning, honey” and I answer with a cheery “Good morning, sweetheart,” of my own as I rise and prepare to shine. I slip my feet into the softness of my favourite woolly slippers and my body into the peignoir matching my nightgown. As I finish tying the sash of the peignoir which matches my nightgown I straighten and prepare to follow him through the curtained French doors onto our private balcony and gently touches the tray down on the white wrought iron table before turning to wait for me. Our kiss sparks echoes of hours gone by as we take our seats.

A smile splits my face as I lift my favourite mug to my nose and draw a deep breath, closing my eyes to savour the spicy richness of my white chocolate chai latte before sipping that first awakening draught. We hold hands, his right in my left as we take a moment to appreciate the clear sky morning and the view of Moreton Bay, noting the ships waiting in the channel to access the port of Brisbane where they will be unloaded by its distinctive “giraffes” towering above the water.

As we watch, a luxury cruise liner leaves the queue, heading toward the Portside terminal. “One day,” I sigh as I enjoy my favourite dream of taking my writing buddies on a two week writing retreat for the first leg of an around the world cruise.

“You’d better hurry your breakfast if you expect to be ready to circumnavigate the globe this afternoon, darling?”

Too bad it’s not a reality, just a dream. However, it’s up to us to make sure our dreams come true isn’t it? So, this week, my goal is to get us an oaken tray and to prune the rose bush, next week to get us an oaken tray and from there on to the balcony with that view…

Good Friends are Family

07 Sunday Jun 2015

Posted by Zoetic Words in LIFE, LOVE, THE WRITERS' LIFE, TORN

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caring, contiguous, family, friends, loving

Family and friends. Sometimes they are one and the same. Sometimes your friends become your family and sometimes family become your friends. It doesn’t matter whether they are blood related or not, family and/or friends are necessary for our mental health, in good times and in bad.

What makes a friend as dear to you as family? Simply put, it’s love. Even though they may not live close enough to be with them as often as you would wish, you know they care. They are there for you when you need them most whether in person or on the phone; when you just want to enjoy some relaxation with someone you can ‘let down your hair’ with, be yourself with, you want to be with them – contiguous; when you can make a fool of yourself-or spill the entire contents of your coffee mug-you know it’s okay, you don’t feel as if you’ve ruined your friendship by being a klutz.

But that’s only half of the story, or it should be. There’s an old saying, “to have a friend you have to be a friend”. That means that when your friend needs you, you have no hesitation, you want to be there for them. There’s nowhere else you would rather be but there with them while they work through whatever their pain or problem is. Even if you can’t do a thing to help, you want to be there, sit quietly and listen, make a cup of tea or coffee, or whatever it is they like best to comfort them. You want to do a load of washing, cook a meal, do some chores which will free them up when they need it.

What a lonely world this would be without family and friends. Moving from your home to the other side of the world would be so much harder if you had neither family or friends. In Torn Mary finds new friends along the way, friends who become her family. A friend she expected to be as close to her as family turned out not to be the person she thought she was, well, at least not in Torn. And, those she didn’t expect to like as friends in the beginning became her family.

Today I’m feeling blessed that I have both family and friends whom I love dearly. Family who are friends and friends who are family and I want to thank you all for being there for me recently. I hope I can return the favour though hopefully you won’t need me for quite the same reasons as I needed you recently.

Where am I Wednesday

27 Wednesday May 2015

Posted by Zoetic Words in LIFE, LOVE, MY BOOKS, SHATTERED, THE WRITERS' LIFE, TORN

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family, food, Irish Famine, sailing, ships, shipwreck

As part of the gathering of the clans, I am up in Rockhampton, Central Queensland. People are arriving from everywhere. My great-nephew and his sister are here from New Zealand, sisters and other family arriving from all over.

My trip up was… interesting. I can’t remember how long ago it was when I flew in a propeller driven plane! It felt a little, dare I say, archaic? We really are spoiled in this modern world. So many things we take for granted. Warm clothes, cool air-conditioning, fast jet planes and more food than we could eat or than is good for us! Especially now, food has been arriving for days. I’m with my nephew and his family at the moment and she is saying she hasn’t had to cook in days!

What a different world it is, even in this age, in other parts of the world some not so far away and others not so long ago in history. Excuse me for harping on about the Irish Famine, but that’s the era I’ve been “living in” for the last I-don’t-want-to-say how many years. It hard to imagine a world without electricity for a start! Add to that the transport problems.

At that time in history steam ships were the newest latest whizz bang technology. Sailing ship captains navigated by the stars without the aid of computers and it took months to travel from Ireland to Moreton Bay off and Brisbane. Many didn’t make it that far. Shipwrecks were not uncommon either.

When I was tempted to turf Rosaleen off the “Reliance” in Africa. My critique partner wisely told me I shouldn’t. Rosaleen is, she said, was “such a good bad character”. After nearly being pushed overboard again in the Great Australian Bight, I relented and she survived! She kept trying to take over the story in “Torn” but I’m pleased to report she has settled for being the leading lady in “Shattered”, the follow on book from “Torn”.

Before I go, spare a thought for Liam’s horses on the “Reliance”. Every horse in Australia came at some time from overseas. It wasn’t easy to transport horses and it was not easy to research how they did it! But that’s a story for another time.

The Gathering of the Clans

26 Tuesday May 2015

Posted by Zoetic Words in LIFE, LOVE, MY BOOKS, THE WRITERS' LIFE, TORN

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empathy, families, friends, funerals, gratitude, loved ones, sympathy, weddings

Weddings and funerals, times at which we all gather together to celebrate either the beginning of a new family or the life of a loved one who has passed away. There is such comfort to be had in the company of loved ones and the good wishes of friends, fellow writers and work colleagues. I am blessed with good friends and a large loving family. Everybody has been very supportive and kind after the recent passing of my uncle and my nephew.

Not everyone is so blessed. In the time of the Great Famine, the period in which I have lived for a couple of years while researching and writing my books. Back then there were so many in the same situation. We in our comfortable homes and lifestyles can sympathise but can we really appreciate the suffering of people elsewhere who do not have the good fortune to live in such affluence?

Going back in history can teach us many lessons should we wish to learn. How many of us have had to sell the clothes off our back for food to eat? Then to have a severe winter in which those clothes made the difference between living and dying of exposure. How many of us have had to go without so our husband, wife or children could have food to eat? How many of us have lost every one of our family members and had to go on alone?

Sympathy and empathy are each valuable qualities for each of us to develop. More valuable still is a smile and a helping hand to those in need. When we think our problems are overwhelming, there is always somebody worse off and we usually don’t have to look far.

Thank you for all your kind thoughts and expressions of sympathy and empathy. I shall treasure them in the coming days.