This novel was started the year before my house burned down. It was something that came to me one day, after observing the magpies that seemed to follow me wherever I lived, wherever I went. Sometimes there'd be one and I'd get a bit gloomy, sometimes there'd be two and my mood would improve. Sometimes, however, like at the house I now live, there'd be a mob of about thirty, all carrying on in their uniquely Australian magpie way. Their song accompanies my awakening, every morning.
I started writing about an older woman who finds herself in a situation that she can't see her way out of, but follows her heart and finds a new life waiting for her. It was about new beginnings, the finding of self, the realisation that no matter what, she could 'do it'. It was a pretty happy tale, but the original had many dark twists. When the house burned down, I thought I'd lost the manuscript, but one day early 2023, after surviving aggressive breast cancer, I found a tub of paperwork and in it was the manuscript for this book, and others.
So I decided to finish it. And I rewrote it in less than 3 days. It took another month or two to edit before I was almost happy with it and while I know there are little issues, it remains my first novel and I'm very fucking proud of myself. I gave Rose a happy ending, because I know that mine will not be. There is no cure for breast cancer. But until that final breath, I will keep giving my novels happy endings, no matter the genre. Well, maybe hahahaha. It all depends on Maggie.
Maggie Summers is my alter ego. The self that was born out of pain, trauma and suffering. She is allowed free reign in my head and sometimes she gets me into awful trouble. But that's ok. I'm old now and I can handle it. She can write whatever she wants to write and I will edit it, design the cover art and publish it.
The image on the front cover of this book is one of my photographs, taken looking across to the Strathbogie ranges in Victoria. It holds many memories for me, the most beautiful being that it was the first time in my life I was secure. At least until the house burned down and took those dreams and that life with it.
And so I began again.
It's never too late to follow your heart and your dreams.
REVIEWS
Orion's Bane was a chapter outline for a unit in ta Professional Writing and Editing course I did, a long time and another life ago. I found the outline in the same tub of scorched paperwork that yielded A Rhyme Of Magpies. I liked a lot of it, but it was dated and had some very silly stuff that I scoffed at from my lofty age. The younger me that had written it still had a hopeful heart. The older me that rewrote it knew better.
But somehow, the story took on a life of its own. As I started the rewrite, from the one beginning chapter and the hazy plot outline, I soon realised that I was simply hands typing on a keyboard. The story unfolded like a movie in my mind and it was all I could do to keep up. Luckily I am a very fast typist, but after four days, my RSI was seriously bad. But that was nothing compared to the editing. Another month went by (with a lot of research) and the final tale was nothing like the original story line. I was faced with a few dilemmas in the writing - how to adequately, compassionately and inclusively incorporate First Nations people into the novel because one of my main characters evolved into a feisty, intelligent and wonderful Aboriginal woman. I hope I did her justice.
This novel and AROM are written about middle aged and older women, because we're typically underrepresented in a lot of fiction. This novel has a supernatural twist to it and a talking cat, of course. How could I not include my magic and marvellous, Mister Tigger - he of the extraordinary brushy tail (AKA Basil). My beautiful Maine Coon monster. My TiggyWiggyWoo. Who died suddenly, in my arms, when I was struggling through chemotherapy. His loss almost broke me. He was my bestest boi EVER and while I have had many rescue cats, there has never been and will never be, a cat like him. And so he became an integral part of my novel. I still have my superfloofy and adorable BillyBoyBumbleButt, he of the plush cashmere coat and the incessant vocalisations and who knows? Maybe he will get his own story told, one day.
The cover art was designed by me in a new program that helped me visualise my story. I used all the tools I had at my disposal, including a new XPPen Pro art tablet which is the bees knees, seeing as how my hands don't work properly anymore, thanks to peripheral neuropathy from the chemo. I can barely hold a brush these days, but a mouse? Yes. And the tablet had a wonderful pen which made life so much easier. Plus an excellent enlargement tool for old eyes growing dim with age.
It's a book about magic. The magic of relationships, friendships, animals and places. It's about finding a place and people where you can be you, unashamedly. I wrote it for myself. I wrote it for all the selves I have ever been. I wrote it for all the selves I'd ever wanted to be. And I wrote it so that others could find a little bit of magic, too.
REVIEWS
MiniPig & Me was a story I began in 1998, when my son was still a young boy. We had many pets, not the least of which were the guinea pigs. I was studying illustration at that time and one of the mediums I was learning was pastel. One day I drew a picture of him with his little tan and white guinea pig he'd fondly called MiniPig and while I was drawing it with pastel, the idea for this story came to me. After I'd finished the picture, I photographed it and ran off an image on the photocopier. On the back of it I sketched the outline of this short children's story.
In 2023, I finally finished the tale. It too, took a few twists away from the original plot but I kinda like it so much better. There's something about finishing a tale begun by a different version of yourself. A younger and less ... I dunno ... wiser? version. I could see where the story was going, how it would end. It was easy to pick up the threads and knit a whole new tale.
The cover image is the pastel drawing I did all those years ago. It reminds me of one of the most magical times in my life - that of being a parent. Children are such a gift. As this book is my gift to my now adult son. The love and joy, respect and pride I feel for him is more than enough to offset the awful pain of all the loss I have suffered in my life, including the horrendous experience of undergoing treatment for cancer in the middle of a pandemic. The light he shines turns my darkness into dappled shadow. Love conquers all.
REVIEWS
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I was a naive and insecure teenager when I started writing this novel. It had an outlandishly ridiculous title and a whole cringing heap of squirmy teenage angst. Of the few chapters that survived the destruction of my house in 2015, most were filled with outdated sexist and ageist writing, but in the context of my life, perfectly expressive of 1975. There was nothing out of context - if it was still written in the seventies.
But in 2023, everything was different. I literally had to rewrite the science. And as to the fiction part - well, that was just a minefield LOL. I rewrote it all. Most of the characters remain the same, just no longer sexist, ageist, whateverist. And the plot remained very similar because it was, in my opinion, pretty sound. I just added 47 years of living into the body of text as I wrote it from an adult perspective.
This is a science fiction fantasy in the style of my queens - Andre Norton and Anne McCaffrey - both of whom I spent most of my childhood reading. They gave me the most amazing escapes from a world that was violent and cruel and traumatic. I owe those groundbreaking women a huge debt of gratitude and thanks, and when I die, I hope my soul wings its way to wherever their spirits fly.
The book is aimed at anyone over the age of eight years old, because my main character - Skip - is eight. He's a smart kid, a compassionate and wise young man - and he makes friends with everyone - aliens, monsters and creatures out of legend and myth. He's also brave and strong and I didn't realise it at the time my teenage self was writing it, but he is literally my son. I wrote my son into being - long before he was born. Bit prophetic, huh? :)
The cover image was created in the GIMP and then I played with it for about a month before I got it to the point where I liked it. Digital art is incredible. It opens the door for so many disabled people and the tools we have now were not even in dreaming back in 1975. I'm blessed to have survived long enough to be able to take advantage of all the amazing tech we now have. I consider myself very fortunate that I have access to all these wonderful tools!
And so this book marks the final of the four I have written this year. A year marked by tragedy and grief and loss, as they usually are for me. But I'm proud of what I have achieved and to know that I have left a little bit of my soul behind. This book took 47 years to write, but it is finally written and I feel that teenage me would approve.
REVIEWS
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I surprised myself and wrote 5 books in 2023, but I chose to hold off publishing this one until 2024 - primarily because it was giving me a whole heap of grief. As is this website today LOL by suddenly changing my font and spacing it badly and not giving me the option to edit it. SIGH. Technology is great - when it works. Anyhoo, this book ... again, it was based (very loosely) on a partially completed manuscript from the same box the others came from. And again, it was really cringeworthy. So, I rewrote it. I edited it several times in digital format, before ordering a proof copy. That's where the drama started. Apparently I can't edit on screen anymore, because the hard copy showed me so many glaring errors and continuity issues and a couple of whopping great plot holes which required solutions - literally rewriting chapters and changing bits and pieces. Then I went to format the thing in KindleCreate - got to the last bit - hit the save button and the whole fucking program crashed and deleted 5 hours of work. To say I wasn't happy was putting things mildly. I had a bit of a tempter tanty, slept on it, rewrote and reformatted it and on a day when we were hit with bushfires, floods, hurricane strength winds and no power, I managed to finally get a signal and broadband on my phone, hooked it up as a mobile hotspot and uploaded the damned book. I was determined to get it published on February 14 - the anniversary of days that changed my life. Not in the romantic sense because that's all done and dusted for me. And so, it was published. And there may be many mistakes and other grammatical errors but I don't care. I just re-read Lord Of The Rings (my 1975 copy) and seeing all the mistakes in that manuscript made me feel a whole lot better about publishing my silly little novel. Hope you all enjoy it xoxox