Happy New Year!

Friday, December 31, 2010


It's been a big year for me in terms of writing success - having my first book published, writing another two, promoting the book, experiencing wonderful reviews and not-so-wonderful reviews and lots of highs and lows and plenty of days of something in the middle - and it's been surreal and pretty great. And since being published has always been the main aspiration of mine, I'm still figuring out now what to do next (writing more books! and hoping beyond all hope people want to read those, too!).

On a personal level, I haven't changed much. I'm still in the same place I was last year, but maybe in a slightly different headspace. Only a little different. Everything is different and everything is the same. I've got hope for the new year. (I plan on blogging more next year, and writing more, and going-out-and-living-life more, and being more, and being happier, and being a kinder person, and expressing my love towards people more, and so many more things. And caring less about things that don't matter.) I don't think I've grown up all that much. I think I'm less shy. I've had a bunch of new and scary and thrilling experiences. I hope that this year I've had a positive impact in the lives of those around me.

The people around me - family and friends - have been wonderful to me, this year, as always. And you folks have been pretty awesome too. Thanks for your support. Thanks for being wonderful. Thanks for reading my blog posts and book, thanks for lovely comments and chats on Twitter and Facebook friendship. You have no idea how much it means to me (a lot).

So basically what I said last new year is what I want to say to you again this new year (with the year updated, of course!):


Have a lovely night, even if you're just staying at home. I hope you have a wonderful 2011. I hope you feel better about yourself. I hope you feel alive. I hope that good things happen to you, and I hope that when the inevitable bad things happen you can handle them and learn a lesson and move on. I hope you know you're not alone and I hope you spend plenty of time with your family and/or friends and I hope you write more and get a seven-figure book deal. I hope next year no more celebrities die and I hope you get an iPhone if you want one. Or maybe a pony. I hope someone writes a song for you on Valentines Day that's a bit like Hey There Delilah, and I hope they have a good singing voice, or at least one better than mine. I hope that you accept yourself the way you are, and figure out that losing 20 pounds isn't going to magically make you love yourself. I hope you read a lot. I hope you don't have to almost die to figure out how valuable life is. I hope you find the perfect nail polish/digital camera/home/life partner. I hope you stop being jealous of others. I hope you feel good, about yourself and the people around you and the world. I hope you eat heaps of salt and vinegar chips because they're the best kind. I hope you accomplish all your hopes & dreams & aspirations and are blissfully happy & get married to Edward Cullen/George Clooney/Megan Fox/Angelina Jolie (delete whichever are inappropriate) & ride a pretty white horse into the sunset & I hope it's all sweet and wonderful because you deserve it because you did well this year in the face of sparkly vampires/great evil/low self-esteem.
So. Have a happy new year. I wish you a good night and a good year and a good lifetime.

I wish you happiness and love and success in all parts of your life. You deserve it. Have a wonderful new year, and know that you are loved and important and that 2011 may very well be the best year of your life so far.

And please, tell me about your New Year's Resolutions!

Interview with Beth Montgomery

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Beth Montgomery is the author of two YA novels - The Birthmark and Murderer's Thumb - both published by Text Publishing (my publisher, too!). She grew up on Melbourne's fringe, worked as a teacher in the Pacific Islands and is married to a Solomon Islander. They have two children and now live in rural Victoria, where Beth is at work on her next books. Here, she talks about her path to publication, writing struggles and successes, and what advice she'd give her younger self if she could travel back in time!

Steph: Can you tell me a bit about the process of writing The Birthmark?
Beth: The idea for The Birthmark germinated after a writing workshop with Arnold Zable. He was enthusiastic about a piece I’d written and said it could develop into a novel. I ran with the idea and after about 15 months I had a draft I was happy to send to publishers. It wasn’t called The Birthmark then.

It was an easy book to write because so much of it was infused with memories of my time teaching in the Pacific. The characters were so tangible to me that I cried whilst writing several of the scenes. But when Text accepted the manuscript it was pretty clear that they wanted the first eighty pages scrapped. I couldn’t believe it. But after a few days to get my head around the idea I started rewriting and the whole thing came together.

I did a lot of rewriting. It is the bit about being an author that readers have no concept of when they read the finished product.

Steph: The Birthmark was Text's first YA novel - can you tell me a bit about how you came to be published by them?
Beth: My manuscript got some fabulous feedback in the form of a really detailed rejection letter from Allen and Unwin but my confidence was dented. The second publisher I sent it to was a small publishing house in Canberra which have since folded. Whilst they considered it I also sent three chapters to Text Publishing. Both were prepared to publish so I settled for the better offer which was Text.

The reason why I sent my manuscript to Text initially was again due to Arnold Zable. He was with Text and recommended them. At the time they weren’t publishing YAF but I’d read in the press that they were thinking of starting a YAF line. I rang them up to confirm this, and talked to one of the editors who encouraged me to give them a try. Four months later they agreed to read the whole manuscript and I was on the way to publication. It was a brilliant feeling. I haven’t got an agent, which is rare I suppose, but maybe one day...

Steph: Can you tell me abit about your second novel, Murderer's Thumb?
Beth: Murderer’s Thumb was a prick to write. I started the whole thing arse about. I had my story, but the characters weren’t gelling. I rewrote that manuscript from scratch and still had trouble getting it to work. It wasn’t until my third rewrite that it finally took shape, but even then I did about six versions of the end until I was satisfied. I guess it was more of a work of pure imagination than The Birthmark and so it took a lot more effort. Whereas The Birthmark flew straight out of my past.

Steph: Why do you write and what do you hope to achieve with your writing?
Beth: It would be nice to achieve success and therefore a big fat cheque in my letterbox. Again, maybe one day...
I write because if I don’t I get cranky and I’m a pain to live with. There are stories swirling around my head that demand to be written down.

When I write my books I’m not thinking about my readers, only the story. That might sound conceited but I don’t mean it to be. I just try to be true to the characters and the setting, make sure my dialogue sounds authentic and the pace is right.

I guess I just concentrate on the performance, not what people think of it. I don’t think athletes think about what the crowd likes. I think they just try to play the ball. Maybe musicians are closer to their audience than authors, but they still have to concentrate on hitting the right notes. I figure there are so many readers out there that some people will like my writing and some people won’t. If people get spirited away into my settings and feel my character’s emotions then that’s good enough for me.

Steph: Imagining you could travel back in time and meet your younger self without tearing the universe apart, what advice would you give her about writing and life?
Beth: About writing: Never think your first draft is excellent. It’s always shit compared with what two or three rewrites can produce.

Be prepared for hours of frustration, despair and hatred—all directed at your manuscript. There are hours of delight, pride and love too, when things come together, but they’re far fewer than the negative emotions.

Don’t give up. Get that draft finished. No matter how bad it is, then rewrite it until it’s perfect. Too many people say they’ll write a book but they don’t persevere.

About life: Relish every high and low experience you’ve ever had: the break-ups, betrayals, broken bones, bad hair days; the wins, loves, laughs and pleasures...whatever. The emotions you experience are the fuel of your work. You can use everything.

Never say no to a crappy job when you’re unemployed. Pick fruit, wash dishes, pack shelves, shovel shit. Learn how it feels to use new tools, get blisters, sweat, stain your hands, deal with annoying bosses and earn peanuts. You’ll fill your mind with experiences you can use in your writing and you can always leave when a better job comes along.

Get reading, both the good and the bad. Fiction, non fiction, YAF, children’s, adult and any genre you can stomach. There are so many books out there that even if you were a speed reader you’d never get through half of them in a lifetime and each one will teach you something you need to know to be a better writer.

Steph: What are you working on at the moment?
Beth: At the moment I’m working on a YAF book set in a regional Australian town about a diabetic girl with a passion for poisons. I don’t want to go into details because the whole thing is still in the early drafts stage and I’m afraid I’ll give it the mozz if I blab on about it.

Express Media Awards Extravaganza

Wednesday, December 22, 2010


Last Friday I went to the Express Media Awards Extravaganza and it was quite excellent. Prizes were awarded to the Write Across Victoria prize winners, John Marsden prize winners and a few others - including me! I won the inaugural award for Outstanding Achievement by a Writer Under 25 in 2010 (and I got a matchbox car! Woo!). They also launched the latest edition of Voiceworks, Technicolour (which in reality has a bright orange and blue cover that is a lot more vivid than the one pictured above, it's pretty special), which I have since read and is filled with all kinds of awesome. It was a lot of fun, and the stories and poems read out by people (the youngest was eight! his poem was about an alien!) were pretty amazing (buy Technicolour, and you'll see). There's lots more photos of the event on Express Media's Facebook page!

John Marsden & I.
Bel Schenk, Express Media's artistic director, & me.
My matchbox car.
Me giving a speech.

Writing updates!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

I'm not sure how much anybody cares to hear about my writing, but it's my blog and I'll talk about writing if I want to. Also, I don't do a whole lot of talking about my writing with anybody (except random outbursts to my parents that make no sense to them, and the occasional in-depth plot outline while talking to a friend on the phone that I make up as I go along), and I'm thinking that maybe talking about it (if only by blog) might make it easier. Might help me figure stuff out.

I sent Book Two to my agent and publisher the other day. I'm very quietly freaking out (but I'm always very quietly freaking out over something or other so this is not particularly new for me). And now - because school is done for the year, and Christmas alone is apparently not stressful enough - I want to start working on Book Three.

And my problem at the moment is that I have two ideas (which I fondly refer to as Potential Book Three and Potential Book Four... they do have temporary titles, but they're so atrociously bad you don't want to hear them). Neither of which I know enough about to start writing, and both that I think are going to be pretty challenging to write (not it-might-kill-me super-challenging, though. Tricky, but manageable). All I know at the moment is pretty much the central characters of each, and the premises. Both are YA, one is paranormal and the other is contemporary, a lot like what I've written before, but about a murder (and every time I try and write a murder it goes pretty terribly. I mean the writing, not the murder. Obviously, murder is terrible).

And Book Two has already so far been pretty difficult. I mean, the manuscript I sent to my agent I wrote over the past six months, but the eight months before that I wrote another book about three times (it was not a good book). I think having a book out made it a lot more difficult for me to write another book to begin with, because I was constantly thinking about what everyone would think and wanting it to be good and please everybody. But over the past few months I've realised that irrespective of what I write, some people will love it but others are going to hate it. The only thing I can really do is try and write the best book I can.

SO! Does anyone have advice/methods for getting from the stage where you have the general idea for a novel to the point where you can actually start writing it? Just start writing and see where it leads me? Try and write an outline? Profile characters? Please help!

Awesome Australian Contemporary YA

Saturday, December 11, 2010

So, someone commented on my post the other day saying they'd completely given up on Aussie YA because the teen voices seemed false... this is terrible! Clearly, you must be directed towards the many wonderful YA titles written by Aussies!

So, I decided to list a few of my favourite Australian contemporary YA novels. I believe they are all wonderfully written, and have very realistic teen voices. I could probably list a hundred brilliant Australian novels across all genres, but I'm trying to highlight what I think are basically must-read YA novels (which are all quite recent).

It's impossible to read these books and not have faith in the amazing YA writers of Australia and hope for plenty of brilliant books for years to come. (And as much as I love love love books by authors from other countries, I especially try and support Australian authors - not a lot receive international success, but we have so many fabulous writers with important things to say, and they deserve to be read.)

I have most definitely forgotten a book (or ten) I really love, so expect a part two of this at some point in the future.

Click the titles for my reviews!
Everything Beautiful by Simmone Howell
A girl called Riley Rose is sent to Christian camp by her dad for bad behaviour. This is a wonderful book; beautifully written, fun and thought-provoking. I think any teenager would find it immensely appealing. All of the characters are vivid, and Riley especially is fabulous - spirited and tough and proud.

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
Two kids - Lucy and Ed - and one night at the end of high school, adventuring around the city. The feelings of being in that space between childhood and adulthood and on the verge of something massive and unknowable that's supposed to be your life is perfectly captured. So real and so honest and so wonderfully written.

After January by Nick Earls
About a kid called Alex and his first summer after high school and a girl he meets. It's funny, awkward, insightful and beautifully written. Every single character is brilliant. Every line of dialogue is perfect. It's all kinds of wonderful, and there's no reason you shouldn't pick it up.

Six Impossible Things by Fiona Wood
About a nerdy, hilarious kid called Dan with a falling-apart family and a crush on Estelle, his gorgeous neighbour and lots of other problems (six impossible things, actually). Funny and adorable and full of lists and awkward teen romance. Exactly the kind of book I love.

Pink by Lili Wilkinson
About a girl called Ava struggling with her personal identity and sexuality. Both thoughtful and fun, and the way in which the characters speak sounds straight from the schoolyard; Wikipedia references and silly in-jokes abundant. Ava's voice is honest and compelling, and her struggles easy to relate to.

Six by Karen Tayleur
About six teenagers and their final year of school. Pick it up because it's wonderful and skilfully written and full of characters that you can imagine living in your town. It's one of my favourite books read this year. It's six shades of brilliant and you'd be crazy not to check it out.

On The Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
The only Marchetta novel I've reviewed on this blog is The Piper's Son, though I love all her novels. On The Jellicoe Road is my favourite, and rather than me using a thesaurus to pick out the right words to properly describe it, you ought to just go and read it. Read all Marchetta's novels. I believe they may very possibly change your life.

Town by James Roy
I have never properly reviewed Town, either, which is insane, because I love it so. But I did interview James Roy when I first started this blog, and I said the following: 'Town was real and raw, and difficult stories and numerous voices that would have been extremely hard to pull off flow seamlessly and effortlessly. I don't think it could have been executed any better.' And that pretty much sums it up. Read it.

What are your favourite Aussie contemporary YA novels?

Friendship on Fire by Danielle Weiler

Friday, December 10, 2010

The first few days of Year 12 are disastrous for school captain Daisy Brooks.

But Daisy’s life takes a sudden turn when she is dared by Skye, the leader of the Blonde Brigade, to meet the mysterious, drop-dead gorgeous stranger, Nate, from rival school Addison Grammar. Daisy’s instant attraction to him disrupts her world. But what about her best friend Roman? How will he respond to this intruder?

Daisy is a vulnerable, yet fiery girl going through the chaotic phase between teenage-hood and adulthood. She is about to discover the complexities of relationships, the etiquette of friendship, and most of all, the development of herself as a woman.

Is it too late for Daisy to realise that the choices she makes shapes who she is and who she will become?


My first impression of Friendship On Fire was that it seemed a lot like paranormal romance novel without the paranormal elements - a love triangle, a girl who's interested in a guy who seems a bit dangerous, and her - pretty normal, smart, but still a bit clueless. It's quite lengthy, and while I think the novel has plenty of depth as a result, I think it could be pared down a little and still have the same effect, though it would be more of a contemporary YA length.

Once I began reading the novel, I discovered there was a lot more to it than just the romance plotline (though that is a very important central theme, and will appeal greatly to teenage girls) - Daisy's whole final year of school is played out over the course of the book, and it's big and intense and filled with lessons for her and lots of growing up. Though I liked Daisy, she could be frustrating at times, and sometimes the narrative was a little confusing (a couple of jumps between events and places that seemed out of place and pulled me out of the story), but the range of issues and (often funny) cast of characters (especially Daisy's grandma and family, and Roman and family - they were my favourites) made the novel well-rounded and enjoyable. I liked Daisy's voice, and found her telling of the story believable, and though the dialogue was great, at times it seemed a little too composed for an ordinary teenaged conversation.

The book has a diary sort of tone - Daisy is a very introspective character, and a lot of the novel deals with her reflections on events and experiences. Throughout the book there were diary entries and a couple of poems, as well as a dream sequence, but I felt as if these were unnecessary additions - Daisy's feelings and inner-thoughts were already well established through the very intimate and detailed narrative.

It's an interesting dissection of someone's final year of school, and packs a lot of messages and life lessons, and though sometimes leaning towards the melodramatic, I liked it and I think it'll definitely find a fanbase among teenage girls. A great voice and sensational read.

Mercy by Rebecca Lim

Friday, December 10, 2010

Every time I look at this book on my shelf, I feel compelled to begin singing 'Mercy' by Duffy. I don't know why. I wonder if all books with titles the same as songs I know the lyrics of would compel me to sing them. Of course, this is all totally irrelevant and of absolutely no importance, but I just thought I'd let you know. 'Mercy' by Duffy is quite a good song, by the way. I like her 'Rockferry' album.

But this review is about Mercy by Rebecca Lim, not Duffy! Mercy is an angel exiled from heaven and randomly possessing the bodies of humans, changing bodies without warning. She has no memory of her past, or much of an idea of who she really is, and she's visited in her dreams by Luc, who I believe is her angelic true love. This plotline - Mercy figuring out who she is, and random visits from angels - is important, but takes the backburner in this novel. At the beginning of the novel she wakes up on a bus, in a new body, that of Carmen, who is short and skinny and not conventionally attractive, but who is an amazing singer. She's on the way to a town called Paradise for a choir performance with two other schools. When she arrives, she discovers she's staying with the Daley family - who seem strange and distant from others - and is soon told about their terrible loss. (And I'm going to stop there because it's a lot more fun to read if you don't know what's going to happen.)

I loved the angels/murder mystery combo. I love stories about possession, and the fact that she had no control over where she went and when she changed was great. I loved the fact that she was the super-powerful paranormal beastie rather than her love interest. It was just different enough from ordinarily paranormal romance to be refreshing, but still fit well within the genre. It's an engaging story, and I'm very interested to read the sequel.

I did figure out the mystery about a third of the way in, and I'm not sure whether I have extraordinary detective skills or whether this was done intentionally by the author so that we have that cringing 'how can she not know?! This is going to end in disaster!' feeling, like in a horror movie. It was a touch frustrating, but I think the novel held up pretty well all the same - too often with series in this genre there isn't a sufficient story in the first book (instead it's like a 500-page intro) and no non-paranormal plotline. I think this book can work as a standalone as well (though some things are solved by the end, there's an over-arching plotline that is still open and entices the reader to read more).

Okay, and there's one thing that bothers me, but that's a convention of seemingly all paranormal romance and would probably massively disappoint the hardcore para-rom (that abbreviation doesn't really work, does it? What do you call paranormal romance for short?) fans if it didn't happen, and that's the fact that both of the story's leads fit a pretty rigid stereotype. He's tall and strong and handsome, and she's sassy. One good thing was that the body the protagonist is possessing is not conventionally attractive (though their true form is tall and beautiful - at least she's strong though). And I get why the characters are like this, but I'd love to read something where the protagonists rebel against the norms for the genre.

I think this will definitely appeal to YA paranormal romance fans, though apart from being partially set in a school, it's not dramatically teenaged - I think adult paranormal romance readers would just as easily enjoy it. I'm terrifically glad to see a Melbourne author getting international success, and I think the series has the potential to become quite popular. I enjoyed it.

Mercy on the publisher's website

Writing Teen Voice

Sunday, December 5, 2010

A guest post I did for author Randy Russell's blog back in February.
Writing an authentic teen voice comes naturally to me. I am, after all, a teenager. I have teenage friends. I watch movies and TV, read books and magazines, and visit websites all geared towards teenagers. I write in the same way I think. Realistic dialogue is easy, since I hear so many teenagers having conversations on a regular basis.

But what if you’re an adult? What if your dialogue or the thoughts of your main character are too ‘old’?

Do you just insert a bunch of ‘whatever’s and ‘like’s into your novel, and SHAZAM we have realistic teenage characters?

Well, yes and no. Here are some tips.

Do’s:
  • Listen to teenagers speak. You should already be good at eavesdropping, if you’re a good writer. Listen to your children, nieces or nephews, friends’ kids, relatives, neighbours, people sitting in a restaurant. Write down teenage conversation. Notice words they use, where conversation pauses, the dynamics among a group of friends. You’ll gradually develop an idea of the way teenagers speak.
  • Read and watch things meant for teenagers. Read great YA novels, and think about what makes the teenagers in it authentic. Watch movies and TV shows geared towards teenagers (Of course it will vary based on genre, but look for things that are popular among teenagers). Read teen girl magazines, as they are an invaluable resource when it comes to what’s popular (but adding references to popular singers, movies, etc. will probably date your novel. So just look at these things for research purposes).
  • Read it out loud. Ask yourself, would this be a realistic way for these characters to speak? Would they use these words? Consider reading dialogues aloud with someone else, like practicing lines for a play. Ask another person – a reader, a writer, a teenager – whether they think the dialogue lacks believability.
Don’ts:
  • Don't make your dialogue too realistic. While we want the dialogues our characters to be realistic enough that they could occur in real life, we need to get to the point. Teenagers swear a lot more than is necessary in a novel, and there are a lot more ums and ahs than would make satisfying fictitious dialogue. Find that point between realism and a satisfying book.
  • Don’t use slang, unless relevant. Using slang usually comes across as false and forced.
  • Don’t try to get it perfect on the first try. Writing is rewriting, dialogue and voice included
  • Addendum: Don't think of teenagers as a foreign species. They do speak like human beings. They are smart. They are unique. They don't speak all that differently to adults.
Your advice for writing teen voice would be appreciated!

Dear 30-Year-Old Steph,

Friday, December 3, 2010

I hope you're still writing, as long as you're enjoying it. I hope your books do well enough and you write good enough books that you keep being published. I hope people are still enjoying what you write. It doesn't matter if it's ten people or ten million, you're affecting somebody. I hope getting bad reviews still doesn't feel like having your heart ripped from your chest.

I hope, if you're not writing, that whatever you are doing is making you happy. That you're making a difference. I hope that the world you live in is a peaceful one. I hope that there's more equality. I hope that there's less people starving and dying too young. I hope there's less people living in fear and jumping off buildings. I hope that people are nicer. I hope that you are kind, and everyone is kind to you. I kind of hope you live in a utopia, but I know that's unrealistic.

I hope that if this isn't the case, that you're still hopeful. That you're not cynical and jaded. That you fight for the things you believe in. I hope that you still have faith in the world and in people around you. I hope you've become comfortable in your skin, and found people who you are comfortable with. I hope that you always, always remember that love is more important than money. Always. I hope you're happy and healthy, and I hope the people you love are happy and healthy.

I hope you don't look back on your teenage years and feel sad they're gone. I hope you enjoy the present. I hope you cringe at the person you were at sixteen, at the funny way you dressed and your frizzy hair and your obsession with your skin, but I hope you're proud of the person you were. I hope you are kind and generous and filled with love. I hope you've stopped thinking about everything so intensely, but maybe that's such an integral part of who you are that you'll forever be extraordinarily full of thought. I hope you are not lonely. I hope you are happy. I hope you love people and are loved. I hope you always remember that you are worthy of love.

Love,
16-Year-Old Steph

What would you say in a letter to your future self?
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