June/July Newsletter
Hey everyone!
Another month, another newsletter! Or, well, technically I missed last month, but in my defence, I was so busy that I didn’t even realise we’d crossed into July! (Oops!) In an effort to keep that from happening again this month, I’m sending this newsletter out early, so it kinda makes up for it, right? *Insert apologetic look here*
If you follow me on social media, you’ll already know part of why I’ve been so busy over the last few weeks, and that was because I had some massive events during that time. But the other reason is because I’ve been on deadline editing ::something:: which has taken up the rest of my time. More on this in the “Writing/Editing/Publishing” section below!
As for the events I mentioned above, yikes, I’ve never experienced anything like what happened at Sydney Supanova before in my life. I think I heard the organisers say there was something like 60,000 people who came through the doors over the weekend, so the crowds were insane. Here’s a pic showing just ONE of the THREE halls, so when I say there were a lot of people, I mean there were a LOT of people (photo credit to Supanova):
And here’s little old me signing in amongst all the chaos:
Admittedly, a lot of the crowds (especially in the bookish area) were there because the international guest author was Rebecca Yarros, author of Fourth Wing, and it was her first time visiting Australia, so loads of people came to see her. But on my end, I signed non-stop from the moment the doors opened in the morning to the moment they closed in the evening, and I’ve NEVER experienced anything like that before — it was honestly amazing and so surreal and I’m still processing it even three weeks later! Thank you sooooo much to everyone who came to see me, and especially for your patience in the queues. It was such a delight to get to chat with you all and sign your books and hear how much you love the characters and worlds I’ve created. I’m getting teary just remembering it!
Now, jumping back quickly to Rebecca Yarros, I have to admit that I was a little nervous about meeting her. I’ve had great experiences with “big” authors but I’ve also had some truly awful experiences as well, especially in cases where their fame has gone to their heads and they think they’re better than everyone else. (True story: A few years ago I was at an event with a big international author, and one of their fans came up to me afterwards, clutching their book to their chest after having had it signed, and the fan said in the saddest possible voice: “Never meet your heroes.” That has stayed with me to this day!)
But back to what I was saying…
Given how massively popular the Fourth Wing series is, I had no idea what to expect with Rebecca, and I was a little uneasy about it all — largely because I knew I would be interviewing her not once, but twice during her Australian tour (in two different cities), and that could have been a disaster if she turned out to be one of the not-so-nice authors. BUT thankfully that couldn’t have been further from the truth! I actually met up with her as soon as I landed in Sydney the day before the event just for a coffee between the two of us (mostly so I could get a read on her personality and know in advance what I would be in for), and honestly, I realised within seconds that she is a delight. Seriously, Rebecca has to be one of the nicest authors I’ve ever met, and I knew that right from the moment she hugged me in greeting to just how friendly and down-to-earth she was for every second after that (including us squabbling over who would pay for the drinks, which almost became an international incident). I could have cried from being so relieved — not just for me, but also for her hordes of fans who deserve to have someone lovely to look up to.
So anyway, meeting with her early meant that I was not only relieved, but also excited to do both her interviews, since it turns out that we have the same kind of bubbly, chaotic energy and I knew instantly that we would have so much fun on stage together. And we did! My stomach still hurts from laughing! (Okay, not really — it’s been a few weeks so that would be concerning, but you get what I mean!) Instead of being nervous in any way, it was just like hanging out with a friend and talking about dragons to an audience of thousands at a time. I mean, come on, what’s not to love about that?!? And getting to know her off-stage over the few days we spent together was also amazing, not just because she’s super nice, but beyond that, it’s aways so enlightening to chat candidly with authors about industry things, and to hear how different and yet similar all our various publishing experiences are. Alas, there’s a cone of silence about that kind of thing (I haven’t seen Fight Club, but we all know the first rule, and it applies here!), so my lips are sealed about any and all conversations that were had!
I do, however, have photos from some of the fun on-stage times, so here’s us during her solo session at Sydney Supanova:
And then here’s us when we met up again a few days later in Brisbane, where over 1,600 of her fans descended upon the gorgeous City Hall:
And here’s proof that I wasn’t kidding about all the laughing (I’m not sure who the photo credit goes to for these, sorry!):
So yes, overall, it was SO MUCH FUN, and I hope any of you who came along to either of the events thought so as well!
Now, speaking of events, let’s jump forward into the news part of this newsletter, starting with what’s coming up next for me…
EVENTS:
I have one event happening in early August and I’m super excited for it because it’s the Byron Writers Festival held in Byron Bay, NSW, and I’ve never been before! (To the festival, or to Byron Bay!) I’m doing two sessions: a panel on Friday 9th August called “Fantasy Worlds” with fellow Aussie author Lili Wilkinson, and I’m also doing a solo session on Sunday 11th Aug all about The Prison Healer which I can’t wait for, especially since I’ve recently done a full re-read of the trilogy so it’s all fresh in my mind!
Tickets are available now (click here) — I hope to see some of you there!
FYI: I’ll also be signing books after both of my sessions, and there should be a bookseller available on the day/s, though you can bring your books from home, of course!
INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING FOR ALL MY BOOKS:
A lot of people don’t realise I’m Australian, and therefore Australia is my home publishing territory, which means all my books are available over here BUT they’re not necessarily available in other countries. There are a lot of rules about this kind of thing, but for the most part, it comes down to the simple fact that a foreign publisher has to buy the rights to publish the books in their country, and if that doesn’t happen, then the books can’t be released in those countries through bookstores and/or standard distribution channels, etc.
I’m fortunate to have a lot of amazing international publishers, especially for The Prison Healer series (I think we’re at something like 20 countries now? Or close to that!), but my other books haven’t spread as widely outside of Australia. Because of this, I get asked all the time how people might get their hands on my books. The e-books are available globally in the English language, and the audiobooks too (I think?) but there’s just something special about holding a copy in your hands. So if you’re one of the people wanting physical copies of my books but you can’t find them in your country, I have good news for you! The fabulous peeps at Penguin Random House have curated a list of Australian bookstores that have global shipping options — woohoo!
You can find the list by clicking here.
Also! Below you’ll see an image of all my books that are currently available in Australia — please note that these are the paperback editions, since Aus prints YA books in paperback only (aside from the rare splashy exception or special edition).
If you want to know more about each series, here’s some quick elevator pitches and comp titles for you:
The Prison Healer is like Throne of Glass meets The Hunger Games — it’s about a girl who has been locked in a death prison for the last 10 years, and when she’s finally given the chance to earn her freedom, the cost could be her very life. (Add in deadly elemental trials, royals, rebels, and a slow-burn love story for the ages, and you have a recipe for this book/series!)
The Medoran Chronicles is like Harry Potter* meets Narnia and X-Men — it’s about a girl who finds herself suddenly transported to a fantasy world where she goes to a school for supernaturally gifted teenagers while she searches for a way back home. (Add in found family, dangerous classes, immortal (and beautiful) villains, royals, dragons, a talking library (yep!), the slowest-burn romance everrrrrr, and more!)
(*Sorry for the HP reference for those it upsets! The HP books themselves are still the most comparable titles to this series until something new comes along that fits better!)
Whisper is like Shatter Me meets Stranger Things and Divergent — it’s about a girl who has been locked in a secret government facility for the last 2.5 years and in that time she hasn’t spoken a single word. The question is, why? (Add in supernatural powers (kind of), a cat that is neither dead nor alive (kind of), a love triangle (ish?? I hate love triangles so this wasn’t deliberate), and a real-world setting with a dash of dystopian possibility!)
For more info on all three series and full blurbs, you can find deets on The Prison Healer here, on The Medoran Chronicles here, and on the Whisper duology here.
And again for any international readers wanting physical copies, the global shipping bookstores are listed here.
COMPETITION TIME:
Do you want to win a whole stack of books? As in, 50 books (!!), with 7 lucky winners in total?
If so, it’s time for Better Reading to lock in their annual Top 50 Kids’ Books list, and all you have to do to be in the draw to win those top 50 books is cast your vote! I would be so, so grateful if you voted for any of my books!
From their website: To enter, you just need to vote for your all-time favourite kids or YA book. It can be international or local, old or new, classic or debut – it just needs to be the kids or YA book you love the most.
Please note that you can’t just say a series name (eg. “The Medoran Chronicles”) — you need to write the specific book title that’s your favourite (eg. “Akarnae”) to have a valid vote. I’m also unsure about the word “The” so you probably can’t write just “Prison Healer” and you would need to write “The Prison Healer” (I could be wrong, but better safe than sorry!)
This competition is open to Aussies only (sorry international folks!) and ends this coming Sunday 21 July at 5pm AEST. You can cast your vote by clicking here.
Thank youuuuu!!!
KINDLE UNLIMITED:
I’m so happy to share that for the first time ever — and for a limited time only — The Prison Healer is available to download on Kindle Unlimited for all active subscribers! This is in the US/CAN territory only (sorry everyone else), and it’s only available from now until September, from what I’ve been told, so grab a copy while you can!
WRITING/EDITING/PUBLISHING UPDATE:
I mentioned at the beginning of this newsletter that I’ve been busy editing ::something:: and I’m thrilled to say I can finally share—
Wait, nope.
*SIGH*
Okay, so, here’s the thing: I still can’t talk about a lot of the stuff I’m working on at the moment. I know, I know, I’m awful, since I’ve been promising you updates for aaaaaaages, but alas, publishing is a slow business, and the contracts/legal side is particularly slow. Think of a sloth and a snail in a race, and then slow them down to half speed, and let them take a nap halfway through, and they’ll still be moving faster than a lot of things in publishing.
So, I’m sorrrrry, but I can’t tell you the stuff you want to know yet — things like titles and covers and dates. But what I *can* tell you is that there are some incredibly exciting things happening with both of the books that I’ve already written and shared a little about — the YA fantasy AND the YA contemporary/action/adventure/survival/romance book.
Another thing I can tell you is that I’ve just finished the first round of structural/developmental edits for one of the above books, which means it’s already that much closer to being in your hot little hands. (Or hot big hands — we don’t discriminate between hand size here. All are safe and welcome!) I can’t give you a date, but we’re talking less than a year away, folks. (That’s the best I can say without getting stink-eyed by my publishing team!)
I’m also allowed to tell you that both of the above books have the most epic journeys for how they got some of their publishing deals. No joke, one of book deals involved someone being hit by a car (not even kidding — though from what I’m told, everyone involved was okay, thankfully!), and the other book had the most surreal (and fast!) submissions experience of my life and resulted in a multi-house publishing auction that still has me pinching myself to make sure what happened was real.
So as you can see from all this, there are a heap of things that I can’t wait to tell you about, but sadly, I do have to wait, because while everything is locked in and moving forward, all the legal stuff is still being worked out, and only after that part is done will the official announcements be released. But when that happens, I promise to share the entire process for both books from beginning to end, including car accidents and dream-like auctions and everything else you can imagine!
To tide you over until then, here’s a little snippet from the book I just finished the first round of edits for:
What do you think? Is the above from my YA fantasy or my YA contemporary survival book? Vote below!
ANSWERING SOME OF YOUR QUESTIONS:
I did a shoutout over social media to see if you had any questions for me to include in my newsletter, and oh boy, you delivered! There’s no way I’ll be able to answer them all here (or, like, ever — there were SO MANY), but I’ll have a crack at a few (let’s go with five) and save some for next time (until infinity). Here we go!
Q. Can you please give us some book recommendations?
I’ve got you covered! You can find a whole list of my recs (YA, adult/romantasy, MG/children’s, and contemporary romance) by clicking here. I updated it 3(ish) months ago, so it’s reasonably current!
Q. Do you have any writing tips?
Sure do! I compiled this list of my top 10 writing tips a few years ago:
Also, if you’re a writer or an aspiring writer, I have a heap of other advice-like posts on my website, including “How to write a novel” and “How do I get my book published” and "How to deal with writers block” and “How to create a ‘real’ fantasy world” and all kinds of other things about character development and staying motivated and the like. All of this can be found under the “Extras” tab and then the “writing advice” tab, which you’ll find by clicking here.
Q. When is your online store opening again?
*Shuffles feet* Ummmm, I’m not sure? Sorry, folks, I know a lot of you are keen to grab some merch, but I’ve just been so time-poor that I haven’t had a chance to consider this. At this stage, I’m hoping to do a store opening once this year, maybe closer to Christmas so you can get things as pressies (for yourself, or for others). I’ll be sure to make an announcement over socials and in an upcoming newsletter once I know more!
Q. Any movie news? And how can I audition?
None that I can share! (Fight Club rules apply here, too!)
If/when the time comes, I also likely won’t know anything about auditions, or how that works, so I can’t advise about this, sorry! All I can suggest is that you research how the film/TV industry works and find out if you need an agent or, or, orrrrr… Um, yeah, I truly have no clue how any auditioning process works! The one thing I do know is that authors rarely ever have any say in that kind of thing, so I can’t help you there — sorry again!
Q. What’s your favourite kind of chocolate?
There’s no wrong choice when it comes to chocolate!! I love all versions* of it, though I do prefer either milk or dark, since white tends to be a bit sweet for my tastes.
*When I say “all versions,” there are some additions I don’t enjoy, like anything coffee-favourite, but that’s because I don’t like coffee! (I love the smell, just not the taste!) I’m also not a big fan of the combined peanut butter and chocolate flavour, since it’s too rich for me. So I guess there are some versions I don’t like!
I’ll leave it there and answer some more of your questions next time!
WHAT I’VE BEEN READING:
So because I’ve been travelling for events and also on an editing deadline, I haven’t had a chance to read much in the last few weeks. I did, however, sneak in a re-read of Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros to have it fresh in my head for when I interviewed her during her tour, and I’m so glad I managed to do that because it’s amazing how much I’d forgotten about that book!
I also managed to read When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker and I will admit that I initially struggled to get into it, but that was only because the first few chapters are on the denser side with world building and I wasn’t in a very concentrate-y mood. Now don’t get me wrong — I love sinking into a highly detailed adult fantasy book, but I have to have the brain capacity for it at the time of reading in order to take everything in and enjoy it, and when I opened this book, I was a bit all over the place mentally and didn’t have the attention span it needed. But still, I’d heard good things, so I reached out to a few friends who had already read it and all of them said to push through the first 100 or so pages because the payoff is worth it. So yes, it was a smidge difficult and I did consider putting it aside until I was more focused and in the mood for a high fantasy book, BUT I instead listened to my bookish friends and pushed through, and they were right about the payoff! I ended up really enjoying it, and would recommend it to any adult fantasy/romantasy readers! (Emphasis on the “adult” — it’s def not YA and has plenty of mature themes and scenes, just as a heads up for any younger peeps reading this newsletter!)
WHAT I’VE BEEN WATCHING:
I’ve only watched a handful of movies since my last newsletter, but of these four, my faves would probably be Fall Guy and A Family Affair. I was told both were terrible so I went in with really low expectations, but that worked in my favour since I ended up finding Fall Guy super entertaining, and A Family Affair was a fluffy feel-good rom com.
TV shows are easier for me to watch while I’m travelling and also when I force myself to take editing breaks, since they’re shorter than movies and can be turned off at any time, so I’ve managed to watch a few since my May newsletter went out! There’s a really weird mix here, haha, but my favourites would probably be Geek Girl (omg it was so adorable!) and Tracker — the latter of which I didn’t know existed until Disney+ did a promo for it and I thought, hey, that’s Oliver Queen from Smallville (and also Kevin Pearson from This is Us), so I gave it a go and ended up binging the whole season around my edits. Would recommend to fans of mysteries and crime(ish) shows! (His job is literally to track down missing people, thus the title!)
There was one disappointing watch out of all the mentions below, and I won’t name what it was since I know a lot of people have enjoyed it and I don’t want anyone to come at me (or not watch it because of me), but I think that’s part of the problem — the show was SO hyped, and I was therefore SO excited for it to release, and that seems to be a curse for me because anytime anything is hyped, I tend to have high expectations that ultimately aren’t met. Sad day. I mean, it was fine, and I watched the whole season because it was entertaining enough to have me want to know what would happen next, but overall it just fell flat for me.
On a more positive note, I also did a full series re-watch of The Royals over the last two months, which I first saw years ago and all I could remember was how incredibly dysfunctional the whole (fictional) royal family was. But I also recalled how amazing the character development was, and that was the part I wanted to witness again, to see if my memory held true. And yep, oh wow, that (fictional) family is a MESS but the character arcs from the first episode of season 1 to the final episode of the series are insanely well done. Probably some of the best character development I’ve ever seen across any show, from a full cast perspective. (But especially Princess Eleanor! I love her growth across the series!)
Ooof, okay, this was a long newsletter. Note to self: that’s what happens when I skip a month! I’ll try and avoid that happening again, but I’m also juggling (multiple) deadlines for the rest of the year, so no promises. Keep an eye on my socials to find out when my next newsletter will be coming out, and any other news I can share in a more timely way! HOPEFULLY I’ll be able to reveal some of my exciting announcements soon! Cross your fingers for meeeeeee!
Please don’t apologize for referencing HP! If a book is actually like another book, it’s objectively like that book, you know?