Community Service Announcement: Fibro Book Club Facebook Group

Just a short post tonight to let y'all know that the Pink Fibro Club (Books & Reading) has a new and exciting home on the web. It's here.

Would love to see you over there. It's a friendly place to talk about whatever you're reading, get some recommendations and generally hang out when you're looking to procrastinate. I'll announce the book club selection each month over there, as well as in my newsletter.

And now I must go. Need to finish, Burial Rites, so I can write my June 1 post.

Any minute now.

Dealing with The Block

Do you ever suffer from Blogger's Block? It's not a common thing for me, but when it hits, it hits hard. To the point where my mind looks something like this: [                                 ]. Not pretty is it?

There are a few tricks I use when The Block rears its ugly head. One is to simply start writing. About anything.

To whit, the opening line of this post.

Usually, if I'm working on a book or an article or some other form of writing, I simply switch projects. My good friend Allison Dobell is currently working on her second novel, and I find that to be a nice distraction when a heavy, research-based feature story, for instance, is not coming together.

Blogging is somehow different. It doesn't seem to matter what I distract myself with, the blink-blink-blink of the cursor remains. Perhaps it is because blogging is so personal. If your brain is blank and you're essentially writing about yourself, you know you've got problems.

Another trick I try is a good, long walk. This has the benefit of both clearing my mind and shrinking my butt. Walking around the block usually clears The Block. (As does weeding, but we won't bring out my gardening/writing metaphors today.)

I'd like to be one of those bloggers who has a list of ideas at the ready at all times. But the truth is that I generally sit down with little to no idea of what I'm going to post that day (unless it's a Q&A, of course... have I ever mentioned how much I love Q&As?). This leaves me to be all footloose and freewheeling on a good day.

And leaves me stuck in quicksand on the bad ones.

Like now.

Time to put my shoes on for a walk...

How do you deal with Blogger's Block?

The Weekend Rewind: It's ba-a-a-a-ck (limited edition)

I was reading Maxabella's post the other day about her new World Blog Tour, an innovative new way to visit more blogs.

"She's right," I thought to myself (or may have actually spoken out loud because I'm that kind of girl). "I don't visit enough blogs."

My blog roll kind of disappeared during the Fibro renovation a while ago, I started writing three books at once and... well, reading blogs disappeared off my daily To Do list.

So I'm going to make it easy on myself (and you, hopefully) and bring back the Weekend Rewind for a limited season. I'm even including the circa-2010 image that Maxabella created for me. Isn't it cute?

If you haven't been part of the Rewind before, it's a simple linky thingo with few rules. You link up an old post for some new comment love. You visit a few other blogs to say hello and make them feel loved. We all sing kum-bayah, come back next Friday and do it all again.

But it's so much fun! It's an opportunity to dust off those posts that you felt really didn't get the attention they deserved, and an opportunity to find some new favourite reads.

I wrote this post once about the importance of having your blogging neighbours over. Sometimes I feel that, since those halcyon early days of blogging, we've all neglected that idea a bit.

But I digress...

To keep it interesting, I do like to have a theme (otherwise, seriously, how do you choose a post???). To make it easy, I'm going to make this week's theme JANUARY. So, you can link up any blog post that you wrote in ANY January of ANY year in which you have been blogging.

I have three years' worth of posts to choose from now... Including four Januarys... Which is about 21 years' worth in real terms (blogging years are like dog years as far as I'm concerned).

Okay, that's it. If we're not already besties in some form or other, like me on Twitter or Facebook simply to keep up with the notices of when the Rewind link is up (gives you a better chance to get in early!)

And... REWIND!

(As an aside, I've just realised that I've set the life of the linky for one week. Usually I close off at around 8pm on Sunday night - for two reasons... one is that if you get in any later than that, you generally don't get too many visitors and, two, is that I forget to check it after Monday... So, let's pretend it closes at 8pm on Sunday May 26, okay?)

This one time, at Jedi Training Camp...

So Fam Fibro took a little random holiday over the past week or so. We had to head waaa-aaa-ay north for a family function, so we took the opportunity to build in a mini-break. Mind you, with many hours of driving built in, it wasn't so much a break as an opportunity to spend a lot of time together.

We fit a lot into a car journey. The boys have portable DVD options, so The Builder and I like to plan our small talk to coincide with the times of peace. We covered off our metaphorical trip around the world, what we'd do with $600 million if we won the US Powerball (you think you know someone, and then the enormous, crewed yacht comes up in conversation), the relative merits of different forms of transport, why we didn't have a map of NSW when we had maps of all the different parts of NSW except the part we were actually going to be visiting... You can see why we had to eke this stuff out to ensure we weren't blown away by the enormity of it all.

When the boys were not immersed in Star Wars/Ninjago/Batman, we played I Spy. It has to be said that the quality of our games has improved now that Mr6 can actually spell a bit. No longer does everything begin with L. Which is not to say that he didn't attempt a few furphies. Like not realising Lego began with L. Cue much head shaking on Mr9's behalf.

Mr6 also instigated (or tried to) several games of 'Toyota'. Apparently this game involves trying to be the first person to spot a Toyota. All well and good, unless you are on a dual-lane freeway between Newcastle and Taree with not another car in sight. Even he could see that was going nowhere.

When we got to our destination, the boys were thrilled to discover that we had rolled up to a Jedi Training Camp. And I had to agree that the rather dilapidated cabins in which we were staying did seem to have come from 1976 and there were potentially Wookies hiding in the woods. But apart from a preternaturally aggressive possum with a liking for cheese and crackers (had to be shoved off the verandah with a broom light sabre several times), there wasn't so much as an Ewok to see.

There was, however, an amazing stretch of beach over the bridge (that's it pictured), and lots of friends and laughter and fun all around. The Force, she was with us.

On the way home, after another discussion about the lack of maps in our lives, we treated ourselves to a night of luxury at The Pinnacle Apartments in Newcastle. I mention it by name because we've stayed there before but could not remember what it was called - we had to call them from out the front to see if they had room for us because we could not look up their number. Now we will just be able to check the Fibro. Genius, or what?

We love Newcastle. The boys love the long stretches of unspoilt scooting potential along the waterfront. The Builder and I love the possibilities for beers in the same location. We lost 90 minutes of our lives in the most fabulous antiques shop and came out with the coolest 1930s bakelite desk lamp ever.

Something for everyone.

Today we're back at work and school. Already our little break is a memory. But we have plans. Big plans.

We just need that $600 million to pull them off.

The parenting handbook needs updating (again)

Mr6's hoarding tendencies may have reached their zenith. I hope. In not-unrelated news, he is also delighted to be - at last - Big.

"Look, Mum!" he shouted, running across the playground after school, waving a small yellow envelope at me. "I lost my tooth!"

Thank heavens. Said tooth had been hanging on by a sliver of root, dangling from the front of his mouth for days.

"Terrific," I said, putting it in my pocket. "We'll leave it out for the tardy tooth fairy tonight."

Fast forward about four hours. He is preparing for bed - AKA running around in Ninja Turtle pyjamas practising his roundhouse kicks. Very relaxing.

"Get your tooth," I instruct. "We'll need to put it in a glass for the fairy."

He leaps off (flying front kick, apparently) and returns moments later with the yellow envelope. And promptly bursts into tears.

"What's the matter?" I ask, kneeling down to be eye-to-eye with him.

"I don't want to give my tooth away!" he wails.

Good grief.

"But you have to give the fairy the tooth - you don't get cash for nothing, you know," I reason.

He wails louder.

"But it's MY tooth," he blubbers. "Not hers."

O-kay.

"Um. Do you want to, er, think about it for a while? You could hold on to the tooth for a few days and just, you know, get used to the idea."

He nods, tears vanishing like magic, and smiles his (gappier) little smile.

"Great idea Mum! We'll leave it in the envelope so that she can't see it and take it by mistake."

And so, five days later, the tooth, still in its little yellow envelope, remains on his desk. Each night I ask him if he's ready to 'let go' and each night he answers 'not quite yet, Mum', despite the cash inducement.

Seriously, this stuff is not in the handbook.

Did your kids give up their teeth happily?

PS: Winner of the copy of Into My Arms, signed by author Kylie Ladd, is Linda Nathaniel for her romance-novel-worthy description of first love. Please email me your postal address, Linda!

Fibro Q&A: Liane Moriarty on inspiration, secrets and writing 'funny'

 Liane Moriarty is one of those rare people who can write 'internationally best-selling author' after her name. Her warm, family-centric novels have staked a claim to some prime real estate on my bookshelf, and her book What Alice Forgot has been optioned by Fox Pictures. In short, she gives great novel.

So I was thrilled when she accepted my invitation to pop into the Fibro for a chat. Liane's fifth book The Husband's Secret was published recently, opening the door for conversation about inspiration, family and managing social media as an author.

I love the inspiration behind The Husband's Secret – an article about deathbed confessions. Are you the kind of writer who always knows what her next book will be about, even as she's writing the current one, or do you wait for the quiet time, once a book's finished, to flail about with a net for inspiration?
Liane Moriarty: "I normally have a few ideas at the back of my head, and sometimes I’m positive that I know what my next book is going to be about ... until I sit down to write it. I put aside another idea to write The Husband’s Secret, and actually, I’ve just shelved that same idea yet again. I don’t know why it keeps getting shelved, because it’s an extremely brilliant idea involving a suffragette, a pole dancer and ... look, it may be one of those ideas that only sound brilliant when they remain in your head. That particular character might have to stay at the back of my mind forever, pole dancing sadly away."

When you began your writing career, social media was almost non-existent – now it seems that authors must be 'engaging' at all turns. How do you feel about that aspect of being an author today? Are you active on social media?
LM: "Yes! You’re right! There was no Facebook! And we all survived, didn’t we? In one respect I can’t stand social media, because I’m very bad at it. I only went on Facebook at the insistence of my publisher and I am always behind answering comments, and I rarely do status updates, and I never update my blog, and I whinge constantly about the expectations, and how I don’t have time for this because I only have such short periods of child-free time to work.

"On the other hand, I also LOVE it, because I receive such lovely, generous comments from readers, and that precious feedback is available so quickly after a book is released.  I greatly admire authors who do social media properly, twirling effortlessly about the Internet, linking and tweeting. One day I will be just like them. And one day I will be very thin and punctual, too."

You experienced almost instant success with your first novel Three Wishes - do you think that made it easier or more difficult for you as a writer? Do you feel a weight of expectation with each book?
LM: "The Husband’s Secret is my fifth novel, and although you are kind to say I experienced almost instant success with Three Wishes, it was quite modest, manageable success if you know what I mean. It was published around the world, which was fantastic, because it meant I could become a full-time writer, but sales weren’t quite up there with 50 Shades of Grey. So I haven’t really felt that huge weight of expectation that I know some authors feel.  I feel like my readership has been growing at a nice steady rate but I don’t feel any pressure to stick to a certain formula. I just feel very lucky each time I have a new publishing contract."   

Two of your sisters (Jaclyn and Nicola) also write. Are you competitive with each other? Inspired by each other?
LM: "We are very competitive when it comes to material. For example, there was much outrage when I announced that I’d made use of a beloved family anecdote in The Husband’s Secret. I’m the eldest, so as I was here first I obviously enjoy first right of refusal on everything that has ever happened in the history of the Moriarty family...

"I am definitely inspired by both my sisters. I always say that I would never have published my first book if I wasn’t inspired by Jaci’s success with her brilliant YA novel, Feeling Sorry for Celia.  My sister Nicola, is one of the authors I mentioned above; she is very adept with social media, so much so that she and her graphic designer husband are my social media consultants. They set up my website, Facebook page etc. and answer my moronic questions, and I am eternally grateful to them."

People often praise the humour in your books. I saw it described in a review as "so delightful, it's wicked and empathetic and intelligent and smiley and it just nails it, every time". Do you set  out to write 'funny', do the characters drive your humour, or is it just a part of your natural voice?
LM: "Who wrote that review? I love and adore that person. I definitely don’t set out to ‘write funny’.  I think you’re right that it’s normally the characters and the situations driving the humour. Humour is such an odd, subjective thing.  Some people don’t find my books funny at all. I’ve seen some reviewers write, ‘What? This book wasn’t funny at all! I never laughed once!”  Which always makes me laugh, for some reason."

Visit Liane at her website or say hello on Facebook. In joyous news, I'll be giving away a signed copy of The Husband's Secret via my next newsletter, out on May 15. Sign up (via the box on this blog) for your chance to win - and to find out exactly how Liane writes about family without upsetting her own family members.