Thursday, June 30, 2011

Interview with Leanne Hall

Photo sourced from author's website

Today is the last day of NYWM and to be honest I'm a little sad - but don't become infected by my melancholy thoughts too soon. As a special treat here is an interview I recently conducted with Leanne Hall, author of This is Shyness. She has a website here and is currently working on a sequel (I can't wait to read it!).

Leanne and I originally tried to chat via smoke-signals, but eventually we had to resort to ordinary email. We probably should have stuck with the smoke-signal idea though because email has just as much delay-time.

BC: Hi Leanne. For those who haven't read This is Shyness, could you please describe your book in six words or less? (You get bonus points for transfiguring your novel into a six word story precisely.)

LH: Girl meets boy in dark suburb.

BC: Did you imagine that your debut novel would be anything like This is Shyness? I ask because the book has a very distinct style that disassociates itself with the cliched "werewolf and helpless girl" genre. (It quite literally cuts it up into little pieces and stomps on the remains...going on from that line of thought are you a fan or hater of the recent werewolf/vampire craze?)

LH: Well, I had a lot of trouble for a long time even imagining that I would ever get a novel published! But I guess if I was going to be published then it was always going to be like This Is Shyness. When I look at the way I write, in short stories and poems and journal entries going way back, there's some sort of consistency there. Even if I tried to write a story that was completely `realistic', I'm sure that odd `unreal' elements would always creep in.

When I write I don't think about what anyone else is doing, or what books are already out there, or what's popular at the moment. I just do my thing. But I will say that I wanted to created a main character in Wildgirl that was definitely not the `helpless girl.' I've said a few times that I think Wildgirl is a bit like how I wished I had been at high school (but never was).

I do quite enjoy werewolf and vampire books. Some books in that genre can be a bit predictable, but sometimes it's quite comforting to read something for pure entertainment. And some books in that genre are nothing short of brilliant. I loved Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, and although it's not a young adult book, Let The Right One In (John Ajvide Lindqvist) is a stunning and strange vampire book.

BC: You definitely have a point - Shiver was an outstanding novel. I guess what I was trying to convey was that it's so great to find a book that gives the reader a bit of 'fresh air', which is exactly what I think This is Shyness does. Just out of curiosity, what did you do when you found out that you won the Text Publishing Prize? Hug random strangers? Sing on the bus?

LH: I was at home and in the middle of doing a Friday Dress-Up when I got the call about winning the Text Prize. So I was wearing a silly costume (I believe it was a brown paper dress scribbled with bad poetry) while trying to maintain a serious conversation. I did have a bit of a shriek and a jump up and down with my housemate, and then went on a very long walk to calm down. I was in a state of shock for days.

BC: I can imagine! Lastly, what can we expect from Leanne Hall in the (somewhat near) future?

LH: I'm writing a sequel to This Is Shyness which will be published by Text sometime next year. It's called Queen Of The Night, and starts six months after This Is Shyness finishes. I think that's all I can say about it! Beyond that, I have several novel ideas vying for my attention, so I will have fun seeing which of them have legs.

BC: Thanks Leanne, and good luck with it all!

Monday, June 20, 2011

Inspiration, Part 11

I've been submitting heaps of poetry to various journals and magazines lately and in doing so practically ignoring my novel (did I tell everyone that I've got a poem coming out in the next issue of Voiceworks? I tend to forget these things).

Therefore I've decided that it's time for some more visual inspiration (so I can metaphorically jump back into my YA manuscript and pump out a few more pages each day starting tonight).

I think this is one of my favourite reel of images so far. Enjoy!








Friday, June 17, 2011

Edible Ink, Part 2

Photo sourced from the magazine's website
dotdotdash is another literary publication that focuses on sourcing young, fresh talent from emerging writers and artists - perfect for finding a home for something inconceivably awesome that you've written/are writing for NYWM.

They are based in Western Australia, which I think is nice because when you think of a literary journal or magazine you immediately think that it would be put together somewhere in Melbourne or Sydney.

Something else I particularly like about dotdotdash is their category of submissions they call 'Draw Writes'. This is where an artist and writer collaborate on a piece for submission. Which is great really, because artists and writers have so much in common - we both inhabit cafes, alleyways, our small apartments and even late night buses. Oh, and we create stuff. Artistic collaboration sounds like a fun process, and I think more literary magazines should jump at this idea.

Here's what dotdotdash has to say for itself:

dotdotdash is a tri-annual publication that calls Perth, Australia home. Staffed by volunteers, dotdotdash Magazine exists to bring artists and writers to the fore. We publish all genres of poetry, short fiction and creative non-fiction, comics, illustrations, drawings, and photos.

You could be here. Submit! Participate! Get involved! We want you.
Personally I think their message couldn't be clearer. So what are you waiting for? Pop over to their website and submit something! The theme for there next issue (Issue 8) is 'Gambit' - but hurry, because submissions close Monday 27 June.

Click here to view the dotdotdash website.

Click here to zoom straight to their submissions page.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Edible Ink, Part 1

Photo sourced from the Express Media Website
Ah, Voiceworks.

This little magazine comes out on a quarterly basis and is always overflowing with the freshest and most mind-blowing writing by young writers all over Australia.

So, as part of National Young Writers Month, why not submit something for their Spring issue? (You have to be 24 years old or under, though.) The theme is "V" - and to get those writing juices flowing I've collaborated with the awesome Romi Foster to come up with a list of things you could write about:

  • Vandalising
  • Vaults
  • Vermont
  • Voxel
  • Vox Populi
  • Vanishing
  • Varnish
  • Ventriloquism
  • Veins
  • Vittles
  • Verrucas
  • Mt Vesuvius
 Okay, so maybe you don't have to write about things starting with "V", but it's always fun to raid the dictionary. What matters most is good, honest writing.
 
Want to know more about Voiceworks? Click here.
 
I'm also proud to announce that I'm having a poem published in the Winter edition of Voiceworks, coming soon!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Edible Ink


I have been so very lazy recently.

But although I'm a week late for National Young Writers' Month (NYWM), I'm finally going to begin posting pieces that relate to all the emerging, writerly goodness.

This is month I'll be doing as series for NYWM called "Edible Ink" (if the title of this blog post wasn't a big enough hint) and each post will feature a place for (young/emerging) writers to publish their work - whether it be a print journal, e-zine or simply on the back of their left hand.

Until then, happy writing.