Hello and thanks for interviewing me. I’m married and a mum of three children. I live in the beautiful Southern Highlands of NSW. I’m currently writing fulltime. I enjoy reading, (obviously!) going for walks, having picnics, watching movies, roaming historical sites and spending time with family.

I’ve always enjoyed writing since I was at school. Characters were often in my head, which was confusing as a teenager as I wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. I just thought my imagination was such that I needed to play-act as other people. Then in 1997, while researching my husband’s family tree, something compelled me to start writing about Anna Thornton and Matt Cowan - two characters that had been in my head for some time.

My main, and favourite genre is historical mainstream with romantic elements. My favourite era to write is Victorian and my favourite settings are Yorkshire, England and Australia. The history of both countries fascinates me. I do enjoy writing historicals as my first love, but sometimes a contemporary story will jump out at me and insist on being written; usually it’s a short story.

Long Distance Love was my first contemporary short novel. Writing that was an experience for me, totally different from writing historical works and it is something I’d like to do again in the future, once current projects have been completed.

Starting from the first published:

Remembering – contemporary short story

Long Distance Love – contemporary ebook novel

A Love Past – contemporary short story

A Hometown Boy – contemporary short story

Kitty McKenzie – historical mainstream ebook & (print September)

Coming soon…

Gossamer Wings

Kitty McKenzie’s Land

The Gentle Wind’s Caress

The story ideas come from everywhere. I collect Victorian diaries written by women who have come to Australia or who are born in Australia, plus lots of research books on many subjects; just reading those will create ideas. I find that doing simple chores around the house like ironing, etc, will allow my mind to flow and usually a plot or characters will form, or a scene will play out like a movie.

Kitty McKenzie is my latest historical due to be released in print in September, the sequel Kitty McKenzie’s Land (released soon) continues Kitty’s story from York England to Australia. I really loved writing Kitty’s story; she is such a strong woman with the pioneer spirit I’ve read so much about.

Another release coming out in October is titled, Gossamer Wings. It’s a historical novel about the complexities of families, where love and loyalty is tested, but the bond of blood keeps them together against the odds.

I’ve also got another Victorian historical coming out in hardback from Robert Hale Ltd, UK, titled, The Gentle Wind’s Caress. As yet I haven’t been given the release date.

No, I never run out of ideas. It’s more a case of not having enough time to write all the stories that are in my head! I don’t suffer from writer’s block in any real sense. Sometimes I’ll write myself into a corner and realise, nope this isn’t the way to go, so I’ll read over what I’ve written and chop and change things to get the flow back working properly. My first drafts are usually the bare bones of the story and second drafts are when I start adding all the padding.

Promotion can easily take over an author’s life, especially if you’re with a small publisher who doesn’t have the money for extensive publicity. For myself I write a blog, have a website, participate in groups that kind of thing. Now my books are going to be available in shops, I’ll start to meet with libraries and booksellers to promote in person.

Yes, my website is a labour of love, something I’m always changing. I like to have various historical research links listed as well as writing links to help fellow writers. Of course my books are listed, but I’ve also got pages about my Yorkshire heritage and a bit about myself and my writing.

I also have a blog

and a newsletter which I send out bi-monthly

My current routine is to write from 9 am to 3 pm weekdays while the kids are at school. If I have editing deadlines, I’ll do that anytime, but mainly during the day while the house is quiet. On the weekends, if I have spare time, I’ll do what promoting I can, plus do all the chores like updating blog and website, etc, that I didn’t get done during the week. I’m pretty flexible thankfully, but I do get frustrated if I don’t accomplish enough during the day.

Most of my learning is online, although I believe constant fiction reading is an excellent learning tool. I’m in a few writing groups and best of all I have a great critique group that helps to fine-tune my chapters. I don’t do workshops or training courses. I’ve been writing for 9 years and I’ve learnt so much over that time, especially the first five years. Now, I’m happy with my author voice and style.

Kitty McKenzie – Samhain Publishing – historical (print Sept 06)

Long Distance Love - Samhain Publishing - contemporary ebook

A Hometown Boy – Titan Press – short story ebook

Remembering - Chippewa Publishing – short story ebook

My soon-to-be-released print books like Gossamer Wings and Kitty McKenzie will be available to order through your local library or bookstore. The ISBNs are on my website. In America, Borders & Waldenbooks bookstores will carry my print books, plus they will be available online at Amazon.com, etc.

My long term writing goals are not that different to any other author. I’d like to be a best seller, like to earn good money, like to receive great reviews and meet the readers who enjoyed my books, but most of all, I’d like to continue writing wonderful emotional stories for the rest of my life. :o)

Thank you and take care.

Anne.~