I keep adjusting the year in which my near-future cli-fi fantasy novel is set. Firstly, because novel writing is a much longer process than I’d naively anticipated almost a decade ago, so 'near future' is in fact, now. And secondly, because the world in which I’ve set my novel is meant to be slightly futuristic in an apocalypse if we don't act now kind of way – but every time I look up from my writing, it’s coming true...
Summer Reads Part II – In Review
Summer is officially over. There, I said it. Some part of me is devastated by this sentence, but the pale winter-baby half of me is secretly relieved... 1. Mistborn Trilogy: Book 2, The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
I really, really enjoy these books. I love the characters, and I love the world that has been created. I’ve always been a softie for a big cast, which is something I’ve been told you can only just get away with in a fantasy saga like this one, and isn’t suitable for other kinds of books. I’m not convinced. Maybe that’s because it doesn’t take much for me to empathise with a character.
Why IFL Science Writing
This is me at Yosemite last year, in awe of a giant fallen sequoia that was wide enough to walk through. I quit science at the end of Year 10. I wish I hadn’t. But I was too squeamish for biology, not mathematically minded enough for chemistry and physics, and too excited by the possibility... Continue Reading →
Why I’m Basically a Goddess, or How World-Building Ate My Life
World-building is hard. I don’t mean physically and literally building a world, although I can only assume, not being an All-Powerful God Being, that such a task would also be extraordinarily difficult. The type of world-building I’m referring to involves developing an imaginary yet believable universe, with consistent and somewhat reasoned qualities, such as history,... Continue Reading →
Environmental Disaster, Star Signs and Belonging: Inspiration for Children of the Solstice
My first novel, Children of the Solstice, follows the journey of Rory, an Australian teenager who discovers she is part of a secret race of supernatural beings called Elementals. Her excitement at finally finding her place in the world is shattered when she learns that the whole fate of Elementals – and humanity – might... Continue Reading →