I’m a NaNoWriMo Winner!!

Don't rest on your laurels. Way to go, this was your 6th time completing an official NaNoWriMo challenge! From now on, your avatar will look like this, so the whole world can know how awesome you are! I've still a little way to go to complete this manuscript edit, I'm not far away, I'll finish with letting the…

Christmas Party and NaNo update day 28…

Friends Christmas lunch Today was another late start on my NaNoWriMo because I went to my friend's house for Christmas lunch. It was a fun day, jokes, laughs and delicious food we all provided a plate between the two who went, (great idea). NaNoWriMo update - I finished my first complete read through with fixing…

NaNoWriMo update Day 27…

Nearly at the end of my edit, although, I'm still not satisfied. I'm likely I'll keep tweaking the story and refining the characters. This could continue for a while. I am almost touching completing my NaNoWriMo with 50 hours of editing equalling 50,000 words. Very nearly there with 96.8% 48400 / 50000 total words Of course, I could…

NaNoWriMo update Day 26…

Ten Penners Christmas meeting 2020 Today started out raining again soaking our yard, but it did clear up giving us the opportunity to put lights on a couple of trees at the front of our house. We had my friend Marion visit and lunchtime, always fun to have a catch-up. Marion is the current coordinator…

NaNoWriMo update Day 25…

One month to Christmas and I've posted our parcels and today the Christmas cards to relatives, friends advising our new address. Rain is soaking down and making the grass green, our plants stand tall. We're inside doing all the necessary things. Yes, ironing, cleaning out the books to give some as Christmas presents and restacking…

NaNoWriMo update Day 24

Christmas 2021 NaNoWriMo update Day 24 - short and sweet - I'm doing well with my edit 87.8% 43900 / 50000total words Today it was pouring rain and I spent the day writing Christmas cards and relaxing. I could have done more NaNoWriMo earlier in the day but felt like pacing myself. The story is coming together nicely,…

Dewey – book reviews by Jill Smith

Dewey Readmore Books Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the Worldmy book review in 2015 was 5 starsThis is a heartwarming book about love triumphing over adversity.About a cat whose charm, playfulness, fussy food fetishes, and public life gave the small town of Spencer, Iowa an enduring identity.He also gave Vicki Myron (his mum)unconditional…

NaNoWriMo update day 22…

Short and sweet again! I started late again, I've wrapping more Christmas presents, and watching movies. I'm nearly at my total word count but a long way from finishing. Well, halfway from the complete edit and reformatting. I'll keep working on it though. Jill Today's total brings me up to 82% 41000 / 50000 total words At this…

Gold Coast Writers meeting part 2…

Before our Tea Break, we had a lovely lady tell us about Boonah Writers Festival. Here's the leaflet and Judy who is on the GCW committee recommended the Festival as she went last year. All meals are included for the weekend or day events. The Festival begins Saturday 30th April at 9 am and ends…

Gold Coast Writers meeting today…

Today, I attended the November Gold Coast Writers meeting https://goldcoastwriters.org/. I displayed my books for sale, (none sold today.) Charmaine Clancy was the first speaker and she offered some insightful information about Setting up as a Publisher, handling submissions and Critiquing. We also completed a short creative writing exercise about Descriptive writing with senses. Her…

Christmas Wrapping today…

I had a delightful day today, my daughter-in-law came to visit and we went to our usual lakeside walking path, to take in the fresh air. It was a peaceful and sunny place to be and we enjoyed a cuppa and cake at the cafe beside the rowing club. Then we returned home to enjoy…

NaNoWriMo update Day 18…

Short and sweet tonight. On average, you write 1,950 words per day! You've written mostly at home! Happy reading, writing and NaNoWriMo - Jill 70.2% 35100 / 50000total words

My books at All Sorts Cafe Kirra…

I sold a book at All Sorts Cafe in Kirra- It was an original copy of Dual Visions Book 1 of The Ancient Alien Series, I'm hoping the person who bought it will go back for Vashla's World Book 2, I'm completing book 3 in the series now during NaNoWriMo. I'll replace the sold copy…

Books, books and more books…

Yes, I've been collecting more books to add to my ever-growing TO BE READ list. Of course, I've read the Matthew Reilly books already. I'm preparing for Christmas and getting the ages and appropriate books together to send to my family down south. We've been planning to visit Victoria for nearly two years but COVID…

NaNoWriMo update day 15…

Hoot hoot, you're a night owl!You write the most between 9:00PM and 10:00PM! I'm glad to say I'm at 60.2% 30100 / 50000total words The story itself has drawn me in and I'm hoping my readers will too. It's fun to re-read a manuscript I wrote a couple of years ago. I've corrected some mistakes with characters names…

NaNoWriMo update day 14…

James Bond We had a great time in comfortable VMax seats at the theatre, we saw James Bond 007, No Time to Die. All I can say is that it was a brilliant movie. James Bond and Madeline I'm also thrilled to announce that I've completed 80 days of blog posts in a row. Please…

Party day no NaNoWriMo today…

Vinnies Christmas farewell Game time and a beautiful dinner. What a wonderful time with friends. Too late to do NaNoWriMo tonight as I’m feeling content, full, and lubricated. Time for a quiet night. I’ll make up for it tomorrow and steam ahead with my editing/re-writing and reviewing my original manuscript. It’s looking much better. Happy…

NaNoWriMo update day 12…

posters NaNoWriMo hitting the keyboard 51%25500 / 50000total words195%2800 / 143712days in a rowDate Nov 12, 20211800 wordsNov 12, 20211000 wordsNov 11, 20212000 wordsNov 10, 20211000 wordsNov 10, 2021550 wordsNov 9, 20211800 wordsNov 8, 20211800 wordsNov 7, 20212000 wordsNov 6, 2021500 wordsNov 6, 20211500 wordsNov 5, 2021240 wordsNov 5, 20211010 wordsNov 5, 2021500 wordsNov 4, 20212500 wordsNov 3, 20211800 wordsNov 2, 2021500 wordsNov 2, 2021500 wordsNov 2, 20211000 wordsNov 1, 20211500 wordsNov 1, 2021500 wordsNov 1, 20211500 words Happy reading, writing…

Starting to look a lot like Christmas…

Today at our house my daughter-in-law came to visit. We shared a lovely pub lunch after sorting out Christmas presents for the family. It's hard to work out gifts that are age-appropriate when you only see the children on Facebook. However, that's what we managed, some more gifts are needed, but on the whole, I've…

Now for something completely different..

Getting away from NaNoWriMo tonight, although I will continue to update from tomorrow. This is copied from Just Write For kids, this is a great site, and I'm often assisting in blog tours or simply sharing their great news. This one is no exception - Pitch it competition winners. I have entered this competition in…

NaNoWriMo update Day 9…

I've completed more editing of Travellers - Return to Orthama, I found some faults I fixed in the re-edited Prelude which I've read here on YouTube. Still stumbling with my reading but much happier with the updated wording. Introduced tension and the reason for the rest of the theme of the book. I still need…

NaNoWriMo back up, and re-work…

computer breakdown After another two hours of editing, I'm now back to where I got up to last night. I've made sure I've got the AUTOSAVE on (which I thought was on before) and copied the file to my computer desktop with today's date. To doubly back up I'm emailing the file to myself. It's…

NaNoWriMo Day 7…

I've done two hours of editing and added to my total 15550 / 50000total words We've also done some gardening and felt the buzz of achievent on both scores. Imagine my horror after closing down my project to reopen it at the beginning of my day's editing. So tomorrow, or tonight, I'll have to redo everything I've done…

NaNoWriMo update day 6…

Judy Wollin witch Jill Today was 'The Ten Penners' November meeting, from 10 am to 12 noon (or a bit after) we went through our agenda for creating our next anthology. There was only four of us there today and we enjoyed the nibbles and cuppa. I was the host this month, next month we'll…

Blog Stats and NaNoWriMo day 5…

Today, I returned to my manuscript 'Travellers - Return to Orthama' and completed the equivalent of 1750 words over three sessions, Nov 5, 2021240 words 240 words from Nov 5, 2021Nov 5, 20211010 words 1010 words from Nov 5, 2021Nov 5, 2021500 words 500 words from Nov 5, 2021 I may continue tonight. The first session was 30 mins, the second 1 hour and ten minutes, the…

NaNoWriMo update day 4…

Tonight I started late about 9 pm after being at work and coming home to make dinner. Prison concept. Jail bars and metal handcuffs on the floor, dark background. 3d illustration Instead of editing my Travellers - Return to Orthama manuscript, I met an obligation by doing a review of a story written by the…

70 Day Blog Post streak…

As of yesterday, I've posted on my blog for 70 days running. I'm pretty pleased with myself. I try to post a variety of different topics, mostly about books, book reviews, and events I attend like Gold Cost Writers meetings or the subgroup I'm in The Ten Penners. The stats show that I'm getting more…

NaNoWriMo update…

Christmas is around the corner and our local small shopping centre has to decorate. I love this train and tram scene. I hope you can see it. https://www.facebook.com/1050434143/videos/430705361800905/ I've done 1 hour of editing now equals 1000 words on top of yesterdays tally 3 and a half hours equals 3500 words. I'm still going and…

I’m a NaNoWriMo Rebel – yeah!

potential cover? As I previously announced I'm re-editing my 2017 NaNoWriMo manuscript originally titled Travellers. This will be the third book in the 'Ancient Alien Series'. I changed the title. At the moment it's 'Travellers Return to Orthama'. Basically, Dual Visions book one introduced Richard Davidson who fell in love with a clone from a…

Game Day Halloween style…

game day Halloween nibbles Each month we have a game day with friends and today's theme was Halloween. It was a fantastic day. We laughed a lot, ate and drank too much. Struggled to understand the rules of a new game, then got Empire Monopoly and ruthlessly sent each other broke while building towers. grim…

Happy Halloween…

Tomorrow is our regular game day with friends and being the 31st of October the theme is Halloween. my pumpkin head We don't really do Halloween in Australia although the shops do fill with spooky masks, plastic ghouls and costumes of all shapes and sizes. My granddaughter went to her school dance like a zombie…

Dragonkeeper-Blood Brothers..

reviewed by Jill Smith copyright Oct21 Tao is a novice monk, he’s the abbots favourite in the small Yinmi Monastry that sat hidden in mist high in the mountains. He was attentive to his duties, including transcribing the sutra, the Vinaya rules that the Buddha had set down. His other privileges included lessons in Sanskrit…

NaNoWriMo prep…

original cover I'm revisiting the characters in the first book of The Ancient Alien Series to help my character building in the third book. Many of the references in the original book carry forward to the second. The Orthama Space station expands as the generations increase in number. This story is basically how the family…

Live Long and Prosper…

Spock I'm a Star Trek fan from way back. I love the potential for the human spirit to overcome obstacles and develop. My husband and I are exercising more, to use it rather than losing it. I'm still doing NaNoWriMo preparation working through the search and finding words to eliminate and reading through this manuscript…

Beauty in Thorns by Kate Forsyth…

Reviewed by Jill Smith copyright Oct21 cover Beauty in Thorns Beauty in Thornsby Kate Forsyth (Goodreads Author)Jill Smith's review Oct 25, 2021 Georgiana and her sister and brother had been reading Grimm's Household Stories. Georgiana particularly loved the story of 'Sleeping Beauty.' Ted Jones came to visit Harold as a school friend he enjoyed the company of the…

What I’m reading now and next…

I'm almost finished reading 'Beauty in Thorns' by Kate Forsyth. It's the kind of book you want to read again and again. I loved the passion and camaraderie of the group of artists and their models and wives. I'll have a review shortly. I've read many of Kate Forsyth's books and love her writing. Here's…

Three Act Structure…

I have seen this before in tutorials and at authors talks. It's one of those basic things you think you know but it doesn't hurt to revisit. I've written a story for the Ten Penners latest anthology and a fellow Penner suggested I look into Three Act Structure. I believe my story does have a…

Family history…

I've been putting up pictures in our new home, filling frames and reliving our family history. I love seeing pictures of our family in frames and bringing to life old photos of my parents there too. cover I'm reminded of my first book creation 'ninety years young' which way back in 1985 with a toddler…

Picture books in my collection…

Michelle Worthington Each the Same by Michelle Worthington illustrated by Anne-Marie Finn reviewed by Jill Smith copyright October 2014 This is a delightfully illustrated book with the theme for children to learn. They are each very different, but special. The farmer loves each of them the same. I bought this book for my granddaughters to…

NaNoWriMo prep editing tips…

making books magical I've decided to remind myself of some basic editing tips as I approach a month of cleaning up a manuscript I've not visited for a while. I'm sharing this information from:- WRITING FOR AUTHORS 07/24/2018 06:50 pm PDT  Updated 9 days ago 17 Weak Words to Avoid in Your Writing By Catia Shattuck https://mybookcave.com/authorpost/17-weak-words-to-avoid-in-your-writing/ Exact…

NaNoWriMo announcement…

November is getting close and thinking of what I'm about to do during NaNoWriMo. I've decided to do another editing month to clean up the third book in 'The Ancient Alien' series. I've been learning more editing tricks and hope I'll get the book in ship-shape ready to publish. This is my NaNoWriMo Profile. Hi…

Gail Tagarro GCW speaker…

Gail Tagarro The Book Writing Coach. Accredited Editor. Novelist. Writer & Editor of Fiction and Nonfiction. Founder of editors4you First off, Gail wanted to give Full disclosure. She's a good writer and editor and thought she didn't need her book edited. But when her friend read her final copy she'd made a couple of small…

Geneve Flynn GCW speaker…

About Geneve Flynn Geneve Flynn Geneve Flynn is a freelance editor from Australia who specialises in speculative fiction. Her horror short stories have been published in various markets, including Flame Tree Publishing, Things in the Well, and the Tales to Terrify podcast. She loves tales that unsettle, all things writerly, and B-grade action movies; if…

Gold Coast Writers Meeting October 21

Great meeting today at Gold Coast Writers, Saturday 16th, October. Gail Tagarro on editing was so interesting. So was Geneve Flynn who spoke about Speculative Fiction in all it’s guises. I’ll post about this on my blog over the next couple of days. Me with my friend Gail Tagarro Gail Tagarro Geneve Flynn Now it’s…

Tashi book reviews, great series…

It was like this - its hard to tell if Jack is making up these stories and Tashi is an imaginary friend, or if Tashi is a magical person from an strange foreign land. I love these books and so does my granddaughter, I've bought her a large number of these books and she's read…

Busy times ahead…

This week foreshadows changes for me at work. Volunteering is fun but anyone who thinks it’s not work needs to try it. The place I’ve been at since May is closing mid November. Luckily my boss there has been able to get me a job at another branch of the same charity organisation. It’s coming…

Ishmael and the Return of the Dugongs review…

Ishmael Leseur #2 Ishmael and the Return of the Dugongs by Michael Gerard Bauer Reviewed by Jill Smith copyright Aug 2016 Dugongs cover This is the middle book of the Ishmael series. Typical teenage boys just obsessed with getting the girls of their dreams, really over simplifies this brilliant book. Again Ishmael is besotted with Kelly…

Ishmael books by MGB reviews

In revisiting these books I'd forgotten how comical they are, so much so I'll have to read them again. https://michaelgerardbauer.com/about/ Michael Gerard Bauer Michael Gerard Bauer was born and lives in Brisbane Australia. In 2000 he resigned from his full-time position as an English/Economics teacher to pursue his dream of becoming a writer. In 2004 his…

Matthew Reilly on Australian Story…

I just watched 'Australian Story' on ABC with Matthew Reilly 'California Dreaming', he's turned to his latest adventure directing his own script in 'Interceptor' for Netflix. It promises to be a real action-packed thriller. He's still suffering from the death of his wife but it's good to see he's started a new life with a…

Book review – Ninja Kid 2:Flying Ninja!

cover Ninja Kid 2 : Flying Ninja! (Ninja Kid #2)by Anh Do, Jeremy Ley (Goodreads Author) (Illustrator)Jill Smith's reviewOct 09, 2021   This story is about Nelson who is a ‘Ninja Kid’. His grandmother gives him lots of gadgets to use to help fight against the evil Dr Kane, who looked a lot like his dad. Grandma told him that…