"Mum, Mum!" 
    My three-year-old son came running into the house, so excited he was almost bursting out of his skin. "I'm planting lemons!"
    I went to investigate, but had to hide a smile as I inspected his "lemon": an old nectarine seed, pushed deep down into a pile of freshly-mown grass on our front lawn. I didn't have the heart to tell him that his seed wasn't of the citrus variety.
    This little moment did get me thinking about seeds and gardening, though. Since I have more of a "black" thumb than a green one, killing almost every plant that has the misfortune of having me as its owner, this was an unusual thing.
    I even ventured out into our back garden and began weeding it, and in the process finding our lemon-tree laden with almost-ripe fruit (I hadn't looked at it in months), and some fragrant chives I unfortunately mistook for weeds.
    While I laboured in the hot sun, pulling out cobblers pegs prickles, I got to thinking about the oft-repeated analogy of our lives being like gardens. The principles of sowing-and-reaping, and the need to frequently remove unwanted weeds (negative thoughts or behaviour patterns), both apply here.
    So what does this have to do with writing? (I am an author, after all. :) )
    As with everything in life - including pulling out weeds in a garden - you need to write regularly and often to be successful; to hone your craft, find your flow.
    You also need to plant the right "seeds": read books by authors you admire, study your genre, attend writing workshops and conferences, and join a writers' group or find a critiqueing "buddy".
    Personally, I'm not quite yet "hitting the mark" in all of these areas (especially the "writing regularly" part; the cover of my novel-writing notebook is becoming a little dusty :) ).
    However, with a little application - and perhaps some time spent mulling over my characters and plot-lines while I pull a few weeds in my garden outside - I know that I will eventually develop the habits and skills I need to become a better writer. 
    And perhaps even discover a few surprising crops of lemons/nectarines along the way. :)

I don't know about you, but I personally don't like change. I've never found it easy. I suspect that even after passing through the myriad of changes and difficult circumstances encountered by us all throughout life, it won't get any easier.

However, lately I've discovered that there's an upside to living in the midst of change (apart from now having more interesting topics to talk about at a dinner party).

During the past few years, I've been most definitely moved out of my comfort zone - having four children in five years (can hardly believe it myself!), moving to a new city five hours' drive away from extended family and friends, and enduring four managers in the space of just nine months in my new job.

But after all the dust has settled, I now find a new strength and depth I didn't realise I possessed. While I wasn't looking, I've become a more rounded (not literally, lol!) and empathic person.

Understandably, this has huge benefits for my writing. Where perhaps I may have previously struggled in exploring topics outside my own relatively narrow realm of experience, I find I can now bring a more believable insight to various characters and scenarios.

In the novel I'm writing at the moment, I'm in the middle of describing a fifteen-year-old girl's experience of losing her boyfriend in a car accident. This is completely removed from Blue Freedom (my previous published novel), which was comparatively all "cocktails on the beach at sunset", but I'm surprised to find myself being able to really get inside the girl's head/character, imagine just what it would feel like to be suddenly hurtled into your worst nightmare.

Perhaps this ability simply comes with maturity - I'm now 34, but was only in my early twenties when I began writing Blue Freedom.

But I'd like to also think that the mosaic of experiences I've encountered in life - many of them stretching and challenging - have also contributed to a greater insight as a writer.

I would encourage other writers to not always resist being pushed out of their comfort zones, but to embrace the greater depth it can bring to them as individuals and to their creative craft.

I have to admit, I'm a paper kinda' gal. I love the feel of it between my fingers, the texture - even the smell of it. Ever since I was a young girl, a blank notebook would fill me with excitement at all its possibilities - so much potential, so many adventures it could contain within its pages!
Even now, I much prefer writing my stories or articles in a binder book first, before transferring the words to a computer. I find that, for me, it's much easier to scribble down my thoughts, cross out incorrect words or phrases, and use arrows to add in alterations. When I later type my piece/scene into a word processing file, I edit it again.
Whilst this process may at first appear laborious, I consider it a small price to pay for portability (I can take a notebook with me much more easily than a laptop), plus a built-in extra edit.
I've writen one-and-a-bit books this way, and will continue to finish my current YA supernatural romance manuscript in my trusty binder book, one scene at a time.
So, what about you? For your writing, do you prefer using a notebook or Netbook?

During the past couple of months or so since my last blog post, a whole lot has been happening in this little corner of the world. For a start, a few natural disasters have been conspiring together to wipe out Queensland - torrential rain and the resultant flooding, rivers bursting their banks and pouring out into towns and onto rural properties; an inland "tsunami" gushing down the mountain from Toowoomba after a torrential downpour, washing away cars, trees, houses, people, and anything else in its path; and now Tropical Cyclone Yasi, a category 5 cyclone as severe as Hurricane Katrina. At this early stage, no lives have been lost - a testament to plenty of prior warning, adequate safety precautions, and most importantly, the grace of God.

Thankfully, on my little hill overlooking the ocean in the Wide Bay area, the disasters have given us a wide berth. No flooding, no cyclones - just a bit of rain, and plenty of mildew and mould to greet me as I entered our closed-up house after three weeks of holidays.

And in the midst of it all, I've still managed to write. Nothing as prolific as a whole novel, or even half a one. But at least, by plodding away, I've managed to write part 1 of my YA romantic fiction manuscript, and plan the start of part 2. I'm aiming to have ten chapters finished by the end of March, and perhaps even a proposal completed to send off to some unsuspecting publishers or agents.

Will keep you posted. :)

It's been over a week since I've had a chance to do some writing, and I've got itchy fingers. You writers will know the feeling - there's an idea, or plot-line, or snippet of dialogue that's been percolating in your brain, and you're just waiting for the opportunity to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) to bring it forth into the universe.

My last writing session was idyllic: at a beach-side cafe on the Sunshine Coast, armed with a skinny, extra-hot, caramel latte (pedantic, I know!) and a serve of raisin toast. When I couldn't quite grasp the best word or phrasing, I could gaze out at the ocean for inspiration. I was able to write two scenes during that session, completing the first chapter of my new YA novel.

The next opportunity I have to write will be far less ideal, I'm sure. It's bound to be a spare (who has spare time these days?!) 30 minutes stolen away from the housework, or the other myriad, inane duties that pile up in a day. It may be sitting in my favourite chair in the living room, or on a park bench while I watch my children play (yes, it's the school holidays!).

But the important thing for me, and for all writers out there, is that I write.  It doesn't need to be perfect, or profound, or even pretty. As long as I get my thoughts out onto paper, then that is enough for today. :)

Well, it's been some time since I last "blogged" - almost 3 months, in fact. And a whole lotta things have happened during the past 3 months!:
1. Blue Freedom has been published by Rose and Crown Books!
2. Copies are available to purchase via most online bookstores, or can be bought directly from a bookstore (you may need to request that they order it in if it isn't currently in stock)
3. I had my first book signing at the Word Writers' Fair in Brisbane on Nov 6th
4. I've set up a Facebook fan page (http://on.fb.me/bylk00)
5. I got my first bit of media publicity in my hometown's newspaper, The Chronicle (http://bit.ly/aeWbPz)
6. My publisher, Jo Holloway (of Rose and Crown Books) spoke on a London radio station about the three new inspirational romance books she's published (of which my novel is one), and also discussed Blue Freedom with the interviewer.
Phew! Hopefully the next few months will be just as eventful! Stay tuned for more happenings via this blog or the "news" page on this website. :)