So 2024 got off to a bit of a shaky start. Australia seems to have forgotten it’s summer: It has been wet. The sun has been in hiding. And as such I’m feeling somewhat contrary and have yet to make any serious resolutions. Some of my writing friends have encouraged me to instead pick a ‘word’ for the year. I have to be honest, I don’t really believe in that whole ‘one’ word notion. Why would I choose just one word? I’m a writer. Heck, I like ALL the words, admittedly some more than others. If I were to choose a word it would probably be…FLY.
FLY
Here’s hoping my books will fly off the shelves and entertain a whole lot of readers…
Here’s hoping the appropriate words will fly from my brain to the page…
And also, I’m starting this year feeling more than a little fly, as in ‘fly in the face of convention’ not 'fly on the wall’ (although I do plenty of that - called author eavesdropping) or ‘fly in the ointment’ (yikes, admittedly, I suspect this may be me too as I ditch social plans because of looming deadlines).
So let’s drill down on this ‘fly in the face of conventions’. As some of you may know, I’m a high school teacher and —strange but true— a firm believer in flouting the rules. There are no rules, only conventions (and I’ll start that diet on Monday) will probably be engraved on my gravestone.
For instance, have you ever come across Mr E M Forster’s famously espoused theory on story vs. plot in ‘Aspects of the Novel’ in 1927. He defined story as, ‘a narrative of events arranged in their time sequence’, such as:
STORY: THE KING DIED AND THEN THE QUEEN DIED.
But he explained plot as a narrative of events, the emphasis falling on causality.
PLOT: THE KING DIED AND THEN THE QUEEN DIED BECAUSE OF GRIEF.
Are you familiar with this? I’ve seen and read him quoted a lot. Do you agree with his concept?
Can we be a little fly about it?
What does Mr E M Forster even know? He may have written a handful of brilliant books — Room with a View anyone?— and I love his illustration of his notions on story and plot to a point…That point being, where I disagree with his definition of what makes a story and what makes a plot. Bear with.
When we plot points on a map, they are only markers, perhaps of a journey and where we want to go. A googled dictionary definition of ‘plot’ is, ‘the main events of a play, novel, film, or similar work, devised and presented by the writer as an interrelated sequence.’ Yes, they’re interrelated insomuch as traveling from A to B to C, but the word which pops for me is SEQUENCE. A sequence of events/ plot points without any mention of causality. Agreed?
Whereas —hang in there— if you look up dictionary definitions of the word ‘story’, you get something along the lines of, ‘a description/recount of events and people that the writer or speaker has invented in order to entertain people’. Entertain. Not just sequence. With entertainment we need to show a little more than mere plot points. We need to create intrigue and suspense, maybe throw in some angst and humor. We need to show conflict and commotion and the cause of our character’s actions. We bring emotion to the page in order to entertain our readers.
You might plot how to murder someone. But when you want to write a story about it, you not only need to recount a list of events, you have to storify it. Entertain. Engage. Enthrall. Show why the character decided she wanted to murder her next door neighbor…or whatever.
So there you have it. Pretty much everyone else in the whole world will tell you I’ve got it wrong. That Anna Foxkirk doesn’t know her arse/ass from her elbow. But, ahem, I beg to differ. I have two elbows and only one arse.
Anyhow, according to Anna Foxkirk, it should go like this:
PLOT: THE KING DIED AND THEN THE QUEEN DIED.
A then B. No entertainment. Just a sequence of events.
STORY: THE KING DIED AND THEN THE QUEEN DIED BECAUSE OF GRIEF.
We are entertained, sobbing over the queen’s loss and feeling her broken heart in her darkest of moments (and maybe hoping she’ll find a new king in the not too distant future…). That folks, is story. Here endeth my sermon.
So there you have it, fly with me, feel free to break rules and resolutions and just get on with the business of living a happy (and sometimes contrary)) life. Did I mention, my sister is currently doing Dry January? Did I also mention, I am doing Wet January?! Not drinking my way into oblivion, yet, but swimming every day.
Feel free to disagree, or join me and fly in the face of ointment. I just looked up the slang definition of FLY because you know, I’m not in the least salty after all that swimming and I love it:
Fly is a slang term that means "clever, alert, wide awake"1. The term might have originated from the insect being hard to catch1. Other theories trace it to fledge or flash1. In modern slang, fly means "cool or dressed very well"2. Synonyms for fly include tight and dope2.
Now, which utter prat said, Write drunk, edit sober…
This month our gorgeous, erudite and lovely Author in the Spotlight is Anne Freeman.
Anne writes contemporary fiction about women who are stuck in life and the extraordinary ways they shake themselves loose. They’re always engaging and sometimes funny with reluctant adventures, sexy escapades and friendships that uplift.
Anne's work has been awarded in the Hawkeye Publishing Manuscript Development Prize, the Grindstone Literary International Novel Prize, the Romance Writers of Australia Valerie Parv Award and many short story competitions.
Her hobbies include referring to herself in third person and making her family guffaw. Oh, and wine. She likes wine.
What did you do before becoming an author?
I have had so many lives! I was an award-winning milliner, promotional model, wanderluster, television extra, accessories designer, vintage market organiser, sales and marketing maven and creator of human life.
What do you do when you’re not writing?
I am a content creator for Melbourne-based social media agency, Social Media Tribe, and a contract publicist for Brisbane-based publisher, Hawkeye Publishing. Outside of work, I can be found doing silly voices to make my two children giggle, squeezing in dinner dates with my sister-friends, ugly crying while watching epic TV dramas with my husband and, of course, reading!
What inspired you to write ‘Me That You See’?
When I was in my early twenties, I worked as a promotional model. Essentially, I was monetising my youth and attractiveness. The modern world has brought with it a profession I find fascinating—camming. Camming is when a cam model is requested to perform certain activities, often sexual, in front of a webcam for paying clients who tune in online. I wanted to utilise my experience of being a "hired body", so to speak, and bring it into the modern setting of camming.
What is the spice level of your books?
I describe my books as spice for readers who don't read "smut". Though the door is flung wide open, the depictions are tasteful and understated.
What top tip would you give an author about finding a comfortable-for-them spice level for their book?
I teach a free writers' workshop called Stories with Spice: Bypass the Cringe and Bring the Smoulder in which I encourage participants to check in with themselves about what they enjoy reading and what they are comfortable writing. I also help them to get to know their ideal reader in order to determine what will appeal to them most. There are four workshops coming up in February and March, in Melbourne and I'll be circulating details in my newsletter. Subscribe here: https://www.annefreeman.com.au/subscribe
What book did you find most entertaining in 2023 and why?
There were so many! A massive stand out was Jo Dixon's debut The House of Now and Then. She explores themes of sextortion and public shaming in the modern world which I too find fascinating and have played with in Me That You See.
What are the top three books on your TBR pile for 2024?
Trish Bolton's debut Whenever You're Ready, out this month (Allen & Unwin), Kylie Orr's The Eleventh Floor, out in February (Harper Collins) and Camille Booker's The Women in the Waves, out later mid year (Hawkeye Publishing).
If you could be anywhere now, where would you be?
Mercifully, I'm at a point in my life where there's nowhere else I'd rather be! My world is jeweled with exceptional people, my work is rewarding and I can contribute to our thriving local writing and reading community! It also doesn't hurt that I'm planning a trip to Bali with my family in June!
What are you currently working on and what excites you most about it?
I'm working on a novel that alternates between Olivia—a wife and mother in her early forties—and Liv—the same woman experiencing first love in her heady, rave-partying early twenties. The two timelines collide when intimate photos surface from an unknown, sinister source. I'm exploring how the decisions of our youth can alter the trajectories of our lives but that, maybe, with a bit of courage, it's never too late to reroute the course.
The only good thing about Lexi’s barista job is her work wife, Linh. Even her burgeoning relationship with single father, Ethan, is growing cold before it’s had time to sizzle. And why can’t Lexi shake the feeling that Ethan’s not over his wife?
When a mysterious friend from Lexi’s past emerges in startling circumstances, she glimpses the world of camming. Ditching espressos for the express lane to sexual empowerment and financial freedom, Lexi is lying to everyone, including herself.
When Lexi meets Travis, a charming cybercrime cop free from emotional baggage, her new life shapeshifts at a dizzying rate. Lexi becomes ensnared and, this time, no amount of lying can set her free.
Me That You See is a thrilling glimpse into online sex work packaged for book club banter and voyeuristic pleasure. It explores themes of feminism in sex work, living your truth, women supporting women, toxic masculinity, and our desire to connect.
ALL the Books
What have you been reading lately? Just got to shout out about a couple of authors TikTok made me read —Yes, truly — who I’ve become totally hooked by: Ali Hazelwood and Lynn Painter. I know I’m so late to the party! Do you have any other fabulous romcom writers you’d like to recommend? Let me know and I’ll check them out.
Meantime, here are some other bookish offers you might like to check out:
My Alice in Wanderlust is FREE in all three of the offers below. I’d also love to garner some preorders in my soon-to-be published Alice and the Impossible Game out 1st March, so please feel free to spread the word and share, share, share. Did you know, if you preorder it helps to raise an book’s visibility on Amazon, which in turn helps us sell books. Well, I could do with all the help I can get!
Freebies… Just click on the image that takes your fancy!
Link: https://books.bookfunnel.com/janromancegiveaways/s5tmst1mvh
New Year's Cheer and Sexy Reads
Link: https://books.bookfunnel.com/new_year_cheer/sfkt3zm4zy
Free Steamy Hot Romance
Link: https://books.bookfunnel.com/alyssacobbromance/dcriyp7txv
So my lovely fly fox-trotting friends, now we are woke and dope we can totally slay 2024! Don’t forget to enjoy ALL the words, and please let me know what you are loving reading. I’d love to hear all about it.
I’d also love it if you wanted to fly with me in any of these places:
Love and best wishes for 2024 to y’all!
Anna
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