Dear Foxtrotting Friends,
It’s been a while since my previous newsletter, but I’ve stepped back into teaching at secondary school students, I have to be honest, I feel like my writerly life has been somewhat hijacked. I had forgotten what an enormous commitment teaching high school kids invariably is, and I am NOT TEACHING FIT! By the end of each day, I am so drained and discombobulated that I am less coach potato and more potato mash, if you get my drift. Anyhow, it’s currently school holidays here in Victoria, so I’m dashing off a quick newsletter (Please be kind if there are any typos!).
In other news … somewhere between the teaching and surviving and not writing nearly enough, I have come to the conclusion that time is marching on, and I need to make much better use of the few spare minutes I have. With that in mind, and with the additional knowledge that traditional publishing is Dark Ages slow, I’ve come to the pretty momentous decision (for me at least) to throw myself back into Indie publishing ...
So here’s the crafty plan:
Romcomedy: I’m republishing my romcom novellas - Holly Ever After, Be My Valerie! and The Worst Noelle - with some revisions and additional material. I reread them recently, and while I wasn’t totally dissatisfied with them (tbh I was pleasantly surprised because, although a couple were award-winning, I’d kind of convinced myself they were terrible). You may notice some other changes such as American spellings because that is where I see my primary market being going forward. There may be more romcomedy in the future, but my next big project is…
Romantasy: I’ve long been a huge fan of speculative fiction and I’m seriously excited about the series I’ve begun working on. It’s will include all my favourite elements: a fantasy world of dark academia, witchcraft, dragons, vampires and more. I’m hoping that once I crank into gear, I should be able to get at least three novels written by this time next year, but I’ll have a better idea of progress in the next couple of months, and, of course, I’ll keep you posted. You may notice that some of my branding starts to lean towards the fantastical.
I’m also sitting on some historical fiction that I’ve written as well — World War Two (my novel The Very Lethal Vera Atkins) and another I’ve half-written, plus some light-hearted Regency novels), but these are on the backburner for now.
Self-publishing is not without it’s challenges and pitfalls, to be sure, not least because I may well lose some of my romcom fans, which will be heart-wrenching, but I really have to follow my own passion writing. I’m very excited about being an Indie author and burning to get my new ideas down on paper. Instead of being shackled by the mores and markets of traditional publishing, it means I can write exactly what I want, when I want and how I want. I’m looking forward to being the mistress of my own trans-genre pan-fictional multi-novel empire! Hold on to your hats! More to come on all this in my next newsletter.
I had a chance to chat recently to one of my loveliest author friends about her writing (secretly grilling her for information!). I’m thrilled to share her amazing talent with you in this newsletter. Picture the sweeping grass savannahs of Africa and an incredibly glamorous author in safari gear…
Author in the Spotlight: Beverley Oakley
You’ve written a lot of books! How did you come to be an author?
Hi Anna, thanks for having me!
It's the usual story of the child who spends every day with her nose in a book, then in the school library at lunchtime writing her novels.
I also devoured the classics from the age of 12 and was delighted when, three years ago, my then-eighteen-year-old daughter asked me for a reading list of my favourites as she was on holiday having just finished her VCE and she wanted to discuss them with me.
I gave her 'L'Assommoir' by Emile Zola, 'The House of Mirth' by Edith Wharton, 'The Portrait of a Lady' by Henry James, 'Wuthering Heights' by Emily Bronte, and 'Lady Audley's Secret' by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. Within a few weeks, she'd read them all!
I do also have a confession that I feel I can finally divulge, now that I've written 37 novels and won a couple of awards.
I failed English Literature at uni.
It's taken me nearly 40 years to realise that this is probably the reason I'm an author now; though, for a highly anxious 20-year-old who was too nervous to speak up at tutorials, it was the most devastating shock I'd ever experienced and totally unexpected since my year's average was high based on my essays.
I remember going to see the Head of English - which was probably the second most terrifying thing I'd ever done - and being told in an aggressively condescending way that I couldn't just walk in and ask for a pass; nor would I be granted a supplementary exam because my English Literature exam results were less than 40%.
So, although my overall English Literature mark was in the high 50s, I failed because the exam marks were less than 40%.
As this meant I had to spend another year at uni repeating this one subject, I got a job as a secretary in a law firm which was another story.
Anyway, the shame, hurt, humiliation - and sense of being denied justice - spurred me on to prove to the world that I could be a published author - even if it took another 23 years before my first Regency romance was published by Robert Hale.
Novels set in Africa are incredibly popular. Why do you think this is?
There's a familiar saying that goes: "Africa is always in your blood." It's certainly the case for me having been born when my parents lived near the top of one of the world's most rugged mountain passes, the Sani Pass in Lesotho; and then being lured by my grandfather's photographic diaries to Botswana's pristine Okavango Delta where he worked between 1916 and 1922.
In 1992, I got a job for two months managing a luxury safari lodge in the Okavango, and the day before I was due to fly home to Adelaide to marry my boyfriend of seven years - and to return to my job as a journalist on Adelaide's The Advertiser - I met the handsome Norwegian bush pilot who would soon become my husband. (I returned to Botswana to live with him in his thatched cottage in a mopane forest.)
As for why Africa is always in one's blood? Africa's incredible landscapes are so varied. And then there are the people whose hopes, dreams, feuds, and blood are soaked, or baked, into the rich soil. One feels it.
What sort of people do you find intriguing or interesting to write about?
I love a good mystery with definitely a twist at the end. It's what I include in most of my romances whether they're set in England during the Regency or Victorian eras, or in Africa.
What are you working on at present?
I've been planning my Africa-set romances featuring an aviation hero for years, so I'm very excited that my first - Diamond Mountain set in Lesotho in 1961 and featuring a handsome bush pilot - is now available for pre-order. My second, which is set in a luxury safari camp in Okavango Delta (like the safari camp I worked in during the early 90s) is half written.
My latest big (make that, enormous!) project I'm involved in is my new Shopify Store where readers can buy my books and audiobooks direct. Soon, they'll be able to get my online courses: Write a Memoir and How to Self-Publish: a Step-by-Step Guide.
You can see it here:
https://beverleysbooks.com/
I know you also teach creative writing courses. What are your three top tips for aspiring writers?
A first draft is better than a blank page.
Persistence and showing up are more important than the writing talent you were born with.
Have fun!
Lesotho, 1961.
Philippa Tremain, the beautiful, ambitious daughter of the District Commissioner, has opted for a life of luxury with wealthy young lawyer Matthew Myburgh instead of following her heart's desire with Stuart Price, the rugged bush pilot who rescued her from a plane crash.
While Stuart fuels her sense of adventure, Matthew offers the glamorous lifestyle Philippa believes her mother gave up when she wed a colonial official in Lesotho's remote African mountain kingdom.
However, when Philiova's reservations about her decision are compounded by a discovery that jeopardizes her future, she turns to Stuart for help.
Stuart has spent the last four years distancing himself from his conman father and to help the woman he loves requires a terrible choice.
A choice that goes to the heart of his sense of honour with ramifications far beyond himself and the two women who love him.
A sweeping romance of diamonds, murder, and greed in an African mountain kingdom on the cusp of Independence.
And you can pre-order it HERE: https://beverleysbooks.com/collections/wings-over-africa/wings-over-Africa
What are you reading at the moment?
Talking of fabulous fantasy fiction, I’m reading Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros at the moment and absolutely loving it! It’s high fantasy, not exactly high brow or even high literature, but it’s a really compelling read. Set in a training school for dragon riders, the heroine is as underrated as she is gritty, the dragons are wittier than the humans and it’s sizzling with sexual tension and conflict right from the get go. The logline captures it well: Graduate or Die. Having been through military training college myself at Royal Military College Sandhurst in the UK, much of it resonates deeply! I’d describe Fourth Wing as a cross between The Hunger Games and Eragon if you get my drift.
If you enjoy reading fantasy, I’d love to hear your recommendations. What are the best bits? What keeps you on the edge of your seat? What makes or breaks a fantasy novel for you?
I’d also love to hear from you if you’d like to be one of my romantasy ARC readers. Please email me annafoxkirk@gmail.com
Well, that’s all from me for this newsletter because I really do need to get on with writing while it’s the school hols! Wrap and keep warm if you’re enduring the winter in Oz, and if you’re somewhere sunny, soak it up!
Read what you love and love what you read!
Best wishes,
Anna
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