sallymurphy.com.au

Sally Murphy, Australian author

Busy, but Writing

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Phew! School went back last week and, rather than having more time on my hands with the Murphlets out of the house, I have been busier than ever. Not much time for blogging, when I’m in and out of the house all day long.

Today, though, I’ve had a few hours at home and so I’ve been doing some catching up. Have just posted ten new reviews to Aussiereviews. It’s hard to choose a pick of the bunch this time as they really were an excellent bunch of books.

I should mention, though, the three James Moloney books – Crossfire, Touch Me and The Bridge to Wiseman’s Cove, as well as the one I reviewed earlier in the month, The House on River Terrace. I don’t often get to immerse myself in so many books by one author so close together, but UQP have just re-released these four and so I received them to review. Lucky me!

If you haven’t read Moloney’s work before, here is your chance to discover him. For myself, I discovered that reading so many boy-centred books closely together has helped me to refocus on a manuscript I wrote some time ago and which I knew needed a rewrite. So, in my writing time, I’ve been taking another look at that and so far am pleased with the results.

I’m also tinkering with a chapter book rewrite and have written three first drafts of new poems this week. Oh, and I put together another proposal for an educational title.

Now it’s back to work. Enjoy the reviews.

Some Great Reads

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With two weeks of school holidays meaning more time at home, I’ve been doing a lot of reading, and today I’ve added fourteen new reviews to Aussiereviews. As always, there’s a range of books, from picture books through to some chilling crime fiction, but the book I want to highlight is Marty’s Shadow, by John Heffernan. This young adult read is one of those books where you think you can see what’s coming, but are surprised (even shocked) by the twists and turns. Murphlet 3 caught me sitting at the table sobbing when I finished the book. I felt emotionally wrung out but at the same time satisfied – I believed in this story and cared deeply about what happened, a sure sign of an excellent piece of writing.

You can read my review of Marty’s Shadow here.

One of the wonderful thigns about being a book reviewer is that I get to read such a wide range of books, from books like Marty’s Shadow, to laugh out loud books like picture book Whacko the Chook and absorbing literary fiction like The Butterfly Man.

Lucky me.

New Reviews

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Last night I updated Aussiereviews, posting six new reviews. As always, there’s a mixed bag regarding target age and subject matter. The review of griEVE, which I raved about in an earlier post here (see below), is finally up – it’s been such a busy month that it’s taken me a while to find time to do it.

Another superb young adult book which I’ve just reviewed is That’s Why I Wrote This Song, by Susanne Gervay. Gervay is an outstanding writer of issues-based fiction, managing to entertain at the same time as she takes readers on emotional journeys. Her earlier book, I Am Jack, is the best book I’ve ever read dealing with bullying. That’s Why I wrote This Song is also special for Gervay because it is the result of a collaboration with her daughter, who wrote the lyrics used throughout the book.

The other new reviews include three new children’s titles and a new fantasy epic, The Serpent Bride, by Sara Douglass , the first in a new trilogy. So, if you are looking for something new to read, you’re likely to find something appealing either in these six reviews or in the hundreds of other books I’ve reviewed.

Great Read

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I love it when I pick up a new book to start reading and find myself a couple of hours later still reading, unable to close the book. With the numerous calls on my time to do other things, if a book refuses to be ignored, it’s a good one. This happened to me today with young adult novel called griEVE, by Lizzie Wilcock.

griEVE is a compelling tale of a teenage girl struggling with the aftermath of her mother’s disappearance from her life. Her father and aunt decide that the best way of coping is not to talk about it, and Eve is left to struggle through the grieving process for herself.

Topics including self-harm, family dysfunction and depression are all explored in a novel which could well be dark and scary but is instead absorbing and compelling.

My review of this one won’t be posted until I next update Aussiereviews, but you’ve just had a sneak preview of what I’ll be saying. What an excellent read!

Busy Week

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Well, what a busy week so far – but I knew it would be that way before it started, and with the help of my list (see my post below) I have managed to get lots of things done, in between personal stuff like running Murphlet 2 back to Perth, and attending the younger Murphlets’ athletics carnival (our house won – yay!).

I haven’t crossed everything off the list, but I have made good inroads. So far I have:
1. Finished the edits on one of the two books. The second one is close to finished.
2. Marked the two batches of assignments and got them back in the mail.
3. Written one new review for Aussiereviews. Not the five I had set as a target, but a start.
4. Updated Aussiereviews. I uploaded five new reviews today – the one I wrote this week and four I wrote last week. I usually write the reviews as I finish the books, then upload in batches.

Still another day to go in the week, so hopefully I’ll get more things crossed off, but if not I’ll carry some of these things onto my new list for next week. My idea of a list is not to chastise myself for what I didn’t do, but to set targets and to also keep track of what I HAVE achieved each week.

I had a nice surprise in the today’s mail. My contributor’s copy of the new magazine Little Ears arrived, complete with my story, Woof. It is always wonderful toss my work in print, and to see it this brand new, quality magazine is pretty exciting. If you have children aged birth to about seven, you should check this magazine out. It’s wonderful!

Okay – back to work.

Overhwhelmed? Try Writing a List

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Phew! It’s Sunday, the start of a new week and already I feel a bit overwhelmed by the week. It’s one of those weeks where I have got so much to get through and wonder how I can juggle it all. So, first off, I’ve made a list of what needs doing.

1. Finish edits on two non fiction reading book titles.
2. Mark two batches of assignments for my tutoring job.
3. Finish writing notes for performance poetry manuscript.
4. Write five new reviews for Aussiereviews
5. Update Aussiereviews
6. Finish rewrite of picture book wip
7. Make contact with author and illustrator I’m interviewing for Reading Time magazine.

Of course, these are just my writing goals for the week – I’ve also got a trip to Perth to take Murphlet 2 back to boarding school, a day and a half in the classroom, an athletics carnival, washing to do, meals to cook, floors to clean and so on. I sometimes make a separate list of these things, but when I’m at my desk the writing stuff takes priority.

Now that I’ve written the list I can see that it isn’t as bad as I’d thought. For some reason lists seem longer when they are buzzing around in your head. And the great thing about written lists is that you can cross things off as they’re completed, with great satisfaction, and you can look at them to see how much progress you have made. Also, a physical list can sit on a desk as a reminder not to get too sidetracked.

If you are going to make lists for yourself, try to make the items as specific as possible. For example: write some reviews is too vague as an aim – how many is ‘some’ and how will I know when I’ve finished it? Also write more of my novel would be similarly vague whereas write 1000 words is more measurable.

Also try to make the list achievable. I know I have a busy week aside from writing, so have tried not to include things on the list that aren’t so pressing. The only items on the list that aren’t deadline-driven are the picture book manuscript and the reviews. The picture book is there because that’s the thing most important to me – producing new, quality manuscripts. And I’m excited about this current one, so need to keep redrafting and fine tuning. The reviews don’t have a deadline because I own the website – but I try to keep new content going up at least every fortnight and feel I owe it to the reading public and the books’ creators to get reviews up as quickly as possible.

I find the use of lists a great way to keep focussed and to get things done. If you are feeling swamped, why not try setting yourself a list of targets for the week? I’ll let you know how I go with mine.

sallymurphy.com.au