sallymurphy.com.au

Sally Murphy, Australian author

And the Party Goes On

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Thanks for dropping by! One of the hard things about a party is always the clean up the next day. But, in case you missed it, yesterday I had a big party right here on this blog, a cyber-launch to celebrate the release of my new verse novel, Toppling. And the great thing about a cyber-party is that there is no mess. Well, no REAL mess, anyway. The cyber streamers ar elooking a little limp today, and tehre are several half cups of cyber bubbly littering the virtual coffee tables – but I can live with that.
(If you did miss the party yesterday and think I’m perhaps losing the plot, please scroll down to yesterday’s post to get up to date).
I just want to say thanks so much to everyone who dropped in here yeterday, as well as the many people who left messages on Facebook, Tiwtter, and via email. You made me feel so special, and gave Toppling such a lovely send-off into the big wide world.
Now the launch party may be over, but the celebrations continue. There will be things happening here on the blog throughout March, as well as real world events including a ‘real’ launch at the All Saints festival later in March. So check back here often for details.
In the meantime, I was really excited to find the first online review for Toppling at the Our Patch site. Check it out here.

Writing Quote of the Week

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In my discussion of last week’s Writing Quote of the Week I touched on  the fact that writing is not often a lucrative career, financially. So, when searching for a quote for this week, this one spoke to me as following on well:

If you have other things in your life – family, friends, good productive day work – these can interact with your writing and the sum will be all the richer.
(David Brin)

So, how does this relate to what I said last week? Well, I know that I am not alone in needing to have a day job (albeit part time) to supplement my writing income, and, like a lot of my writer friends, I sometimes resent that time away from my desk as lost writing time. But David Brin’s point is a good one. That work time (and the other non-writing parts of one’s life) can sometimes be the very thing which makes your writing richer. In my own case, I do know that because I work part time, those days when I’m at home are more productive. I have less time to write, so I try harder to make the most of it. I also know that its through interacting with people, facing challenges and so on, that I gain life experience which can sometimes either inspire a story, or at the very least, help to make it more authentic.

This week I am going to try to appreciate more those other parts of my life, and how they help make me a better writer.

Have a great week.

Writing Quote of the Week

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Happy Monday! Time for another writing quote to inspire you as you start your week. Today’s quote  is simple:

The only reason for being a professional writer is that you just can’t help it.

(Leo Rosten)

Too true! If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard or read someone saying they want to become a writer to make some money, or add to their family income,  I’d be richer than my books are making me. Yes, there are rich authors, yes there are famous authors – but, for the most part, writing is not a wealth-generating strategy.

For me, I write because I have stories to tell and, in the tough times, when I’ve struggled to be published, I’ve sometimes thought about giving up. But the truth is – I can’t. I have kept coming back to writing because writing calls me, pulls me, and the stories insist on being written. I can’t help it.

Lucky for me, I also just love writing.

How about you?

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Time for another writing quote to start the week. I am cheating and posting this week’s quote a day early, because I have set tomorrow aside for a visit by my friend and fellow author Claire Saxby, who’ll be dropping in tomorrow to kick off her blog tour.

Today’s quote is near and dear to me. I’ll explain why after I’ve shared it:
No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.
(Robert Frost)
When I read this quote I punched the air and said ‘hah!’ Why? Because it kind of helped me to know that maybe I’m not crazy. I often cry when I’m writing my stories – and, when I wrote Pearl Verses theWorld, I cried bucketloads. There are parts of the book I still can’t read without crying. But if Robert Frost says it’s okay – even compulsory – to cry at the sad bits, then that’s enough for me.

Have a great week.

https://sallymurphy.com.au/2010/02/216/

Looking for Guest Bloggers for March

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As I said earlier in the day, the release of Toppling is fast approaching, and it’s time for me to start thinking about ways to celebrate.

Having had three blog tours last year to celebrate my new releases, I thought I’d do something different this time. Instead of asking people to interview me, and have them try to come up with new and different questions for me, I thought this time I would have an ‘inbound’ blog tour, and invite people to MY blog, instead.

So, to celebrate the release of my verse novel, Toppling, I am looking for people to visit this blog during the month of March. I am looking for bloggers, authors, readers, teachers, librarians, whoever who would like to blog in response to the topic: What I Like About Children’s Poetry. Because Toppling is a verse novel, it would be great if the post was about verse novels or free verse poetry, but it could just as well be about rhyming poetry. Really, I am looking for a real range of responses.

You are free to post the blog post on your own blog on the same day and, of course, I will link to your blog/website and include a brief bio at the end of your post so you share in the promotion.

If you are interested, please email me your preferred date (between March 2 and March 30), and I will set aside a date for you.

Thanks in advance for joining in the celebration. I’m excited!

Writing Quote of the Week

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It’s been a little while since my last quote of the week (and yes, I do know that it should be weekly to be thus called, but hey, I’m a writer, so am using cretaive license as my excuse). Anyway, without further ado, here is this week’s writing quote, for all who struggle with whether or not they are ‘real’ writers:

How do you know if you’re a writer?

Write something everyday for two weeks, then stop, if you can.
If you can’t, you’re a writer.
And no one, no matter how hard they may try,
will ever be able to stop you from following your writing dreams.
(Charles Ghigna)

Charles Ghigna is a children’s poet, who also goes by the name Father Goose. If you like to write (or read) poetry, you will find his site a wonderful resource.

Have a great Monday.

sallymurphy.com.au