Category Archives: Random

New Zealand

But in New Zealand???

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It is Saturday morning, and I’m now facing a shift in my sense of reality. Less than 24 hours ago, my world was safe and calm, and my worst worry was how I was going to convince my husband to buy the new lounge suite that I want, or how was the next scene in my manuscript going to play out, or where does one find the money to pay for the writers conference that I want to go to in August.

No, instead, my worst worry has now joined that of many others around world.

Will today be the day that a terrorist takes my son, my daughter or my husband away from me?

On Friday 15th March, 2019, an unknown number of madmen marched into two separate mosques on opposite sides of Christchurch, New Zealand (my home city) and opened fire. They then proceeded to locations north and south of the central city, attempting to evade arrest while causing more acts of terrorism.

For the first time in history, the entire city of Christchurch, New Zealand was on lockdown. All schools, all malls, all businesses closed and locked their doors. Residents citywide were encouraged to stay inside. For nearly 4 hours, an entire city was held to ransom. And what makes it all bizarre… It happened in little, old New Zealand, one of the safest countries in the world. 

Lives have been lost in this senseless madness. Families have been ripped apart by an act driven by hatred. Nothing can make up for that. New Zealand as a whole is now suffering.

Be warned, this is a LONG post, but I had to get it out, because so much is going on in this mind of mine.

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Conversations in Science

End of an Era. Goodbye to ConvoScience.

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It was an incredibly hard decision to make, but I’ve decided to bring the radio podcast ConvoScience (or Conversations in Science, as some know it) to an end. There were many different reasons behind this decision, the biggest of which is a refocus on priorities.

I’m a writer. I’m an editor. I do have knowledge that I like to share, but I should be writing!

Saying that, this is NOT the end of the science from me. Science is in my blood. It’s a part of who I am and my family. I have always had a way of explaining science in a way that others can understand, so that is NEVER going away. Instead of talking it out, I’ll just write it.

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My Wish List for 2019

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The other day, my daughter and I were having a conversation about what it was she would like to do for the coming year. She’s a dancer, and wants to see if she can make a career of her dancing. She is only 13, with the rest of high school to finish first, but she is well aware that if she wants to go professional, she is going to have to work her ass off to be the best out there — and some. The performing arts are just as competitive as the publishing industry, if not more so.

Anyway, I had received an email from her dance school stating that they were holding auditions for the 2019 lyrical competition dance team next week. She’s never been part of a competition team before, because she never seems to have the time. However, when I asked her if she wanted to audition, she said something that hit a little closer to home than she realized.

“I’m never going to make it if I don’t take a risk and put myself out there.”

BAM! The fist hit me in the gut, and she never lifted a finger. She was talking about her own dreams and her own aspirations, yet her words carried a message that was powerful.
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The Thriller Writer at the Romance Conference

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It seems odd that someone who actively writes thrillers, fantasy, and science fiction would attend a romance writers conference. However, for those of us who live in New Zealand, our options for writers conferences are extremely limited. I’m a member of ALL of the national writers organisations (all three of them), and Romance Writers New Zealand (RWNZ) is the only one who is actively doing anything to help its members learn their craft and advance their careers. It’s a sad truth, but a truth none the less.

However, I made the decision to attend the 2018 RWNZ conference back in August 2017 when the lineup for keynote speakers was announced. Shall we say that it was amazing? My mind is still reeling.

I attended the 2017 conference as a presenter, presenting on Scrivener (a word-processing program designed for writers) and on the Hidden Traps of social media and writers’ platforms. At the end of that conference, they announced that among the line up for 2018 speakers was Geoff Symon, a real-life forensics investigator. I really didn’t care who else was on that list. The moment I heard forensics… “I’m going!” How often do you get the opportunity to pick the brain of a forensics investigator with over 20 years of experience?

I will admit that I was dubious about what I would pick up at the conference in the other sessions, wondering if the forensics session would be it. But I went with an open mind, and now that mind is overflowing with information that it’s struggling to take it all in. The forensics session was awesome, but the sessions on intimacy, character and dialogue… Wow! Just wow!

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Police, Death, and Writing

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On December 27, 2017, I started penning my crime thriller where a writer encounters a sinister website that leads to a game of cat-and-mouse with a serial killer. The idea was bouncing around in my head for two full years before I eventually started writing anything. All I had was the opening scene and the closing scene. Now, for obvious reasons, I have so much more.

However, as part of writing this novel, I’ve had to do extensive research into how Atlanta PD does things, how they’re structured, as well as getting my head around some interesting aspects of US law and criminal investigations. It’s been a testimonial to my mad research skills, because I live in New Zealand, and almost all of my research has been via the internet, and the occasional reference book. My research led me to police department websites, FBI public pages, state department documents, forensics magazines, YouTube channels for various cops, and a whole range of other resources. In some cases, I had to make generalizations, using what only made logical sense. In other cases, I was able to pull on specifics. Regardless, I was learning something new every day.

Stories need to contain that element of real, and I think I got there. However, as every writer knows (or at least they should know), not all research will find a manuscript. Sometimes, the writer needs to know that little detail just to add the realism, but the reader doesn’t get all the knowledge.

Below is just some of the interesting facts that I’ve discovered along the way. Some of them have found the manuscript; some have not. Read More→