My sister and I are back from our trip – we had a great time, but more on that in a forthcoming post, when I will have some photos to share.
This post is about some other good news: in a lovely piece of timing, I had an email during the week from the fiction editor at Woman’s Day magazine, to say that my short story will be in the issue that will be out this coming Monday, October 11th – which just happens to be my birthday!
Add that to an inspiring trip away and some great location research, and I think it calls for a celebration giveaway, don’t you?
For a chance to win a signed copy of the UK edition of Dark Country, OR, if you already have Dark Country, then a $20 gift voucher from a bookstore of your choice, simply comment in this post, and tell us a) what you thought about the short story, OR b) what place in Australia you’d love to see as a book setting (you don’t have to have been there yourself – this is open to international readers and armchair travellers!)
I’ll randomly draw one winner from the commenters on Sunday, 17th October.
So, let’s hear where you’d like to see a book set – I know where my current book will be inspired by, but there’s still a book to write after that, and after that…. 🙂
Bronwyn, You’re not alone. You share a common birthday with my mother and my partner’s father. Happy Birthday. —- Hope the sister-bonding trip went well.
I’m a ‘b’ type person. We need a location to appeal naturally to USA readers. Somewhere remote, easily locatable (on the Internet), and named to fire imagination. — Have readers feel isolation even before the unexpected chills bones.
Two places come to mind, Mount Dare, SA and/or Rabbit Flat, NT
I already know your short story will be great so I’ll go for a setting. I think there’s a whole new fad ready to go gangbusters and leading the chragre is the new TV show “Keeping up with the Joneses” (how do you spell Joneses – blank!) Anyway, I also think the NT somewhere. It’s so Australian (whether you are Aussie or from overseas) and the extremes is what’s most striking about it. Not just hot but sweltering, not just raining but thunderous torrents, not just crocs but bloody big crocs LOL (alsmost as dig as the mozzies.) I lived in Darwin and in Katherine Gorge, so def Katherine Gorge as a setting.
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(Please don’t enter me in the giveaway, I already have both books 😀 )
I just want to wish you a most happy birthday, Bronwyn!
Happy birthday Bron!!
I haven’t been out and about on the blogs of late, and happened to pick up Woman’s Day – random for me – on the train on the way home form work last night and nearly jumped off my seat when I spied your name! Of course then I immediately text all my nearest in dearest Bron fans and hastened them to buy the mag, then comment to WD on how we want more Bronwyn Parry!
I admire your ability to have my heart racing, my ire up, my breathe to pause, my breathe to resume and a grin to spread from ear to ear all in the space of 1500 words! I didn’t even sip my water, hovering at my lips whilst I read!
I must say thought, they could have done way more justice to your voice and story than the image attached (just didn’t appeal to me or reflect the words at all!!!)… but others may well love it!
Sounds like you have had a wonderful few weeks, and I look forward to the next BP short story!
Hope you get some news on your surgery soon…
Amanda x
PS I have your books too!!
I’d love to see a novel set in The Great Lakes area in Northern Tasmania. Not only are they beautiful and full of wildlife, but you know immediately when you step out of your car how isolated you are. You feel as though you’re out in the wilds, completely cut off from the world. My partner suggested it would be a great setting for a horror novel where people get snowed in with an axe murderer. Or, you know, something else. 🙂 He has a decidedly macabre taste in books.
I’d like to see a story set in the wonderful Otway Ranges in Victoria – some areas are so wonderfully remote and the landscape is breathtaking – you would find plenty to write about there
Alice Springs has a lot of character, an amazing place with resilient and imaginative (ie Henley-on-Todd in a bone-dry river!) people, interesting history and great natural wonders nearby. A lot of scope for a really good romantic mystery!
Wow, who knew you could fit so much into such a short story?! I was going to read it today, but caved and read it in the early hours before going to bed last night. Now, if you ever feel like turning your short story into a book…
I’d love to see a book set somewhere that’s a little different to the image of Australia the tourism board tries to promote. Somewhere cooler and maybe a bit mountainous (though we don’t have any real mountains, you get what I mean!) and just a bit different to what tourists expect.
Without a word of a lie, October 11th is my birthday too! So happy birthday to us.
It’s interesting that I live in the NT, and have lived long-term in Tasmania, and both are popping up as possibilities for a setting. Maybe I go for wild and woolly places.
I choose the Port Arthur peninsula as a setting for a novel – it’s a chilling place, haunting and scary, and destined to re-emerge as we found with the Port Arthur massacre. I’m getting shivers down my spine already ……..
Thank you for the birthday wishes, everyone, and for your great suggestions about places to set a book 🙂
Eric, I haven’t been to Mt Dare yet, although my DH has been. Maybe we’ll get there on our next trip out that way.
Jenn, I loved Katherine Gorge! It’s been a long time since I was there, though (and next time I go I don’t want to have to replace a dead sump in the car… although that could be a great way to strand some characters!)
Amanda, glad you enjoyed the story! It definitely was a challenge, working out how to fit a beginning, middle, and end, and romance and suspense, into so few words! Re the image, I know how hard it can be to find just the right image amongst stock images, but that one grew on me fairly quickly 🙂
Katherine, I’ve not been to the Great Lakes – yet! Another one that’s on my (long) list. Snowing in my characters with a murderer – some definite possibilities 🙂
Bron, I love the Otway Ranges, too, although I haven’t spent as much time there as I’d like. Lots of places to hide a body – or for villains to lurk!
Val, I’d love to spend more time in Alice Springs. It’s been 20+ years since I was last there, so I’m guessing it’s changed a lot since then. Would love to go back!
SN, at least, being a short story, it probably didn’t keep you awake too late! Once I had the idea, I felt confident I could probably make it work in such a tight wordcount… but the characters very quickly grew on me, and yes, I’d love to give them a full book!
Deb, hope you had a great birthday, twin! Both NT and Tasmania are special places, each in their own way. I’ve always liked out-of-the-way places more than cities, and there’s an invigorating challenge in getting far away from the urban life. I can see I’m going to have to plan some more trips – I haven’t been to Port Arthur, but I understand it’s a very atmospheric place!
I’d love to read a book set in the snowfields of Victoria. I used to go skiiing in Falls Creek as a child and have fond memories of it. The ski chalets, the slopes, skiing when it’s snowing, making a snowman with my family. It would make an awesome book setting.
I’d love to see a book set in the Gold Coast in Queensland because it’s so beautiful there with all the theme parks.
You’re correct – it didn’t take me long to read!
Short stories are evil things; it’s harder to make a story work in such a short space of time. I have horrible memories of having to write them at university. I don’t know how you do it!
Di, I love the Victorian High Country. I’ve been through there a few times, and would love to explore it further. But I’ve never tried skiing – I’m sure I’d fall over many times, and I’m not into pain!
Belinda, I can see lots of possibilities for MovieWorld – Marilyn and Elvis tracking down a murderer 🙂 Althoug I confess that MovieWorld is the only theme park I’ve been to there, and only for a dinner. I did go to SeaWorld once – but that was around the time we were in 6th grade, so you know how long ago that was 🙂 I suspect its’ changed a lot since then!
SN, if I can come up with an idea that’s doable in a few words, it’s fun. My trouble is coming up with ideas that don’t need 100,000 words!!