Louise Zedda-Sampson's Blog, page 8
December 25, 2019
Valentine's Day Love
I'm pleased to announce I'll be co-editing the anthology Burning Love and Bleeding Hearts: Dark and Dangerous Valentine's Day Tales with award-winning author Chris Mason to be published by Things in the Well Publications due for release on Valentine's Day. This is a charity anthology and all proceeds will go to victims of the Australian bush fires.
From the call out page: "The theme is Valentine’s Day, so we’re after dark, suspenseful, menacing, memorable tales of human love gone wrong, or monster love gone right!" Submission call is for original poetry and flash fiction up to 1,000 words, but reprints and longer works will be considered if they fit the theme.
If you have something you think is a close fit but not quite - please don't self-reject. Send it in anyway. We'd love to read your work.
Submissions are open until the end of January.
https://thingsinthewell.wordpress.com/open-submissions/
Thanks to Luke Spooner for donating this most gorgeous cover design.
From the call out page: "The theme is Valentine’s Day, so we’re after dark, suspenseful, menacing, memorable tales of human love gone wrong, or monster love gone right!" Submission call is for original poetry and flash fiction up to 1,000 words, but reprints and longer works will be considered if they fit the theme.
If you have something you think is a close fit but not quite - please don't self-reject. Send it in anyway. We'd love to read your work.
Submissions are open until the end of January.
https://thingsinthewell.wordpress.com/open-submissions/
Thanks to Luke Spooner for donating this most gorgeous cover design.
November 20, 2019
Publication news
And the good news continues. A passion project I've been working on over the last few years is complete. My article 'Bowl the Maidens Over' will be published in the MCC's member publication The Yorker on Boxing Day. The article is about the first organised games of competitive women's cricket in Australia, starting in 1874.
Many brave women's stories are lost to history and it's been an absolute pleasure to find one that hasn't been told.
Many brave women's stories are lost to history and it's been an absolute pleasure to find one that hasn't been told.
November 11, 2019
Phillip Island Writers Retreat - November 2019
This retreat we ended up with a group of seven. The group consisted of two previous attendees, four new people and me. We had a variety of projects as goals between us - from poems to novels to non-fiction - and came from very different employment backgrounds; all writers at various stages of their careers. But none of that mattered and there were no visible boundaries as we all sat down to work. Friday night we ventured into town (800 m away) and spent a few hours at the Phillip Island Hotel. It seemed everyone who had been staying out of the cold had all turned up at the pub! The meal was fabulous, and so were the cocktails - or so I was told...
It didn't take long for everyone to wind down and relax, and by the end of our fabulous meal, we all knew each other a little bit better.
And by the time we'd walked back to the hotel ... ... we all needed a change of clothes.
The rest of the time was spent at base, working away. We had lunches supplied by Phillip Island Bakery - which were delicious - and were treated to bacon and egg breakfasts and a home cooked meal by the Tropicana motel. It was bitterly cold, but perfect weather to stay indoors and write up a storm.
On the Saturday night after dinner, we even had a chance to sit around next to an open fire and talk books.
Does life get any better for a writer?
It was a great group, great conversations and even better, we all managed to get some great words on the page. Thanks everyone for a super weekend.
September 28, 2019
Next writers retreat announced
The next writers retreat will be held at Phillip Island between 8-10 November 2019.
An outline can be found on the Writers Retreats page. If this sounds like something you are interested in, please contact me for details.
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Publication news
After what seems like a very long time, I have some publication news. This month three pieces of my writing will be published.
The first is my article 'Finding your tribe' which will be appearing in the 30th birthday edition of the Victorian Writer. It talks about how to meet other writers and find those you connect with. Connecting with other writers makes the writing journey less lonely and also helps you grow as a writer. If you are a member of Writers Victoria, you will receive the magazine shortly, if not, it can be purchased here https://writersvictoria.org.au/resources/shop
The other two are drabbles - one-hundred word (and in this case also 200-word) stories of erotic horror.
My stories 'Broken' and 'Something Extra' will appear in the Things in the Well publication Guilty pleasures and other dark delights alongside other drabbles of several award-winning authors and the novella 'Dolls' by Ramsey Campbell.
These were incredibly fun to write. Creating a story that was exactly 100 or 200 words was also an enjoyable challenge.
It's been a good few months, writing wise, and I hope there will be more news on the horizon shortly.
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The first is my article 'Finding your tribe' which will be appearing in the 30th birthday edition of the Victorian Writer. It talks about how to meet other writers and find those you connect with. Connecting with other writers makes the writing journey less lonely and also helps you grow as a writer. If you are a member of Writers Victoria, you will receive the magazine shortly, if not, it can be purchased here https://writersvictoria.org.au/resources/shop
The other two are drabbles - one-hundred word (and in this case also 200-word) stories of erotic horror. My stories 'Broken' and 'Something Extra' will appear in the Things in the Well publication Guilty pleasures and other dark delights alongside other drabbles of several award-winning authors and the novella 'Dolls' by Ramsey Campbell.
These were incredibly fun to write. Creating a story that was exactly 100 or 200 words was also an enjoyable challenge.
It's been a good few months, writing wise, and I hope there will be more news on the horizon shortly.
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September 30, 2018
Realising that there hadn't been a post for the September retreat, I've uploaded a few photos. The one on the left is of attendees at Brunch Cafe in Mount Dandenong - a delightful book cafe where the money for all secondhand books purchased goes to charity and the food was divine - and a few of us actually writing. July 24, 2018
Writers' retreat No. 1
Last weekend I hosted my first writing retreat at Fernglen Forest Retreat in the lovely Dandenong Ranges. Six of us were in attendance, all horror and speculative fiction writers. The attendees were all published authors in either fiction or non-fiction, and in some cases both, and were all looking for a bit of space to write, talk writerly stuff and hang out with other writers. We only scheduled two events and the rest of the weekend was writing time.
The first event was a get-to-know-each-other dinner on the Friday night at a nearby restaurant, the Pig and Whistle Tavern. It just happened to be Christmas in July and we enjoyed three courses of wonderful Christmas fare. The food was fabulous and the service efficient, warm and friendly. We ‘may’ have had a bit too much champagne, but, mission was accomplished as we got to know a bit about each other and what we were working on. As an added bonus to guests, Isabelle Rowan produced the loveliest gift bags. Thank you, Isabelle, they were gorgeous (check out the pics in Rebecca Fraser's blog post).
On the Saturday morning, we were fortunate to have Deborah Sheldon as a guest speaker. Thanks Deb, we all thought you were brilliant. Deb gave us an overview of her impressive 30+year writing career which included screenwriting, researching for TV shows and medical, crime and horror writing. Deb then opened for questions.
Deb was asked questions about markets, her experiences with small and large publishers and agents. We also covered how to manage stories with multiple timelines and how Deb approaches writing a short story and a longer work. Deb explained her own writing process and where she plots and where she pantses, and how she always knows the end before writing her story. And, she delivered all this information with the greatest encouragement making us feel we could all become better masters of our work.
One of Deb’s comments that now sits as an affirmation in the back of my mind is: ‘There is no such thing as a bad idea, only bad execution.’ This one phrase is a great way to manage rejection and not take things so personally, because let’s face it, you put yourself out there with every bit of writing you produce and it’s easy to feel like a failure.
. 
Deb left after lunch, and some of us went for a walk among the trees, with a neighbour's dog... 
Then we all settled in for some writing time. It was cold outside, but we had great heating, great company and whether we wanted to work alone or with others around, we were warm and cosy. 
In the evening, after dinner, we all read out a piece of writing that we had been working on and discussed the positives of the stories and how the stories may have been improved. Everyone was respectful and there was no criticising, as it should be when you workshop another’s work. Then, some of us finished the evening with a spa. It may have only been 3°C outside, but it was 30°C in the water. And nope, I'm not posting the spa photos!
The next day we finished our last little bit of writing, packed up and said goodbye to the cats, the wildlife and the place that had been our retreat for the last two nights, all feeling as though we had made some new acquaintances, learnt a little and become a bit more committed to our craft.
A big thank you to all the attendees for making it such a fabulous retreat, and to Fernglen Forest Retreat for providing such a wonderful venue. If you would like to hear more about this retreat, check out Rebecca Fraser's post where she talks about her experience as a retreat attendee and shares additional pics which include a photo of Isabelle's gorgeous gift bags.
The first event was a get-to-know-each-other dinner on the Friday night at a nearby restaurant, the Pig and Whistle Tavern. It just happened to be Christmas in July and we enjoyed three courses of wonderful Christmas fare. The food was fabulous and the service efficient, warm and friendly. We ‘may’ have had a bit too much champagne, but, mission was accomplished as we got to know a bit about each other and what we were working on. As an added bonus to guests, Isabelle Rowan produced the loveliest gift bags. Thank you, Isabelle, they were gorgeous (check out the pics in Rebecca Fraser's blog post).
On the Saturday morning, we were fortunate to have Deborah Sheldon as a guest speaker. Thanks Deb, we all thought you were brilliant. Deb gave us an overview of her impressive 30+year writing career which included screenwriting, researching for TV shows and medical, crime and horror writing. Deb then opened for questions.
Deb was asked questions about markets, her experiences with small and large publishers and agents. We also covered how to manage stories with multiple timelines and how Deb approaches writing a short story and a longer work. Deb explained her own writing process and where she plots and where she pantses, and how she always knows the end before writing her story. And, she delivered all this information with the greatest encouragement making us feel we could all become better masters of our work.
One of Deb’s comments that now sits as an affirmation in the back of my mind is: ‘There is no such thing as a bad idea, only bad execution.’ This one phrase is a great way to manage rejection and not take things so personally, because let’s face it, you put yourself out there with every bit of writing you produce and it’s easy to feel like a failure.
. Deb left after lunch, and some of us went for a walk among the trees, with a neighbour's dog... Then we all settled in for some writing time. It was cold outside, but we had great heating, great company and whether we wanted to work alone or with others around, we were warm and cosy. In the evening, after dinner, we all read out a piece of writing that we had been working on and discussed the positives of the stories and how the stories may have been improved. Everyone was respectful and there was no criticising, as it should be when you workshop another’s work. Then, some of us finished the evening with a spa. It may have only been 3°C outside, but it was 30°C in the water. And nope, I'm not posting the spa photos!
The next day we finished our last little bit of writing, packed up and said goodbye to the cats, the wildlife and the place that had been our retreat for the last two nights, all feeling as though we had made some new acquaintances, learnt a little and become a bit more committed to our craft.
A big thank you to all the attendees for making it such a fabulous retreat, and to Fernglen Forest Retreat for providing such a wonderful venue. If you would like to hear more about this retreat, check out Rebecca Fraser's post where she talks about her experience as a retreat attendee and shares additional pics which include a photo of Isabelle's gorgeous gift bags.
July 19, 2018
Inaugural Writers' Retreat
In about two hours I'll be heading to the hills with a load of supplies for the inaugural Writers Retreat where six of us will spend a cosy two days writing and having writerly discussions at Fernglen Forest Retreat. The idea came about because someone said, 'Be great to have a writers retreat', and hey presto, months and many hours planning later, here we are. The day is upon us. This particular retreat has 6 attendees and they are all members of the Australasian Horror Writers Association. It should be fun, as long as we don't lose power, in our secluded cabin in the woods ...
This is our schedule:
Friday: After meeting at the retreat venue in the afternoon, we'll have a Christmas in July dinner at a local restaurant. Then it's plotting, chatting and writing - but not too late with the chatting! We have some serious writing to get done.
Saturday: No sleeping-in here! After a cooked breakfast, our guest speaker award-winning author and editor Deborah Sheldon will arrive and talk about her 30 years+ in the writing and publishing industry. Deb will join us for a selection of gourmet pies from the local bakery for lunch, then it's back to writing. Dinner will be a serve-yourself Mexican fiesta and then there's more writing and of course, dessert.
Sunday: Maybe it's a workshopping morning, maybe not. On Sunday we'll play it by ear as it will be the last chance to write before we check out at 12.00 noon. Guests are invited to an optional lunch post weekend at a nearby book cafe, just to end on a writerly note.
It's going to be cold in the hills, but I forecast warm conversation lots of productive writing.
Photo courtesy of Fernglen Forest Retreat.
This is our schedule:
Friday: After meeting at the retreat venue in the afternoon, we'll have a Christmas in July dinner at a local restaurant. Then it's plotting, chatting and writing - but not too late with the chatting! We have some serious writing to get done.
Saturday: No sleeping-in here! After a cooked breakfast, our guest speaker award-winning author and editor Deborah Sheldon will arrive and talk about her 30 years+ in the writing and publishing industry. Deb will join us for a selection of gourmet pies from the local bakery for lunch, then it's back to writing. Dinner will be a serve-yourself Mexican fiesta and then there's more writing and of course, dessert.
Sunday: Maybe it's a workshopping morning, maybe not. On Sunday we'll play it by ear as it will be the last chance to write before we check out at 12.00 noon. Guests are invited to an optional lunch post weekend at a nearby book cafe, just to end on a writerly note.
It's going to be cold in the hills, but I forecast warm conversation lots of productive writing.
Photo courtesy of Fernglen Forest Retreat.
January 20, 2016
A post about being an editee
Hello and welcome to my blog!
As I develop my website I hope to post useful articles and information about writing and editing.
In a way it's fitting that the first post shares the experience of a published author and his view on the editing experience.
I highly recommend a read, and remember - an editor's job is to help your words be the best that they can be.
I hope you enjoy Graeme Simsion's post.
http://graemesimsion.com/?p=660
As I develop my website I hope to post useful articles and information about writing and editing.
In a way it's fitting that the first post shares the experience of a published author and his view on the editing experience.
I highly recommend a read, and remember - an editor's job is to help your words be the best that they can be.
I hope you enjoy Graeme Simsion's post.
http://graemesimsion.com/?p=660
