Debbie Robson's Blog - Posts Tagged "tomaree"
Kotara
Just found out this morning that I sold 12 copies of Tomaree in four hours! Very pleased with myself. I have recently had a woman in Port Macquarie tell my mother twice that she really loved my book and yesterday a woman came and told me how much she had enjoyed Tomaree and so had all the family. She then asked me for my autograph on a slip of paper with my booksigning details. The significance of it didn't sink in till later.
Synchronicities
It's all happening on the final run towards publication. Just today I received a postcard from the BookCrosser Angelbird72 who releases the book The Missing Reel in France. She is now IN FRANCE just as I am now tonight reading over the journal entry releasing the book in France.
I have these last few weeks also just sold all but the last four books of Tomaree clearing the decks for Crossing Paths and hoping to also catch a spot at the Sydney BookCrossing Convention in October.
Just approached Alain de Botton for a kind word about the novel (as two of his books are journalled in his pages). He said no but gave me warm wishes and the very best for publication which was nice.
And now back to the grindstone...
I have these last few weeks also just sold all but the last four books of Tomaree clearing the decks for Crossing Paths and hoping to also catch a spot at the Sydney BookCrossing Convention in October.
Just approached Alain de Botton for a kind word about the novel (as two of his books are journalled in his pages). He said no but gave me warm wishes and the very best for publication which was nice.
And now back to the grindstone...
On Memory
One of the things that drives me as a writer, my passion I suppose you could call it, is to recreate the past incorporating memories of those that were there or there through their parents' recollections. It is very important to me to uncover these personal details that can make the past come alive - because not everything is recorded in history books.
Nine years ago I began interviewing many elderly residents of Port Stephens to help me understand what Nelson Bay was like during WWII for my novel Tomaree. This time I am writing about WWI so I am relying heavily on first hand accounts of people that of course have since died. Luckily, I have though, two helpers who are very much alive: Vera Deacon and Helen Marshall. Both have memories going back to the Thirties and Forties and as Mayfield didn't change too much from 1920 until about 1935 or so, I am able to use a lot of those memories.
Vera Deacon is an island girl. She grew up on Dempsey and Moscheto islands - islands that no longer exist. (They have been covered in slag and turned into Kooragang Island). And Helen Marshall (who helped create the Mayfield walks) http://libguides.newcastle.edu.au/con...
has a prodigious memory going back to around 1933. Helen has been marvellous in helping me map out three walks my main characters Miss Summerville and Adrian Langley take in my novel The Grey Silk Purse. We have had some wonderful discussions about Waratah House and Argyle House, two properties that have been demolished years ago. We have also talked about the colour of Platts Channel, the way a gate faced surrounding Argyle House, also the Black Wharf off Ingall Street and Shelly Beach (both long gone). I only hope I can do her and Vera's memories justice.
Nine years ago I began interviewing many elderly residents of Port Stephens to help me understand what Nelson Bay was like during WWII for my novel Tomaree. This time I am writing about WWI so I am relying heavily on first hand accounts of people that of course have since died. Luckily, I have though, two helpers who are very much alive: Vera Deacon and Helen Marshall. Both have memories going back to the Thirties and Forties and as Mayfield didn't change too much from 1920 until about 1935 or so, I am able to use a lot of those memories.
Vera Deacon is an island girl. She grew up on Dempsey and Moscheto islands - islands that no longer exist. (They have been covered in slag and turned into Kooragang Island). And Helen Marshall (who helped create the Mayfield walks) http://libguides.newcastle.edu.au/con...
has a prodigious memory going back to around 1933. Helen has been marvellous in helping me map out three walks my main characters Miss Summerville and Adrian Langley take in my novel The Grey Silk Purse. We have had some wonderful discussions about Waratah House and Argyle House, two properties that have been demolished years ago. We have also talked about the colour of Platts Channel, the way a gate faced surrounding Argyle House, also the Black Wharf off Ingall Street and Shelly Beach (both long gone). I only hope I can do her and Vera's memories justice.
The Power of Language and using the right words - uploaded to wordpress 16/4/12
I can be a ditz sometimes and very vague as my family and friends will tell you. I recently ordered a coffee whilst in the middle of writing a crucial scene. Fifteen minutes later no coffee. I went up to ask if it was coming and they told me it had been put on my table (behind my laptop) around ten minutes ago. Never noticed a thing! And then today two incidents - both hanging on single words - made me stop and really consider how much we actually take in even when we think we aren't paying attention.
This morning working on a new chapter I ordered a coffee (1/2 strength latte) and a bottle of water. The young waitress was standing by my table holding a bottle of water and she asked me did I want one cup or two. I answered: 'Oh, I've already ordered my latte." She said: "No, the water." I replied. "One glass please (as I was by myself). She put one glass down and I thought: Yep, I am a ditz and went back to my writing.
A moment later she moved to the table nearby holding another bottle of water and several glasses and said: "Did you want two cups." And I realised what had happened. She's obviously been brought up (although she sounded like a regular Aussie) calling glasses cups for some strange reason. For me a glass is what you put wine, water, soft drinks and liquor in. A cup is what you put tea, coffee and hot chocolate in but that was definitely what she called the glasses.
Move ahead to this evening at Brisbane airport. I have arrived and arrangements have been made for me to catch a connecting bus. On my itinerary is the instruction that when arriving at the airport I must report to the service desk of that company to be booked on the bus. Well I spent fifteen minutes looking for the service desk. There were the usual suspects of hire cars and transport companies but not the company I was looking for. I asked two Virgin employees and they had no idea where it was. I showed them my intinerary - no luck. Finally someone directed me outside and what I thought was a bus shelter for the regular buses was a booth with that company's name under the roof.
Yes, I know. If I had put my glasses on I might have seen the name from a distance and walked down there but I didn't because I was actually looking for a service desk which I think to most people's minds is found inside whereas a booth is often outside. Hence my confusion. That's language for you!
A lot of the time of course everything goes smoothly and we don't stop and wonder about such things but when they don't it's amazing how the wrong use of language - in both these instances single words - can lead us astray.
As a writer I am very particular about word usage, especially those particular words that signify and are redolent of an era. In Tomaree I spent quite some time checking up "okay", among other words. (My main character was Amercian.) In researching word usage of WWI for The Grey Silk Purse it is surprising to find that it was common when writing letters and diaries to use "&" for "and". I'm not sure when that stopped. I mean we still do it occasionally but not as consistently as some diary writers from that time.
All this has brought me back to my writing and the question: Am I chosing the right words - the most effective words - to convey my story and weave a convincing web around my readers? I hope so! What I can safely say is that after today I'll be extra careful!
This morning working on a new chapter I ordered a coffee (1/2 strength latte) and a bottle of water. The young waitress was standing by my table holding a bottle of water and she asked me did I want one cup or two. I answered: 'Oh, I've already ordered my latte." She said: "No, the water." I replied. "One glass please (as I was by myself). She put one glass down and I thought: Yep, I am a ditz and went back to my writing.
A moment later she moved to the table nearby holding another bottle of water and several glasses and said: "Did you want two cups." And I realised what had happened. She's obviously been brought up (although she sounded like a regular Aussie) calling glasses cups for some strange reason. For me a glass is what you put wine, water, soft drinks and liquor in. A cup is what you put tea, coffee and hot chocolate in but that was definitely what she called the glasses.
Move ahead to this evening at Brisbane airport. I have arrived and arrangements have been made for me to catch a connecting bus. On my itinerary is the instruction that when arriving at the airport I must report to the service desk of that company to be booked on the bus. Well I spent fifteen minutes looking for the service desk. There were the usual suspects of hire cars and transport companies but not the company I was looking for. I asked two Virgin employees and they had no idea where it was. I showed them my intinerary - no luck. Finally someone directed me outside and what I thought was a bus shelter for the regular buses was a booth with that company's name under the roof.
Yes, I know. If I had put my glasses on I might have seen the name from a distance and walked down there but I didn't because I was actually looking for a service desk which I think to most people's minds is found inside whereas a booth is often outside. Hence my confusion. That's language for you!
A lot of the time of course everything goes smoothly and we don't stop and wonder about such things but when they don't it's amazing how the wrong use of language - in both these instances single words - can lead us astray.
As a writer I am very particular about word usage, especially those particular words that signify and are redolent of an era. In Tomaree I spent quite some time checking up "okay", among other words. (My main character was Amercian.) In researching word usage of WWI for The Grey Silk Purse it is surprising to find that it was common when writing letters and diaries to use "&" for "and". I'm not sure when that stopped. I mean we still do it occasionally but not as consistently as some diary writers from that time.
All this has brought me back to my writing and the question: Am I chosing the right words - the most effective words - to convey my story and weave a convincing web around my readers? I hope so! What I can safely say is that after today I'll be extra careful!
The Next Big Thing - The Grey Silk Purse
This blog was originally posted on wordpress on 21/1/13.
1) What is the working title of your current/next book?
My current work in progress is entitled The Grey Silk Purse and is set in 1917/1918 Serbia and Mayfield, Newcastle in 1920/1930.
2) Where did the idea come from?
Several years ago whilst doing book talks for Tomaree, a bookseller showed me a card advertising a New Year's Eve party at the Trades Hall, Newcastle for 1930 run by The New Moon Dance Club. Whilst searching for more info about the mysterious club I came across a November, 1922 ad: "Lost yesterday Lady's handbag between Elizabeth & Henry Streets, Tighes Hill along Port Waratah tramline or left in 6.42pm Port Waratah tram from Newcastle, contains 6 pounds, metal season railway ticket, keys etc. Finder handsomely rewarded on return to Miss Summerville, Room 5, Carrrington Chambers, Watt Street."
I kept the name Miss Summerville but couldn't find Carrington Chambers. Somehow I made the jump from there to my current project.
3) What genre does your book fall under?
Historical fiction
4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
Strangely I have no idea for this one. I cast Crossing Paths though. The main characters were played (in my head) by Rose Byrne, John Cusack, Rupert Penryn-Jones, Miriam Margoyles and Helen Mirren (in an uncharacteristically timid role).
5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
It is January 1920 and Miss Summerville living in a beautiful house in Mayfield, Newcastle begins a diary detailing how, after a long illness, she has woken up and can't remember the last two years of her life.
6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I hope to finish the manuscript very soon. (I'm on the second last draft now.) I'm determined to find an agent and a mainstream publisher and that is my goal for 2013.
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft?
Much longer than Tomaree. Approximately two and a half years.
8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
The Winter of the World by Carol Ann Lee
The Soldier's Song by Alan Monaghan
Armistice by Nick Stafford
9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Heroic Australian women from both world wars, including Olive Kelso King, Alice Kitchen, Vivien Bullwinkel and Nancy Wake.
10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?
Hopefully the wonderful Scottish Women's Hospitals who ran 14 field hospitals during WWI. Many of their doctors, nurses and orderlies were Australian, including Stella Miles Franklin who worked at the Ostrovo Unit in Serbia, the unit featured in The Grey Silk Purse.
I'm now tagging three people to keep this meme going. They are:
Matthew Glenn Ward @ Matthew Glenn Ward
Anthony Wood @ Want For Words
Janna G. Noelle @ The Rules of Engagement
Happy writing!
1) What is the working title of your current/next book?
My current work in progress is entitled The Grey Silk Purse and is set in 1917/1918 Serbia and Mayfield, Newcastle in 1920/1930.
2) Where did the idea come from?
Several years ago whilst doing book talks for Tomaree, a bookseller showed me a card advertising a New Year's Eve party at the Trades Hall, Newcastle for 1930 run by The New Moon Dance Club. Whilst searching for more info about the mysterious club I came across a November, 1922 ad: "Lost yesterday Lady's handbag between Elizabeth & Henry Streets, Tighes Hill along Port Waratah tramline or left in 6.42pm Port Waratah tram from Newcastle, contains 6 pounds, metal season railway ticket, keys etc. Finder handsomely rewarded on return to Miss Summerville, Room 5, Carrrington Chambers, Watt Street."
I kept the name Miss Summerville but couldn't find Carrington Chambers. Somehow I made the jump from there to my current project.
3) What genre does your book fall under?
Historical fiction
4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
Strangely I have no idea for this one. I cast Crossing Paths though. The main characters were played (in my head) by Rose Byrne, John Cusack, Rupert Penryn-Jones, Miriam Margoyles and Helen Mirren (in an uncharacteristically timid role).
5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
It is January 1920 and Miss Summerville living in a beautiful house in Mayfield, Newcastle begins a diary detailing how, after a long illness, she has woken up and can't remember the last two years of her life.
6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I hope to finish the manuscript very soon. (I'm on the second last draft now.) I'm determined to find an agent and a mainstream publisher and that is my goal for 2013.
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft?
Much longer than Tomaree. Approximately two and a half years.
8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
The Winter of the World by Carol Ann Lee
The Soldier's Song by Alan Monaghan
Armistice by Nick Stafford
9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Heroic Australian women from both world wars, including Olive Kelso King, Alice Kitchen, Vivien Bullwinkel and Nancy Wake.
10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?
Hopefully the wonderful Scottish Women's Hospitals who ran 14 field hospitals during WWI. Many of their doctors, nurses and orderlies were Australian, including Stella Miles Franklin who worked at the Ostrovo Unit in Serbia, the unit featured in The Grey Silk Purse.
I'm now tagging three people to keep this meme going. They are:
Matthew Glenn Ward @ Matthew Glenn Ward
Anthony Wood @ Want For Words
Janna G. Noelle @ The Rules of Engagement
Happy writing!
