Natasha Lester's Blog, page 8

It's Publication Day! Time to Say Thank You.

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I think I’ll let the video do most of the talking, other than to say if you’re interested in finding out more about The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard, you can click here. And if you’re interested in finding out more about my book tour events, you can click here.

I know it’s a lot about me and not much else today, but if publication day isn’t a day when you can talk about what you’ve done, then I don’t know what is! I promise that next month, the usual Monthly Digest will be back.

No...

The Magazine: September Issue

With one week to go until THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ASTRID BRICARD lands in bookshops, it’s hard not to feel torn between hyperventilating, hiding and celebrating! No matter how many times you’ve done this, pre-publication nerves are a real thing and we authors fixate on everything from whether a bad review is coming our way or whether our events will have to be cancelled because nobody books tickets. But I’m also determined to celebrate because writing a book is a long, exhausting, glorious, messy a...

On Success, Taylor Swift and Making it Last

It’s been terrible weather in Perth this week, and I haven’t been able to go running outside; I’ve had to run inside of the treadmill instead. While I love running outside, I hate running on the treadmill. To motivate myself to get on there and do it, I let myself watch Netflix and what I chose to watch was Miss Americana, a documentary about Taylor Swift.

I think Taylor Swift might be a writer’s songwriter – her songs don’t contain lyrics, but stories. So I was predisposed to like the documenta...

August's Monthly Digest: Book Tour Dates (Hurray!), Book Recommendations and How I Get Into the Writing Mindset

Join Me For Lunches, Gin Events, Morning Teas and More!

It’s that time of year where I get to come out from behind my desk and talk to all of my readers about The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard! Unlike the author cliche, I love touring – talking about the book I’ve just spent two years working on is so much fun, and I really enjoy sharing all of my research, the stories behind the book and meeting everyone.

And it’s a big tour this year!

6 states and territories and 17 events – we have gin, champ...

The Magazine: In August, We’re Officially Counting Down, Plus Books, Bombs and Bombshells

How did we get to August! Didn’t I just start writing a new book in January, which was, like, a month ago?! But if it’s August, that means I can now say my new book is out next month - in fact, it’s out in exactly six weeks, so I’d say that also means we can officially start counting down!

Like all of my books, The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard wasn’t inspired by one thing but by three seemingly disconnected ideas coming together in my mind and convincing me I could some how make them into a bo...

August's First Friday Thread: How to Make a Story Work

What makes a story work? What makes a reader prefer The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre, let’s say, to The Paris Secret? Why do some stories grip us and keep us fixed in the world of the book and others make us close the covers and find something else to do?

I wish I knew!

I’m both a reader and a writer and I still can’t precisely say what magical ingredient makes me revel in a book, or if it’s a combination of several magical ingredients or if it’s nothing to do with magic, but just comes down to r...