Josephine Moon's Blog, page 15
September 20, 2018
Win a Manuscript Assessment with Publisher Ali Watts of Penguin Random House
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Today we welcome wonderful Ali Watts, publisher at Penguin Random House, who has donated her time to raise funds for Buy a Bale and help an aspiring writer at the same time. Here is some information about Ali and what she is offering.
If you have been working on a manuscript and want the chance to win first class feedback and maybe even find your work in front of the right people who can make your dream come true, then make sure you keep following along and bid, bid, bid to win Ali’s attention!
Ali’s offer will be on eBay in the SECOND round of auctions, starting 17 October.
Welcome, Ali!
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Bio: Publisher of commercial women’s fiction and non-fiction at Penguin Random House Australia, and editor of some of Australia’s most beloved authors, including Monica McInerney, Fiona McIntosh and Josephine Moon.
Genres: All areas of commercial women’s fiction, excluding fantasy and sci-fi.
Submission length: up to 50 pages + a synopsis
Communication: Email
Reply time: up to 3 months (but I’ll try my best for 1!)
Auction reserve: $390
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Interested? Of course you are! Stay tuned by following me on Facebook, Twitter or here on this blog to make sure you get all the news in the lead up to this exciting event!
____________________
AUTHORS FOR FARMERS is an initiative by Australian author Josephine Moon (www.josephinemoon.com) to band together fellow authors from around the country to help with drought relief fundraising for Australian farmers. All money raised goes to BUY A BALE (registered charity, http://www.buyabale.com.au).
(Please note: Ebay charges fees for using its platform and these will be will be deducted from the total donation amount at the end.)
September 18, 2018
Win a Manuscript Assessment with Author Michael Trant
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The next of our wonderful Australian authors who has donated his time to raise funds for Buy a Bale and help an aspiring writer at the same time is debut author Michael Trant. Here is some information about Michael and what he is offering.
If you have been working on a manuscript and want the chance to win first class feedback and maybe even find your work in front of the right people who can make your dream come true, then make sure you keep following along and bid, bid, bid to win Michael’s attention!
Michael’s offer will be on eBay in the FIRST round of auctions, starting 15 October.
Welcome, Michael!
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Bio: Michael Trant is a WA country boy now based in Perth, having grown up on the family farm at Eneabba, before moving to Geraldton and then out to Yalgoo. He writes contemporary Australian fiction and his debut novel Ridgeview Station was released in June 2017.
Why are you excited to do this? I received a lot of help from established authors and look forward to be able to do the same for others
Genres: Outback/rural themed works would be my strong point, but I read a lot of fantasy, thriller and horror, though I wouldn’t feel confident offering advice on works where romance is the main plot.
Length: 50 pages. That seems to cover what most agents/publishers ask to see first.
Communication: Email. Face to face would be great if it is practical.
Time: One month. Nothing worse than a long wait for feedback.
Auction reserve: $99
_____________________
Interested? Of course you are! Stay tuned by following me on Facebook, Twitter or here on this blog to make sure you get all the news in the lead up to this exciting event!
____________________
AUTHORS FOR FARMERS is an initiative by Australian author Josephine Moon (www.josephinemoon.com) to band together fellow authors from around the country to help with drought relief fundraising for Australian farmers. All money raised goes to BUY A BALE (registered charity, http://www.buyabale.com.au).
(Please note: Ebay charges fees for using its platform and these will be will be deducted from the total donation amount at the end.)
September 16, 2018
Win a Manuscript Assessment with Author Jenn J McLeod
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The first of our wonderful Australian authors who has donated her time to raise funds for Buy a Bale and help an aspiring writer at the same time is our very own nomadic writer Jenn J McLeod. Here is some information about Jenn and what she is offering.
If you have been working on a manuscript and want the chance to win first class feedback and maybe even find your work in front of the right people who can make your dream come true, then make sure you keep following along and bid, bid, bid to win Jenn’s attention!
Jenn’s offer will be on eBay in the FIRST round of auctions, starting 15 October.
Welcome, Jenn!
____________________
Bio: Australia’s nomadic novelist is best known her four Seasons novels, including House for all Seasons (the #5 Best Selling Debut Novel in 2013). Her fifth novel, A Place to Remember, was published in 2018 by Head of Zeus (UK) and is available world-wide.
Why are you excited to do this? How could I not support this cause? Travelling around the country in a caravan since 2014, I’ve been up close and personal to the challenges country-based communities face every day. The most testing, like drought, are Mother Nature’s doing, while some are man’s doing, like closing down libraries in order to channel funds elsewhere. I love that my small-town bookish tours, and books in general, can bring a little joy and let readers escape. I also love paying forward what I’ve learned about the curious and cryptic biz that is publishing with regionally-based writers.
Genres: Preferred: women’s fiction, romance and family saga
Submission length: Up to the first 30 pages (or so) submitted electronically (preferred): using MSWord (or a compatible text document that uses Track Changes), 12 pt Times New Roman font, A4 double spaced with 1 inch margins) with the following information: working title and genre, intended market (mainstream print/digital only), no. of POV characters, word count (actual or anticipated), a half-page outline/synopsis/blurb.
Communication: Includes reading and general assessment of the manuscript, followed by on-on-one by phone (at a mutually-agreeable time, TBC).
Reply time: Within two months (Submissions via post may take longer.)
Auction reserve: $149
_____________________
Interested? Of course you are! Stay tuned by following me on Facebook, Twitter or here on this blog to make sure you get all the news in the lead up to this exciting event!
____________________
AUTHORS FOR FARMERS is an initiative by Australian author Josephine Moon (www.josephinemoon.com) to band together fellow authors from around the country to help with drought relief fundraising for Australian farmers. All money raised goes to BUY A BALE (registered charity, http://www.buyabale.com.au).
(Please note: Ebay charges fees for using its platform and these will be will be deducted from the total donation amount at the end.)
September 13, 2018
Win a Manuscript Assessment with Sophie Green, publisher at Hachette.
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The first of our wonderful Australian publishers who has donated her time to raise funds for Buy a Bale and help an aspiring writer at the same time is none other than the wonderful Sophie Green (aka Sophie Hamley). Here is some information about Sophie and what she is offering.
If you have been working on a manuscript and want the chance to win first class feedback and maybe even find your work in front of the right people who can make your dream come true, then make sure you keep following along and bid, bid, bid to win Sophie’s attention!
Sophie’s offer will be on eBay in the FIRST round of auctions, starting 15 October.
Welcome, Sophie!
____________________
Bio: Sophie Green is an author, editor and publisher who lives in Sydney. She has written several fiction and non-fiction books, some under other names.
Why are you excited to do this? It’s always wonderful to have the opportunity to see new writing, and as an editor I love having the chance to work on the structure of manuscripts.
Genres: no science fiction, horror or fantasy
Submission length: Any, up to whole manuscript
Communication: Phone and email
Reply time: up to three months
Auction reserve: $390
_____________________
Interested? Of course you are! Stay tuned by following me on Facebook, Twitter or here on this blog to make sure you get all the news in the lead up to this exciting event!
____________________
AUTHORS FOR FARMERS is an initiative by Australian author Josephine Moon (www.josephinemoon.com) to band together fellow authors from around the country to help with drought relief fundraising for Australian farmers. All money raised goes to BUY A BALE (registered charity, http://www.buyabale.com.au).
(Please note: Ebay charges fees for using its platform and these will be will be deducted from the total donation amount at the end.)
September 12, 2018
Manuscript Assessment Opportunities for Aspiring Writers
I have exciting news! Are you an aspiring writer? Now you have a chance to get your work directly into the hands of someone who might be able to help you make your dream come true!
As part of the ‘Authors for Farmers’ fundraising that I’ve been doing for Buy a Bale (raising funds for farmers affected by drought), I have been overwhelmed with generous offers from top Australian publishers and and authors, who are donating their time to look at partial or full manuscripts and offer feedback on its development.
Yes, that’s right, you could get your manuscript in the hands of an actual real life publisher! Aside from three top publishers (Annette Barlow (Allen & Unwin), Ali Watts (Penguin Random House) and Sophie Green/Sophie Hamley (Hachette)), there are half a dozen or so published authors who are also offering their time to look at your manuscript. All these authors have agents and publishers and you just never know… they might decide your manuscript is worth passing onto their people. But at the very least, you can get valuable, personalised feedback on your project.
This is an incredible opportunity!
The manuscript assessment opportunities will be auctioned off via eBay, starting on 15 October, auctioned in three rounds, beginning…
Round 1: 15 October
Round 2: 17 October
Round 3: 19 October
More details to come on each of our wonderful publisher and authors and auction reserves. Stay tuned!
August 22, 2018
Authors for Farmers: 100 Books for $100,000. Final List of Books.
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I’m setting the bar stupendously high and aiming for $100,000 for our farmers. Think we can do it? We’ll never know if we don’t try!
Get your tickets here!
Here is the final list of books in the prize pool:
Josephine Moon
Three Gold Coins + The Chocolate Promise
Nick Earls
Analogue Men
Monica McInerney
Trio of Quinlan novels: The Alphabet Sisters, Lola’s Secret, Trip of a Lifetime, signed
Rachael Johns
Talk of the Town + The Greatest Gift
Katherine Howell
Web of Deceit (US hardback), signed
Nicki Edwards
The Peppercorn Project
Liz Byrski
A Month of Sundays
Karen Viggers
The Lightkeeper’s Wife
Michael Trant
Ridgeview Station
Louise Allen
The Sister’s Song
Annie Seaton
Come Back to Me + Her Outback Playboy
Sandie Docker
The Kookaburra Café
Eleanor Limprecht
The Passengers
Nene Davies
Distance
Aoiffe Clifford
All These Perfect Strangers + Second Sight
Elise McCune
Castle of Dreams
Monique Mulligan
Writing the Dream
S.D. Wasley
The Seventh
Emily Madden
The Lost Pearl
Pamela Cook
Close to Home + The Crossroads
Tess Woods
Beautiful Messy Love
Fiona Palmer
Sisters and Brothers, Secrets Between friends, The Road Home, The Family Secret & The Saddler Boys, The Family Farm
Vanessa Carnevale
The Florentine Bridge + The Memories that Make Us
Christine Wells
The Juliet Code
Love Sabre (Kristine Charles)
Love Sabre Anthology
Helene McCarthy
A Quiet Hero
Katie Rowney
Front Page News
Louise Guy
Everyday Lies
Nadia L. King
Jenna’s Truth
Amanda Knight
Situation Critical
Sally Hepworth
The Secrets of Midwives, The Family Next Door, The Mother’s Promise, The Things We Keep
Kylie Ladd
The Way Back
Susan Johnson
The Landing
Elizabeth Foster
Esme’s Wish
Adele Dumont
No Man is an Island
Cassandra Austin
All Fall Down
Jennie Jones
The House at the Bottom of the Hill
Shirley Patton
The Secrets We Keep
Beth Prentice
Dangerous Deeds
Phillipa Nefri Clark
Jasmine Sea + The Station Master’s Cottage
V.P. Colombo
A Little Bite of Happiness
Laura Sams
Crazy Busy Guilty
Lisa Ireland
The Shape of Us
Kelly Rimmer
Before I Let You Go
Melissa Schembri
How to Find Your Dream Job in 21 Days
Susanne Bellamy et. al.
Hearts of the Town
Anna Daniels
Girl in Between
Reba A Booth
Hosts of Erravilla
Jane Gillespie
Journey to Me
Joanna Nell
The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village
Kate Forsyth
Beauty in Thorns
Racel Watts
Survival
Margareta Osborn
Mountain Ash
Ellie O’Neal
The Right Girl
Michelle Endersby
Awakening Around Roses
Darry Fraser
Daughter of the Murray + Where The Murray River Runs
Amanda Hampson
The French Perfumer + The Yellow Villa
Maddison Michaels
The Elusive Earl + The Devilish Duke
Andy Muir
Something for Nothing
Claire Varley
The Book of Ordinary People
Fleur McDonald
Fools Gold, Suddenly One Summer, What Does a Horse Say?
S.L. Mills
GOM’s Gold
Alicia Gilmore
Path to the Night Sea
Melinda Terranova
Bequeathed
Ben Hobson
To Become a Whale
Mark Brandi
Wimmera
Liane Moriarty
Nine Perfect Strangers
Anita Heiss
Tiddas
Kirsty Manning
The Jade Lily
A.L. Tait
The Book of Secrets
Benjamin Law
The Family Law
Christian White
The Nowhere Child
Dervla McTiernan
The Ruin
Brooke Davis
Lost and Found
Jessica Rowe
Is This My Beautiful Life?
Sophie Laguna
The Choke
Tim Winton
The Shepherd’s Hut
1st prize: 75 books
2nd prize: 15 books + $30 Dymocks voucher
3rd prize: 10 books
Drawn 2 October, 9am.
August 16, 2018
Updated: Authors for Farmers
Giant Raffle
100 Books on Offer with money going to Buy a Bale
Buy tickets here
1st prize: 75 books by Australian authors
2nd prize: 15 books by Australian authors + $30 Dymocks gift card
3rd prize: 10 books by Australian authors
BUY NOW
Authors include: Liane Moriarty, Monica McInerney, Nick Earls, Rachael Johns, Sally Hepworth, Kate Forsyth, Kelly Rimmer, Liz Byrski, Mark Brandi and so many more!
Open to Australian postal addresses only. Books will be posted directly to the winners from the authors. Prize drawn 2 October 2018.
August 11, 2018
WIN 70+ books! GIANT Book Raffle for Drought-affected Farmers
In less than two days, authors from around Australian answered my call for book donations for a giant raffle to support Buy a Bale, a registered charity helping drought-affected Australian farmers. What a beautiful community I get to work in! I’m so grateful for all the authors who have donated books and I know more are still coming in.
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This giant pack of books includes offerings from many best-selling authors, including Monica McInerney, Rachael Johns, Nick Earls, Kelly Rimmer, Sally Hepworth, Kate Forsyth, Pamela Cook, Kylie Ladd, Fiona Palmer, Liz Byrski, Tess Woods, Jenn J McLeod, Nicki Edwards, Susan Johnson, and so many more (including me).
We raised over $4,000 in the first 24 hours of tickets going live and we’ve got a long way to go yet! Thank you to everyone who has already bought tickets. You are supporting a great cause. If you are still to get your chance to welcome more than 60 new book babies into your home, you can go to this link to do so. Tickets are $5 each or 5 for $20. The prize is drawn on 2 October.
Open to Australian residents only (sorry, but the postage overseas would KILL us!). Each author will post their book straight to you and many of them will be signed.
Don’t miss out on this fabulous chance to be inundated with awesome Aussie books!
But wait, want more?! We still have SEVEN manuscript assessments on offer for aspiring and emerging authors. Incredible! Stay tuned for info on how to win your chance to get your book idea in front of an Australian author for feedback.
WIN 60+ books! GIANT Book Raffle for Drought-affected Farmers
In less than two days, authors from around Australian answered my call for book donations for a giant raffle to support Buy a Bale, a registered charity helping drought-affected Australian farmers. What a beautiful community I get to work in! I’m so grateful for all the authors who have donated books and I know more are still coming in.
[image error]
This giant pack of books includes offerings from many best-selling authors, including Monica McInerney, Rachael Johns, Nick Earls, Kelly Rimmer, Sally Hepworth, Kate Forsyth, Pamela Cook, Kylie Ladd, Fiona Palmer, Liz Byrski, Tess Woods, Jenn J McLeod, Nicki Edwards, Susan Johnson, and so many more (including me).
We raised over $1,000 in the first few hours of tickets going live and we’ve got a long way to go yet! Thank you to everyone who has already bought tickets. You are supporting a great cause. If you are still to get your chance to welcome more than 60 new book babies into your home, you can go to this link to do so. Tickets are $5 each or 5 for $20. The prize is drawn on 2 October.
Open to Australian residents only (sorry, but the postage overseas would KILL us!). Each author will post their book straight to you and many of them will be signed.
Don’t miss out on this fabulous chance to be inundated with awesome Aussie books!
But wait, want more?! We still have SEVEN manuscript assessments on offer for aspiring and emerging authors. Incredible! Stay tuned for info on how to win your chance to get your book idea in front of an Australian author for feedback.
June 26, 2018
Gilberta’s Pasta Recipe
If you have read Three Gold Coins you may remember the pasta making scene with Gilberta. The character of Gilberta is a fictional one but she is lovingly named after the real Gilberta (Sangiorgi Nuccitelli Gilberta), who taught us how to make pasta when we were on retreat in Tuscany. Here are some photos and Gilberta’s recipe, as she gave it to us. I have written the method as best I can remember of the great pasta making day.
Gilberta’s Maltagliati Pasta
Ingredients
1 kilogram of Grano Duro Wheat, Type 00 (double zero), plus more if necessary when kneading
10 eggs
Extra water if needed.
Method, part one
Either use a plastic bowl or a wooden cutting board. Make a well in the centre of the flour, add the eggs and fold in with your hands.
If the mixture is too dry, add sprinkles of water if necessary.
Knead until the mixture has the consistency of your ear lobe. It should be stretchy but spring back. Sprinkle more flour if it’s too sticky.
Let it rest for ten (Italian) minutes. This is a good chance to drink some wine.
