Louise Cusack's Blog, page 10

A significant day

Had one of those days yesterday you wait a decade for.  I signed a three book contract with Pan MacMillan's digital publishing arm Momentum Books.  Early next year they're re-releasing my first fantasy trilogy "Shadow Through Time" into a worldwide market.  My first eBooks.  My first time as an International author.

Back in 2001 when those novels were first released as print books into the Australian territories, eBooks were a novelty and I had no idea that a decade later the world would be...

Writers, happy for no reason

I'm having one of those rare Squee! days where the sun is shining, the ocean is sparkling, a cool breeze is caressing my skin, the birds are singing and even the plants seem happy.  Stupid grin.  Singing.  The whole Disney deal.  And instead of leaving it alone and just enjoying the moment (or the day if it lasts that long) I have to know what made it happen, because it's been a very ordinary morning – just editing draft, liking a particular scene I'd written and thinking there wasn't much...

Writing: when the creative flow is blocked – look out!

Have you ever thought up a perfect put-down, got excited enough about it to rehearse the whole scenario in your mind, then realised you'd never do it?  I'm guessing we all have at some point.  It's human nature to revise situations you were unhappy with and replay them differently, but if you're a writer and you get completely excited about the 'draft scene', you might be on the road to mischief.  In fact, I'd be suggesting you get back to your manuscript asap, because chances are your...

Filling the creative tank: Why writers need time out

What I'm about to say might seem like a no-brainer to writers, but I've got a hunch that for some readers it's going to be fresh news:

Writers can't create in a vacuum.

Time and tools are not enough to create good fiction.   Writers need input if they are to create meaningful output, and let me give you a personal example.  The other day I went to an orchestral concert.  I could have been writing.  I'm currently 'in the zone' and story is falling out of me, so it was a wrench to pull myself...

Enhanced Features for eBooks, help or hindrance?

A recent Publishers Weekly article on enhanced eBooks for children has got me thinking about the whole concept of  eBooks which might feature "original music; the story is read by the author and, much like all of these apps, the illustrations—all based on the artwork in the print titles—on each screen can be manipulated to make sounds or animated with the touch of a finger."

Now these particular eBooks are designed for children and will likely encourage very young readers to keep at it until t...

Pantsers vs Plotters: New scientific evidence?

A recent study by Shawn Nielsen of the University of California has revealed that the contraceptive pill alters the way women recall an emotional narrative.  I hear you saying "What's that got to do with writing?" but bear with me.

Female participants watched two slide shows: one emotionally charged, the other similar but less emotional, and the first thing they discovered was that all the women studied recalled more slides from the emotional story.  No surprises there.  But what did trigger i...

Are all writers stationery sluts?

Or is it just me?

Apologies for the opening crudity, but is there another word that describes so comprehensively the lascivious way writers behave in a stationery shop, let alone if there's a sale on?  Forget Christmas, we want the Back to School sales.  Fondling journals, cooing over different coloured copying paper and insisting on trying out all the pens for the right feel.  It would be downright obscene if it wasn't such a guilty pleasure.

The level of excitement it generates is almost...

Paperbacks vs eBooks – dawn of the Slow Book movement?

Yesterday was National Bookstore Day in Australia, and like a lot of authors around the country I turned up at my local bookstore to say "Thanks for selling our books."  My Dymocks here in Bundaberg were particularly pleased because I came bearing chocolate mud cake, but the more important message was that authors care.  With the demise of bookstore chains and the pressure from eBook sales (which continue to soar) there's a lot of gloom and doom surrounding the future of bookstores.  There's ...

Welcome

FOR READERS

Welcome to my official website. I'm an Australian author of romantic adventures set in lost worlds.  Please select any of the tabs above to find out more about me or about my stories.

FOR WRITERS

Please transfer to my Working with Louise Cusack website where you'll find information about: Manuscript development, mentoring, writing workshops and retreats.

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