Louise Cusack's Blog, page 6
September 18, 2013
Parrot, sans eyepatch
In honor of International Talk Like a Pirate Day I’d like to share a photo of a gorgeous Eclectus Parrot I met while shopping in tropical Bundaberg, north of Brisbane, Australia. I swear, he was just walking down the street on someone’s arm (no wonder I write fantasy), and the owner let me meet him.
He didn’t raise a feather when I said “Pieces of Eight” (although I’m sure he must have heard that a million times before), he just sat very lightly on my arm and even said “Thank you,” softly as h...
August 28, 2013
The guilty pleasure of solitary writing
I work with writers a lot, helping them hone their stories, find agents and publishers, then guiding them as they launch their books, physically and across social media. So I’m well acquainted with the tasks most authors undertake during various parts of the publication process, and I wonder if readers realize how much ‘work’ away from the actual writing itself, is necessary to produce a successful novel.
This year so far I’ve assessed manuscripts, conducted writing workshops, mentored clients...
June 30, 2013
Goddess & the Geek FREE on Amazon Kindle this weekend
Goddess & the Geek FREE on Amazon Kindle
If you like Big Bang Theory, you’re going to love this award winning novella which you can download for free onto your Kindle this weekend (29 June – 1 July). And if you have time to leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads when you’ve read it, I’d be most appreciative!
February 28, 2013
Why do we read Romance?
I’m happy to admit I’m a sucker for romance, and in the same way that chocolate should be a part of every meal (it is one of the important food groups after all) I’d love to see romance having a place in every story.
Because whether I’m deep into reading sci fi, fantasy or a zombie apocalypse, I still want a hint of a sniff of a love story. Star Wars – where would it be without Han and Leia, not to mention Buttercup and Westley, John Carter and Dejah Thoris, Katniss and Peeta, hell, even Ron a...
September 8, 2012
Launching the ‘Hapless Heroes’ quirky romance series
I’m thrilled to launch my Hapless Heroes series of quirky romances exclusively available on Amazon Kindle. These gorgeous heroes are endearingly inept, yet they somehow still manage to ‘get the girl’. Let me introduce:
Marriage & the Mermaid (novel): Balthazar Wilson wants nothing more than to be married with children, but he can’t seem to find Miss Right. A visit to his widower father at the Wilson family’s historical homestead in coastal Queensland, however, quickly proves to Baz that he has...
July 18, 2012
The Rise of Erotica
I’ve been reading for forty years, writing for twenty, published for ten. I’ve seen erotica come and go, and am a fan of it myself, but it’s never been mainstream before. It’s always been at the back of the bookstore, or purchased online and delivered in brown paper. 50 Shades of Grey has changed all that.
Ereaders like Kindle and iPad gave women (the main readership of erotica) their first opportunity to read it on the lounge or in the train without anyone being the wiser. But who could have...
July 5, 2012
A Day in the Writing Life of Louise Cusack
Today I’m guest blogging at Romance Writers of Australia in theirA Day in the Writing Life of… series. If you’re curious about how and where writers work, this will give you an insight into my personal process:
June 22, 2012
Continuum8, Melbourne: the Australian sci fi and fantasy NATCON
Running late with this: a quick roundup of last weekend’s a fortnight ago’s Australian convention of all things sci fi and fantasy: Continuum8 in Melbourne. A big slice of the Aussie speculative fiction community turned up to hear their favourite authors speak, and my contribution was to sit on panels about fantasy world-building, romance writing, mentoring writers and digital technologies. I also did a reading from my work-in-progress erotic novel (which was fun – my first time reading eroti...
June 2, 2012
My panels at Continuum 8 Conference 8-11 June, 2012
The program for Continuum 8: Craftonomicon, the 2012 Australian National SF Convention in Melbourne from 8-11 June is now online and available to download. I’m on several panels, one of which starts at 10pm at night! I’ll have flown out at 6:30am that morning to get there so I’m imagining I’ll need some caffeine to survive that one. Panels I’m sitting on are:
Writing Different Genders, Sexualities And Cultures – Friday 6pm Our fearless authors delve into the ethics, issues and techniques for w...
May 30, 2012
Destiny of the Light review by Kat at Book Thingo
Great review of book one of my Shadow Through Time trilogy by one of Australia’s top online romance reviewers:
