Writers!
Prepare yourself for a fabulous journey to Greece on Tuesday night, 21 January!
Our first Time to Write guest for 2025, Shelley Dark, is an Art of Writing writer who joined us in Brisbane and Florence in 2024. Right now, Shelley’s book HYDRA IN WINTER is sitting at Number 1 on Amazon’s Solo Travel Writing list.
“When I jet off for two weeks on Hydra, I'm not seeking a sun-kissed Greek island escape; instead, I'm chasing the story of my husband's great-great grandfather—Australia's first Greek convict, and a pirate! Yes, I married into a pirate family, and the quest for the family parrot continues!
Not deterred by cold driving rain and my zero Greek language skills, I begin my search by appealing for help from the local archivists. But as I settle into a shipowner's mansion on the harbour, sample Hydra's fresh seafood and hike the island's hills, the warm hospitality of the islanders transforms my urgent quest into a joyful lesson in slow travel. And it ignites a new passion: writing.”
We can find out about Shelley’s trip to Greece through HYDRA IN WINTER, but what about her journey into the murky world of publishing? Ultimately Shelley decided to self-publish. What made her decide to pivot from traditional publishing to self-publishing? What was the process like for her? What challenges did she face while pursuing the traditional publishing route? Could the pivot from trad to indie be the one some of us should be making?
I know we can all learn so much from our gorgeous Shelley, one of Australia’s emerging bright lights in publishing.
January 21st Shelley Dark: The journey toward the Indie publishing decision.
Buy HYDRA the book here.
We hope to see you every second Tuesday night at 7 pm Sydney, 9 am Italy and 8 am UK for our TIME TO WRITE chats. But remember, ultimately the correct time for your location is up to you. At the moment (until I return to Italy for the European summer) it’s always 7 pm Sydney time! We will start back on Tuesday January 21st with Shelley.
Our early 2025 Time to Write schedule is below. This Zoom invitation is recurring so will not change. Save it! 😊 Then we write together for one hour in silence.
January 21st Shelley Dark: The journey toward the Indie publishing decision.
February 4th Ashley Kalagian-Blunt: Those plot beat decisions!
February 18th: Morag Pringle: Revise, review and re-draft or die.
Break for March 6-9 for the Art of Writing in Brisbane.
Resume April 8th: Paul Daley: Don’t know topic yet. Just had to get him!
April 22nd: To be decided.
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Lisa