The proofs of Undiscovered Voices dropped into my inbox yesterday. Yay! Not just for the fact that this must mean I'm being published, or something, but I get to proofread too! I spotted two mistakes in the introduction and I wasn't even supposed to be checking that bit...

I don't think it will all feel completely real until I have a printed copy in my hands, but a PDF is a pretty good start. I also finally get to read the other winning entries and what do you know - they're really good! How di… Continue

Cross-posted from http://www.chocolatekeyboard.blogspot.com

This week, I went to a SCBWI social. That’s the word ‘I’ and the word ‘social’ in the same sentence, which is usually the sort of thing that causes my boyfriend to protest: “Who are you and what have you done with Anna?”

But reader, I went.

I joined the SCBWI a couple of months ago, and I must confess the move was preceded by a certain amount of hesitation. I googled widely befo… Continue

Just to add to post on authonomy. Also try Bookarmy and Jacketflap sites.

Hi everyone,

It may that I'm stating the bleeding obvious, this has been around for months and like somebody saying 'have you heard of Facebook?' I'm well behind the times, but I really have only just come across Harper Collins' new online network, Authonomy. I saw a reference to it on the York Writer's Weekend website and thought I'd take a look, and well, if like me you've never seen it, I'd recommend a visit: http://www.authonomy.com.

I've copied extra… Continue

Well, I'd been away for a long while and now I'm debating which bit of news to post first.

Okay, good news... I have had a short story accepted, which I'm very excited about. I'd been pulled away from my novel for many short stories. This year I've sent about 6 stories to US e-zine Shimmer and each time they come back saying they really loved it but there was just X wrong with it, etc. It seems that I've been teetering on the edge of a good story, but not actually crossing the brilliant line.… Continue

I've received word that I can go "public" with my good news:

My adult short story "Good Guys" has been sold to Constable & Robinson for inclusion in their March 2010 anthology called "The Mammoth Book of Special Ops Romance."

Now, I realise it's not strictly SCBWI reading material but it's my first sale so I just had to pop over here and be all *glee* about it.

I've put more information about it over on my official author's blog -… Continue

Have a truly spooky time.

Something really crappy happened yesterday - my entire purse with all my cards got nabbed straight out of my bag whilst in Starbucks.

Luckily for me, I noticed it practically immediately, rang hubby dearest who in turn rang the bank and cancelled the cards. It turns out the grimy thieves tried to withd… Continue

Hi there,

Following a recent article submission and acceptance (YEAH!) I received an email from Wendy Dickson of Stories For Children Magazine asking for further submissions and thought it may be of interest to some of you.

If you are interested submission guidelines, and a forthcoming topic planner, can be found at www.storiesforchildrenmagazine.org.

Please note that Wendy Dickson is NOT the editor that submissions should be sent to but… Continue

Like a lot of writers, I keep my rejection slips in a folder, but sometimes I wonder what I'm going to do with them. Mostly, they just depress me and I'm hardly going to brandish a fistful at the first agent or editor who signs me up! The amount of rejections you've received seems to be held as a badge of honour in some circles, in that the more you've amassed before you get published, the better a writer you somehow are. True, you have persisted and triumphed over adversity, but some of those a… Continue