Writing - July was an absolutely epic month, for both writing and Paperbark Hill promotions. On Friday I finished my second draft of next year's novel, which I've been listening to (the text-to-speech text function is brilliant!) this weekend. I’ve got two final bridging scenes to write this morning before sending the manuscript to my publisher Annette at Allen & Unwin this afternoon. The working title for next year’s novel is A Place In The Vines. If you'd like more details on what I’ve been writing, reading and my writing process, you can tune into my July interviews on various blogs and podcasts below.
Just Published with Jodi Gibson
Mel Reviews Her Books
Don’t Overdue It Podcast with the Mt Gambier Library
Sunday Sessions with Clare Griffin
Facebook Live with the Global Girls Online Book Club
Gardening - Now that I've completed the second draft of my manuscript, I look forward to spending a little more time in the garden and sowing seeds for spring and summer. We have jonquils, wallflowers, pansies and hellebores currently in bloom, including new white and pink hellebores I’ve grown from seedlings gifted by my friend, Fiona Lowe.
Baking - Winter and baking go hand in hand in our household, with lots of soups and casseroles being cooked on top of the wood fire. Coffee scrolls from Sally Wise’s The Comfort Bake cookbook and cinnamon scrolls from this fantastic recipe have also gone down a treat. I've also been giving Sally's focaccia recipe a hammering, much to the delight of everyone in the house. It really helps me sell the idea of pumpkin soup for dinner to my children!
Rural - The five orphan lambs we welcomed last month are all thriving on bottled milk. They have distinct little personalities and they’re an excellent excuse to go for a wintery walk down the paddock. It's also tadpole season, which means our dining table is now a hatchling nursery for baby frogs. The frogs will be returned to the swampy parts of the paddock once they transform. Tadpole hunting (and watching them develop into frogs) was a special part of my childhood and it brings me great joy to see my children fascinated by the process too.
It's also been a brilliant month for sunrises and another little accomplishment was completing Dry July, a great initiative for a fabulous cause.