• Blog

    Sunday at Pam Cook’s Book Launch for Blackwattle Lake

    December 23, 2019

    12/2/2012

    Pam Cook and Monique McDonell at Book Launch for Blackwattle Lake
    Pam Cook and Monique McDonell

    Yesterday I was lucky enough to attend Pam Cook’s book launch of her just-released novel Black Wattle Lake. Te launch was held at the NSW Writer’s Centre which funnily enough is where I first met Pam.

    Pam and I have been in the same writing group for what I’m assured is eight years. That seems impossible to me but I am reliable sources confirm that is the case.

    So for eight years I’ve been with Pam on her journey to publication so I was very, very happy to help her celebrate yesterday.

    There were lots of other wonderful people at the launch who I also happen to like so it was a wonderful day. Lots of members of our writing group were there and it was wonderful to catch up with them. It was also lovely to see the delightful Vanessa Radnidge Pam’s publisher at Hachette Livre who I had the pleasure of meeting back in 2008 when I did the QWC/Manuscript Development course.

    Below are some snapshots from the day…I took lots of photos and I know many many more will be over on Pam’s site.

    Bridget McKern, Pauline Reynolds and Yvonne Louis at book launch
    Bridget McKern, Pauline Reynolds and Yvonne Louis

     

    Angella Whitton, Margaret Wilcox and Terri Green at Book Launch
    Angella Whitton, Margaret Wilcox and Terri Green

    Tanuj, Jules Jones and Angella Whitton at Book Launch

    Tanuj, Jules Jones and Angella Whitton

    Deborah Green, Yvonne Louis, Angella Whitton, Bridget McKern at Book Launch
    Deborah Green, Yvonne Louis, Angella Whitton, Bridget McKern

     

    Vanessa Radnidge and Pam Cook at Book Launch
    Vanessa Radnidge and Pam Cook

     

    Monique McDonell and Jen Tomasetti at Book Launch
    Monique McDonell and Jen Tomasetti. (You’ll always find us in the kitchen at parties!)

     

    Jen Tomasetti as M.C.
    Jen Tomasetti as M.C.

     

    Pam Cook signing copies of Blakwattle Lake.
    Pam Cook signing copies of Blakwattle Lake.

    Comments

    Pamela Cook
    12/2/2012 11:30:28 am

    Thanks for sharing the day and the journey Monique and for posting these beautiful photos.
    Reply
    Monique
    12/2/2012 12:37:21 pm

    Such a pleasure Pam!

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  • Blog

    My lovely writerly weekend

    December 23, 2019

    11/30/2012 0 Comments

    Favel, Monique McDonell and Edwina Shaw
    Favel, Monique McDonell and Edwina Shaw at Breakfast

    I’m feeling very lucky this weekend because I have a couple of lovely writerly events on.
    That doesn’t happen that often really and certainly in the midst of this scorching Sydney heat-wave and the madness that is December it’s a lovely treat.

    This morning I had the great pleasure of meeting up with Edwina Shaw, author of Thrill Seekers and Favel Parrett, author of Past the Shallows. They were both up for awards at last night’s NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. Sadly neither of them took home the gong but what an honour to be nominated!

    I met both women when I did the QWC/Hachette Manuscript Development Program a few years back. Favel is now published with Hachette. Although I’m not, I really recommend any Australian writers out there to apply for the program because it really is an excellent opportunity…I was lucky I also got lots of lovely friends out of it.

    It was lovely to catch-up with both Edwina and Favel and hear about their next projects and what they’re working on. (We did also cover other important topics such as being pale and redheaded, high heels at formal functions and what clothing writers wear (or not) when writing, finding an agent and what happens at a pitch.)

    Tomorrow I get to back this up with the lovely Pam Cook’s bok launch for Blackwattle Lake which she is holding at the NSW Writer’s Centre. It will be a great opportunity to celebrate her publication – also as a result of the QWC/Hachette Development Program.

    For me it will also be a wonderful chance to see members of my writing group The Writers’ Dozen, who no longer attend with regularity as well as those gorgeous regulars who have kept me writing and kept me motivated on my own writing journey.

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  • Blog

    Booked for the Weekend – my personal who’s who!

    December 23, 2019

    9/26/2012

    As you know I’m involved in this fabulous promotion Booked for the Weekend this weekend with seven other wonderful female Australian authors. Some of these ladies I have never met and others I am lucky enough to have a history with.

    Don’t you love that about the internet and cyber-space? The way you can be brought ‘together’ with people you’ve never met.

    So who do I know and how?

    I was lucky enough to spend a week on Bribie Island with the lovely Azra Alagic as part of the QWC/Hachette Manuscript Development Program several years ago. That was one of the loveliest week’s of my life meeting so many gorgeous writers and such a positive creative time for me. It was a time for building life-long friendships. Her book is amazing. I really recommend it! (I’ve interviewed Azra on this blog if you would like more background on her book.)

    I met Anna Hackett at the RWA Conference in Queensland last month, at the Diamonds are Forever Cocktail party to be exact and reconnected with Ainslie Patton there as well, I knew her in another life. It was so lovely to get to know these women. If you know me in real life you know I love to make new friends and reconnect with old ones…in fact that’s probably how you know me!

    I first met Karly Blakemore-Mowle at an RWA Conference several years ago in Brisbane and at the Sydney conference. Lucky me! You can see why these conferences are so great. You get to meet so many other wonderful writers. (I’ve interviewed Karly here as well!) We haven’t overlapped the last couple of years in person so lucky for me there is the internet out there!

    The other writers involved in Booked for the Weekend came to me via these ladies which was wonderful, everyone knows someone. I look forward to getting to know them in person in the future and reading all their books.

    We decided to do this promotion as a way to band together and help each other promote our various projects.

    For readers it’s also a great opportunity to discover new authors in new genres that you might not have tried before, because we’re an eclectic mix so

    Or maybe you’ve been wanting to cheer someone up who is down in the dumps or sick or you want to encourage someone just loves to read…you could gift them one of our books this weekend…for 99c you’d be mad not to.

    Next post I’ll have the covers and links up…do pop back.

    Booked for the Weekend Banner

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