My home for the next month!

The time has arrived… I’m off to Australia to write for one month. As this goes out, I’ll be boarding a plane for the first leg of a long journey…

I’ve been to Australia before (see image), and usually I travel straight through; but the journey is tough, so I’ve booked a few days stop over in Singapore on the way.

I’ve never been to Singapore before, so I’m looking forward to some exploring. At least half a day will be dedicated to buying and writing postcards home, as well as visiting the library and a bookshop. Even in cities I seek out nature, so I’m particularly excited by this Southern Ridges walk that I found – 10km of footpaths above the city, connecting several parks!

After that, it’s on to Australia. A month with other writers, focusing solely on my work. It’s an amazing opportunity and I’m so grateful to Tyrone Guthrie Centre for their generosity and support. I’m also grateful to the Arts Council of Ireland for awarding assistance with the flight costs – it’s a big boost and at just the right time.

Writing is, and will always be, a roller coaster of uncertainty. This is an important journey for me on many levels, as the last couple of years have been tied up with writing deadlines and book promotion, and it’s been really, really busy, with no time to sit back and take stock of what I’ve achieved. I’ll soon be out of contract – The Book of Revenge: Nine Lives Trilogy 3 is my last contracted book and is getting closer each day – and so that means soon, I’ll be starting again from scratch.

It’s time to write a new book, hopefully something that a publisher will want to buy, and to go on submission again. But what do I want to write next (I have three first drafts and lots of ideas)? How long will I take (being out of contract will be exciting but also scary)? When will I start (right away or take a break)? Do I stay within the same age group or branch out? Will it be good enough?

Questions like these need to be answered – and there’s nothing like travelling to the other side of the world to do it!

I’ll be blogging once a week from my writing cave and I can’t wait to see what happens. See you in a week or so when I know which way is up!