Noelene Jenkinson

BARRATT'S RUN COVER

2012-02-21T08:39:00.000+11:00

I have just received the gorgeous cover art for my Australian saga, BARRATT'S RUN, coming out in April from Whiskey Creek Press. Not long to wait now.

UPCOMING NOVELS

2012-02-01T09:26:00.000+11:00

I have just posted on the Pocketeers blog about the settings in my upcoming novels.
You can jump to the link here Pocketeers blog post . Enjoy!
And I will keep you posted about my historical novel coming out in April with Whiskey Creek Press. At present, I understand cover art is being done so will post an image of the cover when it is available.

Advent Heroes

2011-12-05T06:56:00.003+11:00

The Pocketeers are posting up an Advent Hero for each day of December until Christmas. Call on over and check them out. http://www.thepocketeers.blogspot.com

FREE EBOOK

2011-12-01T14:23:00.005+11:00

My first published novel OUTBACK HERO is now FREE on Smashwords in all formats including Kindle and from Amazon Kindle Store online for the Christmas month of December. All my other backlist of ebooks have been reduced. Don't you just love the silly season? :)

The Joy of Setting

2011-11-23T11:32:00.000+11:00

Perhaps because I have a deep love of nature, adore the sound of rain slashing down outside [living in a dry climate, every drop is appreciated!] and am fascinated with geography and the countries and places of the world, setting is important to me in both reading and writing novels.

Living in Australia, I am blessed with some of the most beautiful and dramatic scenery anywhere in the world. Not much surpasses our fabulous l-o-n-g sandy beaches and dramatic waves pounding onto the shore. I like nothing better [when I get the chance - I live inland] than walking for miles along the seashore with the wind in your face, feeling the ocean's exhilarating power beside you and being uplifted.

In my own novels, I have shamelessly showcased many scenic and inspiring Aussie locations. My first Pocket Novel, OUTBACK HERO, was set in my own cereal farming district in Victoria complete with crumbling homestead, bushfire and a happy ending. STARTING AGAIN was set among the green Gippsland lakes of eastern Victoria. A WHIRLWIND ROMANCE and NANNY WANTED were set in Melbourne, my home State's capital city. OCEAN BLUE is set on a fictional island in Australia's national jewel, the Great Barrier Reef.

[Both of these views were taken in the region where I live.

Top: Looking across to the Grampians mountains

Bottom: view from Mount Arapiles, a rock climbing destination for enthusiasts]

My most recent novels, LOVING LUCY by Avalon Books and WOMBAT CREEK, a My Weekly Pocket Novel, were respectively set in my country Victoria hometown and in the lush pastoral sheep grazing country of the Western District south of where I live near the wool town of Hamilton.

My future Pocket Novel romance projects will be a series of trilogies set in a former gold mining village in the hilly north east of Victoria around Beechworth, along Australia's magical coastline, and in the outback highlighting the "big three" in Australia: sheep, wheat and cattle, set in South Australia, the West and Queensland to feature them.

[Typical view of outback Australia. Gorgeous huh?]

As a reader, I love settings of both cosy and exotic places. So, vicariously, I have been to Asia, England, Malta and Venice ... you get the idea. If a novel blurb mentions the setting - as it should - that alone may enthuse me to dip into the story and see what I can learn and where I can go. I also adore reading historical novels and soaking up another era; always a fascinating journey.

I would love to hear about your favourite or most memorable place.

A RECENT INTERVIEW

2011-11-01T06:55:00.001+11:00

I was interviewed recently on the Romance Writers of Australia blog. Check it out...
http://romanceaustralia.wordpress.com/2011/10/28/a-day-in-the-writing-life-of-noelene-jenkinson/#comments

OTHER INTERESTS

2011-10-16T10:55:00.000+11:00

As authors, we don't just write. We also have other loves and interests. Aside from writing and reading, my two major enjoyments, I have creative hobbies that I dip into when I need to take a break from my writing world.

Music is a great joy for me and I can lose myself for an hour or so each week playing my electronic keyboard organ. I learnt piano as a child at primary school but only for a couple of years. The classical music chosen to play didn't particularly engage me so I played popular songs by ear. With the advent of double keyboard organs, I invested many years ago in my first Hammond which played gorgeous music. Sadly, I sold it when our girls were teenagers and sought a more modern single keyboard. I never could get the hang of it but my daughter managed it beautifully and still has it.

That was about a decade ago. In more recent years, on a visit to friends in central Queensland, my love of music was - thankfully - rekindled. Our friends owned both a piano and double keyboard organ which I ended up playing and dipping into again. Only then did I realise how much I missed it. Within months, I had visited a music store to see what the latest offerings and prices were, and walked out of the shop owning one. Fortunately, I had kept all my modern sheet music songs. Something in my heart would not let me part with them, so I started playing again and fiddling with and managing all the settings on the organ. What heaven! Music is so uplifting to the soul and, for me at least, like my writing, it takes me away almost to another universe. The mind is fully absorbed and the heart goes with it. Such joy.

Another major draw for me when I need to take a mental break is cardmaking. I became interested while wandering craft shops with my daughter in Melbourne some years ago. As she fossicked for her scrapbooking elements, I found my interest drawn to the cardmaking section and started buying up stickers and pretty fronts. Bought my first pack of blank cards and got started that way. My first efforts, of course, were like my novels. Probably best forgotten but with time and patience, browsing crafts shops and the internet - bless it! - I started searching for better and prettier cards to put together.

I have discovered my all time love in cardmaking is putting together 3D or papertole designs. There is a local cardmaking shop in my town in a private home open briefly for an hour one day a week. Not enough for me, so I've started trawling the internet. I've found one on Bribie Island which I visit when I go up and stay with my daughter in Brisbane once or twice a year, and there are one or two other Australian websites and also in the UK from which I order. There are some awesomely beautiful designs to make up and the challenge now, of course, is to always find something new, something different to create.

I have built up such a supply of cards - there are only so many you can give to family and friends - that I have been asked to have a craft table at a spring garden day next month to sell them. Along with my published books. A heavenly combination really.

I know we authors are mostly obsessed with writing as full time as our individual lives allow, but there comes a time when you need to get outdoors or the novel isn't going well, or social commitments interrupt. I would love to hear what other authors do in their spare time. Your interests, hobbies, loves etc. I am sure they are as varied as the types of fiction we write.

HOW I WRITE NOVELS

2011-09-15T16:18:00.000+10:00

A thousand humble apologies for not getting to my blog sooner but I always knew August was going to be a busy month with many family commitments scheduled and now complete. So, for me now, it's back to work...

Bearing in mind that I write both modern romances and historical fiction, my method of developing the stories for both is pretty much the same. Apart from the far deeper research needed for my historicals, there is always information needing to be sought for all of them. Depending on what topics I aim to include within the story, and, for the historicals, what era and setting I plan to cover.

I never have trouble thinking of story ideas. I have a number of romance trilogies planned and at least 10 historical novels, both Australian and Medieval England settings. They seem to spawn in my brain without much prompting. A writer's mind never sleeps, it seems.

Because I am a plotter and an organised person by nature, that is how I approach my novels. I usually start with a character and setting, develop that person's issues and delve into their background to expand the story line into scenes. There will always be a number of "must have" scenes and the story itself progresses around that. This is the thinking phase I'm not really keen on but it has to be done. Once completed, I usually stick to the scene order and my greatest joy always is in researching the background for whatever occupation or industry needs to be explored and revealed within the plot.

For example, my latest modern romance, WOMBAT CREEK, has alpacas raised by the heroine so it was heaps of fun trawling the internet and reading up on them, their breeding, their natures and how to care for them. I learnt heaps and found lots of firsthand reports that added to the reality of inclusion in my story.

In LOVING LUCY, my heroine works for UNICEF in Indonesia so I needed to do geographical research for the region where part of the novel was set. I love learning about the world. Any excuse to bone up on another country, really. Because Lucy had taken a girl under her care as a result of the tsunami that hit there some years ago, I refreshed my memory through research on the details and statistics of that event so I could slide them into the story.

As a reader, I love to learn about another country, another culture, some occupation or industry that I haven't personally had experience with that might interest or fascinate me for whatever reason.

So after all this wonderful reading, research and planning stage in the beginning, then comes the first draft. The "planting backside on chair" phase that absolutely demands discipline. I am always stunned by where the words come from but the characters dash about in my head and I just get their words and actions down on paper. My first draft is always done long hand and then typed into the laptop. Sounds tedious but my hand can keep up with my thinking brain - usually a steady plod - so it suits me fine.

Research for my historicals, of course, entails wide reading in my chosen era. For example, I am currently writing the first draft of the first novel in a series of six Australian sagas. I adore historical research reading and make copious notes on actual social life around the time period that usually fills more than one A4 Marbig folder. At the moment, whilst writing saga 1, I'm researching saga 2. And literally have stacks of research books piled up behind me on my bookshelf bench ready to be read through for the necessary research for each book as I get to it.

Always love to hear from my readers about what aspect of my books they might have particularly enjoyed. And fellow writers. How you write, what settings attract you and why. How you develop your own books.

Have a great writing day.

RECENT RELEASES

2011-07-13T12:21:00.012+10:00

Just received my author copies of my latest modern romance, WOMBAT CREEK. Love, love, love the cover. Very faithful to the story and realistic to its Australian setting. It is a My Weekly Pocket Novel and available from newsagents.

My modern romance, LOVING LUCY, is also now just released in large print from Thorndike Press. It is available at The Book Depository and Amazon or the publisher's website.

BARRATT'S RUN release date

2011-07-11T14:53:00.012+10:00

I have a release date of April 2012 for my Australian historical novel, BARRATT'S RUN. I will post a cover picture when I get one.

My Writing Life at the Moment

2011-06-20T15:43:00.001+10:00

I'm sure there is a conception that authors put their heads down every day and beaver away, or to use a comparable Aussie-ism, wombat away. The reality is probably far removed. Yes, I try to set a daily quota and mentally set myself a target of books I want to achieve each year which I usually achieve BUT ... [you knew it was coming, didn't you?]

LIFE intervenes. Trouble for me lately is that the whole world is breathing down my neck to interrupt my progress and make my work harder. And make no mistake, a first draft is HARD WORK. For me, it's the part of the writing process I dislike the most and the one I postpone as long as possible. But, that said, I do need time prior because I'm a plotter. I need to get to know my story people in my head and on paper, and my scenes mostly sorted, and any initial research done.

"HOWEVER"...she said, growling deeply, the words are still agony to produce. Perhaps because of all the said above unscheduled intrusions they are coming more slowly. Perhaps because it's an historical novel and I need to keep track and be aware of the historical truths and elements to include. Perhaps it's because I'm a slow writer anyway. I don't know. But this novel, an Australian historical, is trickling from my pen. Doesn't help that it's twice the length of one of my modern romances.

Talk about unexpected distractions. We've had very distant cousins call in on their travels up through "The Centre" for the winter. People staying in the house, and you know what that means. Scramble around to actually clean the place. I mean, housework. Who does it? Who needs it? As soon as you do it, it needs doing again. At least I knew the house guests were expected and wasn't caught out with as much dust and clutter as usual. At least I can shut my office door.

Then a favourite elderly aunt telephoned so I set aside at least an hour, and there's the odd social lunches. Well, one has to eat so I guess that's no hardship and someone else is preparing the food. Bonus. But this all takes time out of your life. And it always seems to come at once. I have three writing days this week then more visitors. Then it's the weekend and we head off to visit family, then we fly off to visit more family in Queensland for two weeks. Why do they live so far away?

I don't regret any of this. My whinge and point is - we need to keep our mind focused on the big picture, work through it all. Keep that quota of pages coming each day, or most days - even if it's the crappy first draft. And believe that what we're producing is even remotely worthwhile. And that takes discipline. Authors usually work at home, some at a table in a street cafe, some on their laptop in a lounge chair. Personally, I can't write with music and need utter silence so I'm happy to be a hermit in my office for my hours each day. However we write, the task is to get those words on paper. Through LIFE which is unavoidable and going on all around us.

The biggest challenge is when you get to the stage, no matter how much you love writing or what life throws at you, that you have to force yourself to the task, sit your butt down on a chair, and simply write regardless. Books don't write themselves. They're WORK. It takes dogged determination but it has to be done or we simply don't achieve. And that's the bottom line. The desire to achieve and finish that project. And when it's done and you type The End, all the difficulty and angst is worthwhile.

Because then you have words on paper. But, of course, that first draft is only the beginning... <sneaky smile> Even the most experienced of authors know they need rewrites. But that's a part of the process that I love so it's never a chore and it means you have that dreaded first draft behind you.

Okay, rant finished for the day. Just needed to vent and put it out there that the writing life is not all glamour and book sales. <cough, cough> So I guess now I've finished this blog and can delay no further, I have no excuse but to get back to that dreaded draft. <sigh> Chocolate, someone, please!

4* Book Review for LOVING LUCY

2011-06-16T08:49:00.000+10:00

I have received a great and comprehensive 4* book review for my latest modern romance LOVING LUCY by Mandy the bookworm on her blog. Really chuffed. You can read it here.
http://mandythebookworm.wordpress.com/books/book-reviews/loving-lucy-by-noelene-jenkinson/

My new Kindle

2011-06-06T16:19:00.002+10:00

Bless it, I received my yummy new Kindle for my birthday recently. I didn't actually send out hints but I do seem to recall blathering on about it for months so my idle ramblings didn't go whizzing straight between the listener's ears after all. Good to know.

Since epublishing all my backlist [oh, come on, a little shameless plug doesn't do any harm - do check them out on Kindle and Smashwords], the eworld is of much more interest. The explosion of reading material in this format seems to have taken off just in the last couple of years. Where once it was perhaps seen as the avenue of the author desperate to be published, and some may still view it in that light, it is now the format that writers and novelists like myself with already published novels are taking advantage of to transform their stories into a new and exciting medium so that readers and fans who perhaps hadn't heard of that author or missed getting hold of a title, for example, if out of print, can now find it available.

Before deciding that a Kindle was my ereader of choice, I scoured the electronics departments of many stores. As well as fiddling with some myself and receiving half hearted help from shop assistants, it was simply the huge praise and positive comments for the Kindle that finally sold me on it.

It was super simple to set up. I just plugged it into the computer to start charging it up - which probably took about two hours - I then started fiddling with the buttons, reading the instructions on screen if I got stuck and, she said, hanging her head in embarrassment, practised downloading books. OMG. Too easy. Put in your account details and then it's 1-click and off. Couldn't believe how fast those historical novels zapped onto the screen. Exciting stuff. Next thing I know, a heap of emails told me I had bought all these books and the credit card started smoking.

Since those first heady days, my husband saw me reading a paperback and said, "Why aren't you reading your Kindle?" My explanation was that I was desperately trying to control my urge to read all my new ebooks first and being strong-willed in reducing my paperback pile. So my strategy now is one paperback, one ebook. Fair enough?

I do feel though that I will probably not give up paperbacks. Reading heavy historicals and trade paperbacks in bed and waking next morning with sore thumbs from trying to hold it up is yet another Kindle plus. But <sigh> not all novels are yet available as ebooks so those unavailable will still be bought in hard copy. I guess I'll just have to read those snuggled up in my favourite chair with a cuppa.

Love to hear of others' experiences with their ereaders. Which ones you have, why you chose it. How has life changed since the big day, etc. I can only say, for myself, it's all good.

Back to Reality

2011-05-17T14:30:00.017+10:00

After an hiatus of a month while travelling overseas in Spain, Portugal, Wales and England, it is now back to reality and my writing life. But before I put my head down again and while my mind is still spinning at all we saw, a few highlights and pics [I took far too many photographs, of course]. Visited lots of historical properties, homes, castles, palaces and gardens. Heaven for an historical writer.

Among them in Spain, the Alcazar, Alhambra, Gaudi's unfinished marvel of a cathedral in Barcelona, Cordoba and its mosque, Lisbon cathedral and it's beautiful lacy cloisters, Roman aqueduct in Segovia, the glorious international pavilions of Seville [especially their own Spanish pavilion where a scene in Star Wars 2 was filmed], and Valencia's railway station [utterly gorgeous inside].

Wales is a green historical gem. Highlights there? Anne Hathaway's chocolate box thatched cottage, stumbling upon a bluebell wood on a country lane, the dripping gold of Bodnant gardens' viburnum arch just emerging into bloom, Caernarvon castle, walking across a canal aqueduct in the rain, Llanthony priory ruin, colourful Portmerion, Powis castle, Skirrid Inn [oldest in Wales] and Valle Crucis abbey ruin.

In Kent and Sussex, besides the luscious early spring gardens, Bateman's [Kipling's home], Brighton pavilion, Canterbury cathedral, Dover and Hever castles were all visual and sensual highlights.

All about my books

2011-04-06T16:22:00.002+10:00

A little about each of my books, all now available from Kindle and Smashwords as ebooks.

My first published novel OUTBACK HERO is set - logically enough - in a semi-outback area with a photo journalist heroine, Kate, and cereal farmer hero, Matt. Involving selling a family property, a bushfire and a maiden aunt who sacrificed a career but finds her old love.

A WHIRLWIND ROMANCE is set in a Melbourne bookshop where store manager, Whitney, meets wealthy stockbroker hero, Zach. Features instant attraction, second thoughts, challenging potential in-laws, a trip to the outback opal mining town of Coober Pedy and the realisation that dreams can change.

STARTING AGAIN places Clare in witness protection in the lovely Gippsland lakes area of southern Victoria. Blake arrives to invade and challenge her emotional space on a journey of recovery. Cabins on the lake, crisp foggy autumn mornings, starting again in an artsy tourist village and a hero who struggles with commitment.

OCEAN BLUE highlights the magical Great Barrier Reef off the Queensland coast. Marine biologist, Sophie, meets chopper pilot and tour boat operator, Drew, in her quest to gather information on green turtles for her thesis. Features an interfering father, a mutual dream and the aching fear that one's love might not be returned.

NANNY WANTED brings together CEO, Ellie, trying to run a company and cope with an unexpected godchild, and charmer nanny, Rusty, who comes to live in her apartment and causes chaos in her heart. Showcases Melbourne, a delightful personal secretary and a hot air balloon ride while taking Ellie on an unwanted journey of love.

LOVING LUCY introduces UNICEF worker, Lucy, who returns to her small country home town after her father's death and rekindles her teenage love for old school friend, Flynn. Each brings a child into the mix, and each has personal issues to be resolved before they can reassess their lives and decide if this includes each other.

WOMBAT CREEK, coming soon from My Weekly Pocket Novels, links my green conservationist heroine, Summer, with blueblood pastoralist, Ethan, when she inherits her grandfather's property and becomes his neighbour. Set in the lush grazing country of south western Victoria, it involves false impressions, alpacas, a lovable grumpy old neighbour afflicted with lost love, an alcoholic mother, and a misfit ex-boyfriend.

BARRATT'S RUN, coming soon from Whiskey Creek Press, is an Australian historical romance that begins in Devon, England, where heroine Anne makes a disastrous marriage, flees abuse and escapes to Australia. She answers an advertisement for a wife placed by hero, James, and travels inland to his pastoral property before making a commitment. Love, marriage and possible bigamy follow until Anne's past reaches halfway across the world to threaten her chance of happiness.

Joining the blogosphere

2011-03-29T13:02:00.012+11:00

Since I don't have a clue where I am supposed to start, I'll just jump straight in. I've resisted the blog world but can see that it's a great way to get your news out there and share your "stuff".

For me as a writer, that will mean my writing day and life, and my books. Today I'll focus on how and where I write.

I have a l-o-n-g desk across most of one wall with my notepads and story files and research folders at one end where I also keep pens. Lots of pens. I love pens. My favourite at the moment is Bic Atlantis 1.2 which gives a lovely thick and smooth writing flow. I fear that over the years my handwriting has grown scratchier so a thick point helps me at least decipher my own writing. The other end of my desk has laptop and printer. At the end is a filing cabinet.

Behind me is this wall of bookshelves - <sigh> - don't you just love books; and to one side is a floor length window that looks out onto my native garden. Note my trusty stepladder to reach everything.

I love holding a pen in my hand. I usually write some if not a fair percentage of each first novel draft on notepads with a pen. A challenge when writing a 400 page historical I can assure you. My creativity seems to flow at a slow steady pace and my hand can keep up with it. If I try to type straight onto the laptop, my fingers want to dash along at too fast a pace for my brain to keep up. Makes double work having to type it all up later, but it works for me. And I always say, whatever works for you, do it.

Because my time is my own these days, my writing day is pretty much every day. My morning starts off with breakfast and emails and getting my head around whatever needs to be done that day, writing-wise. My yearly goal is to write two books. For my next project/s, I've started writing Saga 1 of my Australian historical series, am researching Saga 2, and am also planning out storylines for three or four lots of series romance novels plus getting together some story ideas and character names for my medieval novel.

Next post, I'd love to talk about my books. Well, what author doesn't?

If anyone would care to comment about their writing or writing life, or the books they've read and loved - or even hated - please feel free to "chat".