Author: Pen

Only Marcus knows: Sex in fiction

Jul 26, 2019

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Pen

in Bad Sex in Fiction

‘The sex in your novel I can understand,’ said a friend as we stood in adjoining lanes in the shallow end of Civic Pool. ‘The sex in A.S. Byatt’s novel you’d need a PhD in English Literature to understand.’ ‘I’ve got one of those,’ I said, pulling my goggles into place. ‘Can I borrow it?’…
Slowing down – A beautiful book on sustainable living: Mark Boyle’s The Way Home

Jul 10, 2019

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Pen

in Blasket islands, capitalism, digital technology, E.F. Schumacher, Mark Boyle, rural Ireland, Simplifying, Small Is Beautiful, sustainable living

The Way Home: Tales from a life without technology. Mark Boyle. (Oneworld Publications, 2019) It’s a surprise to learn that Mark Boyle has a degree in Economics and Marketing. He lives in rural County Galway in a dwelling he built himself. He chooses to live without electricity or running water. He has no car and…
Thinking women, hope and regeneration

Jun 12, 2019

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Pen

in Andrea Goldsmith, Australia behind, Australian novels, Democracy, Living creatively, Movies, optimism, Toni Jordan

Am I advocating escapism? It’s been hard to find anything uplifting to say in the last few weeks. The last time I read John Milton (1608-1674) was in English (Hons) many years ago. But I just came across a quotation from Paradise Lost that seems like a sanity-saver in the world we’re enduring now. ‘The…
After She Left – Penelope’s adventure with the idea of patience

May 9, 2019

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Pen

in Impact Press, Perseverance in writing, Publishing industry, Ventura Press

At a quarter of a century between novels, and not for want of trying, I now have the authority to write about the value of patience and persistence. I wrote the first draft of my new novel After She Left over ten years ago. It was the creative component of a PhD. The theory component…
Anne Pender’s Seven Big Australians

Apr 22, 2019

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Pen

in Australian Satire, Comic Theatre, Humour – Australian, Stand-up comedy – Australian

Transforming comic genres In Seven Big Australians: Adventures with comic actors (Monash University Press, 2019) Anne Pender paints an unforgettable portrait of the lives of Australian comic actors: Carol Raye, Barry Humphries, Noeline Brown, Max Gillies, John Clarke, Tony Sheldon and Denise Scott. She brings to life careers that span from the Second World War…
Recipes for happiness

Apr 3, 2019

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Pen

in Bookshops, creativity, decluttering, libraries, List making, Living creatively, Simplifying

That warm glow of excitement and satisfaction It’s been a while since my last blog post and I make no apology. I don’t write them for click-bait – they’re for contemplation and the odd laugh. I’ve been working – writing non-fiction – and, of course, reading. One thing I read expresses precisely my situation about…
Powerful and uplifting – Magic Happens: The Story of Painting with Parkinsons by Nancy Tingey

Feb 5, 2019

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Pen

in arts and health, Australian memoir, Parkinson’s, Winston Churchill, Yoga health benefits

Artist and curator Nancy Tingey was the first person I interviewed for my history of the Churchill Trust, Inspiring Australians (2015) and it was a wonderful story to begin my research with. Nancy founded the group, Painting with Parkinsons in Canberra in 1994. Her husband Bob had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s a few years before…
Summer books and summer heat

Jan 21, 2019

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Pen

in capitalism, Common Good, Democracy, libraries, social capital

After finishing the rewrites of my novel just before Christmas it’s been an orgy of reading. Among recent books that have impressed me are Democracy in Chains by Nancy MacLean; Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me) by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson; and D.B.C. Pierre’s Release the Bats. There’s also beautiful, strong writing in…
‘Life is not for doing the doable.’ – Tim Ferguson

Dec 5, 2018

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Pen

in Australian memoir, Comedy writing, Comic memoirs, humour, Tim Ferguson

There are remarkably few books or courses on how to write humour. Most people think that it can’t be taught. Tim Ferguson disagrees. He holds regular classes on how to write narrative comedy, in Australia and other countries, and has written a book on it, The Cheeky Monkey: Writing narrative comedy (Currency Press, 2010). I…
Envying Georges Simenon

Oct 27, 2018

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Pen

in Simenon, writers’ habits, Writing – tools of the trade

It’s been aeons since I wrote in this. I’ve been writing heaps, but not here. There have been paid writing and editing jobs plus rewriting a novel, ‘After She Left’, which will be published in May. And all this time I haven’t been able to get Simenon out of my mind. I haven’t even read…