Ten Random Facts About Me

NY NY to NP NZ :)

1. I’m a fainter. The first time was hearing the crucifixion story at age five, the most recent? At a friend's sonogram. 

2. I've never broken a bone.
3. I’ve never been drunk.
4. I was signed by a New York literary agent – and she found my book in the slush pile. #itcanhappen :)
5. I completed my degree extramurally.
6. I spent a year as a video shop clerk with a six-a-day movie habit. 7. I was asked to be an expert for Girlfriend Magazine Australia after the editor read my book Total Blueprint for World Domination.
8. Fruit (eating / smelling / looking at etc.) makes me sick. 
9. I’ve had laser eye surgery to correct myopia (no more glasses!)
10. This month, my book The Jelly Bean Crisis will be in bookshops all over New Zealand. OMG.

Everything is possible!

Playlist

I have a book playlist! 

For an author, a book playlist is a kind of soundtrack to their book - it could be songs that they listen to while writing, songs that inspire particular scenes, or songs with themes or lyrics that resonate with the book. 

One of my current projects is a young adult urban fantasy fiction. I'm trying a new working style for this book (pantster* as opposed to plotster**) and I'm noticing lots of differences - characters doing whatever they want, twists jumping out of nowhere, book dreams, and yep, for the first time, a book playlist! 

* Pantster: Finding out what happens as you go, writing "by the seat of your pants."
** Plotster: Planning / plotting the book out before writing.

So, here are five of the songs from the playlist for my current work-in-progress:

1. Yep, the MC's a bit of a badass:



2. And cute-guy-with-a-secret needs a theme song, right?



3. Here comes the fantasy element:



4. And talk about your romantic melancholy:



5. Save the world? Get revenge? Fall in love? Hey, I'm a pantster this time: I have no idea! 

May is New Zealand Music Month, so I'm going to round off my five song book playlist with this from Kiwi band The Peasants:



It's very cool to be able to add a new dimension to the work with music, and I'll definitely aim to be back to update the playlist as the book takes shape :)

Keep kicking ass!