published pieces: map magazine - li cunxin and richard maloy

My interview with Chinese-born, world-renowned ballet dancer Li Cunxin is out in map magazine this month. You can read it online here. You may know Li as 'Mao's Last Dancer' and he is now at the helm of Queensland Ballet. Li has experienced such heartache and pain in his life but also astounding success and achievement.

My favourite quote was when Li said: “I’m a forward-looking man. I am genuinely excited about what’s ahead of me; I always set myself goals and aims. Whatever I do, I really want to see how best I can do it. So the pursuit of excellence and perfection is what motivates me to go forward.”

I also interviewed New Zealand artist Richard Maloy who is exhibiting his Big Yellow installation at GOMA right now. His article is in map magazine and right here. 

Image: Olive trees are on my Christmas wish list. Love, love. 

the most thoughtful of christmas presents

If you want to show your love for someone, build them a veggie garden. That's what my family did for me last year as a surprise and I still get choked up thinking about it.

While Chris, Bassie and I were away on holidays last Christmas, my mum, dad, elder sister, brother-in-law, five-year-old niece and two-year-old nephew secretly built us a veggie garden in a neglected patch of our back yard. My sister is a natural green thumb and she wanted us to experience the simple glee of growing food with little Bassie like she does with her cherubs. 

When we returned from our holiday and I first stumbled across our magic garden, I couldn't believe my eyes. There it stood - as if it had sprouted from the dirt - pretty as a picture. It was full of mint, thyme, sage, basil, eggplants, green beans, baby tomatoes and a chilli bush. There were pink flowers dotted all around and the veggie name tags were written in my mum's beautiful calligraphy handwriting. Apparently the littlies had helped count out the screws that held the bed together. I felt so loved.

Sadly, I soon killed our garden with kindness (I think I may have overfertilised it). After its second planting, our resident possums ate every green morsel in one sitting. Its third planting got flooded out by rain. But finally, with a new net and lots of attention, I am proud to say our garden is starting to flourish. 

Bassie and I love spending time near our veggie patch in the afternoons. We potter about pretending we know what we're doing. While I water the patch and pluck out weeds and fallen tree bark, Bassie keeps very busy - poking holes in the soil with his chubby fingers, making mud puddles at my feet, sticking his hand in front of the water spout and licking the cool drops off his fingers. And I'm sure he would sit and twist that hose for hours if I let him. We are so happy here. 

Thank you, my beautiful family. x

NOTE: If you want to see a real veggie garden in action, check out this stunning film vignette of Fig and Fauna Farm in South Florida filmed by the super talented Tiger in a Jar. I consider this film to be meditation. It is just so peaceful and dreamy. 

published pieces: salt magazine - lucy walter

The summer edition of Salt magazine is out on the Sunshine Coast this week and it's available online here too. Acting editor Claire Plush has taken some stunning photos to accompany my story, 'Living a Kinder Life' (and online here) on raw food chef, restaurateur and animal activist Lucy Walter. 

I was on a high after meeting Lucy on her pretty farm in Maleny, which she and her husband have turned into a private sanctuary for abused and neglected farmyard animals. We sat on Lucy's peaceful Queenslander porch, looking out over the Mary Valley, and chatted for an hour while the dogs she has rescued sat at our feet (and sometimes on our laps), lapping up the constant pats and ear scratches. One of her rescued pigs, Brutus, even trotted over to say hello. 

Lucy is such a positive and proactive soul. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis seven years ago, she revolutionised her diet to become a raw food and vegan devotee and has managed to rid her body of M.S. symptoms. Along the way, she opened The Kind Living Cafe in Maleny, published a cook book, and has begun hosting raw food cooking classes. I believe her story will inspire anyone who is looking to live a kinder, healthier life. 

NOTE: I also loved Linda Read's Salt story on Smile Clothing, a for-profit Sunshine Coast company with a mission to "Give first. Wear Second. For every item of clothing we sell, we will donate a school uniform or t-shirt to a child in need." Linda notes that so far, Smile Clothing has given away 5000 garments to children in countries such as Indonesia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Kenya and India. 

Image above: Mint and rosemary going great guns in my garden.

holidays are just lovely

We are home after two weeks of beach holidaying on the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast. Our boy is over the moon to be sleeping in his own cot but we can't quite match his enthusiasm. Chris and I voted it one of our best holidays ever - simple, slow, and with a mix of precious time spent with dear friends and close family, as well as plenty of time as just the three of us (baby milestones: Bassie is walking for real now and his new word is "there". Better still, we think he's stopped constantly saying "NO"). 

I will miss our simple mornings spent on this shaded hill overlooking Bulcock Beach, swilling seriously delicious take-away coffees from The Pocket, flicking through newspapers, snapping photos, and playing with fallen seed pods. Daily sunset ocean walks and dusk swims hit the spot too.

As I mentioned in a previous post, this holiday has seen Bassie become even more obsessed with his dada. Today I spent some frustrating hours trying to download photos taken on our holiday. The heartening discovery was to see loud and clear just how inseparable these two have become. Tomorrow is going to hurt when they only get to spend the morning together before Chris heads back to work. 

I am so grateful for our little family and all the loving people we are surrounded by. 

HOLIDAY HIGH POINTS
Reads: Bowerbird by Sibella Court, My Heart Wanders by Pia Jane Bijkerk, A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle.
Beaches: Double Island Point and Noosa North Shore; Bulcock Beach and Happy Valley, Caloundra; Fingal Beach, Northern New South Wales. 
Cafes: The Pocket Espresso, Moffat Beach; The Velo Project, Mooloolaba (thanks Katie); The Natural Food Store, Forest Glen (thanks Sarah). 
Restaurant: The Boatshed, Cotton Tree. 
Shopping: Carmel's Designs and Homewares at James Street, Burleigh Heads (stores also at Peregian Beach and Mooloolaba). Thanks Sarah for helping me tackle my Christmas shopping. Every present is just perfect. I'll be back for more nature-inspired goodness. 
 

a fresh start for this blog

Tomorrow marks the end of our decor8 Blogging Your Way e-course. Sniff, sob. It's been such a beautiful, positive, and creative space to visit daily, and I really don't want it to end. It has sparked new ideas that haven't always been about my blog but about my life too. I love that. I highly recommend it for any budding bloggers out there or perhaps those blogging veterans who need a fresh shot of inspiration. A big thank you to our inspiring host Holly Becker of decor8 and our guest lecturers - the lovely Jeanette Lund of By Fryd (www.byfryd.com) and Nicole Balch of Making it Lovely.  

Our final homework challenge was to give our blog a facelift. My original blog header was in dire need of a makeover because it consisted of a fuzzy iPhone photo with some generic blue text clumsily layered over the top. See what I mean:

The new blog header you see at the top of my blog may only stay for a short while. I'm a total novice at Photoshop and this header isn't quite the whimsical design that I am drawn to, but it feels pretty good for now. The apple signifies that our little boy is the apple of my eye and that my apple mac is often by my side. The blue and green colours calm me no end, the blurred speckles remind me of soft raindrops splattered on a window, and the circle (or full moon, if you will) helps centre me.

I guess this new design also says that I write by mood, I seek inspiration in my environment and like to dream while staring at beautiful things, like the moon and raindrops, green apples and our little boy, Bassie.

Thank you so much for visiting this space. I really appreciate it. :)

homegrown honey is liquid gold

A little hand reaches for a little jar of homegrown honey. Both subjects are pure, petite, and made with love.

** Thank you to Mel, Dave and Delilah. Such a treat. I wish you well with your new Downtown Honey Co. venture - to bring urban beekeeping to Brisbane's rooftops and gardens. I did not know that bees dance or of the pagan myth that bees spread our important news on their bee-buzzing journeys. I will ponder these intriguing bee facts as I devour this honey drizzled over chunks of parmesan. Yummmmm. x

a mother's love will flow forever

We are away on our beach holiday. The weather is divine and the time together is most precious. Bassie is lapping up his beach swims and we are loving throwing the bedtime routine out the window. We go for ocean swims at dusk and have picnic dinners peppered with sand. He has become obsessed with his dada, and I wonder if I have become the third wheel in this little team of ours.

Yesterday was such a sad day, but there was also laughter, beauty, and grace all around. Yesterday, we farewelled the mother of one of my dearest friends. Pam lost her fight with cancer after a gallant effort, enduring more than five years of chemo. All the talk was of Pam's beauty, grace, serenity, kindness, and joyful spirit. She was a true lady. Everyone agreed that Pam - an identical twin to the equally gorgeous Fae - made you want to be a better person. To love more and laugh more. To have fun. 

For me, the most beautiful part of the church service was when her loving husband of 42 years (my friend's dear father) said to his two girls: "You are everything to your mother, just as you are." It made me weep on the inside but also made me feel at peace, knowing that a mother's love is unconditional and so strong that nothing can weaken it.

Pam's love will flow to her two daughters forever. They will sense it at the most poignant and most unexpected of times: in ocean breezes and morning sunlight; in Christmas carol celebrations and footy finals; in grocery shopping queues and when putting on lipstick. They will feel her presence at birthday parties and Christmas lunches; when a full moon rises over the ocean and when it eclipses three times in a row. They will feel her everywhere. Because she is all around.

Our focus now is on supporting our dear friend. She is already proving she is brave and strong, although we know her heart is aching desperately. We will be there for her, as she always is for us, so that she knows she is loved and treasured.  

Rest in peace, dear Pammie (although we expect you will be busy up there, moving the furniture around). xx

image above: Pam loved flowers. We threw them to her at sunset, and some floated back to stay a while.

image below: Beautiful trees at the church pointed the way to heaven on a perfect blue sky day.



a beautiful little breather

So, as I discovered last weekend, the wise women around me were right - the anticipation of leaving my little boy for the first time was worse than the actual experience of being away from him. Sure, I missed him and daydreamed about him, but the "missing" didn't hurt like I feared it might. 

After 48 hours away from home and my family, I returned feeling more "me" than I have in a long time. To walk, swim, eat, shower, sleep, do yoga, meditate, be pampered and read (book of choice: Sibella Court's Bowerbird - love, love, thank you Sarah!) at my own pace, as an individual entity, was pure bliss. I haven't felt like that in two years, since before I was pregnant. So refreshing.

The part I didn't enjoy was seeing Bassie's reaction upon my return. At the first sight of me, he beamed the brightest, sweetest smile. But the smile quickly switched to a frown and for the rest of the afternoon he refused to look at me, and preferred to be in his dad's arms rather than mine.

I hear this reaction - to make you pay for leaving - is common. Please tell me it is.

I am so grateful for the love and support around me - for my husband for holding the fort, my mum for helping out and putting Bassie to bed, and my family-in-law for keeping my two boys company. 

Image above: I love this pic of Bassie, taken by my husband.
Image below: i spent a lot of time by this pool. you can see why. 

a boy and a pineapple

Is this perhaps the cutest baby pineapple there ever was? It arrived in our weekly Food Connect fruit and veggie box this week and managed to entertain little Bassie on this spring afternoon. He couldn't quite figure out if he liked touching it or if he really didn't AT ALL. 

I have a post I'd like to share soon about Food Connect and Community Supported Agriculture, but my wireless is giving me issues and Food Connect's website is down too! It's just not meant to be today.

I'm off to cover a story this weekend at an amazing organic health retreat in the Gold Coast hinterland but it will be my first weekend away from Bassie and I'm really not sure how I feel about this yet. He's in good hands with his dad and my mum (thank you, mama!) so I know he will be fine, and I need a recharge so I'm sure I will be more than fine. The wise women around me (i.e. my sister, sisters-in-law and friends) who have been through this 'first-time away' thing tell me the anticipation of leaving is worse than the actual experience of being away. Let's hope they're right. 

When my mum asked me today what I'm most looking forward to about this weekend, I replied that I intend to swim in the infinity pool, and to sit under a tree and stare over the valley for hours on end. All I crave is to be still and quiet. To stretch and to sit. To dream and to breathe. Simple really.

*This adorable pineapple also gave me a good excuse to play with my new portrait lens, a 50mm f/1.8.  
**The photos below are of Bassie getting bored with the whole thing and on the right, biting into a filthy shoe to get my attention away from the camera. 
*** The top image uses my new favourite backdrop, which you'll be seeing a lot of in this space. I love our gum tree that shelters our porch and is right now dropping seed pods, which make the LOUDEST CRACK when they hit our tin roof.

sibella court, objects and memories

Earlier in the week I heard Sydney stylist, creative director and author Sibella Court speak at Riverbend Books to launch her new book, Bowerbird. She is such a sweetheart - down-to-earth, passionate, grateful - and clearly a go-getter. She works constantly ("there's no loitering by the water cooler for me", she explained sweetly) but like most creatives and entrepreneurs she doesn't see her job as "work" because it feeds her soul. 

This year alone Sibella has traveled to 20 countries (she noted Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands were standouts) for design inspiration and research for her books. 

Ever the collector, Sibella made me smile when she said: "I'm not great at remembering what happened last week, but I can tell you about the people I was with and the place I was in when I collected an object from many years ago. It's just that I don't record my life chronologically but rather by the objects I treasure." 

Sibella also commented that collecting objects on her travels and through her life is her way of slowing down, of focusing on the little things, of finding calm within the chaos. I guess this theory rings true whether you are globe trotting or simply pottering in your garden.

I love how memories are hinged to special objects, whether they are found or purchased, received or gifted. When I look around my home and dig through my cupboards, drawers and my great-grandfather's wooden war chest, I find so many precious memories hung on walls, tucked in boxes and wrapped in fabric. 

Last month, I found dried flowers and seeds I had saved from Spain when I lived there 10 years ago. Pressed inside a folded piece of paper, their spicy scent took me back to the cork oak tree farm where I stayed alone in a yurt for a month over summer. There I would read books outdoors for hours on end until the sun slipped behind the hills beyond. Feels a lifetime ago. 

Sibella's book will inspire me to display my treasured objects - perhaps to pop the dried seeds in a tiny glass bottle on my desk, rather than stashing them in cupboards and folded bits of paper.


What would you choose to display if you dug out your memories? 

I'll be picking up a copy of Bowerbird from my friend Sarah's stunning interiors and homewares store, Carmel's Designs, at James Street, Burleigh Heads. Her two other stores are at Mooloolaba and Peregian Beach. So worth a visit. Sarah is a natural when it comes to displaying things beautifully. 

Image: These are four of my favourite things (L-R) A hand-crafted Moroccan ceramic cup from my other dear friend Sarah to celebrate my boy's first birthday; a stone sculpture from our home country of South Africa that I took borrowed from my parents - they've had it in our home since I can remember; two of the three little bison milk jugs my very generous elder sister, Nichola, bought for me on my birthday many moons ago. 

published pieces: yasmin levy, map magazine

I interviewed Israeli singer and songwriter Yasmin Levy for the November edition of map magazine. The story lives online here. I felt so happy after our chat as Yasmin exuded such infectious joy down the phone line - it spilled out of her in the most natural and grateful way. 

Yasmin is living the dream as she tours the world with her band (along with her husband and their 13-month-old son), singing traditional Ladino songs with a contemporary twist to keep her heritage alive. Ladino is an archaic form of Spanish and considered a "dying" language. It's sad to think that stories and memories can be lost forever in words no longer spoken.

map's November edition also offers an interview here by editor Mikki Brammer with Matt Pember of The Little Veggie Patch Co. It's such a fun little Q and A to read. Matt and his business partner, Fabian, have started facilitating veggie plots on top of a carpark in Federation Square in Melbourne's CBD. Another reminder that growing food is for everyone, everywhere. 

peace among the garden beds

I thought our cafe days were over when our little one started to wake from his newborn slumber. But coffee expeditions are actually more fun now if we get the venue right. We love this local cafe and its veggie gardens - perfect for a boy who likes to clutch at stones with his chubby hands, pull up on wooden benches and swat at flowers. Much more relaxing sitting among the garden beds with coffees in hand than trying to entertain him in a high chair. It sounds obvious, I know, but we're still pretty new at this parenting gig. 

an outing and a green wall

We ventured to the State Library of Queensland today for Toddler Rhyme Time. It was my camera's first real outing and I'm happy I had it close by. Oh, that green wall. Love.

an interview: the flying orchestra by clare mcfadden

The Flying Orchestra is Brisbane artist and illustrator Clare McFadden’s first picture book and, just like Clare, it is full of pure whimsy, joy and wonder. Do you know it? It won The Children’s Book Council of Australia Crichton Award and was adapted into an enchanting theatre play by internationally renowned puppetry artist, Peter Wilson (The Red Tree, How to Train your Dragon, King Kong) for the 2012 Out of the Box Festival in Brisbane. My friend Sarah took her two boys to see it and found herself shedding a tear during – it really is so beautiful.

Clare is a dear friend and I watched her work on her precious manuscript in her warehouse studio at Metro Arts. I admired the heart, soul and precise attention she poured into it over many years, never rushing the process. Since it was published in 2010 I have bought it for so many of my friends’ and family’s little ones – wrapping it with love and handing it to them with a warm glow in my heart, heartened by the delight awaiting them in its thoughtful pages. It was so special buying it for my little Bassie when he turned one last month.

In part, I started this blog to interview writers and creatives like Clare to share what happens behind the scenes as they develop their dream projects. I asked Clare some questions and this is what she replied. As you'll find, she has a beautiful way with words. 

INTERVIEW: 

Frances: What inspired the story of The Flying Orchestra?
Clare: The Flying Orchestra was inspired by a few thing things. Firstly, I wanted to create an entry point into orchestral music for small children. Unfortunately, I think there's often elitism attached to orchestral music, which is ridiculous. Music is for everyone. Secondly, I wanted to honour the deep and complex emotional responses that children have to their world. I think that a child understands their world through aesthetics and through perception - so they have this very sophisticated understanding of art and feeling – and yet, unfortunately, this is not always celebrated.

F: What message do you hope readers find in its pages?
C: I hesitate to answer this only because I think that the book has taken on a life of its own and means different things for different people, which I am thrilled about. The Flying Orchestra symbolises a myriad of things (from being a “soundtrack to your life” to something transcendent or multiple things at once) and I realise in my work with children that, even some very young children, can understand and articulate this, which I find wonderful. Most simply, I hope readers get the message that there are ordinary and extraordinary things that happen to all of us but together, these things form a symphony - and that symphony is always beautiful.

F: How did you learn to draw?
C: I learnt to draw by practicing! I never had lessons and I didn't go to art school. I was drawing from the time I was 18 months old so I still grip my pen like it is a crayon. I sometimes overhear mums say things like “you can draw and paint at kindy” – but it's not enough. I'm putting it out there to the mums reading this blog – give your child paints and pens and paper at the kitchen table. It is simple really. I think I developed some of my techniques for painting while I was at Metro Arts. I was lucky to live next to some great painters who imparted their knowledge and tricks of the trade to me. I still remember Madeleine Kelly teaching me to paint light with Matisse Magenta, yellow and white.  Thank you Madeleine!

F: What do you love about illustrating?
C: I love the challenge of conveying enough of the particular and the detail so that an illustration is grounded and reads as “real”, but still in a way that can be universally accessible and understood. Also, how to capture the essence of something rather than just accurately record - to be evocative in one's work. Vincent Van Gogh expresses this so beautifully in saying (with regards to trying to paint in a way that is not so much anatomically correct but more how something “feels”): "My great longing is to make those very incorrectness’s, those deviations, remodeling, changes in reality, so they become, yes, lies if you like - yet truer than the literal truth." It's really hard! And then having to make each of these pieces artworks in their own right, yet part of a larger body of work. It's a huge job! I tried some of the illustrations for The Flying Orchestra four or five times before I was happy with them. (You can read more about this process on Clare’s blog here)

F: What was most challenging and most rewarding about the process of creating your first children's book?
C: It was really challenging to keep going with no knowledge of how long it was going to take and whether the final product would be any good! It took me, literally, years and I was always going into the studio on weekends, and sometimes (and this may surprise you) I really hated working on it!! Sometimes I loved working on it of course – those moments when you lose yourself in your work, but that process! You just have to have faith that this is a story worth telling and keep going! I can't tell you how rewarding it is to hear children's (and adult’s) responses to the book. To think of it going out into the world and having a life of its own, of being meaningful to children - that would bring a tear to a glass eye! After the stage show adaptation at QPAC earlier this year, I heard that a little boy said to his father on the way home, “That was the best day of my life”. It doesn't get much better than that.

F: How did you secure a book deal with your publisher, the University of Queensland Press (UQP)?
C: Well, I was lucky because I submitted it and they accepted it. I know it is usually not so simple so I am very grateful to UQP for recognising something in it as the first people I presented it to.

F: Can you please share the moment when you held a published copy in your hot little hands for the first time?
C: Well, it was great of course, but you know, probably even greater was seeing it performed as the stage show this year. In many ways, because of all the sign-offs in the publishing process, the printed book doesn't really come as a surprise ... you've seen the proofs etc. But, sitting in the Lyric Theatre, and seeing the brilliant job Peter Wilson and his team at QPAC had made of bringing the book to life ... that was just so wonderful. Like the little boy, it was one of the best days of my life.

F: What's next for Clare and The Flying Orchestra?
C: Well, the second book is coming along at the speed of a relaxed snail. I'm currently based in the US doing my Masters in Arts in Education, which is sensational but all consuming. So there hasn't been a lot of time to sit at the kitchen table with the paints. Perhaps over the Christmas holidays, when it's snowing outside and I'm missing Stradbroke Island. That might be a good time to get cracking on it.

Thank you dear Clare! 

The Flying Orchestra is available at all good bookstores. I get my copies from independent bookstore Black Cat Books in Paddington, Brisbane - they always seem to have plenty of copies on the shelves. 

Images by Yan Chen

An outdoor reading of The Flying Orchestra at South Bank for Father's Day 2010. 

to health and deadlines

A little tear slides down his cheek ... We're both a little worse for wear today. Bassie is teething and I often go down hill after I've put a run of stories to bed. That's when I retreat to my parents' house because mum always makes everything better. Right now she's making me sweet potato and quinoa salad for lunch while the boy sleeps. I love her. 

I'm gluten intolerant and not so great with dairy either, which you think would motivate me to avoid the stuff. I eat mostly whole foods and fresh produce and I love to cook but when story deadlines are looming I tend to let my guard down and eat whatever is easiest, which is often of the bread variety. After I eat bits of gluten for a few days in a row, the nausea sets in, the guilt follows soon after and then I really feel terrible! 

When the deadline fog has lifted, I immediately attempt to repair the damage by visiting these sites for gluten-free eating and living inspiration: Cannelle et Vanille, Sarah Wilson, and Jude Blereau. The Gwinganna Health Retreat recipe book, "Gwinganna ... from garden to gourmet" is also full of delicious recipes for gluten- and dairy-free whole food meals. 

But this self-sabotage has to stop. My new plan of action when I see story deadlines on the horizon is to stock the pantry and prepare protein-filled salads for the fridge. I must start applying the same care and attention to preparing meals for myself as I do for Bassie. I need to apply "aeroplane rules", as my husband likes to call it: it's important to fit your own oxygen mask before assisting others.

Every day is a new day, I like to tell myself. I wonder when I will learn? 

(P.S. Tips for finding dietary willpower are most welcome.)

byw: a mood board

I offer this mood board as part of our Blogging Your Way course - it's a taste of what this blog hopes to share. You'll see I'm drawn to soft hues of blue and green and all things natural. I am fascinated by books and magazines with soul, fresh produce and beautiful interiors. I'm surrounded by baby toys and soft muslin wraps and am often within arm's length of my mac. The "S" (crafted by my thoughtful friend, Jacqui) is for my boy, Sebastian, or Bassie for short.

the nursery - baby steps in photography

It's been a long time since I asked my brain to learn something completely new. Like out-of-the-box new. My first DSLR - a Canon 60D - arrived just days before I attended Tim Coulson's The Nursery photography for beginners workshop in Noosa last Saturday. I had story deadlines to tackle last week so my camera remained in its box - alone in the dark - until the night before the workshop. Hopeless!
 
The images above are two of the first DSLR photos I've ever taken. I know there are so many things wrong with them (for starters, the first photo is blurry and over-exposed!) but I love them just the same. The first is of the gorgeous Steph and the second is of my dear friend Sarah. I love her smile in this shot - she was laughing at just how amateurish we looked. I think she looks like a pro already.

Tim is a natural teacher and his photography style is fresh, honest and beautiful. He confirmed what I suspected - there is no magic trick to mastering the camera. It simply takes buckets of practice and patience. And if you seek an emotional connection with your subject, well that's where you'll find true beauty. It'll take baby steps. Here we go. Thank you Tim, Kesh and sweet little Roo.

Jodi from Che and Fidel writes a beautiful wrap-up of The Nursery here. 

on starting a blog

I’ve just begun the Blogging Your Way Boot Camp run by Holly Becker of decor8 and I have to admit, my head is in a spin. I’m desperately trying to digest the expert advice Holly is sharing with us, particularly the issue of being authentic and of finding your voice. This is proving trickier than I expected.

where do you go?

Freelance writing is mostly a solitary business, which is just fine by me. On a productive day, I love spending time alone with my laptop, playing with words to build stories as if they were Lego pieces to make castles. But I also love talking to other writers, which I rarely get to do. So in this space I'd like to share ideas from writers, editors, bloggers, illustrators, photographers, creative types and bookworms about writing and creativity: how they get inspired to write, how they hone their craft, fuel their creativity, triumph over pesky self-doubt demons and switch off from writing when it’s seriously time for shut eye. 

For starters, here are some of the sites I've been visiting lately for inspiration to write. I'd love to hear where you go for creative fodder.
- Dumbo Feather, an Australian mag that shares “conversations with extraordinary people”. Yesterday I re-read the story on Dumbo Feather founder and former editor Kate Bezar in Issue 27 (2011) where she spoke of the inner turmoil she experienced while juggling the dual roles of magazine editor and her new gig as a mum. 
- Sarah Wilson’s blog. Sarah is a journalist, blogger and presenter and was former editor of Cosmopolitan magazine. She is writing a book based on her health journey, which she charts on her blog. She is generous and frank with her advice on how to grow a writing career. This post in particular helped encourage me to start a blog. 
- TED Talks are “ideas worth spreading”. I think Elizabeth Gilbert’s talk on Your Elusive Genius is eloquently put.
- Nobel Prize for Literature website. Dorky, I know, but once in a while I'll visit the Nobel website to read winners' Nobel lectures, which are beautiful pieces of writing that often explain what inspired these great minds to write in the first place. Try Pablo Neruda’s lecture from 1971. 

There are so many more to share. I think I'll make this a regular post.