My book tour is over! Love that for me. Just a quick thank you to everybody who has embraced the new novel so warmly. It means the world. There is so much of me in We Could Be Something. Mum. Yiayia. I wanted to tell a big, messy story about a small (still messy) Greek family, …
I’m seventeen. I barrel down the staircase and burst into the kitchen, short of breath. Mum has friends over (I don’t remember who, sorry). She asks what’s wrong. “Nothing, I… got an email.” I’ve read it four times. Still doesn’t feel real. “Someone wants to publish me.” “Are you sure you haven’t read it wrong?” …
We Could Be Something is coming on May 2. That means, one, it’s up for pre-order now, and two, I’m no longer at risk of leaking the gorgeous cover designed by Astred Hicks, because it’s all over the internet. Have a look! See? All over the internet. Can’t scroll an inch without— Okay, let’s not piss everybody …
Allen & Unwin rejected my first novel when I was 16. I still have the letter somewhere. It was printed on fancy paper, almost like cardboard, but that wasn’t what made it worth keeping. After dozens of rejections, theirs was the first one that was kind. They put care into each word and offered quality …
Here! Have at it! (With apologies to the year six cohort of 2000). What I Wanted My year six teacher waged a war on uninspiring words. One afternoon, he set his sights on got, popped it in the centre of the whiteboard and compelled us to conjure alternatives. Achieved. Allowed. Possessed. Received. Understood. Each synonym …
