It’s always a bit nerve-racking hearing your audiobook for the first time, because for so long the story has been so clear in your head, and now someone else is contributing their perspective to it too, since an audiobook really is a collaboration between author and narrator. But when I was casting for the audiobook
Someone asked for some recommendations of books to read by First Nations authors, so I thought I’d update my list from a year ago... I’ve read 45 books by Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander authors over the last two years, and they’ve all been incredible – three of them were in my favourite six reads
Gregg Dreise is an author, artist, songwriter and teacher from south-western Queensland, who is proud of his Kamilaroi and Euahlayi heritage. His books include Silly Birds, Kookoo Kookaburra, Mad Magpie, Cunning Crow, I Open the Door, My Culture and Me, and the new one, Hello and Welcome, which celebrates Australia’s Indigenous heritage. His books have
“Meditation is the discovery that the point of life is always arrived at in the immediate moment.” Alan Watts, American Zen Buddhist I’ve had a few queries about my meditation CD Sacred Journey lately, so I figured I’d post this interview I did when it came out... I’ve also made it easier to order the
THE CHINESE CALENDAR “In the perception of the smallest is the secret of clear vision; in the guarding of the weakest is the secret of all strength.” Lao Tzu New Moon Blessings, and Happy Chinese New Year! In 2021 the Chinese New Year begins on the new moon on February 12, and ushers in
I’m wishing my friends in the southern hemisphere a magical Lughnasadh, and to my friends in the north, an enchanted Imbolc to you, as the Wheel turns from the cold and dark and snow of winter to the first signs of spring. This year Imbolc falls on February 3 – you can check the exact
Kirli Saunders is a proud Gunai woman, and an author of poetry, plays and books, including Bindi, Kindred and The Incredible Freedom Machines. She is a teacher, cultural consultant and artist, and developed the Poetry in First Languages program, delivered by Red Room Poetry. Kirli has won several writing awards, and was named the 2020 NSW
I’ve always felt conflicted about today, “Australia Day”. I am so grateful to have been born in Australia, and to have so many opportunities and blessings that people in many other countries don’t have – and that, unfortunately, many people here, our Indigenous people, do not have. Australia has a brutal history of invasion, land
Someone asked for some recommendations of books to read by First Nations authors, so here are some that I read in 2020 and early 2021. There are many many more – let me know if you have any favourites and I'll add them to my TBR list... Living On Stolen Land by Ambelin Kwaymullina Who
The start of a new year is always a somewhat nostalgic time, as I reflect on the year just gone, and what I’d hoped to achieve – but I don’t think there’s a single person on the planet who could have predicted their 2020! At first, I was disappointed that I didn’t achieve much this
Jasmine Seymour is a Darug woman from the Hawkesbury area of NSW. A writer, artist and primary school teacher, she is the author of Cooee Mittigar, which introduces us to the plants, animals and seasons of Darug Country and language; author and artist of Baby Business, about a ceremony to welcome a baby to Country;
In the magical Wheel of the Year that charts the dance of the seasons, the next celebration in the southern hemisphere is Imbolc, which marks the turning of the Wheel from the cold and dark of winter to the first signs of spring – although thanks to climate change, the signs of spring came early
I can’t even remember how I stumbled across English author Menna van Praag’s first novel, The House At the End of Hope Street, but I bought it in hardback not long after its release in 2013, and really loved it. Since then I’ve read her other four magical realism novels as soon as they came
Lucy Cavendish is a writer and a witch and an oracle reader and creator, and a surfer and a nature lover. We first met in the nineties in magazine circles, as we’ve both been journalists and editors, but we reconnected in 2002 when I interviewed her about her gorgeous Oracle Tarot deck. Since then we’ve
Countdown to The Swan Maiden Launch... Selina Fenech is an amazing artist – her stunning paintings grace the covers of the Into the Mists and Into the Storm Trilogies – and also an incredible writer. She’s the author of the beautiful fantasy series Memory’s Wake, and the intriguing Empath Chronicles, and is currently working on
And to my friends in the north, a magical Imbolc to you, as the Wheel turns from the cold and dark and snow of winter to the first signs of spring. This year Imbolc falls on February 4 – unless you are in Alaska ot Hawaii, where it falls the night of February 4. You
THE CHINESE CALENDAR “In the perception of the smallest is the secret of clear vision; in the guarding of the weakest is the secret of all strength.” Lao Tzu New Moon Blessings, and Happy Chinese New Year! In 2020 the Chinese New Year begins on the new moon on January 25, and ushers in the
Face Your Fear Most people say I’m brave – I’ve travelled solo through Brazil, crawled into ancient burial tombs in the dark, broken a publishing contract and returned my advance to go indie, interviewed Guns ’N Roses, Foo Fighters and Metallica, and worked out with Jillian Michaels... But there’s one fear that still cripples me
THE CHINESE CALENDAR “In the perception of the smallest is the secret of clear vision; in the guarding of the weakest is the secret of all strength.” Lao Tzu New Moon Blessings, and Happy Chinese New Year! In 2019 the Chinese New Year begins on the new moon on February 5, and ushers in the
The Spirit of Giving I wasn’t going to mention this in my newsletter, until a stranger from Switzerland said my Instagram post about it inspired her to start doing this with her kids for Christmas, so… During #GivingTuesday, I funded a bee business for a family through Plan Australia’s Gifts of Hope program, which was
