Meet Megan Daley, author of 'Raising Readers'. Val and Al share writing competitions you should enter. Plus, we have 10 double passes to ‘Apollo 11’ to give away. All that and more in this week’s episode. 

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Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook
Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com | ValerieKhoo.com

Meet Megan Daley, author of 'Raising Readers'. Val and Al share writing competitions you should enter. Plus, we have 10 double passes to &lsquo;Apollo 11&rsquo; to give away. All that and more in this week&rsquo;s episode.&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.writerscentre.com.au/blog/ep-288/">Read the show notes</a>
Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/2346749828883788/">the podcast community on Facebook</a> Visit <a href="https://www.writerscentre.com.au/">WritersCentre.com.au</a> | <a href="http://allisonttait.com/">AllisonTait.com</a> | <a href="http://valeriekhoo.com/">ValerieKhoo.com</a>

Everything you’ve always wanted to know about succeeding in the world of writing and publishing. Learn practical writing techniques, go behind-the-scenes and discover how real-life authors got their big break. Uncover the creative processes of writers who have made it. Your host is Valerie Khoo – author, journalist, creative and CEO of the Australian Writers’ Centre. 

Everything you&rsquo;ve always wanted to know about succeeding in the world of writing and publishing. Learn practical writing techniques, go behind-the-scenes and discover how real-life authors got their big break. Uncover the creative processes of writers who have made it. Your host is Valerie Khoo &ndash;&nbsp;author, journalist, creative and CEO of the Australian Writers&rsquo; Centre.&nbsp;

So You Want to be a Writer

WRITER 288: Meet Megan Daley, author of 'Raising Readers'.

Winner of the HarperCollins Australia Banjo Prize and AWC alumni Dinuka McKenzie needs no introduction – both because her growing body of work has found such acclaim, and also because we have chatted with her twice before on the podcast! In this episode, she is back to share the experience of creating her latest psychological suspense novel, She Lied First – with insights into her process as well as her thoughts on using social media in the author space. Listen now:

00:00 Welcome
15:51 Writing tip: Get a supportive inner coach
18:21 WIN: Bad Words by Rioghnach Robinson
19:33 Word of the week: “Aptronym”
20:30 Interview with Dinuka McKenzie
21:51 Explaining She Lied First
23:10 Sisterhood origins
25:13 Writing toward the twist
27:39 Subverting South Asian stereotypes
29:04 Timelines without confusion
34:05 Developing the distinct POV voices 
37:08 Career longevity through feedback
41:40 Dinuka’s experience building her platform
46:15 The course tools that helped her
48:42 Final thoughts

Read the show notes

Connect with Valerie and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook
Visit WritersCentre.com.au | ValerieKhoo.com

Winner of the HarperCollins Australia Banjo Prize and AWC alumni Dinuka McKenzie needs no introduction &ndash; both because her growing body of work has found such acclaim, and also because we have chatted with her twice before on the podcast! In this episode, she is back to share the experience of creating her latest psychological suspense novel, She Lied First &ndash; with insights into her process as well as her thoughts on using social media in the author space. Listen now:
00:00 Welcome 15:51 Writing tip: Get a supportive inner coach 18:21 WIN: Bad Words by Rioghnach Robinson 19:33 Word of the week: &ldquo;Aptronym&rdquo; 20:30 Interview with Dinuka McKenzie 21:51 Explaining She Lied First 23:10 Sisterhood origins 25:13 Writing toward the twist 27:39 Subverting South Asian stereotypes 29:04 Timelines without confusion 34:05 Developing the distinct POV voices 37:08 Career longevity through feedback 41:40 Dinuka&rsquo;s experience building her platform 46:15 The course tools that helped her 48:42 Final thoughts
<a href="https://www.writerscentre.com.au/blog/ep-742/">Read the show notes</a>
Connect with Valerie and listeners in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/2346749828883788/">the podcast community on Facebook</a> Visit <a href="https://www.writerscentre.com.au/">WritersCentre.com.au</a> |&nbsp;<a href="http://valeriekhoo.com/">ValerieKhoo.com</a>

Writing Podcast Episode 742: Dinuka McKenzie discusses her new suspense novel, 'She Lied First'

Real-life pharmacist and acclaimed British author Amit Dhand says the only difference between medicine and poison is the dose – a fantastic backdrop for his most recent books, of which The Kingpin is his latest. In this episode, Amit (writing as A.A. Dhand) explores the world of crime/thriller, his singular approach to writing and his own slate as a storyteller.

00:00 Welcome
11:45 Writing tip: Finding adverbs
14:47 Writers in the wild: Annika
16:20 WIN: The Centre by Hannah Tunicliffe
17:48 Word of the week: “Dudgeon”
18:38 Interview with A.A. Dhand
19:21 What The Kingpin is about
20:40 Setting and pharmacy authenticity
26:19 Write what you emotionally know
28:00 Why crime stories?
29:22 Research and realism
35:15 Pharmacy as a thriller world
40:37 Writing routine and process
46:18 What’s next?
49:08 Writing tip
50:35 Final thoughts

Read the show notes

Connect with Valerie and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook
Visit WritersCentre.com.au | ValerieKhoo.com

Real-life pharmacist and acclaimed British author Amit Dhand says the only difference between medicine and poison is the dose &ndash; a fantastic backdrop for his most recent books, of which The Kingpin is his latest. In this episode, Amit (writing as A.A. Dhand) explores the world of crime/thriller, his singular approach to writing and his own slate as a storyteller.
00:00 Welcome 11:45 Writing tip: Finding adverbs 14:47 Writers in the wild: Annika 16:20 WIN: The Centre by Hannah Tunicliffe 17:48 Word of the week: &ldquo;Dudgeon&rdquo; 18:38 Interview with A.A. Dhand 19:21 What The Kingpin is about 20:40 Setting and pharmacy authenticity 26:19 Write what you emotionally know 28:00 Why crime stories? 29:22 Research and realism 35:15 Pharmacy as a thriller world 40:37 Writing routine and process 46:18 What&rsquo;s next? 49:08 Writing tip 50:35 Final thoughts
<a href="https://www.writerscentre.com.au/blog/ep-741/">Read the show notes</a>
Connect with Valerie and listeners in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/2346749828883788/">the podcast community on Facebook</a> Visit <a href="https://www.writerscentre.com.au/">WritersCentre.com.au</a> |&nbsp;<a href="http://valeriekhoo.com/">ValerieKhoo.com</a>

Writing Podcast Episode 741: Crime-thriller author A. A. Dhand dispenses his latest novel, 'The Kingpin'

Are YOU a middle child? Author and AWC grad Seetha Dodd is, and that’s just one of the parallels between her life and the characters in her debut junior-fiction novel, Myra in the Middle – a fabulous take on finding your place in your family, and the world. In this episode, Seetha discusses how she found her way back to writing and her experience bringing this book and its characters to life.

00:00 Welcome
06:28 Writing tip: Take part in Furious Fiction!
09:02 WIN: Missing Molly by Natalie Barelli
10:18: Word of the week: “Darkle”
11:11 Interview with Seetha Dodd
13:55 Furious Fiction beginnings
19:23 Courses and confidence
24:28 The importance of community
27:25 About her book, Myra in the Middle
28:53 Culture on the page
31:05 The book’s themes
32:42 Working with an illustrator
34:03 The pitching, editing and publication timeline
38:56 Writing picture books
43:20 Writing advice
44:34 Book recommendations
47:00 Final thoughts

Read the show notes

Connect with Valerie and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook
Visit WritersCentre.com.au | ValerieKhoo.com

Are YOU a middle child? Author and AWC grad Seetha Dodd is, and that&rsquo;s just one of the parallels between her life and the characters in her debut junior-fiction novel, Myra in the Middle &ndash; a fabulous take on finding your place in your family, and the world. In this episode, Seetha discusses how she found her way back to writing and her experience bringing this book and its characters to life.
00:00 Welcome 06:28 Writing tip: Take part in Furious Fiction! 09:02 WIN: Missing Molly by Natalie Barelli 10:18: Word of the week: &ldquo;Darkle&rdquo; 11:11 Interview with Seetha Dodd 13:55 Furious Fiction beginnings 19:23 Courses and confidence 24:28 The importance of community 27:25 About her book, Myra in the Middle 28:53 Culture on the page 31:05 The book&rsquo;s themes 32:42 Working with an illustrator 34:03 The pitching, editing and publication timeline 38:56 Writing picture books 43:20 Writing advice 44:34 Book recommendations 47:00 Final thoughts
<a href="https://www.writerscentre.com.au/blog/ep-740/">Read the show notes</a>
Connect with Valerie and listeners in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/2346749828883788/">the podcast community on Facebook</a> Visit <a href="https://www.writerscentre.com.au/">WritersCentre.com.au</a> |&nbsp;<a href="http://valeriekhoo.com/">ValerieKhoo.com</a>

WRITER 288: Meet Megan Daley, author of 'Raising Readers'.

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