The Agony & The Ecstasy of Stones Michelangelo Biographical novels of artists abound, but perhaps the most famous is Irving Stones The Agony and the Ecstasy about one of the most famous artists of all time, Michelangelo. Stone took much of his material from nearly 500 letters attributed to Michelangelo, which had never before [...]
Some stories are so amazing that they deserve to spoken of time and again. So it is with Soldier Boy the celebrated true story of Jim Martin the youngest Anzac. Written by Anthony Hill and first published in 2001 it won the NSW Premier's Award (Ethel Turner Prize) the year of publication and has since [...]
The German invasion of France in August 1914 saw millions of soldiers digging two lines of zig-zagging trenches that stretched for five hundred miles across Europe, from the North Sea to Switzerland. These trenches would remain virtually unchanged until the war ended four years later. The area between the opposing forces was known as No [...]
I thought the two-leggeds were going to have some sort of fit with the length this dry spell was going on for. But then it actually rained. You would have thought it was Christmas. There was a lot of talking loudly and sitting watching the rain fall and a bottle of fizzy stuff was popped. [...]
With the drought on-going there's been very little happening stock-wise. My tw0-legged mates are out feeding cattle everyday, which while it has to be done is very boring for us dogs. So I decided it was time to get my half-sister Jill a bit motivated. Now that the mornings are cooling off a bit I've [...]
This year marks the centenary of World War One, 2014-2018. From an Australian perspective over the next two years a number of historic commemorative services will be held, the first in 1915 for the fateful landing at Gallipoli and the second for the Australian Imperial Forces move in 1916 to the Western Front in France. [...]
About Novel Writing Retreats Australia, by Steve Rossiter Thank you to Nicole for having me here on her site. Some of you may know me, or at least know of me, as the person behind The Australian Literature Review (www.auslit.net), Writing Novels in Australia (www.writingnovelsinaustralia.com), Writing Historical Novels (www.writinghistoricalnovels.com) and Writing Teen Novels (www.writingteennovels.com). [...]
If you are a writer, or attempting to become one or simply interested in honing your skills, a writing course can be a great help. For one they make us concentrate on the task at hand, discipline is a writer's best friend, secondly they can open our eyes to not only the technicalities of the [...]
Penny Blatchford, wife, farmer and accidental activist joins me to talk about Coal Seam Gas and farmers rights... or lack of. Can one early Sunday morning phone call really change the direction of your life? I guess looking back and reflecting on what was the trigger one simple act by someone that was unknown to [...]
500 communities, 1300 volunteers cris-crossing rural and remote Australia offering everything from diaster support to a friendly ear and a cuppa. Meet this week's inspiring woman, Davida Melksham of Outback Links. This Like so many other women who wear many hats, I often struggle to come up with a suitable introduction. Quite simply, it is [...]