Emily Paull

patience ˈpeɪʃ(ə)ns/ noun 1 . the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious. "you can find bargains if you have the patience to sift through the rubbish" synonyms: forbearance ,  tolerance ,  restraint ,  self-restraint ,  resignation ,  stoicism , fortitude ,  sufferance ,  endurance ;  I've never been a particularly patient person.   I like to be early to things and I pride myself on being organised. That's why this part of my writing journey is particularly difficult.   Because sending my book out involves a whole lot of waiting .   Waiting for things makes me anxious, and it makes me do things like check my email four or five (hundred) times a day.   One of my New Year's Resolutions for 2015 was to Get Rejected and to be Be Okay with It.   In the past couple of years since I started writing seriously, I almost feel...

The Last Illusion Porochista Khakpour Bloomsbury (I own a copy) When Zal is born, he is pale and strange looking, and his mother (who has already had several other children) finds him abhorrent, so she puts him in a birdcage on the front veranda.  For many years, he lives his life among her bird collection.  Then, his older sister visits and discovers this bizarre form of abuse; she and a friend make a documentary of Zal's rescue and he becomes famous, a kind of horrifying obsession in the news media, attracting the attention of a Dr Hendricks, an expert in child development.  Hendricks flies to Iran to adopt Zal, and brings him home to New York, where they attempt to make the rest of Zal's life as normal as possible. But Zal is not normal, and in fact he quite likes living like a bird.  He eats insects, he cannot smile, and more than anything, he wants to fly.  This leads him to the illusionist, Bran Silber, who puts on a show about the history of flight ...

Black Light KA Bedford Fremantle Press, 2015 (I own a copy, courtesy the publisher) In 1920s Pelican River, eccentric science fiction novelist Ruth Black receives a visit from her aunt Julia, who brings with her a prediction that Ruth is in danger.  Julia's visions are making her ill, and while the doctors say it is epilepsy, Ruth knows that the thing that is coming for her is not of this world.  When threatening letters begin to arrive, claiming to know of a horrible secret involving Ruth's deceased husband and father, she decides to take matters into her own hands, and with the help of her friend Gordon, she sets out to solve the case herself. KA Bedford is a two time Aurealis Award winner for excellence in science fiction writing.  This new novel is something a little bit different for the contemporary fiction scene; it is a book which is part 1920s detective novel and part foray into the supernatural realm.  Think Phryne Fisher with demons.  The wr...

Well, I aimed to read ten books a month, and by the last day of February, I was on my tenth, so I'm almost there.  Not bad for a month with only 28 days! So much of my reading in February was influenced by events; first by the Perth Writers' Festival, and then by the release and launch of Deborah Burrows' A Time of Secrets , which you can see is the second book I read in February.  Of these books, 8/9 were written by women and 6/9 were written by Australians.  I could probably come up with some other statistics for you all if you wanted, (i.e. 3/9 were historical, 2/9 referenced fairytales and only 1 was short fiction) but we're not here to talk about reading habits. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins This year's Gone Girl?  I hope so!  So much more enjoyable than Gone Girl for me, partly because it explored deep issues of abuse and the characters, whilst flawed, had redeeming qualities that made me feel at least some degree of empathy for them. ...

The Perth Writers' Festival took place this month, between the 19th and the 22nd of February, and boasted such guests as Dr Bob Brown, Elizabeth Gilbert, DBC Pierre and Liane Moriarty.  Over three full days and four nights, the UWA campus was transformed into a hub of ideas.  44 000 writers, readers, families, publishers and other interested patrons swarmed in and out of lecture theatres to listen to panels on diverse topics such as grief, movie adaptations and even the influence of fairy tales on our storytelling culture.  As always, this was an enriching experience, and the Festival organisers truly outdid themselves. Now, one week on, I sit to write this post and I reflect on what the festival means to me, what it provided.  The most obvious answer is inspiration.  The second most obvious answer is books. On Friday, I took in a number of fantastic sessions, beginning with a session all about Fairy Tales.  The session panel consisted of Kate F...