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Welcome to my fire. This is a place to talk author’s, their life, and craft. Sort of a peek behind the curtain to get to know people. I hope you will subscribe to the blog and be part of this growing community of readers, writers, and what makes us tick. Today is a new to me author, Meryl Tobin from Australia. Meryl, I hear you like a special beverage and I’ve gathered the ingredients to make Nature’s Cuppa. I’m excited to try this drink made of barley, rye, chicory, and malted barley So, while I grab a couple of mugs, why don’t you take the floor and introduce yourself? Who are you other than your bio? I am a happily married woman with three adult children and extended family and friends, and I am also involved in my community. As a child I developed a love of nature and a social conscience, and I try to do what I can to help make the world a better place as I see it. Lovely! The world is a gift, and we need to do our part in taking care of it and its people. What interests besides writing do you enjoy? Travel, photography, watching TV, following up and researching mystery sightings of mystery creatures such as big wild cats and animals fitting the description of the extinct Tasmanian tiger. I read newspapers, journals and books and I am involved in conservation groups advocating for the environment. My husband and I love traveling and have traveled extensively around Australia and have traveled overseas to countries including Denmark, Sweden, Russia, China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and the USA. Wow! I’ve only been to Mexico and the Caribbean, other than the USA. Though my hubby and I travel a lot in our camper. Who is your network or support system? I belong to various writer groups. The Australian Society of Authors Inc is a highly professional organization, and I joined it when I published my first book. The one whose meetings I attend regularly is The Society of Women Writers Victoria (in Australia). For many years I was a member of a SWWV poetry workshop where members critiqued each other’s poems. I have also been a member of the now-defunct Fellowship of Australian Writers Victorian branch and the Victorian Writers Centre (now called Writers Victoria). I am also a member of Geelong Writers. Apart from formal groups, I have good writing friends. We email each other with writing news, tips, experiences and help with technology, etc. That’s quite a varied and widespread network. I get inspiration many different places. Who or what books or authors are your inspiration? I like lots of different sorts of books and lots of authors. As a child I loved Enid Blyton’s books, especially the Famous Five ones. The science fiction novel ‘Z for Zachariah’ by Robert Leslie Carroll Conly was one with a great message, as were George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ and ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’. In more recent times, I’ve enjoyed reading Richard Flanagan’s ‘The Narrow Road to the Deep North’, for which Flanagan won The Man Booker Prize 2014, Chrissie Michaels’ Australian historical fiction for teenagers and Bruce Pascoe’s brilliant book, ‘Dark Emu’ and Stan Grant’s ‘Talking to My Country’, both books about First Nations people. As this interview is about my work as a romantic suspense writer, I should mention EV Timms, an Australian historical novelist, Catherine Gaskin author of ‘Sara Dane’, Victoria Holt, gothic romance writer, Catherine Cookson, a British writer of historical novels and the films of some of Danielle Steel’s books. All authors and books made an impression on me, as did others. As a keen TV viewer, I also thrived on TV detective shows such as ‘Midsomer Murders’ and ‘Vera’ and family sagas such as ‘The Forsyte Saga’ and ‘Downton Abbey’. I’ve often mentioned Victoria Holt and Catherine Cookson though I’ll have to look the others up. Do you have any fun or outrageous talent? I follow up stories of sightings of unusual fauna, such as exotic big cats, such as pumas and black panthers, which are not native to where I live––Australia. What is your neighborhood like? Are there any places you frequent? My husband and I live in Paradise between the coast and the bush with lots of flora and fauna. For instance, there are 54 native orchids growing naturally in our area. In spring, 2019, some months after bushfires close to us the summer before, a huge grass tree forest we didn’t know existed erupted in full bloom with thousands of spikes flowering at the same time. Sadly, because of sand mining, many of the orchids and grass trees and other native flora have been destroyed or are under threat. It sounds beautiful. I’ve tried growing orchids at home but never was quite successful. I can hardly imagine them growing wild. Let’s chat about writing. Does writing energize or exhaust you? Both but I have to do it. As Dr Phil would say, it is part of the ‘authentic me’. After years of writing, I wish I knew some of what I know now. Let’s help the new writers out. What are common traps for aspiring writers? Sending material off before letting it settle for a time and then thoroughly proofreading it to see it is the best it can possibly be. So, true. We are so excited when we type The End, that we send it off before it’s really ready. What are your writing gems? Being given the tools to write in a style to rework my novels so they will be published. The former Wild Rose Press Editor Val Mathews gave me the tools and they are set out in Mary Buckham's ‘A Writer's Guide to Active Setting’ and Janice Hardy's ‘Understanding Show, Don't Tell’. If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be? Do a writing course early in your career––don’t lose precious time learning a lot through trial and error and experience. Also, as it takes so long to write a novel and get it published, Consider writing shorter pieces regularly as well and getting published regularly. How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have? Among other writing, I have three novels close to ready, another that needs quite a bit of work, and one more that needs rewriting in depth. One is buried in my head with none of it written down, three educational puzzle books need more work, and, I have several short story collections of my published short stories and several poetry collections of my published poems waiting for me to find the time to revise them and put them together. Oh, my. Prolific much? Lol! Let’s get a snapshot of you, Meryl. If you could only choose one song to play every time you walked into a room for the rest of your life, what would it be? ‘I Am Woman.’ What subjects should be taught in school but aren’t? Clear thinking to counter the proliferation of false facts. While some students might be, all students should also be taught to handle money and manage a household and be taught respect for all. What’s the most amazing natural occurrence you’ve witnessed? My husband and I once saw a small parrot we couldn’t identify on the mudflats on the coast eating beaded glasswort. Then it registered, we were looking at the almost extinct, orange-bellied parrot. Only about 50 are said to exist in the wild. My husband did get photos of it on our mobile phone, but we were a bit far away so they were not good ones. Meryl, than you for joining me today Around the Fire. Before you head off into the wilds, will you leave us with some information about your book and where we can find out more about it and you? Broome Enigma by Meryl Brown Tobin Romantic Suspense Release by The Wild Rose Press November 20, 2023 On a working holiday in Australia's cosmopolitan Outback town of Broome in 1986, Jodie, a young book designer is open to romance and adventure. At the holiday village where she is staying, she meets Joe, a young man who works there. Despite the strong attraction between them, the many unknowns about his earlier life keep them apart. To try to uncover his mysterious past, they travel to Perth and back to Broome and are drawn into not only bizarre but also dangerous situations. Is Joe the person Jodie thinks he is, or is he some alter ego? Can she stop their relationship from developing until she knows whether he is free to love her? *From the author. Broome Enigma is for mature Young Adults, Women and Adults. All interactions, other than the 'baddies' behaviour' are respectful, and family values are important. More about the author.
Meryl Brown Tobin is an Australian writer who writes children’s and adults’ fiction and non-fiction, particularly on travel and the environment, poetry and puzzles for all ages. Her published work includes 20 books, including a travel book, puzzle books, blackline masters books of educational puzzles and workbooks, a children’s picture storybook and poetry books. Hundreds of her poems, puzzles and articles, scores of short stories, and some cartoons and comic strips have appeared in more than 150 magazines and newspapers in Australia and other countries, including India, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore, New Zealand, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and USA. She has also edited several books and co-ordinated and co-edited a haiku book and an anthology of prose and poetry for The Society of Women Writers Victoria Inc. A member of the Australian Society of Authors Ltd, Fellowship of Australian Writers (Vic) and The Society of Women Writers Victoria Inc, she is a former President of the SWWV. Comments are closed.
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Your Host D.V. StoneAward winning multi-genre author and blogger. Fantasy, romance, mid-grade. Nothing better than a campfire, book, and glass of wine. Okay maybe there is.📚 Follow Me!
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January 2025
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