Does Writing Make You Feel Guilty?

Does writing make you feel guilty? That's the question I posed to my fellow published authors at the recent Writers' Conference (RWNZ).

It's an issue that's been bothering me for a few years. Is it because I'm a woman? a mother? a lapsed Roman Catholic? Whatever the reason, my conscience nags at me every time I enjoy plotting a scene too much and, as the result:

• I serve the family a take-away meal full of trans-fats
• somebody steps on a toy, breaking it to bits, because it was lying in the corridor and not in the toy box
• my husband has to watch evening TV all by himself
• I forget to pack the kids' swimming gear
• my book is more interesting than the kid's piano lesson
• ....

Honestly, what right do I have to enjoy my work so much when my husband doesn't? What right do I have to waste family weekend time going t writing conferences? What right do I have being late for the school pickup because I'm writing this blog????

You know you're a parent when...

You know you're a parent when...

• The last ten books you've read are "The Gruffalo", "The Secret Seven", "The Famous Five", "The Gruffalo", "The Gruffalo", "The Secret Seven's Adventure", "The Cat in A Hat", "The Gruffalo", "The Secret Seven Do It Again" and "The Gruffalo".
• You enter a library to give a talk to a group of adults, only to be sidetracked by a room full of toddlers singing "The wheels on the bus go round and round".
• (You hum "The wheels on the bus go round and round" for the rest of the day.)
• Your dinner repertoir consists of sausages, fish fingers and chicken nuggets.
• You refuse to read any books in which bad things happen to children.
• (You don't have time to read any adult books anyway.)
• As an author, you start censoring your writing in case your children get into the computer.
• You think it's more important for your children to be happy than for you to win the Orange Fiction Prize.
• You finish your blog post mid-sentence because your children call you down to -

Book trailers, anyone?

You know what my ideal book trailer would be? Computer-graphic characters playing out scenes from the book, complete with actions and dialogue. Cool, huh?

Failing that, photographs of scenes from the book (as close as you can get), together with a book excerpt read out by an actor. You can see an example of that here.

This book trailer, for "Murder @ Play", doesn't have a voice-over, but I like it anyway. What do you think?

Do you like book trailers, period?

EVERY MARRIAGE NEEDS A TOUCH OF MYSTERY. OR DOES IT?

Blurb for "Murder @ Play":

In the new free South Africa of 1994, men are still boss, women carry handguns for self-protection, and some mistakes can change your life forever.

When a body is found during their weekend away with friends, Christine Chamberlain must use her brilliant mathematical mind to prove her husband's innocence...

... whether he's innocent or not.

When it comes to your loved ones, is it possible to know too much?

Excerpt from "Murder @ Play":

Prelude–Pretoria, October 1994

Chapter 1

Anonymous letters are always a cliché. In South Africa, they can also be deadly.

This one would contain no explosives or wires. Just a plain envelope and a photocopy of words cut out from newspapers.

How many copies?

Five. One for every guy at the Election Day after-party.

Or perhaps only four?

Yes, that would be truly brilliant. Only four.

Quick Facts

Release: August 2009
Title: Murder @ Play
Author: Yvonne Walus

Link: Buy it here

ISBN: 978-1-59080-637-1
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 268
Price: $13.49 US