Chatter

Have you ever tried to build a raft? I remember being on an Operation Raleigh selection weekend and set this challenge as a member of a team. We had to tie together car tyres with ropes and timber slats, with no instruction. We failed miserably and all went for an unscheduled swim as we tried to cross the pond. The successful crossing was of course the main measure of success. It was one of my many failures during this assessment process. I’m just not an outdoorsy person although I aspire to be.

Like thousands of others, I’m a fan of the TV series alone where participants are dropped in the wilderness and left to fend for themselves with the barest of tools. The one who lasts the longest takes home the prize money. Several participants in the different Alone TV series attempted to make a raft. Some were successful. Others not. The challenge of building a raft gave them focus for a while. It can be boring being alone in the wilderness. And of course, if they were successful at making a raft, they improved their survival prospects.

In my novel Alone with a Tasman Tiger, our hero Seb, sets himself the goal of building a raft. It will allow him a different vantage point for fishing and allow him to explore other areas in his designated area in the wilderness. He has limited tools but access to already felled, huon logs. Long-distance rafts have been constructed using timber and rope for centuries. As a child I was entranced by the 1947 journey of the Kon-Tiki expedition across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands, led by Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl. The main body of the float was composed of nine balsa tree trunks lashed together with hemp ropes.  Heyerdahl proved not only these craft were seaworthy but also that they could travel very long distances.

Seb didn’t end up travelling that far, but did end up in a load of trouble. You can read what happened in Alone with a Tasman Tiger.

Snapshots from Byron Writers Festival, 2024

Words can be limiting in describing experiences. I know that’s a strange thing for a writer to say.  It’s how I feel when I try to explain the buzz from the Byron Writers Festival. I’ll try to share a few insights. 

I loved the historical reveals, the clever conversations and the occasional burst of song. Indeed, I was chuffed to join Kate Ceberano, and hundreds of others in singing, ‘I will survive’, when we were exploring The Power of Creativity. Actor, author and all-round-lovable-larrikin Bryan Brown, observed ‘the warmth from the festival that makes you feel good.’ 

One of the hardest things about the festival is choosing between the sessions. There are five events running concurrently across seven slots each day. Topics discussed included: politics, poetry and pain; grief, grace, governance and grassroot activism; media, moguls and monsters. (There may be tautology in this last phrase). Also, writing crime and killing for country, and love, brotherhood and status anxiety, to name but a few.  

Most patrons were grey-haired and left leaning. I was clearly hanging out with my tribe as I sat in in the winter sunshine, on Saturday anyway, nodding gently and occasionally chortling. I loved learning more about other writers’ processes for crafting characters and creating complex plots. As always, it was good to be introduced to authors I’d not yet been acquainted with. My pile of to-be-read books has grown exponentially because of my weekend at the beautiful Bangalow Showgrounds.  It was time well invested and I’m already looking forward to next year’s conversations and to meeting more Australian storytellers. 

Above image taken by Martin Schalter on Unsplash photos

The global popularity of the Alone Tv series, has many folks imagining how they would fare in such a challenging ‘survival of the fittest’ situation.  Would they be able to build a secure shelter and hunt for food?  Would they be comfortable spending so much time alone? Are they closer in character to Edward Michael “Bear” Grylls or Walter Mitty? From the competitions run already we know that some contestations only last a day while others can hold on for seventy days. I’m thinking here about Woniya Dawn Thibeault who survived 73 days by herself, building a shelter out of tree branches, hunting for food with a bow and arrow and surviving fierce winter storms. She survived for 10 weeks on 10 hares, 10 squirrels, one grouse, and quarts of berries. In the process, she lost a third of her body weight.

Obviously if you wanted to enter the Alone competition, or simply to go into the wilderness by yourself, you’d need to give serious consideration to what tools you’d take to support your safety, survival, and comfort. Factors influencing your decision would include the terrain, climate, and weather conditions of your destination. For example, will you be in the desert, forest, mountains, beside a river or in a coastal area.

In Alone with a Tasman Tiger, Sebastian Ward is told he can only take ten items. This is what he selects.

1.          knife with belt carrier

2.          lighter

3.          water container

4.          saw

5.          sleeping bag

6.          cooking pot

7.          head lamp

8.          tarp

9.          fishing line and hooks

10.        axe

You can learn how he, and indeed the other five contestants, go in securing a shelter, finding food and managing interactions with wild animals, when they are dropped in the wilderness in Western Tasmania with their ten items. Did they choose wisely? Will they last longer than a week? The clock is ticking for them all.

Night sky image from Joe Leahy on Unsplash

Available for pre-order here.

I’d always had difficulty writing a novel beyond 40,000 words because that was how long it typically took to get the idea out of my head and onto paper. Knowing that I had to write a story of 70,000 words to enter the Hachette Richell Prize competition, I decided I needed to combine a few stories to make the word count. This created a wonderful challenge.

Writing Alone with the Tasman Tiger allowed me to combine three story ideas that were each compelling in their own right. First was my fascination with the Alone TV series showing on SBS in Australia, where competitors are dropped in the bush and have to build a shelter, find food and manage the inevitable loneliness that will come. I had been particularly enthralled by the Australian edition of Alone set in Tasmania and by one of the winners, Gina Chick who had a strong affinity with the bush. There’s also the possibility of spotting the Thylacine, more commonly known as the Tasmanian Tiger. It’s an animal that has captured the imagination of many who fervently believe that it still exists. The challenge is that the last verified photo was taken in 1936.

The second interest, driving Alone, was that of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. A map is provided below.

It’s a grueling offshore race that can take from 35 to 100 hours and where a crew who’ve had limited sleep, has to work closely together as they battle high winds and strong waves. I was interested in knowing what that experience was like and read a number of sailing books and spoke with yachting friends, prior to writing Alone.

And my third interest came from my love of thrillers like Stranded by Sarah Goodwin, Outback by Patricia Wolf and Furious: Sailing into Terror by Jeffrey Higgins. I’ve also enjoyed reading the James Bond stories by Ian Fleming although I think the leading character James Bond, is tired, misogynist and well past his use-by date. I’ve reinvented the concept with two feisty female sleuths; Galina Ivanov and Charlotte Harmon.

I’ve also been intrigued by all the chatter about microwave technologies used as a weapon and the resulting Havana Syndrome, an illness affecting diplomats, intelligence officers and military personnel around the world. So there’s a nod to this devastating technology and a need for our sleuths to outsmart the Russian spies.

I relish reading books that draw you in quickly, continue with the fast pace and have twists and reveals up until the last chapter. And it’s great to have characters that the reader is rooting for. I’d love to know if I have achieved this in Alone. You can email me on janeellyson (at) gmail.com to let me know.

Alone with a Tasman Tiger is currently available for pre-order on Amazon. Great time to take a bite?

End of year holidays are quickly approaching with many thinking about books on their TBR list. I’ve read a couple of good books lately. There’s romance in both, but that’s not the book’s main genre. There are elements of heartache, family, friendship and mystery.

I know I’m late to the party, but I’ve only just finished It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover. Admission here. I resisted buying it because domestic violence was a story element. However when I saw that it was listed in the top 100 best-selling novels in the US, I thought, gotta read this. And I’m pleased I did. The characters are beautifully described and I loved the device of Lily revealing her back story through her unsent letters to Ellen DeGeneres. Such an unusual story and then you get to the end and read the author’s notes to learn that a great deal of the storyline was influenced by her own life experience. I hope one day to write this well. Highly recommended.

Fantastic premise for a story starting with Alice, our protagonist, staring at the body of her dead husband – except it isn’t him.

Excellent first two acts exploring a relationship from two perspectives. There were so many warning signs that Alice kept ignoring.

I couldn’t put The Man She Married down, and kept rushing through all my daily life so that I could return to the world of Alice and Dominic.

However, I think that Act Three let the reader down as it whimpered to an ending. A few too many non-relevant scenes, reducing the fast pace, and I felt like the accident remained unresolved by the end. Still, I recommend the book.

Many thanks to those readers who purchased Over Byron Bay while it featured in a Book Bub Deal. Since I last wrote I’ve released An Extraordinary Wedding.

‘It’ll be a very simple wedding Mum. Nothing extraordinary.’

If only…

I’m trying hard to stay focussed and write a few books and then to release one each month, but I get so excited once the story’s told and the cover’s made. It’s just too hard to not press the publish button.

So please help holde me acountable for the next three action-adventure-romantic-suspense novels that I have on the go. The first one is tentatively titled Alone and is set in Tasmania, Australia.

The romance is between two contestants on a reality TV show where the person who lasts the longest in the wilderness, wins $250,000.  Sound familiar? But in my story, one of them disappears. I openly admit that my inspiration came from watching the TV series, Alone, and that I may need to change the title to Away. We’ll see.

And the book after that is also a TV series inspired creation, along the lines of Farmer wants a Wife. I’m loving the plotting. Probably the best bit of the writing process.

The Côte D’Azur, more commonly known by English speaking folk as The French Riviera, is a favourite holiday location for many. It’s easy to see why. There’s a magnificent rocky coastline with many dramatic vantage points, and secret swimming holes. A plethora of historic towns and villages in gorgeous shades of pink, orange and yellow. You can stroll along the promenade des Anglais in Nice or trek in the majestic Mercantour.

I wrote Substitute Child while I lived in Mandelieu la Napoule. This town in nestled between their famous neighbour of Cannes and the rugged Estérel mountains. I made sure that my heroine visited many of my favourite places and I’ve documented two walking tours, so that you can follow her journey. These tours are through Antibes and Cannes.

Walking tour of Antibes

Walking tour of Antibes

1. Start at the Ferris wheel beside the port of Antibes on Avenue De Verdun.

2. Walk alongside the ramparts (old walls) of Antibes down to the far end of the port. There will be hundreds of leisure craft gently bobbing in the water.

3. Walk back towards the wall and under the archway taking the left turn up Av. de la Salis. You will enjoy the same wonderful views back to the port and across La Gravette Beach that Jacques showed Charlotte.

4. Continue along this road for another twenty metres and enjoy looking over to the Cap d’Antibes.

5. After fifty metres stop at the Picasso museum and then wind your way through the narrow streets back to Cours Masséna

6. I recommend you stop at the Antibes Provencal Markets to take in the smell of flowers and spices.

7. Then follow Rue Sade down the hill until you emerge into a large town square. I recommend you, pick up a gelato and then enter Rue Thuret.

8. Follow Rue Thuret until the end where it joins Boulevard d’Aguillon. Turn right and you will be a few steps away from the Hop Store, where Charlotte, Mason and Scott enjoyed their first drink together. (Let me know if the sign, No kissing in the bar unless with staff, is still there).

Walking tour of Cannes

1. Start at the Palais des Festival et des Congres at the end of the Croisette. Look at the hundreds of handprints of movie stars who’ve left their mark while visiting the city.

2. Walk along the Croisette taking in the sparkling Mediterranean on your right and the stunning hotels on your left. You could walk a long way here taking in the wonderful seaside ambiance. I propose you cross the road and take Rue Mace up to Rue D’An[1]tibes. The shops may tempt you, but I suggest continuing up Rue Chabaud until you come to the pedestrianised street of Rue Hoche. You will see a number of lovely cafes on this street.

3. Continue along Rue Hoche until you reach Rue de 24 Août and turn left and walk back down to Rue d’Antibes.

4. Turn right and walk a few hundred meters down this shopping street then turn right at Rue Louis Blanc. Walk three blocks and you will see the Marche Forville on your left.

5. Walk through to the end of the market and turn left at Rue du Docteur Pierre Gazagnaire, walking down to Rue Felix Faure which joins Rue Georges Clemenceau. Turn right here. Take Rue du Barri to walk up to the castle to view the city of Cannes and Îles de Lérins.

6. When you walk back down the hill the same way, walk across Rue Georges Clemenceau and down to Quai Saint-Pierre. You can walk along the waterfront, to the large carpark where you can take a boat out to Îles de Lérins. I would suggest you visit Ile Sainte Marguerite if you are pressed for time. You’ll not only be able to visit the forest where Scott and Charlotte were held captive, but also the cell which was home to the ‘Man in the Iron Mask’.

And if you want to pack action filled reading with a touch of romance for your holiday on the French Riviera, pick up a copy of Substitute Child.