The Foreword in this book explain why I’m in three writer’s groups. Each one is different and therefore each one fills a separate need. Here’s an excerpt from the Foreword.
Writing can be a solitary and uncertain activity. That’s why associations like the Fellowship of Australian Writers (FAW) are so important. They bring experienced and novice writers together, encouraging mentorships, collaboration, feedback, and submissions. The Lake Macquarie FAW holds monthly meetings…
I’ve recently joined the Monash Writers Group which helps writers be better writers. In fact I’ll be there tomorrow night, I just need to find a piece of writing to present to the team. And just like the Lake Macquarie FAW they encourage us to submit pieces of our writing for publication into a book just like this one I’m talking about tonight.
I bought this book at Book Fair Australia in 2024. Some of the people from the Lake Macquarie FAW were staffing a stall there and I just happened to buy books at their stall. It has nothing to do with loving anthologies, or wanting to support them, and everything to do with getting lost in my conversation with them…and all of a sudden I’m the proud owner of more books. And in case you thought I’d been given them, well, yes, but that was after I paid. My blog doesn’t do well enough for me to be given books.
This anthology is filled with really good stories. I was way too engrossed to make any notes. I have just reviewed a couple of stories at random. The first story is about a man working with BHP in Newcastle. It is very emotional and very nicely written, short and too the point. The other one I just read is about what it’s like to be a recovering alcoholic from inside her head. It is incredibly powerful and I feel I have a very small understanding of how hard it must be to stay away from alcohol.
Both of these stories are very beautifully written and are only an illustration of the brilliance in this book. I’m looking forward to reading more from this writers group.