Love In Isolation

By Cassandra O'Leary 

The Romance Writers of Australia conference was a little different this year, as most things are in 2020, the year of the plague. COVID-19 Has meant many changes to our daily lives here in Australia, and especially where I live in Melbourne. For international readers who may not be aware, Melbourne has the dubious honour of being the home of Australia's worst virus outbreaks to date. 

I'm currently living in Stage 4 lockdown with my two boys, with a limit of one hour of exercise outdoors each day, or a trip to the shops for essential items only, a curfew after 8 pm and restriction on travel within a 5 km radius of my house. Masks are essential for anyone over the age of 12. My husband is having a different experience to me since his work hasn't stopped, being considered an essential worker, so he's out most days and still seeing co-workers and customers. I'm at home, my kids have online schooling only, and it's getting a little claustrophobic! And I'm mighty sick of Grade 3 maths tasks! 

The Romance Writers of Australia 2020 conference, dubbed Love In Isolation, ran from 12-16 August and it was a welcome distraction and mental challenge. Unlike previous conferences I attended in person, I didn't get the full experience of staying in a nice hotel with my writing friends, hanging out in the hotel bars or cafes. But the online content was great, and the conference team should be congratulated for pivoting after the Fremantle, Western Australian conference could no longer go ahead. Travel restrictions are in place between Australian states and international guests would not have been permitted to enter the country. Instead, the conference team organised an online version that included live streamed workshops and pre-recorded seminars, running on the Webinar Ninja platform. 

I particularly enjoyed locking myself in my bedroom with my laptop while my husband looked after the kids for most of the weekend, and immersing myself in writing and marketing topics. Liz Pelletier, editor and publisher from Entangled Publishing, gave a fascinating live workshop which covered what it takes to create and market a bestselling romance book. I enjoyed learning about her way of looking at genre fiction books as a type of content similar to computer software, with the story structure, function e.g. filling an emotional/relaxation need for readers, 'user experience' and packaging (such as branded ads and book covers) all having equal weight. There was a lot to think about and consider, especially for an author like myself being hybrid (self publishing as well as traditional publishing), as Entangled is doing things differently to many indies and their competitors.

Another highlight included author Rachel Bailey's session on Sparkling Dialogue, with examples from the classic movie Charade starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, as well as recent romance novels. Who wouldn't want to write funny quips like Cary and Audrey sling at each other? The combination of an online workshop with a Facebook group chat afterwards to ask questions, was a popular option with attendees.

The most information dense and complex presentation I watched was one by Ricardo Fayet from Reedsy, on Taking The Next Step in Facebook Advertising. This included an overview of how to set up multiple FB ads based on Interests and similar authors (think bigger names in your own sub-genres) and testing various artwork or short videos to see which are the most popular in terms of clicks and sales. I really want to go through his presentation again with a fine-toothed comb when I have a bit more time and brain-power, to learn his tricks and put them into action. 

The conference content will be online for three months, allowing time to go back and digest information or watch sessions missed the first time. This is fantastic, since I can work in ‘chunks’ and hopefully fit in some more conference sessions in between all my other mum-life stuff. 

Love In Isolation was a winner, but it left a kind of melancholy behind in its wake. I missed the real life connections with my fellow writers this year, the social interactions and the pure fun of dressing up and getting together with like-minded women (for the most part, but there are a few blokes usually at RWAus). My work hasn’t taken off like a proverbial rocket after conference this year, but instead I feel reluctant to write, hoping for inspiration to come in a difficult time. 

I suppose it’s always hard to write in isolation, but this year, I’m finding it more difficult than usual. Lockdown is starting to feel like an endless Groundhog Day, parenting and cleaning and cooking ad infinitum with little chance to escape the house or to retreat into a different mental space where happy endings are standard. This isn’t business as usual, and I can’t pretend it is, even if I am a fiction writer. I know The End will come soon, but all this foreshadowing is really starting to hurt my head! 

Author’s note: This will be my last regular blog for Romancing The Genres. I’ve enjoyed my time as a regular contributor here, but I find with ongoing health issues (headaches, autoimmune problems etc.) and the current lockdown with kids, I don’t have the time or concentration to devote to blogging. I hope to pop-in with a couple of guest blogs in the future though! 

About Cassandra O'Leary

Cassandra O’Leary is an author, freelance writer, avid reader, communications specialist and admirer of pretty, shiny things! In 2015, Cassandra won the global We Heart New Talent contest run by HarperCollins UK, and her debut romantic comedy novel, Girl on a Plane, was then published in 2016.

Cassandra has also independently published novellas and short stories, all while chasing her two mini ninjas around her home city of Melbourne, Australia. You’ll find Cassandra drinking coffee and hanging out on social media, musing about books and buying shoes on the internet…oh yes, and writing.

Twitter – @cass_oleary

Facebook – www.facebook.com/cassandraolearyauthor

Instagram - @cassandissima

Website – http://cassandraolearyauthor.com

A Funny Thing Happened One Night

...Or Outfoxing Mr Fox by Cassandra O'Leary

One of the things about having a houseful of pets, is they sometimes create mayhem. A case in point, our cute little chickens. Living in suburban Melbourne, Australia, we can only have a small chicken coop with a maximum of ten chickens. But sometimes even four or five are a handful. 

We first got a few young chickens when my oldest son was about 18 months old. The first lot were bantams (mini sized) chooks and included cuties named Princess Bubbles, Midnight and Ningah, named by our little boy. The chicken coop was down by our back fence and our vegetable garden. My husband, let's call him Mr M, is a keen gardener and generally good with outdoorsy stuff. He'd researched chickens, coop setup, fencing and all the particulars before we brought them home from a chicken farm in the country. 

Cut to one night, a few months after the chooks had been inhabiting their very swanky chicken townhouse (split level, a nice outlook on greenery, indoor plumbing/bird feeder and outdoor entertaining area/chicken run). Part of our back garden also backs onto our garage, where we have a sensor light setup to scare off any burglars and to help us see where we're going at night. So, if you walk by, the area floods with light. Mr M was asleep beside me when he somehow woke to full alert, panic stations… I was half asleep but wondering, what's going on? 

Then I heard the back door bang, followed by a great kerfuffle, maybe even a hullabaloo! Banging, thumping, shouting, something that sounded like a lot like GEROFFMYLAWNANDAWAYFROMTHECHICKEEEEEENZZZZ!!! 

Husband comes barging back into the bedroom a couple of minutes later, and I'm wide awake by this stage and flick on the light. Mr M is standing there, panting, ranting about the fox he caught dashing across our yard and how the floodlight scared him off...meanwhile he's completely naked (apart from his boots). 

So I reconstructed the sequence of events. Mr M ran out into the back garden, triggering the floodlight, so his naked self was highlighted in spotlight, when he may or may not have been brandishing a shovel. Mr Fox, our erstwhile neighbourhood scavenger, must have been terrified and fled the scene. Our chickens' feathers were ruffled, but otherwise okay. Luckily our next door neighbours weren't hanging over the fence filming...that we know of! 

You will probably all be relieved to know that we now have chicken wire dug down at least 30 centimetres (one foot) into the ground, making sure no foxes can dig their way in. 

Henceforth this story shall be referred to as the time my husband outfoxed Mr Fox. It will probably end up in a book one day! He just nods and sighs as I tell him this. He's so obviously a humour novel character, just like I'm a romcom heroine. Just ask me about the time I fell over a pile of shoes while trying to shoo a wasp away from my desk, then I fell on my backside AND banged my head against my bookshelf. It's a match made in romance novel heaven. 

P.S. We now have the third generation of chickens including Soy Sauce Chicken, Chilli Chicken, Fruit Tingles and Honeycomb. 

P.P.S I will not tell Mr M about the actual event that is World Naked Gardening Day. For Reasons. 

About Cassandra O'Leary 

Cassandra O'Leary is a romance, romcom and women's fiction author from Melbourne, Australia. Winner of the global We Heart New Talent contest, HarperCollins UK, and published author of Girl on a Plane, Heart Note: A Christmas romcom novella, and shorter fiction. She's a recovering corporate communications specialist, mum to two mini ninjas, and wife to a superhero. She may be writing, or else drinking coffee and buying shoes on the internet. She's currently working on two more novels. No, really.

Read more at cassandraolearyauthor.com 

Romancing The Genres Down Under

Last weekend I was lucky enough to attend the Romance Writers of Australia conference in Sydney, at the amazing Sofitel Wentworth hotel. It was a bit spesh, a lot posh...crystal chandeliers in the seminar rooms and Moet Champagne apparently on tap. To put it simply, I was in my element!

Glitz. Glamour. Prestige... killer tag line! 

A gangette of romance writers descended and took over, adding a splash of colour and life to the place, starting with the Tuxedos and Tiaras Cocktail Party on the Friday night. This is a chance to dress up, mingle and be merry. While sipping (necking) Moet, of course.

I met up with a few old friends and some awesome writers I only know from Facebook and Twitter. Some of the notable names were Jackie Ashenden and Maisey Yates, Rachael Johns and Amy Andrews. Anne Gracie was a terrific evil queen and I was just a girl in a tux and tutu who looked like she forgot her pants, with a tiara (from eBay) for all the sparkles. Plus I met some zombie brides...and that's a tale for another day!

Me in the middle, with Miranda Morgan and Samara Parish. 

Seminars to get the wheels turning

The next day we were into the serious stuff -- professional development you simply can't get anywhere. I gained a lot of in depth information in the seminars on character development by Kelly Hunter, and on pre-writing from Christine Wells.

Both of these incredible writers offered a window into their own methods, such as studying research on character traits and archetypes, the meaning of names (including cultural associations) and using research tools such as Pinterest and music playlists to spark inspiration. I'll be going back through my notes from both of these sessions to soak up some ideas.

Women's fiction or women-centered fiction? 

As a writer who's dabbling in women's fiction, the panel discussion on this topic was super interesting. Have you heard of the term, 'alpha protagonist'? I hadn't, but now I get it. In a genre centring women's stories and experiences, sometimes a group of usually female characters gets a point of view (POV). This can be handled by making one character the alpha, central POV, or alternatively in could be an ensemble cast with equal time on the page for each character.

Women's fiction panel: Rachael Johns, agent Hayley Nash, Christine Wells, Lisa Ireland and Victoria Purman. 

The Big Night

The Awards Dinner was fabulous food-wise, as you would expect at a 5 star venue. But it was all about the nominees and winners...

Here's a list but my apologies if I've forgotten anyone, and congratulations to:

Novella - Cassandra Dean

Emerald - Rachel Armstrong

Emerald Pro - Fiona M Marsden

Romantic Elements - Ebony McKenna

Short Romance - Kandy Shepherd

Long Romance - Emily Larkin

Romantic Book Of The Year - Jodi L Perry

Legendary inspiration 

A highlight of the last day of the conference was a panel of RWAus legends -- members who have been around and seen it all, and survived. Valerie Parv was remembering the time before RWAus existed, when there was just an Australian chapter of RWA (in America). Others on the panel, such as Alison Stuart, discussed the importance of persistence. It took her 25 years to become an overnight success with multiple international book deals!

I'll be trying to get back into my writing in the next few weeks, since life has got in the way lately. Let's hope the wisdom I absorbed at the Sydney conference will flow out of my brain, through my fingertips and bleed out onto my keyboard. But not in a gross, zombie bride way...

For more info on the conference including notes on the awesome keynote speech from Kate Cuthbert of Escape Publishing (Harlequin Australia), I recommend a hop across to romanceaustralia.com or author Renee Dahlia's blog.  Oh, and more pics are on my Instagram!

About Cassandra O'Leary 

Cassandra O'Leary is a romance and women's fiction author, winner of the global We Heart New Talent contest and finalist in Romance Writers of Australia and Romance Writers of America contests. Her debut novel, Girl on a Plane, was published in 2016 by HarperCollins UK and was a top 50 iBooks bestseller in the UK and Australia. Her indie published Christmas romcom novella, Heart Note, was released in November 2017 and was a top 50 Amazon bestseller in Holiday Romance and Humor Fiction in several countries. Cassandra is currently trying to write all the things while being distracted by the internet and drinking coffee in Melbourne, Australia.

Read more at cassandraolearyauthor.com