literary leanings

I've just about recovered from my big day out on Saturday.

I was lucky enough to be invited to speak at the Williamstown Literary Festival, to give a version of the Sassy and the City talk Nicola Marsh and I had the pleasure of giving at last years Romance Writers of Australia conference. I missed having Nic there as my wingman, and I missed being hers, but I think it went well nevertheless.

Considering the audience was unknown, and not a mob of eager, fresh faced, itching to be there romance writers ;), I curbed the talk a fair way and as well as giving myriad helpful hints on how to write a cracking romance, I also talked about the changing face of contemporary romance. About Bridget Jones and Sex and the City, about Buffy and Pretty Woman.

And about how nowadays romantic stories can be about pleasure hotels and footballers wives. About speed dating and breaking up by SMS. About post-feminist twentysomething heroines who want it all and fiftysomething heroines trying to find their way after their happily ever after went kaput. About how romance writing affects pop culutre and vice versa.

And I had such a ball!

There were lots of lovely smiley faces, which was wonderful. I had some great questions from the crowd including wondering what the main difference is between chick lit and straight romance, about whether I have a grand plan about my plot and characters - I do not - and about how one noisy extroverted speaker manages to survive the solitary job of being strapped to a computer desk, alone, day in and day out. It made me wish it was all just question and answer time - that's my favourite part!

The real highlight was the chance to have a chat and a giggle in the green room afterwards with the fabulous Shaun Micallef and Tony Martin, two wonderful aussie comedian/actor/writers who were up on stage after me. We talked about audiences and Thank God You're Here (a fabulous, hilarious new Aussie TV show, the rights of which have been bought up all over the world so you'll likely get your own version soon enough)

They were soooooo nice. Chatty, funny, charming. I stayed on and watched their talk and it was hilarious and brilliant and full of gossip about writing for Australian television and wonderful strories about ther lives writing comedy and meeting the likes of Spike Milligan.

Fab stuff. Want to do it all again.

Anyone need a speaker?