They don’t make adds like this anymore, alas.
Currawong Manor
Copyedit
Even a confirmed Winter lover as myself has to admit I’m enjoying the Spring weather and light in Sydney at the moment. Here is where I am every day in my writing shed.
Yes, we finally have the wall paper up and I love being in there amongst the birds and butterflies. It’s just lovely to work in the garden next to our big old tea-tree and palms and feel as though I’m amongst pink birds and butterflies. Birds and butterflies represent the soul to me and so it’s a great paper for a creative writing shed where we do our soul work. Just this morning, the most beautiful bird with a yellow breast came right to the window to peep at me. It’s magical in my shed!
Over the next month or so we shall be doing more work on the shed to try to create a lovely as space as possible for both our books. My husband is also a writer and so we have to share which we’re good at. Luckily, he is used to my girliness and has long given up fighting I think he was just relieved the paper is duck-egg blue and not pink! I’m looking forward to installing the fairy lights, adding some pretties and growing some roses out the front but first of all I have to cull all the paperwork we’ve collected over the years between us! And at the moment, I’m head down on my copyedit for Pan Macmillan and so things may be quiet on the blog for a couple of week to ensure I reach my deadline in time. All my editors from Pan Macmillan have been so brilliant and it’s a joy to work with them. Because I was nearly 60 000 words into my Currawong book it was a wrench to return to Poet’s Cottage again but I’m loving revisiting the characters and hopefully adding a bit more to the MS as this is one of the last chances I get before publication.
And I’ve been so busy lately doing loads of arty things. We saw the Pre-Raphaelite exhibition on drawing at the AGNSW which I loved. Both David and myself have a big soft for the PRB and it was a treat to see a few of Elizabeth Siddal’s works in this show.
I saw Jane Eyre at the cinema with my friend Artschool Annie. How brilliant was Mia Wasikowska as Jane? Divine casting and I loved this movie version so much I’m going to try to see it twice.
The Tasmanian-looking landscape really made me long for my home state, Thornfield, is my idea of the perfect house and unlike my pervious post on Underbelly Razor, this is a house that actually looks lived in and of the time.
I also really enjoyed.Michael Fassbender as Rochester. A really sublime movie. I think Jane Eyre is such an inspiration for her nobleness, stoic determination and strength.
I hope my daughter loves this book as much as her parents as I think Jane’s a great role-model for young women in today’s climate with the sexualisation of females. Jane doesn’t use her looks to get ahead in life. And Rochester still prefers her to the prettier Blanche Ingram. It’s a tale of hope and as Spring is a season of hope it’s a perfect time to catch this movie.
I also saw Lakme at the Sydney Opera house with the amazing Emma Mathews. This opera was a treat with the divine Emma singing the Duet of the Flowers.
And David and I saw The Mousetrap at this incredible theatre, The Genesian in the heart of Sydney. We originally saw The Mousetrap in the West End in London which was a dream come true for me. But even though this was an amateur production, it was really enjoyable and well done.
This weekend, I have my agent, Selwa Anthony’s annual bash which is always a very grand and inspiring affair. During the day there are author and publishing talks and at night a formal dinner and award ceremony. We are looking forward to attending the Sassies and hopefully, I’ll have time to pop back and do a post about it when I reach my deadline.
Enjoy September and I hope that butterflies and pink birds are fluttering in your soul. Keep Inspired and Keep creative.
And because it’s Spring. Here’s a couple of images from the latest issue of Country Style.
I always love their Spring Issues.
Good News Monday
Good news for the start of the week.
First, and most important, it was wonderful to read in the weekend papers that the killer of Sunshine Coast schoolboy Daniel Morcombe was finally apprehended. Although this is not a happy ending obviously for his grieving family and friends, at least they have the consolation that justice will now be served. I followed this case along with many around Australia with interest and feel great pride in both the investigating officers, the public who supported the search and most of all – the amazing family who kept the search for Daniel going. A darling, beautiful boy – rest in peace, Daniel.
I’ve finally reached the 50,000 word mark on my Currawong book and so I can treat myself again. Hurray! Yes, it’s a really rough first draft but it’s there for me to work with. I also have a spot of good news from my agent which I shall post here as soon as I get the go-ahead.
For those who were curious about what I treated myself with last time I reached the 25000 word mark, this is it – a lovely book by Fleur Wood which combines cooking with some vintage-inspired images of super-cool people enjoying their food in style. It’s a lovely book to dip into and enjoy the images. This 50 000 mark, I shall have to treat myself with shoes.
Keep Inspired and Creative. Thank you for visiting me. xx
The Noisy Ghosts
I’ve now reached 25,000 words with my Currawong Book, which is why I’ve been a bit quiet on Facebook, Twitter and in Blogland. Some writers may scoff at that output but combined with being a full-time mother it’s not too dusty for me. With every 25,000 words, I reward myself with a small treat.
The annual Scarlet Stiletto Awards is on again. I didn’t think I would enter this year but a story has just begun to beat a little drum in my head.
And it has rained for days non-stop in Sydney which is heaven in the writing shed. In Little Brick we keep the fairy-lights on in the hope they chase the spirits away.
Fairy lights to keep the spirits at bay
At night the wind is so strong, I wake all the time thinking a ghost is walking down the corridor banging and shaking the walls .
Little drum stories and noisy ghosts. It’s no wonder I am always weary.
ghost image source
I WROTE HER A LETTER
On Sunday I retreated to the garden with a pile of weekend papers magazines (mostly featuring roses) and wrote a letter.
A real letter with a pretty envelope and four or five pages of news. I had owed my friend an email (we keep in pretty constant touch) but I wanted to surprise her with something more special than an email. I was inspired by the movie Emma. I saw it on the weekend and it made me long for a more mannerly and leisurely time when appointments were by card rather than iPhone.
It was so pleasant to sit in the winter sunshine and feel the pen on paper and misspell words as I had forgotten the dictionary (no spell-check). My brain seemed to click into a different place as I wrote to her. I used to write all my books in longhand first and I’m tempted to return to that.
The Currawong book is progressing well although it’s still early days. Will this one work? Will the story be spun in time for deadline? I’m now writing in my writing shed which is a divine place to be and which we’re currently trying to make as beautiful as we can.
I want to prune my over-grown roses and order more from the new Treloar catalogue which I love browsing through. And I want to write more letters from my garden and send less emails.
Stars as Clocks
The autumn light is so perfect in Sydney, bathing all the old shabby terraces and city streets in honey-haze. I have begun the Currawong book and working steadily.
I hadn’t planned to start as I still had research to do but the moon cycle was perfect and sometimes you have to take the risk, shut your eyes, trust in spirits and allow yourself to fall down the rabbit-hole of the story.
Sometimes it’s only when falling that I get the meaning and twists of the narrative. This book is filled with many things I love to read. I love diving into the story and watching the stars start to form a pattern I can follow. I’m at the first 10 000 words so only around 90 000 to go. 
But as always, when you’re a mother as well as a writer, life interrupts and just as I found my rhythm for the words and watching with excitement the word count begin… I have to start taking Daisy to more medical appointments. This time we have seen a real miracle worker in the form of Dr Peter Bablis, a highly recommended kinesiologist, homeopath, chiropractor and host of other skills. Daisy just says he is ‘handsome and looks like Chief Powhatan from Pocahontas’
Daisy in Hyde Park after seeing Peter Bablis
I have never visited a kinesiologist before and must say I was incredibly impressed by how he picked up exact stages of her life (including in the womb) when traumatic events occurred.
It’s always frustrating, however, when you can’t get the words out because of domestic life.
I’m spiralling into space and trusting the story is waiting for me around each twist and curve.
That’s the only timing that makes sense to me. Not the fob-watch or calendar but the stars, the night, the moon and the sun.
polaroid image of room top source
other images source weheartit
Writing with mist
I have taken the Summer curtains down at home and replaced them with the toile winter curtains. I am sad it is the end of the lovely Easter break. I do enjoy having Daisy at home even though it makes it impossible to write and I love not having to do the school run and lunches.
The Easter show is too expensive. Can’t believe for a family of three it cost nearly $100 to get into the gate to look at a few pigs and chickens. Daisy, of course, loves the pony rides and show bags, but for the same money we spent we could have had a night or two away in a good hotel.
A few photos from the show above. The print in the middle with the girl and bunny is one of the Emily Martin prints I have in Daisy’s room. I love her whimsical work. We did manage one day trip to the very misty mountains.
I just need to get out of the city at times and walk through the bush, feel crisp, unpolluted air and escape air-traffic noise. I’ve carried the mist from the mountains back with me – it’s swirling around my laptop and through my mind, forming my current book in the Blue Mountains. I’m still plotting and feeling my way through the characters. When they’re ready to talk – I’ll begin. And last night I dreamt of Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski, which has given me an idea for another short story.
As David said, ‘you’re always working, even when you’re asleep.’
Exciting Spaces
This week in the steamy heat I went to meet my editor at my agent’s house. It was very exciting to hear the edit is nearly completed and to be discussing such things as covers. It makes me realise that there really is going to be a book with a beautiful cover.
And speaking of books with beautiful covers,I am mad about the new Frankie book SPACES.
So much loveliness it makes my heart ache. It’s filled with inspiring, creative people and their lovely spaces. People like Allison from Lark, Emily Chalmers from CARAVAN and Tif from Dottie Angel. All the pretty, whimsical, retro-twisty you would expect from FRANKIE.
It is now time for Mangos, chilled grapes, sun-hats. The streets are already so hot you melt a little when you walk.
I am hidden away in my cool, brick terrace researching Australian artists in the 1940s.
The characters are forming so quickly. I now have their breath on my face. Breathing, breathing, impatiently waiting for me to start. xx
Blackheath Mist
Hello,
Some of you may have noticed my old website has gone off the air. I loved it and deeply appreciate all the hard work my webmistress/friend Rhondda put into creating it. But I couldn’t update it easily – I’m so pants at Dreamweaver and really don’t have much time to spare with writing and motherhood.
I have my Tale Peddler blog for my more personal online musings but I still wanted to have a website more streamlined towards writing and the inspirations and thoughts that feed my books. And so here is my new website, where you will find those posts. The domain name remains www.josephinepennicott.com
If you are more interested in the chit-chat family gossip, thoughts on interior design, films, and the odd Johnny Depp post, then Tale Peddler is where you might like to visit.
Sometimes the posts will overlap. Perhaps in the future I might join them together, as I have done in the post below:
We are now home from the misty mountains where I travelled for research for ‘Currawong House’. The trip was totally blissful. So difficult to return to gritty Sydney after the peace in Blackheath and very pretty Leura.
Bluebells and daffodils were everywhere and Blackheath kindly turned on a wonderful mist for us. Sadly, she kept the snow back until our return much to Daisy’s disgust. We ate holiday type food, read holiday books, lazed and shopped in antique shops. I woke predawn everyday to write in my notebook, walk through dew-soaked grass and follow the Currawongs.
Since our return we have had drama emergency rushes to the hospital with Daisy. Our five-year-old daughter has the distinction of being one of the rare children with gallstones. Sunshine is soaking Sydney streets. I love this time of year when the terraces in the old streets seem bathed in light.
The book is forming itself. I feel the story beginning to rise like mist in Blackheath streets.
Thank you for visiting me. xx