Castle News

Over the years, we have put furniture together for many different reasons. Loft beds, cupboards, moving houses (taking things apart to put them together again. So it isn't our first rodeo. We were prepared to amp up our patience with each other and monitor each others moods and leave the room if we don't align with our methods. It isn't perfect. We have been married for more than 20 years though, so we can generally pick up on each others moods.

I don't know when it started, date wise, but I met Dianna some time in 2024. She'd just started up BCP Creations and wanted to put out a collaborative novella series.

Getting your book out into the world is quite the achievement, but it doesn't end there. There are more than and estimated 22k books released each year in Australia alone. Then you have to consider; when you are on the internet it is an international Market! I couldn't even guess how many books are released annually worldwide. There are so many creatives striving for attention.

It doesn't matter what job you have, there are times when it can feel like you need to wear a number of different hats to get through the day. There is (in no particular order) the creative hat, marketing hat, family hat, identity hat ... and so many more! I don't know if there is or should be a way of integrating these personalities. You would have to ask a professional about that. But, I feel that if you work on your core values, you can strengthen your drive for these shif

Have you every struggled to choose what to watch on your favourite streaming service? Sometimes it feels like there are too many options! There are no right or wrong answers when you are searching, it is a choice. Sometimes this choice is just for you and sometimes it will impact the family. Worst case scenario you start watching something and then change your mind and have to go back to the very beginning - Search mode. I remember when I was much younger, we used to go to th

So, write-ins. Why do we do them?

I met J A Duxbury online not long after I started the Bushland Castle Productions. I think it was something to do with the podcast and advertising the second series on her writing group. I was open to new interviews at the time and she was keen to come on as a guest. We discussed the business at length and as I had been out of the game for so long I wanted to know how I could best support current writers. I had a fair idea what I was interested in, but there was a chance thin

I was interviewing someone for the podcast recently and I asked who their ideal writing avatar was. This is something that I was introduced to when I first started the podcast in 2018 and it has popped up in writing circle, marketing plans and business development. Who is your ideal client/student/reader/listener. What do they look like, what are they passionate about, when to they find time to listen to podcasts/read books/hang around on social media?

I am a writer. It is something that brings me joy. A big part of being a writer is reading. Reading widely with intent and reading widely for the sheer joy of it. I was sitting at my desk the other day and I just finished reading one of the Novellas that is currently at the beta phase. This was a fantastic opportunity, as beta reading often is, to note where I am engaged/excited, where I am conflicted/confused and if there are any parts within the story that push me out/pul

At the end of February I thought that is would be a fabulous idea to undertake a mindfulness challenge for March. I didn't want to over complicate it. The activities had to be completed within 5 minutes a day. I wanted to highlight the multiple techniques that would calm the mind and help reframe your mindset when in stressful situations. After alll, the best way to learn a different technique is when you are calm. Practicing something new may help add that skill to your ment

So, we all know that writing a novel, novella or even a saga can be a soloist performance. But sometimes it doesn't have to be. Are there times when you wish you had someone to throw ideas around with? To brainstorm with or just have a chat with?

Today I am writing the blog from the Crown towers in Perth. I have a beautiful view of the water and the city. The main room has a relaxing chaise lounge, the most luxurious bed with overlarge puffy pillows, a table and some chairs. When I am reading I can recline on the chaise, while working on the laptop I am at the table with a beautiful view every time I look up from the screen. To support my work requirements, I have my laptop bag and another bag with supporting document

I thought that it would be fun to start and daily post within the Bushland Pages community. Something that will help people try mindfulness for at least 5 minutes a day. These activities are short and things that you most likely already do every day. I am just writing it down and suggesting people give it a go. People have been sharing their reflections with me and it has been great to hear some of the creative interpretations of these different activities.

When you start a project sometimes it seems like there are so many moving parts that you have to start putting in the right order. I know for the Otherworldly Emergence series there have been many aspects that I had to pull into order to make it make sense. Every creative project deserves a moment of your time to put together a general plan.

For some people the creativity flows continuously and it is hard to capture all the drops in time before distractions steals it away. For others, there seems to be a blockage in their pipes! The blank page elicits fear and confusion. The self doubt spiral begins to spin like the water down a drain.

There are several reasons in the creative industries that you may require a media pack. When you are guesting on a podcast, any interview opportunities, speaking engagements, building collaborations and potentially sponsorships. These are created as your one stop information package to send out. It could be through a google link, or an email, as long as the information gets through.

The creation and development of a book is more than just the story. The front and back matter relates to all the material included inside the covers before and after the prose. This includes but is not limited to the cover pages, the copyright material, acknowledgements, thank you pages and glossaries. Depending on how you choose to publish your book your choice in what is included may vary.

There are always a number of literary competitions running throughout the year. The frequency and reward vary wildly. But why should you put yourself out there and have your work submitted to one of these competitions?

Within the buddy writing sessions and write-ins on discord, we run writing sprints. This is a way to help people get their drafts down fast without having the pressure of the perfecting their prose. Or they can be used as focussed editing time. Or in my case, blog writing, while I am in the process of building a backlog of content during the Indie Author Book Fair Minisode Series

At bushland Castle Productions we are dedicated to providing a sustainable Author support platform and building a community around celebrating author development and growth. We provide Creative Consultations, Accountability Meetings, Write-in Sessions, Mindset Reset meetings and editorial review meetings. All of these services are designed to support and encourage the author in their writerly journey. Although we do recommend a number of fabulous businesses that we have worke