Author Archives: jacqui

Hi there! Today I’m exploring a part of the writer’s life that’s a bit more esoteric but absolutely essential. Writing can be a wonderful way to know yourself because it allows you to explore the deepest parts of you and to resolve questions you may have about life in all its complexities. And writing canContinue reading “Writing: Your unique view.”

Hello! Welcome to this week’s blog. I think the expression ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’ must have been made for indie-publishing. In indie (or self-) publishing, the author becomes the publisher, taking responsibility for every element of the process. I decided to indie-publish my debut novel ‘The Sentinel’ and found myself in aContinue reading “What’s it like to indie-publish?(The highs, the lows & a couple of regrets)”

Hi Everyone Today’s blog comes to you from the middle of a snap lockdown. I hope wherever you are, you’re travelling well! In the lead up to the actual writing of ‘The Sentinel’, I spent many hours, days and weeks researching background facts for the novel. This blog post is going ‘behind-the-scenes’ to show youContinue reading “How to research Historical Fiction”

Hello! Welcome to this week’s blog. Blog posts come out every Monday and you can follow me on Twitter (@GentleWrites), Insta (@jacqueline_anne_author) and on Facebook (@jacqueline.hodder.author) for more regular updates on my writing. Today I thought I’d share a guest blog post I wrote for ‘The Protagonist Speaks’ for something a little different. In theContinue reading “Something different!”

When I was researching ‘The Sentinel’, I came across the story of a lighthouse keeper who went so crazy that one day he chased his assistant around the lighthouse threatening the assistant with his rifle. The poor assistant hid away and when he came out he couldn’t find the madman anywhere. Eventually he traced theContinue reading “Dangers of the job”

[Warning for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples – this post contains images and names of those who have died.] A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post about a memoir I’d written. You can find the post here. I wrote it in celebration of my mother’s 80th birthday but also as an explorationContinue reading “What about January 26?”

One of the main characters from my novel ‘The Sentinel’, Mr Frederick Johannsson, is the Head Lightkeeper at the lighthouse station. He is responsible for the 2nd and 3rd Assistant Lightkeepers and their families, as well as running the lighthouse and the lighthouse station. Let’s have a closer look at a typical day in theContinue reading “A day in the life of…”

I wrote a memoir last year. It was part celebration of my mother’s 80th birthday, it was also part exploration of difficult events in my chilhood. There were so many positives that came out of writing the book. There was healing and redemption and also a fair bit of understanding realised. In writing the memoir,Continue reading “Into the blue…”

There were quite a few stumbles in the completion and publication of my debut novel. Every step had its challenges: Developing the idea and trying to find the narrative question that would drive the tension throughout the novel. Researching and taking good notes, including bibliographic information so I could find the details I needed toContinue reading “Show me what you’ve got!”