Nora Ephron - thanks for the fun

Some of my favourite movies are romantic comedies – sometimes called chick flicks. Today, the world lost one of the best writers of movies in this genre. Nora Ephron left this world, but has left a legacy of her wonderful writing, and a legion of fans who will never tire of watching her craft play out across the movie screens, with such wonderful actors as Meryl Streep, Billy Crystal, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

As a lover of the genre that Nora did so well, I feel very sad. But her philosophy on writing, and on life, show how writing, and reading, was an intrinsic part of her life.

"Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I've accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter. Reading gives me something to talk about later on. Reading is the unbelievably healthy way my attention deficit disorder medicates itself. Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it's a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it's a way of making contact with someone else's imagination after a day that's all too real. Reading is grist. Reading is bliss.” ~ Nora Ephron

Thank you Nora, for some of my favourite films. You will be missed.

Julie and Julia

Silkwood

Heartburn

When Harry met Sally

Sleepless in Seattle

You've got mail

Rejection letters piling up? You’re in good company.

“The best revenge is massive success”  -  Frank Sinatra

The publishing industry is fickle. Like fashion, it fluctuates according to the perceived market. What was in vogue yesterday may well be a no go area tomorrow.

So, how do first time authors get published? We are at the mercy of the massive, multi-billion dollar publishing industry; we are faced with the juggernaut of e-books and self-publishing which is proving very popular; we have to first get through the publishing house gate-keepers – the Agents.

Well, take heart. Look at this brief and far from complete list of some of the biggest selling authors of all time. They suffered rejection, humiliation and despair, before finally breaking through and getting their first book into print.

Stephen King’s first book, Carrie, was rejected thirty times before finally getting published. He apparently threw the manuscript in the waste bin, but his wife extricated it and made him keep sending it out.

Margaret Mitchell received thirty-eight rejections for the classic Gone With the Wind.

James Joyce was not a good commercial bet with the publishers, receiving twenty-two rejections, and when he was finally taken on, they would only print 1250.

Australian author Matthew Reilly was so sick of being rejected that he opted for self-publishing. Apparently he talked book shop owners into putting his book in the front window alongside all the big names. Talk about making your own luck!

Even J. K. Rowling apparently received twelve rejections for the first Harry Potter book. Can you believe that?

Other great authors such as John le Carré was told his first book was no good, and John Grisham’s A Time to Kill was rejected by twelve publishers and sixteen agents before being picked up.

So, I like Frank Sinatra’s idea. Don’t give up, and when you DO get published, be as successful as the above great authors. As the famous saying goes,  Nolite te bastardes carborundorum – don’t let the bastards grind you down.

Unlocking the past – the joys of Research

Turning family history into a novel – a challenging path to take.

I have just finished writing my historical novel, Stone of Heaven and Earth. This story is largely based on the real lives of my grandparents in China, and spans the years 1914 to 1929. I never met my Grandfather, but remember being told their story as a child. Their life together was one of the highest of highs, and abysmal tragedy.

I was able to draw on two memoirs written by my mother and my aunt. I also had a couple of letters, but the actual details were lost over the years.
Before I could start writing, I needed to know some details so that I could bring to life the characters of my story. It took me many, many hours, but I remember a rush of warmth flowing through me when I found my Grandmother and her sister’s name in the passenger list in the Brisbane Courier dated 22 June 1914. No one in the family knew the name of the ship they left Brisbane on. I felt like I had dug up a long forgotten treasure chest when I discovered the ship was the Tasman from the KMP Line, captained by Captain Lucardie. From that moment on, I felt like I was holding my Grandmother’s hand and she was leading me along the journey.

I went with her in my mind. I heard her voice, saw her eyes and her smile. Shed tears with her, and fell in love with my Grandfather with her.

A month spent in China retracing, as best I could, their footsteps, helped me to understand why they loved China, a very exotic land, especially a hundred years ago.
As I walked along the Bund in Shanghai, I knew that my Grandfather had walked there too, on his way to work at the Customs House which still stands proud on the Bund. In my story, I have both my Grandmother and Grandfather walking along that very place, talking to each other, falling in love.

My Grandfather, Oliver Clark, holding my mother aged nearly two

Jack and Annie, Oliver and Darl about 1915

At one stage of the writing process, I felt that the research was distracting me from the job at hand, but I know that I now have an intimate knowledge of the lives and times of these special people. The internet pointed me in the direction of Professor Robert Bickers at the Bristol University in England. He has done a major study of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service, my Grandfather’s employer. He sent me the service record of my Grandfather, and even searched for his tombstone, but alas it does not now exist.

Research has given me back my Grandparents, who I am sure are both very happy with my story, as I can feel them with me, and they are smiling.

Passenger list for Misses Houston, KPM Line 'Tasman' 20th June 1914

Dining Room of the Astor House Hotel

The Shanghai Bund, circa 1915. The Customs House is centre of picture, with a clock tower and flag flying

Map showing the foreign concessions in Shanghai

Shanghai, 1912

Grabbing a Bargain in Bangkok

Two days in Bangkok is just not long enough.

Bangkok, the vibrant capital of Thailand, has some wonderful mega shopping centres, ranging from knock off bargain markets where you can haggle for a good price, to the ultra-luxurious designer shopping centre where you can buy everything from Jimmy Choo shoes to a Ferrari, right off the floor. They are very large, and it is easy for the meandering tourist to get lost, thus wasting valuable shopping time in trying to work out where you are. The staff at our hotel told us that the two best, close by, shopping malls for us were MBK Centre, and Siam Paragon Centre.

So, armed with plenty of Thai Baht and a long shopping list, we set off in a taxi to go and shop, shop, shop!

MBK Centre  is seven floors of shopping, entertainment, and restaurants. You need a map, and even then, you will get lost. Trust me. We entered MBK through the Tokyu Department Store, a very western department store reminiscent of Myer or David Jones. We were looking for something a little more ‘Thai’, and our budget was more aimed at bargains than standard items we could get back home.

We exited Tokyu through a back door, and entered the labyrinth that is MBK. Luckily, we entered on Floor 3, stumbling upon the area where real bargains and good quality goods can be bought. This area is called The Image, and is made up of market stalls selling very cheap clothing, footwear, bags and jewellery. The stallholders in this area are more than happy to bargain, although some of the prices were so cheap that there was really no point. The conversion rate between Thai Baht and the Australian Dollar was 1 THB equals 31cents Australian. In other words, a polo shirt selling for 99 THB was only $A3. I found some fabulous clothes for my grandchildren, really nice, really cheap.

The stallholders here are happy, not pushy, and you get an extra discount if you happen to be their first customer of the day. I loved the way they would take your money, then go and touch it on all their goods in the shop. Apparently it brings good luck to them if they do this when you are the first customer. My travelling companion bought some really good quality designer shorts that he can’t get in Australia for a good price, satin Thai Boxer shorts, shirts, Calvin Klein and Dolce and Gabbana jocks. I managed to get a lined Abercrombie and Fitch hoodie for my daughter for about $40 Australian.

We eventually tore ourselves away and went to level four which is a massive floor of electronics, cameras, mobile phones. All the big brands. I am not sure of how good the deals were as I had not researched the prices in Australia, but I did buy a great set of headphones for $A20. There are designer shops, bespoke hand carved furniture stores, exquisite jewellery stores. We explored every floor, but our feet and legs were crying out in pain.

TIPS -

• Work out what you want and research the prices at home before you leave
• Get onto the web site and become familiar with the layout of the place
• When you first arrive, go to one of the Information booths and get yourself an MBK Tourist Discount Card for even better deals (you’ll need your Passport), and you can also get a free welcome drink of Thai Iced Tea on Floor 5
• Take a backpack or something to carry all your purchases (they get heavy after a while), although there is a bag deposit on Floor 6 where you can unload some of the weight
• When bargaining, ask how much, then offer half price, and negotiate a price up from there
• Put a currency converter App on your smartphone. Makes it so much easier to work out if you have a bargain or not
• Finally, wear comfortable footwear and take a bottle of water. It’s hard work shopping!

Siam Paragon Centre  is a magnificent, opulent centre which has all the designer stores anyone could want. With seven levels, this Centre needs at least one full day, possibly two, to explore it properly.

You could run into absolutely ANYBODY at Siam Paragon Centre - my friend Brittany Spears

At Basement level, you will find the Siam Ocean World, an underwater fantasy that would rival anything Disneyworld could offer. Next level is totally dedicated to gourmet food! The Main Floor at street level is where you will find the luxury stores such as Cartier, Bvulgari, Burberry, Chanel, Hermes, Armani – oh the list is endless. Go to their website and have a look.

The Siam Paragon Centre is probably the most glamorous and luxurious shopping centre I have ever seen. Alas, we didn’t buy anything here, just window shopped, so not sure if there is any bargaining to be had. I doubt it. But the prices would still be a lot cheaper than at home. There is also an Imax Cinema complex, restaurants, Madam Tussaud's Waxworks, and family entertainment. Check it out!

Chatuchak Weekend Market   is the largest weekend market in Asia and is easily accessed by public transport, including the Bangkok Skytrain. Next time I visit Bangkok I will make sure I am there on a weekend, as it was disappointing that I didn’t get to visit this trip.

With 15,000 stalls spread over a huge 27 acres, Chatuchak Markets boast that it is the place where you can find absolutely everything. Bargaining for the best price is expected, and they say that tourists will be given ‘local’ price. Worth testing.

The markets are open from 6am to 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

We felt we bought some real bargains and have decided it would be worth visiting Bangkok annually to stock up on new clothes. The prices are just unbeatable, and the quality very high. Shopping therapy at its very best!

Cambodia: The socially conscious side of Siem Reap

The instant I arrived at Siem Reap airport, I knew it was going to be a special place for me. Visually exotic, the airport architecture immediately indicates that this town of about 170,000 people is intent upon providing for the growing tourist industry. Indeed, almost two million visitors a year stay in Siem Reap, visit nearby Angkor Temples, enjoy first class hospitality, and generously spend the valued tourist dollars.

Siem Reap, like the rest of Cambodia, has endured unspeakable hardships over the centuries. The relatively recent atrocities meted out by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970’s, though, is still in the memories of anyone over thirty years of age, and hit all the regional towns of Cambodia as well as its capital Phnom Penh. Yet I found the local people of Siem Reap to be among the most gentle, friendly, helpful, and charming, I have ever met in my extensive travels.

After more than twenty-four hours of travel, we were welcomed to Siem Reap by the smiling face of Raksha, our Tuk Tuk driver, and transported to our hotel, The Golden Banana, which was to be our exquisite base for four days. With a broad smile and very good English, Raksha made us feel very welcome and was keen to point out places of interest to us along the way, whilst still managing to drive his Tuk Tuk safely on the crazy Cambodian roads.

Raksha, our Tuk Tuk driver, meets us at Siem Reap airport

The Golden Banana is an oasis in a city of abject poverty. Comprised of two properties next to each other – the Boutique Hotel and the Resort - we stayed in the boutique hotel in a luxurious villa a mere step from a large swimming pool, the cocktail bar, and a wonderful restaurant. The first thing we noticed as soon as Raksha pulled up at the Golden Banana was the welcoming, warm and friendly staff who gave us refreshing cool towels to freshen up with and a cool, freshly made juice drink while we went through the formalities of checking in.

The Golden Banana is one of the growing number of hotels who have a seriously steadfast social conscious. The Golden Banana pride themselves on being eco-friendly, using locally made solid palm-wood furniture harvested from sustainable palm forests, and utilising local silk and textile art and crafts.

Our front door

Looking towards the cocktail bar from our front door



Lee, making me a 'Golden Banana' cocktail (pic from GB website)

Our friends in the bar (pic from GB website)

The staff-to-guest ratio at the Golden Banana is close to one to one. We got to know several of the staff quite well during our stay. They are friendly and relaxed, and delight in telling about their families, the villages that they come from, and the studies that the Golden Banana management sponsor as their employer. The staff come from poor backgrounds and their employment not only assists the family of the staff member, but the scholarships that they provide to staff allow for training in various fields from management, to hospitality and tourism, horticulture and business. The Golden Banana believes that education is the key to breaking the poverty cycle for the Cambodian people, and they put their money where their mouth is by providing education for many of their staff and their children. We spent many hours sitting around the glorious swimming pool talking to the staff. We also enjoyed their delicious cocktails, expertly made by Lee. A Cambodian cookbook on the bar caught my eye. The book is produced by a charity organisation called Green Gecko Project which educates, protects and provides love and shelter for homeless street children in Siem Reap. The Green Gecko Project also assists the wider community with initiatives in education and training. At only $20, the book is a welcome addition to my bookshelf, and I am working my way through all the authentic recipes. The food in Cambodia is delicious, and I enjoyed many wonderful Khmer meals at local restaurants, but also in the excellent restaurant within the Golden Banana itself. Delicious local meals such as Lok Lak and Fish Amok now rate amongst my favourites, but the chef’s special Banana Delight just blew me away!

Top: Lok Lak with rice in a banana leaf cone; chicken noodles; soup.

The Golden Banana is also affiliated with several other local community organisations, and during the devastating Siem Reap floods in September 2011, they provided practical assistance to the local people by helping sandbag and by providing food and other necessities.

Every morning we had freshly cut local fruit and homemade yoghurt

The banana supreme!

Imagine how delighted I was to learn about this strong commitment to the local community that the management of the Golden Banana holds. Imagine how much better my holiday in Siem Reap was because of this. Only a short drive from our exquisite accommodation, whole families were living in bamboo and banana leaf huts, some with no walls, many with barely a floor. No electricity, no clean fresh running water. Our Tuk Tuk drive along the levee of the Siem Reap River was an eye opener. The Khmer people are so poor yet so very industrious. Every one of them is working hard, there is no government welfare available to them. We passed little booths selling cans of soft drink alongside big green orbs of coconuts with drinking straws sticking out the top. They mostly grow their own food in little vegetable plots in the marshes under their houses, they fish, they have chickens. It is subsistence farming at its most basic. Yet the little children who wave to us as we pass are happy and seem well looked after.

Dwellings along the river levee on the outskirts of Siem Reap

Little children - sweet kids living life their way

Raksha,our driver, took us to his home where he introduced us to his little four year old boy, Piseta. Raksha earns about ten to fifteen US dollars a day, and very proudly told me that his son already goes to a school so that he can grow up and get a good job. Unlike most of the Tuk Tuk drivers in Siem Reap, Raksha is one of a group who are permanently attached to the Golden Banana.  Other hotels do the same. It means that Raksha was assigned to us for our whole stay for a flat rate of about twelve dollars a day. He would be waiting for us as we emerged from our sumptuous breakfast each morning, and take us wherever we wanted to go, wait for us, and take us home again.

Very friendly and safe, Raksha was another of the staff who were the highlight of our trip. Apart from the beauty, peace and wonderful surroundings of the Golden Banana, the staff are the reason I will return to stay there. From the General Manager to the reception and managerial staff, to Lee the barman and his assistants, to the ladies who cleaned the rooms, every one of them took the time to talk to us, to remember our names, to remember what our favourite tipple was. The staff obviously love their job, and they are a big asset to the Golden Banana. I am so happy to have had the experience of staying there, where a true compassionate and practical social conscience is alive and well, and thriving, helping many beautiful Cambodian families.

Beef Lok Lak: Khmer style beef steak cooked in a zappy Kampot pepper sauce, served with a green salad, garden tomatoes, and beautiful brown Ibis rice at the side. Golden Banana Cocktail: Bacardi White Rum, Vodka, Triple Sec, Crème de Banana joined all together in the shaker with a touch of Fresh Lime juice and Sugar Syrup, shaked well with some ice rocks to result in a fantastic fresh orgasm of flavours. (Best made by Lee at GB)

Late Bloomers – why age is no barrier to becoming a published author

Earlier this year I read an article in the Huffington Post about famous authors who began their writing career quite late in life. These writers are now household names around the world.

As yet, I have not reached the status of published author, and nudging the top end of middle age, I find it inspiring to see that writing is not something we need retire from as we get older. Quite clearly, it seems that a lifetime of working and raising families can only temporarily hinder the creativity and stifle the urges of a writer. Once the gift of more time is bestowed upon us, many writers find that their creative juices flow, unchecked, from the rich tapestry of a life well lived. Life, love, travel, trials and tribulations all provide fertile fodder for wonderful stories.

The writers mentioned by the Huffington Post include such illustrious names as Laura Ingalls Wilder and Frank McCourt, both first published in their sixties. Even better, Mary Wesley and Harriet Doerr were well into their seventies!  ‘Watership Down’ author, Richard Adams, was in his mid-fifties, and the ‘babies’ of the group, Raymond Chandler and James A. Michener, were in their forties. 

I decided to do some research to see if any Australian authors were also ‘Late Bloomers’, and came up with some surprising finds.

Elizabeth Stead published her first novel, ‘The Fishcastle’ when she was in her late sixties. Now in her eighties, she has just recently had her fifth novel, ‘The Sparrows of Edward Street’ published.

One of Australia’s most acclaimed writers, Elizabeth Jolley, was fifty-three when her first novel was published.  She was a prolific writer and went on to have fifteen novels published, plus a swag of short stories and non-fiction books. Through her teaching of creative writing to students in Western Australia, (including Tim Winton), Elizabeth Jolley left behind a legacy of successful publications, all receiving significant critical acclaim.

Shirley Painter’s first book was published at the ripe old age of eighty-three! Her memoir, ‘The Bean Patch’ took a lifetime to get written, and tells of her violent and shocking childhood. I can only wonder of the amount of pain Shirley Painter must have endured, and am glad that the therapeutic act of writing her story may go on to help others similarly treated.

Christina Stead, an often controversial but very successful writer, was thirty-two when her first book, ‘Seven poor men of Sydney’ was published.  Christina Stead was listed in Time magazine’s ‘Best 100 novels 1923 – 2005’.

Polish immigrant to Australia, and survivor of the Holocaust, Jacob Rosenberg was first published at the age of seventy-two. His published works covered collections of poems and short stories, plus memoirs.

Glenda Guest, another mature-age first novelist, has won many awards and much acclaim for her novel ‘Siddon Rock’. In her bio on the Australian Literature Management web site, Glenda Guest says “Although I started to write late in my life I always knew that I would become a novelist. I am stunned to be receiving this attention which is a huge boost to my confidence and will help me to press on with writing my next novel. This shows that it’s never too late to start a new endeavour”. Ref: http://www.austlit.com/a-list-f-k.html

So, it is with much excitement and hope that I too now throw my hat into the ring. As I approach the end of the process of writing my novel, ‘Stone of Heaven and Earth’, I realise that age does not dim the prospect of becoming published.