One of my favourite romance reading pleasures is a linked continuity or series, so when I saw the call for submissions for Gumnut Press's Paw Prints of Love Anthology, I knew I would be submitting.
Back in 2007, when I first joined Romance Writers of Australia, I subbed two shorts to the Little Gems competition. The first, a futuristic, was published in the anthology. The second, a contemporary, just missed the cut. My new writing group all agreed - my futuristic voice was much stronger than my contemporary voice - so I started writing futuristic, with the occasional dabble into the world of contemporary. In 2019, my submissions to publishers are almost always contemporary - because futuristic is such a niche market that its difficult to sell. I'm still working on my space operas and alternate futures, but only to self-publish. One day... But back to the 2007 short that didn't make the cut. It has a move to a new town, there was a sexy stranger who had rescued a dog that had puppies, there was sweet romance. So when the anthology call came, I knew I had to dig it out. A month later, it was unrecognisable. There was still a move to a new town, still a sexy stranger, still a litter of puppies, but everything else had changed. I added 5000 words, a bad boy on a motorbike, macrame, a cruise ship and a heap of emotion. I sent it off, knowing that even if it didn't make the cut it was a much better story. The photo above is me signing the contract for Rescued Hearts to be included in the Anthology. Note the Romance Writers of Australia pen. Without RWA there would be no contract, so this is my official signing pen. And the moral of this story:
Rescued Hearts, in the Paw Prints of Love Anthology, will be published in print and e-book in 2020. In 2018, I had a few major life changes, most of which affected my writing in some way or another. Here's 2018 in a nutshell (or why I neglected my blog...)
So while I wasn't blogging, I was writing, running and trying to juggle my commitments to fit it all in. It took a year, but now the new routine is routine. Upper Mt Gravatt (aka up Mt Gravatt) - 10th December The run started at Upper Mt Gravatt the suburb, then in a fit of "what the heck" it morphed into a run up Mt Gravatt. Which wouldn't be so bad except I'd already done Toowong in the pre-dawn, it was summer, I was on a narrow winding road with oh so many cars and cycles, and it was a very big hill. However, the view from the top was awesome. Victoria Point - 18th December 2017 Another pre-dawn run, and my first ever experience of a koala on the road, which scuttled away too quickly for me to get a good look. I followed the foreshore where someone had decorated the trees with Christmas decorations. I'll remember Victoria Point for the sense of community, and the peace. Wynnum - 20th December 2017 Ah, Wynnum. Many years ago we walked at Wynnum most afternoons, and on Sundays I would run from home to Wynnum to see the sunrise. But a house move that saw us move closer to the shore also stopped our trips to Wynnum. I don't know why. Another early morning run, and I promised myself I'd be back. Expo 88 site to XXXX brewery - 23rd December 2017 X proved to be challenging but a little bit of creative thinking gifted me a run I had done before, but not for a long time. It started at Southbank, the former home of Expo 88, where I spent a fair amount of time in my last year at Uni, took me over the Go-Between Bridge for the first time and over to the XXXX brewery, where Paddy Fitzgerald still adorns the walls of the brewery. This run was a trip down memory lane - of Brisbane half marathons and walking home to Toowong from Expo. So much change, yet some things are still the same Yeronga to Yerongpilly - 24th December 2017 It was a beautiful calm day for my next to last run on the A-Z run of Brisbane and I spent another glorious day on the River. There were streets I'd never been on, a new tennis centre, the old power station was now redeveloped, and best of all, a riverside park full of teddy bears wearing reindeer ears, draped with tinsel. Really? Yes really. Zillmere - 24th December 2017
In 1965/66 my parents ran a petrol station called the Zillmere Star, and so for the final run in my year long odyssey, I set off armed with an old photo to see if it was still standing. And it was. The building is exactly the same, repainted and rebranded, but exactly the same. I wondered what my parents, both long gone, would think of that. On the way back I found the Zillman waterholes, and marvelled at the diversity and beauty that is all around us in this city I've always called home. I was sad to say goodbye to the A-Z run, and I think perhaps I haven't really said my final farewells. A good friend suggested I do a sequential one way run from A to B to C to D and see if I could continue through the whole alphabet. Let me get my map... The A-Z Run of Brisbane of 2017 was well and truly off track - it was November and I was up to O. Ormiston - 12th November 2017 Ormiston was one of the hidden gems of the A-Z run - wide open streets, huge trees and a historic wool scour on the side of a creek. I spent all my time looking up for koalas, but sadly I didn't see one. Petrie - 20th November 2017 A meandering run alongside the Pine River, with glimpses of both suburbia and acreage. There was a huge off lead dog area on the riverbank and if not for the thought of the muddy paws in the car, I would bring the dogs here in a heartbeat. Queensport - 25th November 2017 So, the letter Q had me stumped until a friend brought in an old street directory showing a suburb called Queensport. Once upon a time Queensport was the site of an aquarium/funfair and people from Brisbane caught a steamer down to see it. Unfortunately a flood put an end to that. Now an industrial area, I could see the pine trees shown in the photos of the aquarium, and the brick foundations of the pier. This pub was gorgeous, although I didn't drop in. I also visited the site of the Queensport Meatworks - the ruins are directly under the Gateway Bridge and easily visible, although fenced off for safety. Redcliffe to Scarborough - 26th November 2017 This run was familiar territory - I've run here many times - some of my earliest memories are of Redcliffe and the day did not disappoint - it was gorgeous. I ran from Suttons's Beach at Redcliffe to Scarborough Boat Harbour and back, then finished the morning at the Redcliffe markets, where I had an icy cold homemade lemonade. Favourite bit of the whole run: A beach Santa, doing Santa photos - so much nicer than the shopping centre experience. Toowong - 10th December 2017
Toowong Cemetery is one of my absolute favourite places in the world - I love the history, the hills, the trees, the silence. I ran at dawn, alone with my thoughts and thousands of souls. What an awesome start to the day. And so the A-Z run of Brisbane continued, after a brief pause to train for and run my first half marathon in 11 years: Jacob's Well - 22nd October 2017 An awesome seaside village about 45 minutes from home and a place I'd never been to. There were horses, jet skis, kayaks and fishermen. I traversed the old town, complete with 'Home and Away" style caravan park, then went over to the new canal development where the houses were huge and the gardens immaculate. I think I preferred the old town. Kangaroo Point - 24th October 2017 I've spent a bit of time running the river banks of Kangaroo point but not since all the development went in - I loved the jacarandas, and the sense of community that's developed since the last time I ran through. And, just to prove I could, I took the scary rock stairs to the top of the cliffs and back down again, hoping that I didn't break an ankle. (I didn't) Lota - 28th October 2017 When I think of Lota I think of cute seaside village that you don't want to visit at dusk in summer because of the midges and mosquitoes. Yet, at dawn, the creeks and waterfront are beautiful. My run took me on a mangrove boardwalk, and through a nature reserve and if I'd wanted to I could have gone for hours. Mt Cootha - 29th October 2017 Back in the late 1980's, when I lived over that side of town, I used to run Mt Cootha every Saturday morning, then head to Toowong pool for a swim. The hill, I remember well - 2km of straight uphill slog. The view on the day of my visit wasn't great, but the joy of reaching the summit remains. I visited the park at the summit where my Mr Right popped the question, all those years ago. New Farm - 5th November 2017
Brisbane has the City Cats (river ferries) and I decided to park on my side of town, catch a City Cat to New Farm, then run. My goal was simple - to beat the City Cat back - it was going to St Lucia, I was heading towards the city and would turn when I thought it would reach St Lucia and try to beat it back. I did beat it back, and the sprint at the end felt awesome. |
Fiona Greene AuthorWhen you set out on a journey and night falls, that's when you will discover the stars." Archives
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