December 19, 2016

Best Laid Plans

Deciding to write a book is one thing. It’s the easy bit. The reality was discovering things don’t always go smoothly, or according to plan. And so it was with this grand idea. Towards the end of 2013 we decided it was time to finally wind up the flower growing business, and downsize, so in January 2014 our house was on the market, and we were preparing to pack up and move to the one we’d bought. Unsurprisingly therefore there wasn’t a lot of time devoted to book planning in the first six months of that year other than the planning that went on inside my head.

We’d no sooner moved in to our new property, and got more or less settled, when the rapidly failing health of my mum required me to drop everything and go to the UK to be with her and my family. Much of 2015 was taken up with dealing with the practicalities resulting from the death of a parent, and the book project stalled once again.
By this time though I knew where it was going. Previously rather hazy and unformed ideas had firmed up and crystalised, and I’d already made the initial approach to those people I’d come to know during the campaign, nearly all of whom I was unlikely to ever have crossed paths with otherwise. So by the time the latter part of 2015 arrived I was ready, and keen to finally start doing interviews.

There was no going back now. I was on my way.

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By Anne Layton-Bennett October 27, 2025
Well done to the north-west Tasmania branch of Fellowship of Australian Writers . Once again their editorial team led by Allan Jamieson have produced an excellent anthology, with the intriguing title – as above – and an undeniably quirky cover. The rather wonderful octopus is just one of the creatures on it, indicating a watery theme until your eyes pick out the morose-looking frog, sporting what appears to be a death-cap toadstool hat, and a moustachioed chap apparently hitching a ride to work on a magpie. They all suggest an intriguing mix of writing to be explored within. I appreciate I’m a little biased in promoting this collection of stories, memoirs, poems, anecdotes and travelogues of far-flung places, since I've got work included, but after my copies arrived in the post last week, and from dipping into the book already, it really does look like another interesting and eclectic read – as FAWNW’s previous anthologies have proved to be. Tasmania is definitely not short of some talented writers, even if all of them don't necessarily have a published book to their name. Neither do I as yet, but with my magnum opus finally completed, and currently being strategically submitted to publishers that are ones most likely to be interested going on their previous publications, my fingers are firmly crossed. For a first-time author I knew this part would be difficult, as well as time-consuming given the lengthy delays before possibly receiving that much anticipated email or phone call - or not if the six- eight- or ten-week deadline is reached with no news at all - but hoping that with Dr Bob Brown on-side and putting in a good word when and where he is able to do so, my submission will be plucked from the pile sent by other hopefuls. Then it will be a case of hoping it will spark enough interest to ask for a publisher asking to see the full manuscript. Strange and Marvellous Things (edited by Allan Jamieson, FAWNW) 2025 is available online or at good bookshops. RRP $25.00
By Anne Layton-Bennett October 12, 2025
Tasmania's wild and windy weather has been more severe than usual this October, making dog walking more of a challenge, and less pleasurable than usual.
By Anne Layton-Bennett October 2, 2025
Spring cleaning our walk-in pantry and having a clear out of stuff while doing so. A task that's been delayed due to having a broken wrist.

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