Notes from the road

This is a quick hello from Dja Dja Wurrung Country, two weeks into the delightful chaos of a book tour. My phone says it’s -2.2 degrees outside but I am electric-blanketed and a couple of doonas deep, a double Nescafe next to me (still hits the spot) and the kid-like excitement of waking up in a hotel still lingering.

Last night I got to sit on a stage at a brewery and talk about my novel with one of my literary idols - Cate Kennedy - and it was the first time in the last two weeks that I really did have to pinch myself. Before I ever published a book, I read Cate Kennedy’s collection of poetry The Taste of River Water and promptly wrote her a fan poem saying I wanted to be her. I thought that our day long interview for the podcast would be the highlight of my idol worship but last night, when Cate spoke about The Hummingbird Effect and asked me big, thoughtful questions about the how and why of writing it - I wanted to somehow transport off the stage and hide up the back and watch from there and lock that memory in for every writing day the words are impossible.

At The Taproom in Castlemaine for an event with Northern Books. 1. Onstage with Cate Kennedy 2. With Kristin Gill of Northern Books 3. Laughing with Cate Kennedy

The book sellers and readers and writer/readers I’ve met and caught up with since the book came out have been generous, enthusiastic, supportive and generally heart-filling. It’s been so fun to finally visit stores and meet writers I’ve only ever interacted with online - it’s everything I missed about the lockdown non-tour!

And I’ve loved chatting to booksellers about what they are reading and recommending - such varied and wonderful tastes - even though it’s been trouble for my luggage and credit card.

Books recommended and thus purchased from delightful booksellers include:

• Tongues of Fire by Sean Hewitt from Lorna at Berkelouw Books

• Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree from Ruby and Lewis at Better Read than Dead

• Paul Harding’s This Other Eden (on the Booker longlist) from Andrew at Grumpy Swimmer

• Kick the Latch by Kathryn Scanlan from Kim at Jeffrey’s Books (This has already been recommended by Alice Bishop (A Constant Hum) and I adored Scanlan’s Aug 9 Fog so it was a done deal)

• Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas from Charlie at Collins Sunbury

I’ve had lots of comments on insta about how many bookstores I’m getting to! For writers with book promotion coming up, I highly recommend listening to this episode of Secrets from the Green Room where Irma Gold speaks to booksellers about book store drop in etiquette! All of my visits have been pre-arranged by either my publisher (publicist or sales rep) or my amazing assistant Jill from Literary Listings although many started as a convo on email or social media between me and the bookstore. DO always give a bookstore a heads up if you want to drop by to sign books so you can check they have stock and that they have time to accommodate you.

Katherine and I caught up on all things launch night in this week’s episode of the podcast and one thing that has really stuck with me these past couple of weeks, is how fortifying the whole book publicity thing is, for a couple of reasons:

1. You see your book on shelves, people say nice things, you get to scribble your autograph in it, you feel like this is the culmination of four years’ work (or one or 10 or whatever it is for you!) and you try and catch the fleeting buzz of it to last you another four (or one or ten) years;

2. You see, first hand, just how many thousands of books are published, and you realise the only thing you really can do, is get back to the desk and start the next thing.

What I’ve…

Been reading

Paul Dalgarno’s A Country of Eternal Light and Mirandi Riwoe’s Sunbirds ahead of my conversation with both writers at Canberra Writers Festival (where I’ll also be chatting to Astrid Edwards about The Hummingbird Effect). Both marvellous books - among many other things I’m especially interested in how both writers have crafted super clever plot twist/reveals into lyrical lit fic - the sweet spot! Can’t wait to deep dive with Mirandi and Paul!

Been listening to

Late to get on the Yellowface juggernaut, but loving the very meta experience of listening to the audiobook of RF Kuang’s mega bestseller while on book tour. Via insta chat, author Sarah Bailey described it as ‘Like reading acid, but fun’ and I could not come up with a better line to describe this book. Can highly recommend going back to read Kuang’s Babel, which I adored, totally different genre but just as brilliantly smart.

Been watching

We’ve started watching Ted Lasso. Why did it take us this long?

The Matildas. Like the rest of the world. LOVE THEM.

Got coming up

• Literary Lunch with Maggie Mackellar at Verso Books, Healesville on Sat 26th August who recently posted notes from her own book adventures. I loved Maggie’s latest book Graft so much and I know this will be a wonderful conversation. Very limited tickets and only a couple left!

• Sunday Soiree talking The Hummingbird Effect at Fairfield Books, Sunday 27th August 4pm. Tickets here.

• Antipodes Bookshop, Sorrento, Thursday August 31 for Words After Dark discussing The Hummingbird Effect with local lit legend, Andrea Rowe. Tickets here.

• Ink Bookshop, Mansfield, Friday September 1 chatting with Charlotte about The Hummingbird Effect. Call 03 5775 1701 to book a spot.

• And this one is a while off but tickets are selling very fast! Literary Listings first Literary Lunch at Elwood Bathers with Sally Hepworth, Amy Lovat and myself talking our latest books and the writing life!

Loads more events and festival dates up on my website, too, would love to see you to say hello somewhere along the road!

Thanks, as always, for your presence here. K x