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A short story of Frances and me

A wee story… They say you should always be wary of meeting your idols. When I was a journalism student (back in the 90s…) Frances Whiting was my absolute inspiration. Mum and I would each take turns reading Fran’s weekend article, variously chuckling or tearing up, and every time I thought “this is what I want to write”. Human stories, character stories, small town stories, big emotion stories.

Jo and Frances at Brisbane Square Library

Sadly for me, there are very few opportunities to make a lifelong career in journalism (especially that kind) but that wasn’t the path for me. I took my skills and I did write all those types of stories… just really, really long versions in novels 🙂

Frances and Jo at Annie’s Books at Peregian

When Fran’s book, Walking on Trampolines, came into the world, I rushed to Annie’s Books on Peregian to see Fran in person (sorry Fran, that photo is a truly awful one of both of us… luckily we just keep getting better with age 😊). This was the moment for me to meet my writing idol and inspiration! Was she just as warm and interested and focused as she was in the paper? Gasp!

Of course she was.

Years later, I attended the Burdekin Writers Festival and was lucky enough to be billeted with a wonderful host family AND Fran AND Susan Johnson! My gosh… I was such the new kid on the block compared with these two veteran writers. Were they good to me? Exceptionally. Did they let me eat more than my fair share of homemade cheesy potato cakes each morning? Yep. And did Fran offer me targeted fashion/style advice that neither shamed nor belittled me but actually made me feel more empowered? YES, she did. (And anyone who knows me knows I NEED fashion/style advice because I live in yoga pants and horse t-shirts.)

Last week, while touring for my 10th book with Phoenix Rose, Fran hosted me in conversation and I have to say that more than once I thought… wow, maybe I’m finally a real author now…

Thank you, Fran, for the warm welcome, taking care of my heart, and allowing me a beautiful full circle moment. You and your writing make the world a better place, reaching more people than you know. x

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A short story of Frances and me

A wee story… They say you should always be wary of meeting your idols. When I was a journalism student (back in the 90s…) Frances Whiting was my absolute inspiration. Mum and I would each take turns reading Fran’s weekend article, variously chuckling or tearing up, and every time I thought “this is what I want to write”. Human stories, character stories, small town stories, big emotion stories.

Jo and Frances at Brisbane Square Library

Sadly for me, there are very few opportunities to make a lifelong career in journalism (especially that kind) but that wasn’t the path for me. I took my skills and I did write all those types of stories… just really, really long versions in novels 🙂

Frances and Jo at Annie’s Books at Peregian

When Fran’s book, Walking on Trampolines, came into the world, I rushed to Annie’s Books on Peregian to see Fran in person (sorry Fran, that photo is a truly awful one of both of us… luckily we just keep getting better with age 😊). This was the moment for me to meet my writing idol and inspiration! Was she just as warm and interested and focused as she was in the paper? Gasp!

Of course she was.

Years later, I attended the Burdekin Writers Festival and was lucky enough to be billeted with a wonderful host family AND Fran AND Susan Johnson! My gosh… I was such the new kid on the block compared with these two veteran writers. Were they good to me? Exceptionally. Did they let me eat more than my fair share of homemade cheesy potato cakes each morning? Yep. And did Fran offer me targeted fashion/style advice that neither shamed nor belittled me but actually made me feel more empowered? YES, she did. (And anyone who knows me knows I NEED fashion/style advice because I live in yoga pants and horse t-shirts.)

Last week, while touring for my 10th book with Phoenix Rose, Fran hosted me in conversation and I have to say that more than once I thought… wow, maybe I’m finally a real author now…

Thank you, Fran, for the warm welcome, taking care of my heart, and allowing me a beautiful full circle moment. You and your writing make the world a better place, reaching more people than you know. x

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Author Interview with Amanda Hampson and The Tea Ladies

Hands up who loves cosy mysteries. Me! And especially if they involve tea ladies?? (Me, again!) This week we have Amanda Hampson in The Hot Seat, sharing the inside story on her new release, The Tea Ladies, which is out this week! You can catch our chat here. Amanda’s book is out now.

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Leonie Dawson in The Hot Seat

Catch-up TV. Have you met or heard of Leonie Dawson? She’s a local (to me!) Sunshine Coast creative and wealth-creation entrepreneur who makes her living working just 10 hours a week. True story! She’s a spicy, generous, big-hearted, swear-bear soul who gives away loads of her knowledge for free and rest for not much at all! I’ve been a big fan girl for over a decade now and was thrilled to sit down for a good old chat about her perennially popular ‘My Brilliant Year’ workbook (but it’s actually fun). She did want me to give you a language warning, though, just so you’re prepared 😍😆💗 She’s one of a kind and that’s why her fans love her. Buckle up 😉

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Author Interview with Luke Rutledge about his Debut Book ‘A Man and His Pride’

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April is Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month. Here’s What You Can Do As An Ally.

Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month, which happens in April each year, following World Autism Day (2 April), can be an upsetting time for actually Autistic people. The reasons for the discord are many. But just like Hannah Gadsby, I identify as tired. So, I’m going to give you a short list of some practical things to do to direct your well-intentioned support into neuro-affirming action.

Firstly, please know that the Autistic community is as widely diverse in presentations, experiences, likes, dislikes, abilities and disabilities as the non-Autistic community. If you have met one Autistic person, you have met one Autistic person.

  1. Get your information from actually Autistic people. This makes sense, right? If you want to learn about another culture, you would, presumably, gather that information directly from the people of that culture. We are lucky to have some wonderful Autistic-led organisations in this country, including Yellow Ladybugs, Amaze, iCan and Reframing Autism. If you have an Autistic child, go straight to the Autistic-led organisations that advocate and educate. There are many actually Autistic therapists (speech pathologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, OTs etc.) who understand Autism from the inside out. Search for the hashtag #actuallyautistic online to find them. (N.B. that hashtag is intended to be used by actually Autistic people themselves so do confirm this when you choose to follow someone for lived experience.) Assume that the actually Autistic community, the people with lived experience, are the experts in Autism. #nothingaboutuswithoutus
  2. Learn about Autism. You can do this by attending the wonderful conferences run by Yellow Ladybugs and Reframing Autism (see point above), or by buying books written by actually Autistic people. Here is a tiny fraction of just some of the books I recommend.
  3. Go yellow or go rainbow (but please don’t go blue and, please, no jigsaw pieces.)
  4. The best way you can show your support for your Autistic loved one is to educate yourself, learning from the right people (i.e. those with lived experience and/or are actively neuro-affirming).

Books to Buy!

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Author Event: Kay Kerr and Josephine Moon, Book Launch

Join me (The Wonderful Thing About Phoenix Rose) and Kay Kerr (Love and Autism) at the delightful Little Book Nook in Palmwoods, 20th April 6pm for drinks, nibbles and book chat. Booking here.

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The Official Unboxing (Kind of) of The Wonderful Thing About Phoenix Rose

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Mentoring, Coaching and Manuscript Assessments

Calling all writers or aspiring writers!

Lovely ones, I am for the first time ever opening my doors to mentor, coach and assist developing writers. Why now? Maybe because The Wonderful Thing About Phoenix Rose is my 10th book, which has a nice feel to it. Maybe because I’ve been in this game for a long time now (with a string of bestsellers, international publications and never out of contract) and, ridiculously, it’s only just occurred to me that i could share my skills and knowledge and others might even appreciate it 🙂 (Yep, I’ve been the queen of imposter syndrome and have just realised how wrong I’ve been.)

(It’s also highly possible that the introduction of ADHD medication has finally given me the energy, focus and capacity to do a heap of things I am passionate about but never had the energy to do. But, I digress…)

It’s certainly because I remember how difficult it was when I was a writer who was past ‘the beginner’ stage but not yet at the ‘accomplished’ stage (a truly awkward and at times isolating experience). Maybe it’s because I am a homeschooler now and there’s something about homeschooling that makes you think differently about, well, everything. And it’s certainly because my ‘teacher genes’ have been re-activated over the past year. And as much as I remember that awkward ‘in between’ stage of writer development, I have huge passion for beginning writers too and in homeschooling I’ve become exceptionally sympathetic to the plight of writers who simply don’t believe they start, better their work, or finish a work. (Newsflash, you can.

If you’re a writer and would like some help, please do check out the four programs I have put together (just to get us started…. because spending weeks of website maintenance is really not my favourite thing to do and four was all I could manage right now!). And because I am committed to helping you long term, you’ll find I’ve built in long term support past your initial package. (See this example.)

If this is the year you want to write or you want to move to the next level of writing, I am here for it. I’d love nothing more.

Raw beginners through to published authors are welcome, as are all ages and abilities.

(Also, if you are an NDIS client, you may be able to claim your investment. Email me for more details on NDIS.)

I hope to see you soon!

Jo

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23 Bookish Things to Do: Free Gift for You

Subscribers to my LOVE LETTERS are getting a free thing I made (with doodling illustrations, too… it’s my new thing… I’m crediting my new ADHD medication).

Anyway…. I’ve made a guide of 23 things you can do after closing the book to keep the love going. Perfect if you have a book hangover and you just aren’t ready to let the story go.

Sign up now to make sure you get yours! Hurry! I’ll be sending it out soon!