It’s a new year, and for many of us that means New Year’s Resolutions and planning for the upcoming year. I recently listened to an episode of the Novel Marketing Podcast, where host Thomas Umstattd Jr and guest James L Rubart were talking about planning in a military context. If an operation is executed as …
Author Archives: Iola Goulton @iolagoulton
Fiction Friday | Liana’s Dance by Rosanne Hawke
Rosanne Hawke is an award-winning Australian author, known for her young adult novels featuring young adults in difficult situations. Liana Bedford is half Australian and half Pakistani, and has spent most of her life in an international boarding school in the north of Pakistan while her parents work in the rural villages. She speaks the …
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Omega Writers | Looking Ahead to 2021
2020 is coming to an end, and I think we’re all looking forward to 2021 and hopefully being allowed to leave the house whenever we want. Despite the challenges, 2020 has given Omega Writers the opportunity to try new things: We introduced our revamped two-yearly schedule for the CALEB Awards, considering published books in conference …
Fiction Friday | Introducing Sharon Manssen and The Realm Trilogy
Today I’m interviewing local Tauranga author Sharon Manssen, who writes Young Adult Fantasy as SR Manssen. Welcome, Sharon! Let’s start with a few quick questions by way of introduction. Long black or flat white? Flat white. Trim. Double shot, extra hot. Kiwis or koalas? Kiwis. (Good, says this Kiwi.) Mangoes or kiwifruit? Mangoes (lived in Thailand …
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Author Interview | Introducing Kerri Price
Today we’re interviewing Kerri Price, a New Zealand author, about her latest release. Welcome, Kerri! Fast Five First up, five quick questions … Long black or flat white? Neither. Although I am mildly addicted to Diet Coke and Energy Drinks. Mangoes or kiwifruit? Definitely kiwifruit. (That’s good to hear!) Cricket or rugby? Rugby. Books or …
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Book Review | Blogging for God’s Glory in a Clickbait World by Benjamin Vrbicek and John Beeson
As the title suggests, this is a book about blogging as a Christian in a world that seems to rate sensationalism over truth and quantity over quality. The two authors provide a compelling case for more purposeful blogging from Christians. Neither is a megablogger. Instead, they are both average people, like you and me. They …
Fiction Friday | Apprentice (Collective Underground #1) by Kristen Young
My first introduction to Kristen Young was when she won the CALEB Award from Australasian Christian writing organisation Omega Writers. I had donated a free manuscript assessment as the prize, so got to read and critique Kristen’s entry. I was thrilled to find it was dystopian fiction. I’ve been a fan of dystopian fiction since …
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Omega Writers: CALEB Award Night Update
We are almost on the home straight for the 2020 CALEB Awards. The final-round judges are working their way through the entries. Scores are due back on 30 September, so it’s not long to go now before we have winners in our three categories: Unpublished Adult Fiction Unpublished Young Adult Fiction Unpublished Nonfiction CALEB Awards …
Fiction Friday | The Woman in the Green Dress by Tea Cooper
The Woman in the Green Dress was initially published in Australia and has now been republished by Thomas Nelson, an imprint of HarperCollins Christian Publishing. I can’t say there was anything overtly Christian about the novel—there was definitely no clear faith element. There was no bad language, sex, or violence, and there was a disgust …
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Omega Writers | Five Tips for Dealing With Feedback
Omega Writers have recently announced the finalists in the 2020 CALEB Award. The finalists had a week to revise their entries based on the first-round feedback, and submit their full manuscript. These are now with the final-round judges, and we will announce the winners in October. Those who didn’t final will also receive the feedback …
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