February’s Monthly Digest: I’m Going Into the Writing Cave!
Here's a discount code for newsletter subscribers to use when booking into my Historical Fiction Masterclass, as well as a free place for someone facing financial hardship, two book giveaways & more!
It’s supposed to be the week where I publish the monthly Magazine but I have so much author news to share that I’ve decided to swap the weeks around. It’s been a crazy start to February—I’ve been in Sydney helping my daughter move into her uni accomodation, which has meant a lot of walking up and down Broadway and into and out of the CBD with arms full of pots and pans and cutlery and sheets and everything she needs. I think I walked a month’s worth of steps in a week and carried twice my body weight in kitchenware!
But I also caught Gatsby at the Green Light at the Opera House, which was one wild show! I try to see as much live theatre, music or other art as I can because it definitely fuels my writing brain and this was no exception—in this case, seeing how it was possible to make something totally new out of a creative work that most of us think we know so well. My recommendation is to dress the part; I loved seeing so many people rocking their flapper dresses, feathers, braces and t-straps.
I also visited my favourite vintage shop in Manly, Uuli’s, and bought a gorgeous necklace. So it wasn’t all hard work (the one I bought is the second from the right in the below image).
As well as all of that, it was launch week for THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ASTRID BRICARD in the US, and I finally received my box of author copies and can I just say that those hardcovers look stunning!
I’m back to Sydney again next week to refill the suitcases with the last of my daughter’s clothes and shoes and paraphernalia. This time, it will be a proper goodbye, heart wrenching and bittersweet, because I’m a sad mum who’s also very proud of her for following her dreams. Good thing I’ve got a book to work on so I can pour all of that emotion into a new story!
Sydney Writing Workshop—Your Discount Code!
I’m running a writing workshop in Sydney near the end of March and this is your chance, as a newsletter subscriber, to get a 10% or 15% discount off the price of the course. The course is already almost half full after being on sale less than a week, so if you want those remaining places, act fast!
The workshop is a Masterclass in Writing Historical Fiction and Dual Narratives. We’ll be focussing on the fact that readers of historical fiction want a compelling story that sweeps them away to another time and place. And they also want to experience the history rather than just wade through pages of facts. It’s a tricky balance to strike, as is the act of making each storyline in a dual narrative feel just as fascinating as the other. So I’ll be taking you through the strategies I use to achieve all of this and a lot more in my own internationally acclaimed novels.
This is the only time I’ll be running this masterclass in Sydney this year.
You can find out more information about the Masterclass and book your place here. This is where you’ll find the agenda for the day, learning outcomes, FAQs and lots more info. Free subscribers to this newsletter should use the discount code BIJOUX10 when you’re checking out to get a 10% discount off the price of the course. Paid subscribers to this newsletter should use the code BIJOUX15 to get a 15% discount off the price of the course.
There will be a box to enter the discount code just before you type in your credit card details when checking out. The discount is only available to newsletter subscribers (free and paid) and the discount period ends at 11.59pm on Sunday Feb 18. Hope I see you there! Please let me know in the comments if you have any questions about the course or how to use the discount code.
Free Scholarship Place
I’m also offering one free place to a newsletter subscriber who really wants to attend the course, but can’t due to financial stress. So the place is for someone who just can’t afford to pay for the cost of the course—perhaps you’ve recently been made redundant or been given reduced hours at work, perhaps you’re a parent who’s not working while you care for your kids, perhaps it’s just been a really tough year and your discretionary income is minimal, or the timing doesn’t work out for you financially and you can’t afford it right now.
To apply, all you need to do is send me an email here letting me know why you think attending the course will benefit you. Please only send a couple of paragraphs at most and there is no need to explain your financial situation—I trust that only those in need will apply. Please submit your email to me by Sunday Feb 18 at 5pm AWST and I’ll let the recipient know by email on Monday 19th Feb. Good luck.
My Edit Notes Have Arrived. I’m Going In.
My edit notes arrived this week for my next book, which you might remember has a working title of THE SECRET LIFE OF MARIE MADELEINE. I’d done the typical author thing of convincing myself that the manuscript I’d submitted to my publisher was an absolute pile of trash, so I was very pleased when the notes came back and reminded me that the book did not in any way resemble garbage!
Now begins the work of tackling those notes, which actually seems manageable right now. Sometimes edit notes make you cry. Sometimes they make you think the sheer amount of work involved to take this book to the next level is overwhelming and you won’t be able to do it. And sometimes you think—yes, exactly. That’s what I need to do! And you can’t wait to dive in because you can see precisely how to make this book better. Thankfully this time it’s the latter.
I’ll be doing a video for paid subscribers next month where I show them how I tackle an edit using this manuscript as an example, so look out for that! In the meantime, I’ll probably be around a little less on social media over March and April as I find it best to submerge myself in editing and ignore almost everything else. But I’ll still be putting up all my regular posts here, so this is the best way to keep up to date with what I’m working on.
Interviews, Reviews and Lots More
I feel like I’ve been all over the internet this past month, which of course I haven’t been, but my ring light has spent very little time away in the cupboard and I’ve spent many hours sitting in front of Zoom talking to interviewers about THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ASTRID BRICARD. It’s been great fun, and if you want to catch up with any of these podcasts, videos and articles, here’s where you can find them:
Video replay of my launch event, where I was interviewed by the fabulous author Kate Thompson. We had so much fun and could have talked for hours more. I’ve adopted a phrase she uses—the ‘history shivers’ as my very own because it’s so apt. If you want to know what it means, then definitely watch the video!
Speaking of Kate Thompson, she also interviewed me last year for her brilliant podcast, From the Library With Love, and you can catch the episode here. I recommend it for all writers especially as we spoke a lot about writing process, research, structuring our books and lots more.
I wrote an article for CrimeReads about the Bad Guys of 1970s Fashion, which does a deep dive into the prevailing culture of suppressing women’s talents in the fashion industry.
Bookreporter gave Astrid Bricard the kind of review authors dream of! Here are a couple of sentences from the review—see what I mean!
“Natasha Lester has penned a spellbinding, captivating mystery that is both a sartorial adventure through the ages and a scathing critique of misogyny and how it confines and oppresses women. While Mizza is based on a real historical figure, Astrid and Blythe are Lester’s own creations, and the story truly soars with their plotlines.”
Literary Hype Woman chatted to me about writing historical fiction, Astrid Bricard and a whole lot more while I was down at my beach house in January, so you can see a glimpse of the new house in the background!
Here are some shorter bites. First up, an interview with the Gloss Book Club, and secondly, Woman’s World included Astrid Bricard in their February book club. And don’t forget, Astrid Bricard is also a Book of the Month add on, so if you’re a subscriber to Book of the Month, make sure you get a copy in this month’s box!
Paid subscribers had this post from me earlier in the month about rhythm and how important it is to me when I’m constructing sentences. It’s also a bit of a peek into what I did over summer, which can be summed up in two words: the beach!
Rhythm, Writing and Reflections on Summer
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It’s about half past ten in the morning, I think. I’m not absolutely sure; I gave up clocks and watches a few days ago. All I know is that the sun is white-gold, the wind low and, through the window, the sea beckons. Time to marinate myself in sunscreen. Pick up the cabana chair, sunglasses, hat. Walk over the lawn, which bleeds into white sand. I take fifty steps and I’ve arrived.
Book Giveaways!
I have two books to give away today! One is a copy of my author friend Erika Robuck’s forthcoming release, The Last Twelve Miles. It’s not out until June this year, so one of my subscribers will be getting a real treat! To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment below (just tap the Leave a Comment button at the bottom of the post) to be in the running. Competition closes on 20th Feb at midday AWST and will be announced in the comments section of this post and contacted by email.
Here’s some more info about the book:
THE LAST TWELVE MILES is based on the true story of two brilliant women on two sides of the law: Coast Guard Cryptanalyst Elizebeth Smith Friedman and notorious South Florida Rumrunner Marie Waite. Fans of Robuck's women in intelligence novels--THE INVISIBLE WOMAN and SISTERS OF NIGHT AND FOG--and of her Key West set HEMINGWAY'S GIRL will enjoy this Catch Me If You Can-style fusion.
And the other book I’m giving away is a hardcover copy of THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ASTRID BRICARD! As I mentioned, I just received my author copies and they look so stunning, I thought I’d offer one as a giveaway. Once again, to be in the running, all you have to do is leave a comment below (just tap the Leave a Comment button at the bottom of the post). Competition closes on 20th Feb at midday AWST and will be announced in the comments section and contacted by email.
Reading Recommendations
I’m currently halfway through Ann Patchett’s This is the Story of a Happy Marriage. (Note: this is definitely not a marriage advice book!) While Patchett is very well-known for her novels like Bel Canto, this is a collection of the non-fiction pieces she’s published in everything from Cosmopolitan to the The Atlantic Monthly. I’ve been wanting to read it since I discovered this wonderful essay on The Marginalian, which has a couple of quotes from the book about the writer’s greatest challenge: living with the gap between what a book promises to be in our heads when we first dream it up and the reality of what we are capable of writing. Patchett believes, and I think she’s right, that many people give up when they understand this disconnect and it’s only the stubbornly resilient ones who push past their limits and their self-doubt and go on to become writers. She says:
“The journey from the head to hand is perilous and lined with bodies. It is the road on which nearly everyone who wants to write — and many of the people who do write — get lost… Only a few of us are going to be willing to break our own hearts by trading in the living beauty of imagination for the stark disappointment of words.”
The true writer, I think, is the one who sees that journey as a challenge and uses it to make themselves into a better writer by taking the words they have on the page and continually thinking, how can I put these words together in a more interesting way, until they eventually surprise themselves with a sentence or a paragraph or even a whole chapter that makes them smile.
Have a Great Week!
That’s all for for now! I’ll be back in the inboxes of paid subscribers in the last week of Feb with the monthly Magazine. Otherwise, have a great month!
I was first in line at my local library in Halifax for The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard, but I would love to have my own copy! ☺️
I like it when authors share glimpses of their family life. It’s hard to let our children go but also wonderful to see them moving on to the next step in their lives. I hope your daughter enjoys her college years and discovers her passion in life.
As far as books, historical fiction is my favorite genre. What fun it must be to research and then imagine details as one writes about people and places from a different era. I’ll be eager to read both books!