Tag: blogs

Ep13 – Nigel Featherstone Pt1

Nigel Featherstone
Photo: Andrew Sikorski

Ep13…Pt1

That’s right, folks, this is Part 1, of 2.

Nigel Featherstone is an Australian writer whose, powerful new novel, Bodies of Men is to be published by Hachette Australia on the 23rd April – it’s the story of two Australian soldiers who find love on the fringes of the Egyptian desert while World War 2 rages around them.

This book is significant. This story is important. It’s beautifully written. Nigel is the right person to be telling this story at this time.

Great literature and art can sometimes be ahead of its time, yet it acts as the beacon so we can all fix on a common point in the direction we need to go. This book may well be that beacon of how we can further understand each other and learn to live along side others no matter the differences.

When I set out to do this podcast I put sitting down with Nigel to record as one of the big goals for myself. Nigel has been very important to my own creative development since we met in 2014 @ the ACT Writer’s Centre Hardcopy manuscript development program where Nigel was the facilitator and coordinator.

For a couple of years following the program Nigel was a mentor to me, helping me to find ways to create no matter what. Without his involvement, I may not have had the courage to embark on something as crazy as doing this podcast.

In this part of the conversation get spend time on the journey leading up to the writing of Bodies of Men. In Part 2, which is coming out on the 23rd April to coincide with the release of Nigel’s novel, we get deep into the story behind of the story and so much more.

Nigel is a rare character and has a generous artistic soul.

I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did.

You can stay up to date with all that’s happening in Nigel’s world here:

BODIES OF MEN, a novel to be published by Hachette Australia on 23 April 2019
– launching in Canberra at 6pm on Thursday 16 May at The Street Theatre

Thanks to:

Podcast homepage – https://widtaabbqs.home.blog/

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On Certainty

certainty

I’m never certain.

There’s always another perspective to consider.

Another option to weight up.

There is no black or white, right or wrong, good or bad.

Life is lived in the third way while I struggle to squeeze round pegs into square holes.

I’m seeking security and safety certainty, solid ground to stand on, and all the time drifting in an in-between state where is there no beginning and no ending, no winning and no losing, only the labels I put on the things and the emotions I feel and how they inform me about the experiences I have.

This is where my life is lived.

This is where I rise and fall, stumble and pick myself up.

This is where I laugh till I cry and cry till I laugh and try to work out why.

May I never be certain.

May I always be searching and learning and discovering.

Ep3 – Sheree Strange

Sheree

Ep3. I’m learning folks.

Every time I sit down to record with someone I find out something new. In this episode, I’m grateful to some advice from soon-to-be guest, Jason Dibbs, for telling me to always have a Plan B when recording.

Today with Sheree there was a moment when I could have given up, could have said, ‘Sorry Sheree, this just isn’t going to happen in exactly the way I want it to.’

But that’s not what happened.

This is a podcast about people who find a way, despite the obstacles, no matter what it takes.

When I met up with Sheree we face background sound issues, memory card storage space issues and my own inexperience as a podcaster. We found a way though.

So around the 22, 23 minute mark of this pod when there’s a distinct change in the quality of audio, STICK WITH IT. What Sheree has to tell us is worth it.

Her story is filled with courage and commitment. She is not afraid to make bold moves in her life, to take a risk.

This is a great chat and I’m honoured that Sheree would share her stories with me.

Do it up.

 

You can catch up with Sheree and what’s she’s up to here:

Keeping up with the Penguins – http://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/

Twitter – @shereestrange

HuffPost – https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/author/sheree-strange/

Medium – https://medium.com/@shereestrange

And, Sheree MCs each month @ https://www.facebook.com/thesydneypoetrylounge/

 

Thanks to:

eight and a half for “Piece by Piece” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U_MC4mabNM

Tara Ward for the art and design – http://www.tarawardphotography.com.au/

 

Podcast homepage – https://widtaabbqs.home.blog/