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A day in the life of Sue Parritt
The day begins around 7.15 when my husband, an early riser, brings me a cup of tea in bed and slips back in beside me. I savour each sip; this first cup somehow superior to all those that follow, ponder between brief conversation yesterday’s paragraphs awaiting attention. Out of bed no later than 7.45, lingering, daydreaming or staring into space isn’t an option for this well-organised writer. Breakfast a brief affair: muesli, toast, and another cup of tea. Next item on the agenda is the morning walk along the cliff top. I walk at a reasonable pace for half an hour, one day one direction, next day other direction. Where tangled trees give way to coastal shrubs or grassy banks the view is magnificent and ever-changing. Mirror-smooth or white-capped, I never tire of Port Philip Bay. Then it’s back home to domestic deeds or a quick trip to the shops, cursing long queues in the bank and post office, toddlers running riot in the supermarket, the spiralling cost of household necessities. Like the late Elisabeth Jolley, I can’t settle to writing until these chores have been completed.
Mid-morning I begin the key business of the day, the pursuing of a long-held dream, reward for long years supplying others’needs. In order to focus my mind, particularly if writing a first draft, I return to the previous day’s work, rereading and editing obvious errors. Major edits are generally postponed for the second and subsequent drafts but as a reminder I insert directions such as ‘extend para’ or ‘rewrite whole chapter’ into the text in upper case. When ideas pertinent to a different part of the narrative surface, I scribble them on paper, adding them later to a file of notes on the computer. A cataloguer in my former life, I am meticulous about organising my files in an easily retrievable form. Atypically, my desk is often a mess with pieces of paper scattered around, and by the end of the day, numerous empty teacups, plates and here I confess to a bad habit, crumbs caught in the keyboard!
Writing is a lonely business and occasionally a phone call or knock at the door can be a welcome intrusion (as any writer will attest) when staring at a problem paragraph threatens to cause meltdown or migraine. However, the longer I spend writing, the more I resent intrusions and am considering having a studio built in the garden (no phones, no temptation to run and answer the door) in order to achieve the desired peace and quiet.
Around five or six, depending on whether I’m on a roll or literally stuck for words, I save my document to a USB despite the fact I have a Seagate backup plus drive and venture into the kitchen to prepare the evening meal. Sometimes, in an attempt to ignore my secondary role, I set the oven timer for an hour or so and settle back down in front of the computer. Oh, for a string of servants to perform those boring but essential domestic tasks!
The day begins around 7.15 when my husband, an early riser, brings me a cup of tea in bed and slips back in beside me. I savour each sip; this first cup somehow superior to all those that follow, ponder between brief conversation yesterday’s paragraphs awaiting attention. Out of bed no later than 7.45, lingering, daydreaming or staring into space isn’t an option for this well-organised writer. Breakfast a brief affair: muesli, toast, and another cup of tea. Next item on the agenda is the morning walk along the cliff top. I walk at a reasonable pace for half an hour, one day one direction, next day other direction. Where tangled trees give way to coastal shrubs or grassy banks the view is magnificent and ever-changing. Mirror-smooth or white-capped, I never tire of Port Philip Bay. Then it’s back home to domestic deeds or a quick trip to the shops, cursing long queues in the bank and post office, toddlers running riot in the supermarket, the spiralling cost of household necessities. Like the late Elisabeth Jolley, I can’t settle to writing until these chores have been completed.
Mid-morning I begin the key business of the day, the pursuing of a long-held dream, reward for long years supplying others’needs. In order to focus my mind, particularly if writing a first draft, I return to the previous day’s work, rereading and editing obvious errors. Major edits are generally postponed for the second and subsequent drafts but as a reminder I insert directions such as ‘extend para’ or ‘rewrite whole chapter’ into the text in upper case. When ideas pertinent to a different part of the narrative surface, I scribble them on paper, adding them later to a file of notes on the computer. A cataloguer in my former life, I am meticulous about organising my files in an easily retrievable form. Atypically, my desk is often a mess with pieces of paper scattered around, and by the end of the day, numerous empty teacups, plates and here I confess to a bad habit, crumbs caught in the keyboard!
Writing is a lonely business and occasionally a phone call or knock at the door can be a welcome intrusion (as any writer will attest) when staring at a problem paragraph threatens to cause meltdown or migraine. However, the longer I spend writing, the more I resent intrusions and am considering having a studio built in the garden (no phones, no temptation to run and answer the door) in order to achieve the desired peace and quiet.
Around five or six, depending on whether I’m on a roll or literally stuck for words, I save my document to a USB despite the fact I have a Seagate backup plus drive and venture into the kitchen to prepare the evening meal. Sometimes, in an attempt to ignore my secondary role, I set the oven timer for an hour or so and settle back down in front of the computer. Oh, for a string of servants to perform those boring but essential domestic tasks!
About the Author:
Sue
Parritt is an Australian writer, originally from England. Her poetry
and short stories have been published in magazines and anthologies in
Australia, Britain and the USA. After graduating BA University of
Queensland 1982 (majors: English Literature, Drama and French), Sue
worked in university libraries until taking early retirement in 2008 to
pursue her long-held dream of becoming a professional writer. Since
then she has written Sannah and the Pilgrim, numerous short stories and poems and‘Feed Thy Enemy’,
a feature film script set in Naples in 1944 and 1974 and based on a
true story (Sue is currently seeking a producer). She recently completed
a second novel Safety Zone and is now writing a sequel to Sannah and the Pilgrim – the working title is Pia and the Skyman.
General Information - Sannah and the Pilgrim by Sue Parritt
ISBN: 978-1-922200-14-3
Genre: Speculative Fiction / Sci-fi / Dystopian
Release Date: 26 April 2014 (Paperback and ebook)
Publisher: Odyssey Books (http://www.odysseybooks.com.
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1kBKqan
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sue.
Description:
When Sannah the Storyteller, a descendant of environmental refugees from drowned Pacific islands, finds a White stranger on her domestep, she presumes he’s a political prisoner on the run seeking safe passage to egalitarian Aotearoa. However, Kaire’s unusual appearance, bizarre behaviour, and insistence he’s a pilgrim suggest otherwise.
Appalled by apartheid Australia, Kaire uses his White privileges to procure vital information for Sannah and her group of activists regarding new desert prisons that are to be built to house all political prisoners. The group plans sabotage but needs help, and Kaire is a willing accomplice. But when Sannah turns Truthteller and threatens to reveal the country’s true history, even Kaire’s White privilege and advanced technology cannot save Sannah and her daughter from retribution.
About Sannah and the Pilgrim:
Sannah and the Pilgrim is a tale of courage, defiance and deceit that asks the reader, ‘Would you risk death by telling the truth about your country, or would you play it safe and spend your life as a storyteller?’
Are you concerned about our governments’ (both past and present) failure to act on climate change and the detention and inhumane treatment of refugees? I am, so I have drawn on contemporary conservative attitudes to present a dystopian view of a future Australia in my speculative fiction novel Sannah and the Pilgrim. Read it and discover what could happen to our‘lucky’ country.
When Sannah the Storyteller, a descendant of environmental refugees from drowned Pacific islands, finds a White stranger on her domestep, she presumes he’s a political prisoner on the run seeking safe passage to egalitarian Aotearoa. However, Kaire’s unusual appearance, bizarre behaviour, and insistence he’s a pilgrim suggest otherwise.
Appalled by apartheid Australia, Kaire uses his White privileges to procure vital information for Sannah and her group of activists regarding new desert prisons that are to be built to house all political prisoners. The group plans sabotage but needs help, and Kaire is a willing accomplice. But when Sannah turns Truthteller and threatens to reveal the country’s true history, even Kaire’s White privilege and advanced technology cannot save Sannah and her daughter from retribution.
About Sannah and the Pilgrim:
Sannah and the Pilgrim is a tale of courage, defiance and deceit that asks the reader, ‘Would you risk death by telling the truth about your country, or would you play it safe and spend your life as a storyteller?’
Are you concerned about our governments’ (both past and present) failure to act on climate change and the detention and inhumane treatment of refugees? I am, so I have drawn on contemporary conservative attitudes to present a dystopian view of a future Australia in my speculative fiction novel Sannah and the Pilgrim. Read it and discover what could happen to our‘lucky’ country.
