Today I decided to take up the Challenge – will you join me?

http://australianwomenwriters.com/2013-challenge/

After I registered I stared to look at the reading/review lists and found a few book I  have already read – which was interesting and yet somewhat surprising  – I hadn’t realised I had read Australian Women’s voices. Is that a good thing or not? The fact that Australian Women Writers voices were just as good as any other and by and large did not leap out at me as Australian is good, isnt it? I suppose because I read  mostly crime fiction and contemporary fiction maybe place is not such an obvious marker of  writers voice?  And should  we only write/read about the region we live in? I think not – today we are all citizens of a global world.

I do however think that the words we write are shaped by our experience  and where/how we live does have some influence here, but does not necessarily prescribe our words or our stories. We can write about anything, and write well. For example – look at these 2 amazing yet vastly different  books, Questions of Travel  by Michelle de Krester and Bone Ash Sky by Katerina Cosgrove – what brilliant diverse voices!  Or look at the new voices soon to be heard,   Miss Blossom Makes A Mean Red Velvet Cake,  plenty of talent here.

So who will join me in this Challenge? Readers from any region welcome to join.  I dare you!