Claire Waller

Crossed with you, Jonathan.

At face value, John, to me it means the opposite. “Never regret not taking the adventurous decisions.”
The things you didn’t do? Maybe they were missed opportunities, but maybe not. Maybe they were best left alone. It’s all water under the bridge now, so there’s no point in spending time and effort on regretting what might have been.

To mean…[Read more]

Bringing a gun into a house changes it.

It doesn’t matter that it’s locked away, out of sight. There’s something tangible – a weight, a tension – that comes with the knowledge of its presence, which terrifies me more than him.

He explained the gun’s for protection.

What extra protection could he need? He has his expression, his speech…his…[Read more]

What fantastic news! Congratulations, Kaz, and I read that you met your agent at a successful speed-dating pitch-event. That’s a great reminder to make sure we writers are best prepared for such meetings.

I didn’t know of the Wheeler Centre. It looks like an amazing resource, and next time I’m home in Melbourne I’ll try to get along to an event there.

Tremendous news and tremendous writing, you Author, you!

Write on, Girl! Terrific news. Well done.

Massive congratulations, Kaz 😁 really well deserved and so glad Ava id finally taking wing in front of a larger audience. Can’t wait to get my signed copy. Champagne and cake all round 🎂🥂

Bringing a gun into the house changes it

Baz got the letter on his fourteenth birthday; he was now old enough to get a gun from the government store, so he finished hoeing the weeds among the vegetables and went to get it. His mother wept a little and his sisters picked the peas and looked sombre.

Nothing much changed at first. He kept the gun…[Read more]

Wonderful, wonderful news!

Bloody fantastic news, Kaz! Well done xxx

Wow, Kaz. Brilliant news and really deserved!

Bringing a gun into a house changes it. You can’t help it, of course. The trick is not letting on to everyone else that you’ve changed it. Keeping everything looking exactly the same, so all the neighbours, passersby, any visitors have no idea what you’ve done.

It’s a specific kind of visitor we have in mind. The kind that bulldozes in mob-han…[Read more]

Bringing a gun into a house changes it. I move from hallway to sitting room. Little Kev is trying to hide behind a chair. Bang! I shoot him through it. This isn’t the house where Kev lives anymore. His mum stands on the stairs, screaming. Screams of shock and denial I suppose. Bang! Screamy house one minute, quiet house the next. I step over her b…[Read more]

ZAnd it’s a vote for ‘improbable’ from me too.

Thanks, again, for all the good advice and reasoning, too.

Nice. Might have a go as I’m in between edits…

“A Lyttle Goes a Long Way”
The Improbable Life of an Ulster Storyteller
gets my vote.

Improbable tale feeds into the stereotype of Irish blarney. That title tells the reader before they’ve turned the cover that what follows is not to be believed, so why bother buying the book?

Improbable life suggests a life fully lived, a life of intrigue and…[Read more]

Thanks again for all the advice, guys.
It’s clear I should stick with “A Lyttle Goes a Long Way”.

But the subtitle:
The Improbable Tale of an Ulster Storyteller
The Improbable Life of an Ulster Storyteller

The Remarkable Tale… or Life…
The Extraordinary Tale… or Life…

or some other type of Tale… or Life…?