AFLW Grand Final

Did you watch the AFLW Grand Final last weekend? I was glued to my TV for it. It was an incredible game by the Adelaide Crows, but I think the complete sportsmanship in the game won it for me.

If you need a catch up, there's a great article here summarising the sportsmanship and women's sport.

Just in case you don't know, 53 034 people attended the game in Adelaide.

The entry was free (I think from Twitter discussions) but I don't think that detracts from the fact that 53 000 people got off their backside and went to the game.

During the game, Erin Phillips, the best player in the AFLW competition, was injured. She's 33, so a serious injury (which this was, a knee, ACL) could mean that she wouldn't play again. She was taken on the ground in the Medi-Cart. But as this was occurring, not only did her Adelaide teammates come up to give her a pat on the back, a hug, or quiet word, the Carlton players did too.

I watch a lot of NRL and have done for years. When a player is down injured, very few players even acknowledge the injury. Often the other team walk away. I can think of a few players who check on someone, have called for a trainer, have held their shoulder, stayed with them. In 40 years of watching NRL, I can think of maybe a handful of players who've shown this level of care or concern for an injury - teammate or not. Even in lower grades, I don't see this in male footy. And with kids, I've see it discouraged because it doesn't seem 'manly' or 'it'll distract you from your game'.

Women do this. And they still go back and play the game with the same intensity they did before.

I love the sportsmanship.

In the article I linked to, Richard Hines speaks of young girls who chat while the ball is at the other end of the field. And this is my experience of female sport. I played a lot of different games and I always chatted in quiet times to my opponent. Often I was in trouble for this, but I'd shrug it off and do the same the next week. I mean, you're both standing there waiting, you may as well say hi!

I played mixed sport too, and I'd still chat. Some guys chatted back, some didn't. I used to always say that I played mixed sport to see the true calibre of a male. Some were pigs to play with - so I stood clear of them. Some were too gentle and condescending to female players - so avoid them too. Others were fair, took you as an equal even if they went a bit softer on you - I liked those guys.

In Long Game, my Women of W.A.R. book, I wanted to include this friendliness between competitors as a part of my story. So I linked to Nicola Marsh's character, Angie, through a friendly rivalry on the field. Cress and Angie marked each other, played tough games, but they also helped each other off the ground, chatted and swapped details after the game. This part of the story was really important to me.

And speaking of the Women of W.A.R. books, did you know that Amy Andrews' book Fair Game was nominated for a RITA Award? That's an award in the USA for books in the romance genre. It's fantastic that women's sports heroines are being recognised in a country other than our own. Fingers crossed for the ceremony in July!

PODCAST

OMG! Last post was a vague one about getting out of my comfort zone...today I can tell you what it was. I was invited to a podcast as an author of the W.A.R. series with the incredible Sarah Wendell from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books.

If you don't know Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, it's a group, co-founded by Sarah, based in the USA who discuss all things romance and have been around for 13 years. They have a page for people new to their site, which is here, so you can read a quick overview of their 'mission' and achievements.

I love them because they're fun and funny, taking a light-hearted approach to life...while at the same time discussing serious topics, holding in-depth discussions, and being smart about a genre that's often maligned. They have their finger on the pulse and are an incredible source of information.

Sarah Wendell came to the RWA Conference in Fremantle, in 2013 as a guest presenter and she was an incredible speaker and as effervescent as she sounds in podcasts.

And so...the incredible Kate Cuthbert wrangled us a chat on the podcast. I couldn't decide if I was excited or terrified. The day came around...and wouldn't you know it, I had computer issues, more specifically microphone ones. I could hear but not speak. I had joked about hiding behind Amy and Nicola, but when that became a reality, it was incredibly frustrating. I wanted to be there so badly. I thought I'd missed my chance. Then...

Sarah, in her loveliness, arranged a separate chat for me using a different system. This time no microphone issues. No one to stand behind. Just me, and whatever came into my head (which is sometimes terrifying to even me!).

And today, our podcast is live - Amy and Nicola up first, me at the end. Once again I'm torn between excitement and terror. I have my fingers crossed that I don't say something incredibly stupid, that I come across sounding okay and not like a mad, crazy, hermit who laughs all the time.

Doing this was the best fun. And yes, just like skydiving! Stepping outside your comfort zone can be a lot of fun, especially if you have a smart interviewer like Sarah.

Here's the link:

http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=70556

A huge thank you to Sarah for the chat, and Kate for organising it.

Release Day!

Happy Release Day to our Aussie Rules playing girls! 

Here's hoping Angie, Cress and Darcy fly high and you love them as much as I do.

Here's the link if you'd like to know more, or buy these: just click for Escape Publishing

Long Game - behind the scenes - Part 2

Long Game (Women of W.A.R. Book 2) comes out on the 20 Feb, which isn't too long away at all.

Cress and Quin come from Grong Grong in the Riverina region of NSW. I wrote a blog post about how I made that choice, which you can read here.

All the Women's AFL teams are in capital cities, so Cress had to move to Sydney to play for the Sirens. Rather than the usual "fish out of water" trope where the city girl moves to the country, Cress is the country girl moving to the city.

I grew up in Sydney but left in my early 20s. I've done a lot of the popular tourist attractions as a country person visiting the city. When I was trying to work out how to show Cress as a 'fish out of water' I thought about showcasing some of the popular tourist attractions.

Bridge Climb sprang to mind. I've done it a few times and it's pretty amazing. When I thought about doing a Bridge Climb, it triggered an idea that Cress could have a love for the Sydney Harbour Bridge itself, and have a thread of that running through the story.

I've been really lucky with choosing days to do the Bridge Climb. I've done 2 day trips, and a night one. All have been magnificent weather, which was lucky! Once was windy, but I'm not sure which time that was (maybe the night one), and it wasn't too frightening at all.

I loved the views of the Bridge and the Harbour. I think it's one of the most magnificent places in the world - and strangely enough, so does Cress!

Here are a few photos of my climbs. I've blurred my companions' photos, so please don't think I went up with strange aliens!

The day climbs gave the stunning views of the Harbour... but the night climb gave the beauty of the city lights. I'm not sure which was my favourite!

Have you done a Bridge Climb?

Long Game - excerpts

Would you like a sneak peek at my new story, Long Game, out 20 Feb 2018?

Escape Publishing have been sharing parts of my story this week. You can read them here.

And if you'd like to sample Game On, by Nicola Marsh, you can find them posted the week before mine, here.

Amy Andrews' Fair Game, is here!

I'm proud and excited to be a part of this series. To see it popping up places makes me smile. People have gotten behind these books with a sporty heroine, and that brings me much joy. Thank you :)

Long Game - behind the scenes - Part 1

Long Game, my next book, comes out 20 February 2018, which seems a long time away but with Christmas in the middle, it will no doubt go quickly. Until then, I thought I'd tell you a bit of the 'behind the scenes' story.

Country Towns and Sport
I moved to Wagga Wagga after I finished uni, in my 20s. Wagga Wagga was the home of many many great sporting people, including Peter Sterling who was my favourite Rugby League player.

Back then, Wagga Wagga was like a big country town (I reckon it's like a city now!) and I was thrilled to be moving to such a sporty place. And sport was everywhere; I wasn't disappointed. It was a bit of an eye-opener because even though Wagga is in NSW, Aussie Rules was very popular. As popular as Rugby and Rugby League. And this was a new experience for me. I'd grown up where Rugby League was most popular. Rugby next, followed by Aussie Rules and Soccer.

I'd watched AFL in Sydney, live and on TV, so that wasn't new. It was the popularity that surprised me. Wagga Wagga itself had a couple of teams, surrounding towns and localities had teams. And the passionate supporters of these teams were as parochial as any supporters of first grade in Sydney.

When some towns' teams became short of numbers as the town/locality shrank in size, groupings happened and two or more towns would band together to field the team. I loved this. One of my favourite amalgamated team names was Ganmain Grong Grong Matong (GGGM). These three towns were along the way when driving between Narrandera and Coolamon, a lovely trip I often did.

When I was asked to write Long Game, I knew I wanted to write about a country girl moving to the city to play. I began thinking about where she might have come from...and GGGM popped right into my head. But rather than use all three towns, I decided that Grong Grong would have their own team. If you'd like some info on Grong Grong, try this website.

Cress would grow up in Grong Grong, just out of town on a farm. She'd be full of country exuberance for sport. She wouldn't care how far she had to travel to play a game, she'd be there. She'd juggle work, life and play around sport. She'd be good, really good. So I gave her a bunch of brothers who'd make her tough. She'd compete with her older brothers in the paddocks at home, where she'd learn her skills and learn to be tough.

Sport is such an important part of the fabric of many country towns. I wanted to show this in the story. So Cress spends most of the time in Sydney, but she comes home to Grong Grong, where she can fit back into farming and town life, without the trappings of Sydney superstardom.

Country towns seem to level everyone. If you grew up somewhere, when you go back, you're just that kid no matter how big you make it in the wider world. It's the down-to-earth quality I love about the country.

So, that's some of background behind Long Game. If you read it, I hope you'll enjoy it.

PS. If you're from Grong Grong and I got anything wrong - a million apologies. I tried my best to remember things.