Welcome
Hi, I’m Anne Oliver and welcome to my freshly updated website. It’s been awhile since I posted and I hope you’ll enjoy spending some time here.
I wasn’t a born writer, but I grew up with a love of fairytales. My favourite was The Little Mermaid. I was entranced with the idea that love could be such a powerful motivator that the heroine would give up her life for it. Then there’s Tennyson’s, Lady of Shalott, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and in the music and movie world, there are Carousel, Phantom of the Opera, and Titanic. There are some heroes too – who couldn’t be moved by Leonardo and the romantic tragedy of it all? There’s nothing I love more than a good weepy. A writer’s task is to elicit emotion, so if I can make a reader shed a tear, I’ve done my job.
In 1998 I discovered writing my own books was even more satisfying than reading them. Being published by Harlequin Mills and Boon was my goal. So I joined writers groups and met other writers. It took six full novels, lots of writing contests and eight years to get it right – my first published book came out in 2006. To find out more about my writing career click on About.
I love to hear from readers and other writers. You can contact me by clicking on the Contact link. Happy reading, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon.
Anne
and in 20 different languages
What’s been happening?
We had our fantastic Romance Writers of Australia annual conference in Sydney recently. I went a couple of days earlier with my critique partners and friends. We walked all floors of the Queen Victoria Building because when you go to Sydney you have to shop. The official functions got underway on Thursday evening when HM&B authors attended the cocktail party. Always great to catch up with fellow authors, some of whom we only see once a year.
We listened to some great speakers, inspirational talks, heard new ideas, along with fun, wine, laughs, old friendships renewed, new ones formed. There was a lot to motivate and encourage us.
Over the weekend I pitched Finding Lily to three publishers/editors who all asked to read a sample, so I’m hoping for something positive there.
This year the Cocktail Party theme was All That Glitters so Friday evening was aglow with sequins and sparkles and colour. Our sparkling champagne even included something glittery in the bottom of the glass.
The Gala Awards Dinner on Saturday evening clashed with FIFA so it was a noisy affair with applause for the Matildas interspersed with the awards rather than the other way around for a short while. There was definitely an air of celebration!
Finding Lily came second in the Sapphire Award. Very happy with excellent feedback from the final judge to consider as I edit it before sending it out again.
The 2024 conference will be at the Grand Hotel at Glenelg in Adelaide. Looking forward to having it in my home state.
