Paullina Simons Notes from presentation

Paullina Simons was very motivating and inspiring to me as a writer and I took some notes during her final presentation here in Brisbane.

She talked about the oft quoted 'writers should write about what they know'...
she added 'or what they wish they knew.' (This explains the Brontes to me)

She talked of how when she really settles to write she
"writes alone and writes from the soul; as we read alone and read from the soul".

She talked of how as a writer 'where you start out is where you end up', and read the opening sentence from several of her books to give examples.

Her latest book 'Road to Paradise' (scroll down a bit for an image of the cover) is her
'Love Song to America'. She came from Russia as a young girl, with her family.

When she commenced 'The Bronze Horseman', she wrote only one sentence and then nothing for 18 months.

Paullina spoke of how when she is writing she does not read, except for non fiction research purposes.

As she drove across America in a yellow mustang (for research) the landscape she saw with her eyes changed the landscape of her book. Road to Paradise.

As with all her other books this latest one represents a journey.

Paullina confirmed for me that indeed there were traffic lights in Leningrad in 1942 (I always wondered). She signed 2 books for me and one for a friend. I had my photograph taken with her.

She brings her own pens and ink cartridges for each individual signing session.

As I gathered my books etc together she said to me "I love your bag".
It was the one I received for my birthday - the picture is further down somewhere in the November Postings...

I ran into a fellow poster from PS website, and it was a great evening well attended and much enjoyed.

The impact on me is continuing.