Me!
My name is Jo Hart and I am an aspiring author living in Australia. I have always had a great passion for the written word and started this blog as a way to share my passion with others.
My Blog
My main aim for this blog is to share writing tips I have learned, links to helpful writing sites and my own writing journey with other writers. I have found the writing community to be a friendly and supportive community and I hope my blog can help and inspire other writers as much as others have helped and inspired me.
I generally post once a week on a range of writing topics. At the end of each month I post an edition of ‘Helpful Writing Sites and Blog Posts’ with links to the most helpful sites I come across during that month. You can find a masterlist of helpful writing sites and blog posts in the navigation bar at the top of my blog.
My Writing
My favourite genres to write include fantasy, mystery and adventure. I generally write children’s Literature (picture books through to young adult), though I occasionally write short stories for an older readership.
I have several short stories published in various anthologies:
‘Family Man’ The Life and Times of Chester Lewis (October 2012)
‘A Troll for Christmas’ Deck the Halls (July 2012)
‘Eighteen for Life’ Literary Mix Tapes: Eighty-Nine (October 2011)
‘A Penny for a Wish’ 100 Stories for Queensland (May 2011)
‘Angel Blood’ Australian Literature: A Snapshot in 10 Short Stories (April 2011)
And online:
‘Green Nadine’ Australian Women Online (March 2012)
‘The Flower Show Fiasco‘ Australian Women Online (November 2011)
‘The Family Waldorf‘ The Australian Literature Review (May 2011)
‘Waiting on the Docks‘ The Australian Literature Review (August 2010)
‘Can You Jump Like a Kangaroo?’ Smories (July 2010)
Behind the Pen
I live in the peace and quiet of the country with my husband and three young children. I love the country atmosphere and being able to sit outside with nature and my thoughts. We have a large variety of animals, including dogs, cats, cows, sheep, goats and chooks.
I graduated university with a Bachelor of Education and I teach students at primary school level, though at the moment I am on a break from teaching to focus on my family and my writing. I also completed a major in Writing and electives in Language and Literacy and Indigenous Literature.
Facebook Page:
Twitter:
You can e-mail me at:
thegracefuldoe (at) hotmail (dot) com
Awards
2nd Place 2011 CYA Conference Competition (preschool category)
Monster Sister
Finalist Australian Literature Review Short Story Competition ‘Troubled Family Relationship’
The Family Waldorf
3rd Place Smories International Short Story Competition July 2010
Can You Jump Like a Kangaroo?
Guest Posts
‘Tuesday 12 x 12: Jo Hart’ – guest post on Julie Hedlund’s blog
‘What Harry Potter has Taught Me About Writing’ – guest post on Harry Potter for Writers
Interviews
Interview on the Chester Lewis site
Interview on Fleur McDonald’s blog
Interview on The Australian Literature Review
NiFtY interview on Beth Hull’s blog
Love the blog! Now please tell me what in the world a chook is.
Thanks Jennifer! A chook is a chicken/hen.
i write fantasy as well. i’ll add you to my blog list.
Nice to meet a fellow fantasy writer. Thanks for adding me to your list
Hi Jo, thanks for following me on Twitter! And congratulations on your CYA success! Fantastic! One of my colleagues here in Tassie entered and won the illustration section so it’s all very exciting. Keep up the good work with your short stories! Cheers, Penny.
Hi Penny, no problem! And thank you so much! How very exciting for your colleague, it’s a great competition. I have a couple more short stories set to be published in the near future, so stay tuned. Thanks for dropping by!
I’ve nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award! Enjoy! http://valerierlawson.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=440&action=edit&message=6&postpost=v2
Thank you, Valerie!
you’re so welcome. i think i made a mistake on the link. (i was still in the edit page and didn’t realize it.) try this one: http://valerierlawson.wordpress.com/2012/05/10/walking-on-sunshine-and-ive-got-versatility-the-blog-awards/
Hi Jo – I am an Australian living in New Zealand. I am doing my final school year’s English research on your text – The Family Waldorf. Could you please help me?
-When and where is the society set?
-How does the expectations of wider society influence the -relationships between the family?
-Why does the family behave this way (so competitive with each other).
It would mean so much to me (and my grade!) if you could aid me.
Thankyou,
Maddison James
Hi Maddison. These are great questions. I replied to your message through Facebook with my answers. I hope they help and your assignment goes well.
Your blog is so interesting and easy to browse! I’m an aspiring writer too–I’ve already found lots of helpful things on your blog. I’m definitely going to pass it along!
.
So glad you’ve found it helpful. Good luck with your writing!