{"id":23069,"date":"2013-11-21T06:30:05","date_gmt":"2013-11-20T17:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/?p=23069"},"modified":"2013-10-29T23:00:42","modified_gmt":"2013-10-29T10:00:42","slug":"heres-specficnz-wellington-featuring-eileen-mueller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/2013\/11\/21\/heres-specficnz-wellington-featuring-eileen-mueller\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cHere\u2019s SpecFicNZ\u2013Wellington\u201d: Featuring Eileen Mueller"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Recently I began\u00a0 a new \u201cmini-series\u201d of posts titled \u201cHere\u2019s SpecFicNZ Wellington\u201d<\/a> in which my fellow members are introducing themselves using a series of\u00a0 common headings:<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s Who:<\/strong> a short, first person introduction to the member
\nHere\u2019s Why:<\/strong> the member writes or works in speculative fiction
\nHere\u2019s What:<\/strong> an example of the member\u2019s work
\nHere\u2019s Where:<\/strong> you<\/em> can find out more about the writer and their work\u2014and I really hope you will!<\/p>\n

And now I am delighted to welcome this week\u2019s guest, Eileen Mueller.<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s SpecFicNZ\u2013Wellington: Featuring Eileen Mueller<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>Here’s Who:<\/span><\/h3>\n

I\u2019ve been writing in a closet for the past four years\u2014a sunny closet with great views of the bush surrounding Wellington, but a closet nonetheless. In 2013, I decided to open my closet doors and won the 2013 SpecFicNZ Going Global Contest with my first novel.<\/span><\/p>\n

Upon winning the contest, I put my profile onto the SpecFicNZ website and to my surprise, it was voted best changed profile in the SpecFicNZ\u2019s 2013 \u2018Pimp Your Profile\u2019 contest.<\/span><\/p>\n

As well as writing, I have fun singing in Faultline barbershop chorus, running community tree-planting and makeover projects, and raising four children. My husband is a harmonica-playing wonder whom I met during a six year sojourn in Switzerland\u2014KurtX just featured on New Zealand\u2019s Got Talent. Videos of his music are available here<\/span><\/a> on my blog. Our Wellington (New Zealand) home, nestled on the edge of the forest surrounding the city, rings with the sounds of blues harp, classical piano, violin, and Swiss-German. My kids and husband create great music while I clack away on my keyboard!<\/span><\/p>\n

In my writing journey, I’ve discovered some fantastic resources that have shaped my work, helping it to grow into something larger and better than I could’ve produced on my own. I share these insights and resources via \u2018Write On!\u2019 a regular newsletter containing writing tips, articles, and courses. Sign up for my newsletter\u00a0 ‘Write On! here<\/span><\/a> on my blog.<\/span>
\n .<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s Why:<\/span><\/h3>\n

I travelled alone through Asia to Europe with my overactive imagination as my only companion, constantly prompting me with story ideas. When I finally settled back here in NZ (with Kurt and his 100 harmonicas) we had some challenging times with our young children\u2014premature births, chronic illness, surgery, and even death of a child. I read speculative fiction (high fantasy, science fiction, contemporary fantasy, and paranormal romance) as an escape from the grind of dealing with tragedy.<\/span><\/p>\n

I enjoyed re-immersing myself in worlds that I had often frequented as a teenager or child and eventually returned to writing. Now I\u2019m hooked, driven by the endorphin rush that hits wherever I create new worlds, nail a gritty scene, or create chaos in my character\u2019s lives as I craft upbeat, fun stories.<\/span>
\n .<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Here\u2019s What:<\/span><\/h3>\n

Dad\u2019s Wisdom<\/em><\/strong> is a comic horror flash fiction piece in the Baby Teeth\u2014Bite-sized Tales of Terror<\/strong> anthology. Baby Teeth<\/strong> is a fundraiser \u00a0for Duffy Books in Homes\u2014a NZ charity that provides books for kids.<\/span><\/p>\n

An extract from the beginning of\u00a0 Dad\u2019s Wisdom<\/em><\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n

The dragon\u2019s eyes were burning embers in the dark, making its green scales gleam. It licked the white tips of its fangs, grinning at me from under my bed. It was hungry.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Heart pounding, I reached for my lunchbox.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

I fed the dragon stale crusts and left-over apple cores, but it wasn\u2019t satisfied. Over the next few days I stole biscuits, then loaves of bread, and even dropped chunks of meat into my pockets at dinner to smuggle up to my room \u2013 desperate to keep the dragon\u2019s hunger at bay so I could sleep.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

When I told Dad about the hungry dragon, his advice was simple. \u201cHang your toes off the edge of the bed and he\u2019ll nibble your toenails. You won\u2019t have to cut them and the dragon will be fed. That way, you\u2019ll kill two birds with one stone.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Dad\u2019s advice was perfect, although I couldn\u2019t kill two birds with one stone. In fact, it took quite a few stones just to kill one bird… “<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

(c) Eileen Mueller<\/span>
\n.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Wizard in the Works <\/em><\/strong>and <\/em>Lucky Brake<\/em><\/strong> will be published in an anthology of fantasy stories based in Te Papa \u2013 New Zealand\u2019s national museum.<\/span><\/p>\n

I’ve written two young adult fantasy novels, am working on a third, and also write children\u2019s picture books. These works are currently unpublished. With a marketing and public relations background, I’ve written numerous press releases which have generated news articles.<\/span>
\n .<\/span><\/p>\n

Here’s Where:<\/span><\/h3>\n

Baby Teeth<\/em><\/strong> is available at http:\/\/www.paperroadpress.co.nz\/baby-teeth.html<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Eileen\u2019s blog, story updates, and writing resources newsletter \u2018Write On!\u2019 are at http:\/\/www.eileenmuellerauthor.com<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

The \u201cHere\u2019s SpecFicNZ\u2013Wellington\u201d series will be posting every Thursday for the next five weeks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently I began\u00a0 a new \u201cmini-series\u201d of posts titled \u201cHere\u2019s SpecFicNZ Wellington\u201d in which my fellow members are introducing themselves using a series of\u00a0 common headings: Here\u2019s Who: a short, first person introduction to the member Here\u2019s Why: the member writes or works in speculative fiction Here\u2019s What: an example of the member\u2019s work Here\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","category-other-writers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23069"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23069\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23122,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23069\/revisions\/23122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}