#rjbookclubretreat

Rachael John’s Book Club Retreat

Affectionately known by me as ‘Bookabila’

Book – a written or printed work consisting of pages glued or sewn together along one side and bound in covers.’ (There are many different definitions of this word, I went for the most basic provided my Microsoft Bing search)

Abila – of Latin origin for a girl’s name that means ‘beautiful.’ (www.thebump.com)

Everything about this book filled retreat was BEAUTIFUL!!

The countdown began October 2022, many excited moments, high quality reads and the anticipation of meeting not only fellow passionate book fans, BUT to be in the same room as PUBLISHED AUTHORS - just a tad bit intimidating.

Unfortunately, the anxiety kicked in despite my excitement… what if I miss my flights… what do I wear… how am I going to keep within the 15kg weight limit…what if I don’t get along with my room share people…the same worries cycled through my brain over and over. I had back up plans upon back up plans, honestly, I hadn’t needed to worry about a thing. Sitting around the airport, anxiously waiting for my next flight, my brother highlighted the fact I was doing it all wrong as I didn’t have an alcoholic beverage in my hand. I could see the appeal but stayed strong.

I’m a true believer in having dreams and goals to work towards, mine just happen to revolve around writing, and as each year passes, the call gets stronger. I’d love to be a travel writer alongside publishing novels. BUT if I am to do that, I better overcome the confusing mind games that airports play on me and become comfortable in the environment.

As much as I love the concept of flying over the top of water and land to explore exotic places, I need to perfect the art of ‘traveling’ itself. I have learnt a few valuable lessons during this trip.

• Travel with a screw top water bottle – to avoid the leak of water throughout the handbag when it ultimately falls over during the bumpy flight.

• No matter how accurate your scales are at home, add an extra kilo or two to allow for the accurate ones at the airport.

• Traveling as someone who follows a Vegan / Low fodmap approach to food – even if you ask for the garlic mayo to be left off the burger, remember, everyone else uses garlic as a staple flavour and hide it within the main part of the meal ☹

• If taking a laptop bag, ensure that the items of your handbag also go in this bag, and put the empty handbag in your checked luggage – trying to remember to pick up two bags, a jacket and a one litre water bottle when moving around the airport was nerve wracking.

• Get yourself a spare pair of headphones and pack them early, don’t rely on the frazzled memory to pack them at the last minute – otherwise you are looking at upwards of 25 bucks for a basic pair at the airport, thus I opted to go without.

I made the most of waiting around the airport and put my laptop to work, note to self, next laptop needs to be smaller and lighter, perhaps even one that is multifunctional, I saw one next to me on the plane where it transformed from laptop to tablet – COOL!! The steady tap of the keys on my laptop provided a moment of calm amongst my anxious worries.

Onto the retreat itself. Arriving in Hahndorf, S.A. WOW!! It was even more beautiful than I remembered it being a decade ago, it’s somewhere that I could live quite easily - inspiration aplenty amongst the scenic hills. The stunning autumn leaves leant themselves to being heavily photographed for all who spent extra time there. Unfortunately, I was not one of those lucky people. I would love to return one autumn with my canon and laptop/leather notebook to write and take photos.

FRIDAY EVENING –

I was undoubtedly star struck!! Looking around the room playing spot the author, I had moments of overwhelm, but after a deep breath and a conversation invitation from the warm and welcoming Stella Quinn, my anxiety calmed down. This is where I began to learn that all these incredible authors were down to earth and inclusive of all who were there. Glancing around the room, I spotted Rachael Johns herself. This was THE star-struck moment of the entire event.

The ice breakers allowed me to meet another W.A. based book lover, who happened to have the same name as me, this immediately gave us our first conversation. However, this portion of the night didn’t last forever, and I eventually made my way back toward my original drive share buddy whom I met in Adelaide. As the evening went on, we soon learnt who was who out of the authors and loved putting a face to the name.

SATURDAY-

My first proper conversation with Rachael was such a surreal moment, by this point I honestly felt like I had known her for a lifetime. Yet prior to this moment, I had only connected with her through messages and emails. Hearing the words ‘have we met?’ whilst asking for a keepsake autograph, offered the opportunity to agree that it felt like we had. I left her to sign other books, all the while thinking that it had been such a joy to finally meet her in person, and that I couldn’t wait to finish reading through my pile of books she had written.

Listening to authors both through panel discussions and on a slightly more personal level via a group speed dating session, encouraged and strengthened my passion to become a published author. Clare Connolly’s - ‘So you want to be a writer’ was a must hear for aspiring authors. I loved hearing about her journey and how she knew exactly what it was that she wanted to do and didn’t stop even once she got it.

The gala dinner saw more games, and the knowledge that our table wasn’t as widely read as some of the other retreat goers, but what we did share was a lot of laughs, and ‘oh yeah’ moments – I still don’t recall having heard the answers for the book to movie segment though.

SUNDAY -

A subdued start to the day for some, tea and coffee consumed by the bucket load while the view across the hills put on another stunning display. We listened to Phil and Craig from Happy Valley Booksread chat about their book reviewing. I found these two gems to be insightful and intriguing, sharing the vast differences between their two approaches. We also listened to Bree from 1girl…2manybooks, yet again, another alternative approach to reviewing – the tips and tricks learnt were highly worthwhile, and I’ll be sure to take on board what I learnt whilst reviewing my next reads. What did remain consistent though was to avoid spoilers at all costs. To be approached by publishers to review books has crept up there on my bucket list.

Listening to Rachael Johns, Anthea Hodgson, Tricia Stringer, Victoria Purman, Penolope Janu, Rebecca Heath, Kim Lock, Meredith Appleyard, Leonie Kelsall, Pamela Cook, Stella Quinn, Sandy Barker, Emily Madden, Jo Dixon and Rae Cairns talk about their writing careers was truly aspirational and inspiring. Though the pivotal moment for me was observing the interactions between the authors from a distance, what could be witnessed was a clear respect for one another and a strong camaraderie, I can only hope that one day I can find my place amongst this bookabila world the same way all these amazing ladies have.

I can’t wait for next year!