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If you’re an emerging writer, here’s something I wish someone told me earlier: Short stories can build your writing career before your novel is ready. They help you find your voice, refine your craft, learn submissions, and collect those early wins that keep you going when rejection gets loud. I wrote a new Substack article sharing how short stories shaped my path to publication — and how you can use them strategically (even if you’re focused on novels). Title: Stop Waiting for the Novel: Use Short Stories to Build Your Writing Career Go read it and tell me: are you a short story writer, a novelist, or both? https://amrasarmchairanecdotes.substack.com/p/stop-waiting-for-the-novel-use-short 
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You don’t need more time to write. You need to stop waiting for permission. For most of my writing life, I’ve worked full-time. Administration. Teaching. Parenting. Paying bills. The writing didn’t happen because life got quieter. It happened because I learned how to build it into the cracks. Early mornings. Train rides. Tiny desks. 15-minute sprints. Writing when I was tired, uninspired, and very much not “in the mood.” In this week’s Substack article, I break down what actually kept me writing while working full-time: – how to stop romanticising the writing life – why habits matter more than word count – how to use accountability instead of willpower – what to do when burnout hits – and why writing isn’t optional if it’s who you are If you’re an emerging writer trying to balance the pen and the paycheck, this one’s for you. 📖 Read it on Substack https://amrasarmchairanecdotes.substack.com/p/balancing-the-pen-and-the-paycheck ✍️ Practical, lived advice—not theory  I used to think pitching was this terrifying, special event reserved for “real writers.” Turns out: if you write, you pitch. Constantly. You pitch your book to agents/publishers. You pitch your ideas to editors. You pitch your expertise to festivals, libraries, schools. You pitch yourself every time someone asks, “So what are you working on?” In today’s Substack post, I walk through the three types of pitches that have built my career—and the systems that made pitching easier (and way less emotional). ✨ What’s inside: ✅ the elevator pitch trick that forces clarity ✅ why a one-page synopsis saves your book’s structure ✅ how to position your work in the market without sounding cringe ✅ what to do when editors ghost you (hint: “strategic amnesia”) ✅ how to build a media kit so you’re not reinventing the wheel every time If you’ve ever stared at a blank email and thought, who do I think I am? — read this. https://amrasarmchairanecdotes.substack.com/p/the-art-of-the-pitch-how-to-sell  Talking Time Kneels Between Mountains on the Yellow Shelf Podcast. In a town where survival is a daily battle, there are those who seek justice... Overnight, Seka Torlak's life as a regular teenager is upended as Srebrenica, her once peaceful town, falls under siege and she faces starvation, shelling, and sniper attacks. When desperately needed antibiotics and food disappear and are sold on the black market, Seka vows to investigate the corruption and bring the culprits to justice. As the war ravages Srebrenica, Seka's resilience is tested as she navigates loss, fear, and the harsh realities of war. Yet, amidst the devastation, she finds a glimmer of hope as her relationship with Ramo blossoms from friendship to love. But as she fights for justice and love, will Seka triumph, or will the brutal war tear everything she holds dear apart? So happy to have appeared on The Balkan Forum podcast talking about Time Kneels Between Mountains. In this conversation, Amra discusses her novel Time Kneels Between Mountains, which explores the years leading up to the Srebrenica genocide through the eyes of a teenage girl. The narrative confronts war, injustice, and the fragile threads of humanity. Amra explains that the book began as part of her PhD in creative writing and gradually expanded, from a few planned flashbacks into a full novel, honoring the stories of those who survived the siege with remarkable resilience and endurance. Just returned from the cinema where I watched Dead of Winter with Emma Thompson and it was sublime. Highly recommend you go watch it. "Emma Thompson does not disappoint. Her every movie is a gem, and this one is perfect on every level. A woman travels to a lake to complete a pilgrimage for a loved one, only to uncover a crime. The tension is perfect, and the story development is perfect as we learn about what brought her to the lake, while she fights the baddies. So perfect!"  I’ve officially lost my mind again — I’m writing the fifth novel in my Seka Torlak series, and I’m giving myself 60 days to get the first draft down. That’s 1,000 words a day, every day, no excuses, no “but I’m tired,” no “but the cat looked at me weird.” And because accountability works best when you embarrass yourself publicly, I’ll be documenting the entire messy, exhilarating, occasionally unhinged process on Substack. If you’ve ever wondered what it actually looks like to draft a book — the good days, the flat-line days, the “why did I choose this career” days — come along for the ride. I’ll be sharing: Daily word-count check-ins Behind-the-scenes chaos from the Seka Torlak universe Craft notes, research tidbits, and the emotional gymnastics of writing historical-crime fiction What’s working, what’s flopping, and the tricks I use to keep going even when my brain wants to bail Lessons I’m learning in real time about discipline, voice, creativity, and building a long-form project without losing the plot (literally) If you’re a writer, you’ll pick up tools. If you’re a reader of the series, you’ll get a front-row seat to the next instalment. If you’re just here for the drama… you will not be disappointed. I’d love for you to follow along, cheer me on, poke me when I slack off, and be part of the community that makes these books possible. Subscribe now and let’s see what 60 days of focused chaos can create. I promise it’ll be honest, occasionally chaotic, and absolutely worth watching. https://open.substack.com/pub/amrasarmchairanecdotes/p/write-a-novel-with-me-day-1-update?r=i0jxk&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true  Big news, friends — Time Kneels Between Mountains has been featured in Lifestyle News. 🎉 It’s a strange feeling seeing a book born from seven years of research and heartbreak land in a mainstream publication, but here we are. Huge thanks to my powerhouse publicist Nicole Webb who keeps kicking down doors I didn’t even know were there. https://www.lifestylenews.com.au/post/time-kneels-between-mountains-a-novel-that-confronts-a-dark-chapter-with-courage-and-heart If you want to read the full piece, the link is in my Linktree bio. And while you’re there… a gentle-but-not-really-gentle reminder: 📚 Both Book 1 and Book 2 (Ghosts Among the Gumtrees) are available right now in my live Kickstarter. If you’ve been meaning to grab them, back the campaign and help me grow this series from the ground up. Doing this indie means every reader matters. Every backer matters. And every share matters. ❤️
It’s official — Ghosts Among the Gumtrees is LIVE on Kickstarter! 🎉🔥 Book 2 in the Seka Torlak Historical Crime Mystery Series is out in the world, and I’m so excited (and honestly a bit nervous) to finally share it with you. If you loved Time Kneels Between Mountains, this is the next step in Seka’s journey: Australia, 1997. A new life. New dangers. And a war criminal hiding in plain sight. This is a story about justice, trauma, denial, and what happens when the past refuses to stay buried. By backing the Kickstarter, you’ll get: ✔️ Early-release ebook or paperback ✔️ A brand-new companion short story, Zora’s Story ✔️ A bonus essay about war criminals who fled to Australia ✔️ Updates, behind-the-scenes insights, and all the things I can’t squeeze into social posts Kickstarter is how I grow this series, build my audience, and stay connected to readers who care about survivor-centred storytelling. Your support — even just sharing the link — genuinely means everything. 👉 Back the campaign here: amrapajalic.com/ghosts Let’s bring Book 2 into the world together. 💜 I’m thrilled to share that I was on ABC Radio’s Nightlife — discussing the three books that inspired Time Kneels Between Mountains. 🎙️✍️ Books That Made Me — and Shaped Time Kneels Between Mountains Every novel has its ancestors, and these three books carved the emotional backbone of Time Kneels Between Mountains. 📘 Surviving the Bosnian Genocide — Selma Leydesdorff A tapestry of real women’s testimonies. Their strength, their grief, their fight for justice — it taught me how storytelling becomes resistance when systems fail. Their everyday survival shaped how I wrote Seka’s world. 📙 Postcards from the Grave — Emir Suljagić A survivor writing from inside Srebrenica. His honesty about youth, rage, resilience, and moral responsibility grounded my work. He showed me how to balance fact, emotion, and witness — and how young people still found ways to live amid siege. 📕 My Brilliant Friend — Elena Ferrante Female friendships, class tensions, and the small rituals that make a world feel real. Ferrante reminded me that intimate stories are history. She also inspired my character index and the detailed reconstruction of everyday life in Srebrenica. All three books helped me build a story that honours memory, captures the resilience of youth, and restores moral order when the world falls apart. Listen here: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/nightlife/the-writers-amra-pajalic/106080866 Or in my Linktree If you’ve read any of these, I’d love to hear what they meant to you. 📚💛
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AuthorAmra Pajalić is an award-winning author, an editor and teacher who draws on her Bosnian cultural heritage to write own voices stories for young people, who like her, are searching to mediate their identity and take pride in their diverse culture. She writes memoir, young adult and romance under the pen name Mae Archer. newsletterSign up and receive free books.
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