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Show notesElizabeth Stores, a former lawyer and acclaimed historical fiction writer, discusses her transition from law to writing, the challenges of balancing writing with family responsibilities, and the persistence and passion that kept her project alive for a decade. She also explores the challenges of publishing World War II fiction and the impact of Nazi research ideology. The conversation delves into the psychology of eugenics and genocide, highlighting the modern-day relevance of understanding historical atrocities. It also explores the challenges in publishing historical fiction and the power of digital books. Additionally, it discusses the Historical Novel Society, the judging criteria for historical fiction prizes, and the importance of community in writing. Takeaways
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Connect with Elizabeth StorrsElisabeth Storrs former lawyer who spent over fifteen years researching and writing her acclaimed A Tale of Ancient Rome trilogy. Her latest novel, Fables & Lies: A World War II Novelis set in 1940s Berlin, follows Freyja Bremer, a museum assistant who marries an SS scholar to protect her family, only to fall for an archaeologist who exposes the lies underpinning the Nazi regime. Inspired by the true, little-known story of the curators who risked their lives to save Priam's Treasure and the Aryan myth manufactured by Himmler's Ahnenerbe institute. Beyond her own novels, Elisabeth is a driving force in Australian historical fiction: she co-founded the Historical Novel Society Australasia and established the ARA Historical Novel Prize, the richest literary prize of its kind in Australia and New Zealand, and is a longtime contributor to the History Girls blog. She lives in Sydney with her husband. Website: https://elisabethstorrs.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elisabethstorrsauthor/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elisabeth.storrs/
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new episode:Â 37-Persistence, Patience, Practice, Passion: Elisabeth Storrs on the Writer's Life14/9/2026 Show notes
Elizabeth Storrs, a former lawyer and acclaimed historical fiction writer, discusses her transition from law to writing, the challenges of balancing writing with family responsibilities, and the persistence and passion that kept her project alive for a decade. She also explores the challenges of publishing World War II fiction and the impact of Nazi research ideology. The conversation delves into the psychology of eugenics and genocide, highlighting the modern-day relevance of understanding historical atrocities. It also explores the challenges in publishing historical fiction and the power of digital books. Additionally, it discusses the Historical Novel Society, the judging criteria for historical fiction prizes, and the importance of community in writing. Takeaways
Chapters
Connect with Elizabeth Storrs Elisabeth Storrs former lawyer who spent over fifteen years researching and writing her acclaimed A Tale of Ancient Rome trilogy. Her latest novel, Fables & Lies: A World War II Novelis set in 1940s Berlin, follows Freyja Bremer, a museum assistant who marries an SS scholar to protect her family, only to fall for an archaeologist who exposes the lies underpinning the Nazi regime. Inspired by the true, little-known story of the curators who risked their lives to save Priam’s Treasure and the Aryan myth manufactured by Himmler’s Ahnenerbe institute. Beyond her own novels, Elisabeth is a driving force in Australian historical fiction: she co-founded the Historical Novel Society Australasia and established the ARA Historical Novel Prize, the richest literary prize of its kind in Australia and New Zealand, and is a longtime contributor to the History Girls blog. She lives in Sydney with her husband. Website: https://elisabethstorrs.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elisabethstorrsauthor/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elisabeth.storrs/ Very happy today. Finalised edits for book 5-Whispers Behind the Wire and have formatted the manuscript, created the cover, and uploaded to Ingram Spark. Now I just need to wait for the file to be processed, and I can order the physical print copy and do a final read. Blurb: In a detention centre shadowed by corruption and silence, Seka shines a light on the abuses buried behind locked gates… Seka Torlak, an investigative journalist, is at an Australian immigration detention centre in 2001, to write a feel-good piece about a model asylum seeker. Instead, she uncovers the story of Afsana — a young Hazara detainee whose quiet defiance made her a thorn in the side of the authorities. The official story is Afsana voluntarily “returned” home, but the paperwork doesn’t add up. Determined to find the truth, she has herself locked inside as a refugee, undercover among the very people she has come to save. Behind the wire, Seka finds a system designed to break asylum seekers until they surrender their bid for freedom. In a place shadowed by corruption and silence, shining a light on the abuses behind locked gates can get you silenced for good. Will Seka win her freedom and her story, or will she become another silent victim of corruption? Coming 1 November 2026 https://www.amrapajalic.com/whispers.html  He built the world's first TV/web/mobile interactive series in 2005. He also spent 25 years rewriting the same screenplay before he let it become his debut novel. New on the Substack: my conversation with screenwriter-turned-indie-novelist Jim Shomos — on the COVID lockdown decision that finally pushed him to self-publish, the Picasso quote taped above his desk, why he thinks AI can't write an original story, and the mentor's line that's stuck with him for decades: "real writing is rewriting." Discipline over talent. Every time. Link in bio 📖 https://amrasarmchairanecdotes.substack.com/p/forget-the-rules-keep-the-discipline?r=i0jxk&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true  I just finished revising and formatting book 5: Whispers Behind the Wire. So happy. I was nervous I wouldn't make my pre-order launch date of 1 November 2026, and now I know that I definitely will. Bum glue definitely works. To celebrate, I'm doing a giveaway for book 3: Mad Dawn Winter to try and get it more love and reviews. You can download a copy from any retail platform or from my shop. https://pishukinpress.com/b/l5zSk  36-Inspiration Finds Us Working: Forget the Rules, Write the Next Book, interviewing Jim Shomos31/8/2026 Show notes Jim Shomos spent twenty years breaking format as a screenwriter and producer—his 2005 series Forget the Rules was the world's first to broadcast every episode across TV, web and mobile at once—before pivoting to indie fiction. He and Amra trace that reinvention: how a screenplay that couldn't get financed became his debut novel Up Here, why he chose indie publishing after COVID lockdown made the decision for him, and what changed when he swapped studio notes and gatekeepers for total creative control. They dig into the discipline behind the craft—Jim's answer to "what's your greatest talent" isn't story or voice, it's showing up—along with the pull of romance versus thrillers, where AI actually earns its keep for an indie author (and where it doesn't), and how grief and upheaval reshaped both their writing lives. A candid look at what it costs, and what it's worth, to keep chipping away at the work. Takeaways
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Jim Shomos spent over twenty years as a screenwriter and producer before reinventing himself as an indie novelist. Jim Shomos created ‘forget the rules’—the world's first comedy-drama series to broadcast every episode on TV, web and mobile at once—picked up wins and nominations at Cannes and the Australian Writers' Guild, and was once ranked in Australia's Film & TV Power-50. A few years ago, he turned that screenwriting instinct toward the page. Today he's the indie-published author of three contemporary romance novels, and Up Here, Three Women in November, and More Text Than Sex. Website: https://jimshomos.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jim_shomos/ New on the Substack: how Fiona Tarr went from writing biblical fantasy as a form of therapy to building a full-time career as a bestselling indie crime author — outback setting, worldwide readership, and all. 📚 We talk about treating your books like a product, why she stopped writing for six months to figure out her market, the audiobook deal that left her "high and dry," and her blunt rule for knowing when a series is done: watch the pre-orders. If you're an indie author (or thinking about becoming one), this one's full of hard-won lessons. https://amrasarmchairanecdotes.substack.com/p/when-pre-orders-drop-so-does-the?r=i0jxk&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true  I've been self-publishing for four years now and have done a few things: my short story collection, a young adult series of three books, and re-publishing my romance novels. Finally, I developed a plan — I wanted to write crime. I wrote the first three books of the Seka Torlak series and sat on them. Then I realised I wanted this to be a long series, and planned six books total. 📚 Book 1: Time Kneels Between Mountains, 01/11/25 📚 Book 2: Ghosts Among Gumtrees, 01/02/26 📚 Book 3: Mad Dawn Winter, 01/05/26 📚 Book 4: Echoes Among Wattle Pines 01/08/26 📚 Book 5: Whispers Behind the Wire, 01/11/26 📚 Book 6: Shadows Beneath the Crescent, 01/02/27 www.amrapajalic.com/seka-torlak-series.html I published the first three books every three months, then started writing the next three, which I put up for pre-order once the concepts and stories clarified. I published book 4 on 1 August. For the last few months I've been frantically drafting book 6 — and I finally did it. It's a rough draft that needs work, but it's there. Now I'm turning my attention to editing book 5, due for publication 1 November (with a 30-day extension up my sleeve if I need it). Writing to deadlines has been pressure, but it's done exactly what I needed — my sales are building, my promotion is more consistent, and I'm seeing real gains. More importantly, I'm planning further series in this world to keep growing my readership. So happy today. 🖤  So excited to be on the 2026 Assessment Panel for the Blake-Beckett Trust Scholarship offered to Australian Society of Authors members. I'm in such great company with Amal Awad and Ellen van Neerven. So excited to see what amazing applications we will see. Having a great time judging this year. This is my second gig after being a panel assessor for Creative Brimbank's poetry book project, Under the Brimbank Sky. Having a great year with exciting opportunities.   Someone did me a favour I never asked for. I said no — three times. They did it anyway. A year later they'd written a memoir, and somehow I owed them for it: free formatting, a free edit, hours of my time. Every time I thought the account was closed, they'd thrust more at me — $200, a card, a voucher — insisting that refusing money was somehow going to cost us the friendship. It took me three mistakes to figure out how to actually say no. This is that story. → A Not So Simple Simple Favour https://amrasarmchairanecdotes.substack.com/p/a-not-so-simple-favour?r=i0jxk  |
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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