Publishing news and Sydney's brews

When it comes to beer, I wrote the book. Well, a chapter anyway - I recently wrote the 8 page chapter on Sydney’s best beers, numerous breweries and what to do when you're not drinking beer for the Ultimate Beer Guide (Aus and NZ).

When I was a little girl I wanted to be a writer and write books about ponies. When I was in college I wanted to be a writer and drink beer. Now I am (technically) an adult I still want to be a writer. Beer and ponies are optional but encouraged.

I’ve accepted writing involves a lot less ponies and beer and a lot more work than I had originally thought, but occasionally you get a dream assignment. If you flick to page 42 of the Ultimate Beer Guide, you’ll find my guide to brewing in Sydney.

It took two months and far too many hangovers to research and write and I am looking forward to seeing if the ATO will accept receipts from pubs as tax-deductible. When I was writing this piece, I found 5 craft breweries I never knew about within 30 minutes of my house. Sydney really has a lot of beer.

The Guide aims to give beer-loving visitors the low-down wherever they find themselves in Australia and New Zealand, covering 33 destinations, every currently open brewery and brew-pub  and listing over 1200 beers and ciders.

ISBN : 9780646553597

Enemies in the office (Executive PA Magazine, July 2011)

This piece on office friendships, workplace bullying and how to cope when good  working relationships go bad was an interesting piece to cover. I was only able to include a few of the stories I was told but - from the amount of responses I received to one simple tweet asking for people with experience of office bullying - it certainly appears this is an issue that many people deal with on a day to day basis.  You can find the full issue of the magazine on their website where you can see the full piece, or email me if you would like to see more. 

A study by the Workplace Bullying Institute found that 35% of people have either been or are being intimidated in their workplace. Sophie* found this out the hard way when she was promoted over her former friend, Jenny. “Jenny became not just my enemy but an outright bully. She complained that it wasn't fair because I'd gotten all these lucky breaks and opportunities. She couldn’t see that the harder I had worked the luckier I had got.” 

Office friendships can make - or break - your career, so how do you make them work for you? Sadhbh Warren investigates.

No one wants to be the office wallflower, but there’s no denying that friendships at work can be a minefield. Just ask Anna*, an EA who quit her dream role. Her hard-earned promotion became a daily hell when a former friend turned on her. Harassed for confidential information over coffee, ostracized from social events and bad-mouthed over the water-cooler, she ended up leaving her “perfect job” for a fresh start elsewhere.

Anna’s story ended badly, but you can be professional and still enjoy your co-workers’ company. Genuine friendships are a career asset and being promoted doesn’t mean leaving your network of friends behind – provided you have built the right relationship in the first place.

Where's the action?

I know it's been a little quiet here lately - just a quick reminder that my non-fiction reading and writing blog Read Up On It for Australian online bookseller Boomerang Books is being updated on a weekly basis.

This month I have been mainly obsessing about character deaths, doing NaNoWriMo, wondering if Australia Post think I live at 12 Grimauld Place and, of course, reading up on the Rugby World Cup. Good luck to the Wallabies!

Beer and Brewer magazine spring 2011 - Chuck Hahn for the Hall of Fame

You may not know Chuck's name straight away but if you drink beer, there's a good chance his name is in your fridge right now. 

Dr Charles "Chuck" Hahn has devoted over four decades in three countries to the task of brewing those best beers, crafting beers for some of the biggest names; Coors, Lion Nathan, Hahn, James Squire.  Armed with a PhD in Chemical Engineering and an insatiable love of great food and beer, he cut his teeth at Coors in Colorado and Tooth in Sydney (forgive the pun, please) before founding the brewery that made him a household name - the Hahn Brewery.  When the rights to make and distribute that beer sold to Toohey and moved home, he changed the brewery's name to the Malt Shovel where, he says, they make beer they want to drink and "sell whatever is left over".

Thankfully they don't manage to drink all of it, and there's enough James Squire (and their fascinating Mad Brewers' range) left for the rest of us.

I got to interview Chuck for his induction into the Beer and Brewer Hall of Fame (see their spring issue for 2011). I spent a thoroughly fascinating and slightly inebriating two hours talking beer and brewing with him in the Malt Shovel Brewery where Chuck insisted I try most if the beers (and gave me an excellent Mad Brewers Stout Noir to take home). We talked about swimming, marketing, James Squire and John Boston, and, of course, beer.

Why yes, sometimes I do get paid to write about drinking beer. You can commence hating me in three, two, one...

Party Party

Anyone who knows me can tell you, I love a good party. So writing this piece for Executive PA's April/May issue on ensuring your office bash goes with a bang was right up my alley. I got chase up advice from some of Australia's most experienced event organisers, including Ray Shaw, Managing Director of MCI Australia  and Australia's longest accredited meetings manager ("36 years and I still love it!"). Here are some of his tips to get the most from your night.

• SET THE SCENE. The quality, delivery and style of the invitation gets people anticipating - make it irresistible!
• GET THEM THERE. Make sure parking or transport is readily, and preferably freely, available. Consider offering transport or taxi vouchers,
• ON THE NIGHT. The event itself reflects on your company - keep it social but professional.
• KEEP THE FEELING GOING. Follow up with photos or mementos and friendly communication to extend your event's impact long after the last reveller leaves.

This is an exerpt only, for the full text, please contact me.

The Time Smart day - from Executive PA magazine

This was a very fun one to write - an office day optimised for performance according to recent studies in human chronbiology, psychology and accident statistics. This is an excerpt, please contact me if you'd like to see more.

We talk about our daily rhythms but have you ever wondered how to make them work for you in the office? Chronobiology might just have the answer to finding the right time every time.

Chronobiology is the study of our biological rhythms and cyclic processes and among these rhythms, the circadian, or daily rhythms, are the most extensively studied as they have the biggest effect on our lives. By keeping an eye on the daily biological clock, you can work with your - and your co-workers - daily rhythms for the best results.

When is best to send that email? When should you do mundane tasks? And what's the best time to tackle tricky issues - like asking your boss for a payrise?

Get Out of F*cking Bed - cross-posted from my Boomerang Blog

I recently posted about the expletive-laden bedtime book that leaked as a pirated PDF and sold more than 100,000 copies in pre-orders, “Go the F**k to Sleep“.

The brainchild of  novelist and toddler parent, Adam Mansbach, this book contrasts sweet nursery rhymes about animals and heart-warming illustrations by Ricardo Cortes with the exhausted profanity of a parent who is clearly hitting the end of their tether trying to establish a sleeping routine.

One of our readers said she found the book very funny but she’d like to see a version for the parents of teenage kids who, far from sleeping too little, can’t be hauled out of bed in the mornings without the aid of a forklift and twenty bottles of Coke. “Parents of teenagers who are still up and wandering around the kitchen at 1am, and then like dead logs when you attempt to drag them out of bed for school in the morning, would certainly love to see this book redone for teenagers.”

So I took a shot at it. For those of you who want to read such things (and don't read beyond this point if you would rather not see a LOT of swearing) I give you “Get Out of F***ing Bed”.

This is what I came up with, but I’m sure there are plenty of talented poets out there who can add their own experiences and stick them in a nifty rhyme. Feel free to compose your own verses, and leave them in the comments for people giggle at. Lots of strong language lies ahead, if that’s not your thing, please don’t read on past this point!


Get Out of F**king Bed

Your breakfast is on the table
And there’s fresh tea in your cup.
We’re leaving in 10 minutes
Why aren’t you fucking up?

The morning has dawned bright and new
And the sun shines in blue skies.
Your alarm went off, I heard it blare
Don’t tell me fucking lies.

The rain has washed the night away and
The breeze is fresh and cool.
If you were making toast at 1am
You can get your ass to school.

A brand new day is waiting.
It’s time to raise your head.
No, you haven’t got a temperature;
Get out of fucking bed.

The postman smiles as he does his rounds
And the joggers are getting fit.
No, your teacher won’t be late today.
Get up, stop talking shit.

Birds sing joyfully in the trees
And we need to be afar.
We have to work to buy your food.
Get into the fucking car.

For teenagers are bloody expensive
And their mums and dads need their pay
Don’t look so surprised that we have to leave the house
When it happens every fucking day.


This is an entry from my Boomerang Books blog, you can find this post (and lots of other ones with a bit far swearing) at their website. It's updated about twice weekly, and I don't generally cross-post to here.

The Best of Foo

So, last night I was on Goat Island watching the Foo Fighters play their new album. Which was awesome. I won the tics by entering a competition on V Music. They wanted vids from fans on why they should go. I figured they would be about a billion, "OMG I luv the FOos!!1!" type entries, so I pleaded with them to send me. For Science.

The exact science was that, with the engagement party on Sat, I needed to check my bloke, P, was in fact hotter than Dave Grohl (who I had formerly believed to be the hottest man alive before meeting P). Need to check before the wedding, donchaknow. For Science.

P has forgiven me. Probably. I discovered something useful for our relationship at the gig - curling my hand into the RAWK horns symbol stops my engagement/wedding rings from flying off while moshing. This is a useful thing to know.

Anyway, it was an awesome gig. 38 songs, plenty of pricking about. They exhausted us. I noticed they played a lot from the earlier albums and their latest album is really stripped down, both in the production and the videos. Don't believe me? Check out White Limo, a Motorhead-esque song with a handcam shot feel, starring none other than Lemmy. And Rope, the next song, only took a day to shoot.

What was really noticeable was just how much fun they were having. How much they were chatting to each other, the audience. The sheer joy in the music. They closed with "This is a Call", their first ever hit.

They've already scheduled two extra gigs - one last week to benefit Christchurch, one on Sunday for the QLD floods. At 11am, they announced they were doing another gig tonight. In the Manning Bar, on Sydney campus. I can see roadies and rigs out my window. The 900 tickets went on sale, one per person only, from a few small independant record stores - Red Eye and Hum. Sold out fast. Apparently the Hum queue was far longer than the Apple one accross the road.

They're still doing stadiums, and selling tickets on site before shows to try and deter scalpers. But from this close - and it is close, their roadies are outside my window - it looks like the Foos are trying their best to play their music for the fans and for the music. Supporting little record shops. Playing for charity.

I'm not sure what the hell is going on. But I approve.

Bring on the Sunshine - Sunshine Coast business destinations, for Executive PA Magazine Feb 2011

Here is a prime example of being careful what you cover when you're broke. Writing this was an exercise in torture - all those descriptions of stunning beaches, tropical balmy days and great food. I'm well overdue for another holiday there!

Also, the title amuses me as it's one of my favourite things about Australia generally. 

It’s known for the 300 days of sun it gets each year, with over 30 high-quality venues and endless exceptional activities, it’s as a business event destination that the Sunshine Coast really shines.

(This is a clipping only, for more please contact me.)

PORTFOLIOS AND PAs - Executive PA magazine piece published in October

Every job has its low points and some days it feels like the good bits of your role are bits you get to do the least of. Imagine a job where you do what you enjoy and command an excellent wage for specialising. Wouldn’t it great if you could cherry-pick the best bits of your job and jettison the worst?

Maybe you can. It’s called a Portfolio Career and, according to the experts, many of us would be naturals at it.

With a portfolio career you work multiple part-time jobs that combine into your full-time role. This could include part-time or contract employment, self-employment options such as running your own business, as well as charitable and volunteer work. Portfolio careers are usually built around a collection of core skills and interests, and you call the shots on what skills you want to use. Dr Barrie Hopson, co-author of “And What Do You Do - 10 Steps to Creating a Portfolio Career" believes that many PAs already possess the skills needed for a successful portfolio careerist.

“People who thrive on portfolio careers are self starters and excellent time managers who cope well with stress and pressure. They love to learn and can multitask. Typically portfolio workers are also well organized and do not need careful supervision. They are used to becoming effective team members quickly and just as quickly to move out to become part of a new team or take on a new role.”

Is it for me?

Would a portfolio career suit you? According to Dr Barrie Hopson, co-author of “And What Do You Do - 10 Steps to Creating a Portfolio Career", it might just be your dream role if you are:

Featured Cover Story

• an excellent time manager and organiser
• able to work well under pressure
• happy with little separation between your work and the rest of your life
• a risk taker
• self directed
• high energy and assertive
• comfortable being your own boss
• not hung up on financial security
• a networker and marketer
• can work to deadlines and learns from mistakes
• a self-starter

You can find more information, and further suitability quizzes, online at www.portfoliocareers.net

This is an excerpt only, for more information or to see the full piece, please leave a comment or email me.