This is the story in brief.

Amelia McKenzie is a young aviator, still living at home with her parents in New Guinea and in love with Daniel, a mixed-race Papua New Guinean, and also a pilot.

Amelia and Daniel's love for each other is something her conservative mother and father disapprove of.

In 1941, with the Pacific War looming, women and children are being evacuated from New Guinea to Australia. It is expected that Amelia will join them.

Daniel had volunteered to join the Australian Army but has been rejected, he believes because of his race. However, he is committed to do whatever he can to defend his country.

Amelia refuses to leave New Guinea but when the Japanese attack their town, Amelia and Daniel, both trapped become separated.

Individually, they embark on harrowing treks to Port Moresby - across the challenging terrain to, having to deal with sickness, tribal warfare and the constant threat of Japanese soldiers, themselves swiftly moving towards Port Moresby.

As they confront these difficulties, both Amelia and Daniel realise it’s not just the war that set them apart. It's their own feelings. Are they willing to give up who they are find a way back to each other?

That’s a rough outline of A Dangerous Land, now something about me.

Before I embarked on the book, I was a freelance writer for a number of magazines including House & Garden, International Traveller, Yoga Journal, Aniko Press and Air Niugini’s inflight magazine, Paradise.

I was born and raised in Hawaii,  spent my late teens and twenties in Australia and now, with a husband, three children and a Labrador, I call both Lae and Brisbane home.

I drew inspiration for the book from the marvel that is PNG and in A Dangerous Land I've sought to bring its rich history, glorious cultures and challenging beauty to life.

Although I have a Master’s degree in creative writing from Macquarie University and a background in journalism, I must tell you that nothing really prepared me for the test of writing this novel – from its conception even to the book cover.

Having never done anything this before, I had no understanding of all the elements involved.

[Below, you can read an article, My pathway to self-publishing. I hope the many writers who I know read and contribute to PNG Attitude will find it helpful if they're thinking of plunging into a book.]

Before publishing A Dangerous Land, I asked Kim Kelly, author of This Red Earth, to read the manuscript and provide a brief comment. He kindly wrote:

“Told with heart and vibrant energy, A Dangerous Land is action packed and brimming with love. Marisa Jones’ debut deftly combines the sweetest romance with the tough realities of war, colonialism and racism. Amelia and Daniel leap from the page. Jones is a next-gen Belinda Alexandra.”

So now my first novel is ready to share with the world, and I hope people will find it an exciting, enlightening and rewarding read .

A Dangerous Land will be launched at Avid Reader bookshop at West End in Brisbane on 25 June. I hope you can be there - MJ

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My pathway to self-publishing

Marisa Howden - "As I delved into the research, I realised there was so much more worth knowing about PNG, including a dark colonial past"

MARISA HOWDEN

First published at http://www.booksbywomen.org

It’s hard to believe I’m a published author. This week, my debut historical novel, A Dangerous Land, has been released to the world.

What a surreal feeling. Something I never thought would come to pass. It certainly wasn’t an easy road to get here.

For two years I was set on getting a traditional book deal. It was all I ever wanted, the only thing I was willing to settle for.

To me, self-published authors didn’t have the best publishing minds working to help them create the best book possible. Oh, how wrong I was!

I started writing A Dangerous Land in 2020 when the world shut down.

I live in Papua New Guinea and wanted to write a book that celebrated its unique beauty and culture. But as I delved into the research, I realised there was so much more worth knowing about PNG, including a dark colonial past.

I tried to incorporate this history through my main character Amelia’s POV and after many months and several drafts later, I finally had suitable version by the end of 2020.

I immediately starting pitching the novel, which was probably a mistake. I should’ve given it time to rest.

But I didn’t know where else I could go with the story and wanted industry feedback. Another mistake I realised later. It’s rare to get any feedback.

I started by pitching at the Australian Society of Authors (ASA) Speed Dating events, and by December 2020 I had two major publishers requesting to read it.

Within a month, the first publisher politely declined to take it further. “Not quite engaging enough” was the feedback. Feedback I’d soon learn was common from publishers.

But there were still so many more to approach, so I brushed it off and continued pitching.

In Australia, you don’t need an agent to pitch to most publishing houses, however, there is certainly merit to having an agent or using a pitching event where you can get in front of the decision maker. At the same time, I was pitching US agents with little success.

After an ASA event in May 2021, another major publisher asked for the first 50 pages. A month later, it was the whole book.

I squealed with excitement, once again convinced this was my break. And then, a couple of months later, I got another dose of disappointment.

Fortunately, this time it came with a full page of feedback from a very kind editor.

She told me where she thought the real story was, and how I wrote much stronger from the other main character, Daniel’s, POV.

Finally, someone was telling me what the story needed, what I had been craving to hear!

I replied, asking if she’d reconsider the novel if I were to make the changes. She said yes, and it was that glimmer of hope that I held onto for the next year.

I stopped pitching and rewrote over 60% of the book. I balanced the POVs of the two main characters and made the bold decision to write from a mixed-race character’s POV.

I engaged sensitivity readers and edited and edited. Nine months later, I had a completely different story. And so I sent it back to the major publisher, who gave me the feedback and started pitching it widely again.

Immediately, I had two more major publishers interested. Surely, between these three, one of them were going to take it?

It was a tense couple of months of me checking my email every few minutes, waiting for that life altering news I was so desperate to hear.

But slowly, the bad news trickled in. Another “not quite engaging enough”, while the other one went quiet. Then finally, my golden goose publisher got back to me.

It was a no. I was gutted to say the least. I cried for two days. The reason why? There was concern the own voices movement would result in me facing pushback in the market.

I could understand where she was coming from and how risk adverse publishers are today.

But still, it was devastating. I began to realise that A Dangerous Land may never be published. At least not traditionally. My dreams of becoming a published author were fading.

So I started to research self-publishing and made the decision that if I didn’t secure a publishing deal by the end of 2022, that I’d do it myself. 2023 rolled around and those last few publishers I was holding onto never got back to me.

But I was starting to get excited about self-publishing. I could see a clear road now, a road where I would have full control and say. I hired an editor, then a designer and within a few months (not years like the traditional realm), my book was ready. This thing I had written, had worked on for nearly three years had come to life.

I soon learned that I was able to access the best publishing minds through platforms like Reedsy. It was my ego that was holding me back, that stigma about self-publishing that I couldn’t shake.

Sometimes my own self-doubt creeps in and tells me I’m a fake. But I know that’s not true. I created something that deserves to be read.

Even if those traditional folk don’t agree, I know that I have written a story that is worth knowing.