tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23003872878015260702011-11-15T21:47:27.944+10:30BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.comBlogger8381100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-89857205089379378972011-09-12T13:22:00.001+09:302011-09-12T13:26:37.776+09:30

It has been a long, slow and painful death of my writing, but the time has come to say enough is enough and admit I no longer have the drive required to continue. This will be my last post for the foreseeable future. To go out with a bang, I'm going to post my biggest sale in regards to a respected market. Dreaming was written in 2009 and sold to APEX in June of that year. It was published in

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-56276166560431334012011-08-22T10:36:00.001+09:302011-08-22T10:38:20.352+09:30

It's been four years since I started this blog. Happy birthday Musings - sorry I don't visit as often as I once did. This week's posting: My story writing is starting to get longer now. Somewhere between 3-5k is becoming the norm, so I'll post the word count to warn you how big a piece is being presented for your reading pleasure. I hope you continue to like... Spoilt Rotten3948 wordsOriginally

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-26284008065015855042011-08-18T11:10:00.000+09:302011-08-18T11:10:29.583+09:30

For the next little while, I'll continue to post some of my prevously published stuff, just so it's out there, but, I'm trying out some new stuff for my back and it seems to be making a difference. I hurt less. I can sit for longer - but the desire to sit and write has not returned. For now, my writing days are over :c(

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-74569410609804749392011-08-17T12:54:00.000+09:302011-08-17T12:54:56.894+09:30

In mid-2009, writing had taken over my life. I'd begun spending six or more hours a day at the keyboard. Time to do anything else seemed to just fall away. I was obsessed. I was hooked. I should have been committed. May saw two more publications in print. These are both in the Erotic genre so I won't repost them here. See the bibliography for more details on where you can order them if you

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-81516930198326596542011-08-08T10:29:00.000+09:302011-08-08T10:29:44.125+09:30

While I was busy trying to learn how to write, I had big ideas on getting a job in the industry. My line of thinking was something like - "How cool would it be to get paid, not only for writing fiction, but by a real employer for doing something I love?" So I enroled in a professional writing course at the local Academy of Art. I completed six semesters, 18 months. I gained distinctions and

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-7222996467723008292011-08-01T10:48:00.000+09:302011-08-01T10:48:46.825+09:30

After being flushed with the early success (as small as it was), I began building my pile of electronic rejections slips. Stephen king once kept all his rejection slips and looked upon as them as a badge of honour. I wasn't so pragmatic and began to wonder what the heck I was doing. I read stories I thought were rubbish, I saw other new writers gaining publication with stories I believed were

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-18576247053711943462011-07-25T12:04:00.000+09:302011-07-25T12:04:00.708+09:30

I've posted a couple of very small examples so far. They were primarily shared as they were the first things I'd written which made it to publication (and paid publication at that). To be brutally honest, they were pretty crap and not what I wanted to be known for, so it was time to move into more substantial short stories. My next cab off the rank hasn't been published, but it was the next

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-10764075306519032932011-07-22T14:04:00.000+09:302011-07-22T14:04:17.871+09:30

After the Elusive Muse was published, the bug burrowed deep and I started producing quite a few short pieces. At the time, I was also writing an epic fantasy novel (badly). The second piece I put together on request from the same editor who published my first piece. This time it was a self-help piece on writing fantasy. During the course of putting together my epic piece, I'd found a number of

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-85756337570957139542011-06-20T13:44:00.004+09:302011-06-20T13:53:10.579+09:30

I'm not writing. I've not got a lot to post about. Time to reveal my journey so far, through the bits I've written. Don't fear, I'll not be throwing up any of the novel manuscripts I've played with, only short stories, articles, and other such pieces. Some will be longer than others. They will cover a range of topics and genres. Any and all comments appreciated (good and bad). I'll try to give

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-3477715282187134412011-06-07T10:43:00.000+09:302011-06-07T10:43:49.472+09:30

Yep, my capacity for thinking up new and exciting blog post titles sucks the big one at the moment... Procedure one has come and gone and apart from one slight setback which caused concerns, things have been somewhat on the up. The good news is the numbness in my lower extremities has 99% gone. More good news is the pain on the right side of my lower back has been significantly diminished. Bad

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-26562323552109683362011-05-17T12:48:00.000+09:302011-05-17T12:48:29.900+09:30

So this is how often updates from me can reasonably be expected to show up around here at the moment. I've had my initial back procedure - partial success. I no longer have numbness, and/or pins & needles in the lower extremeties, but pain in the lower back is still my constant companion :c( Over the weekend I managed to aggrevate it further and now have very strong, acute pain over-riding the

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-1632909800746342032011-04-13T14:46:00.000+09:302011-04-13T14:46:40.518+09:30

Monday I was forced to attend a work function capability test - this is where a couple of physios put me through my paces to gauge my ability to work in the IT environment who currently pay me. It was long and torturous, both the journey to and from, and the couple of hours I spent there. It resulted in me sleeping the sleep of the dead on Monday night, the first time in a long time I had a long

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-840490282674223922011-03-16T10:45:00.000+10:302011-03-16T10:45:22.595+10:30

I'm not online alot, so I always find out about these things late, but here is six exceptional new reasons for buying a copy of Dark Pages Volume 1 Ellen Datlow's name is synonymous with all things great in the realms of dark fiction and editing. She is so respected that people hang out for the annual Honorable Mentions List, which contains all the great stories she has read in her ongoing and

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-12943231615541218042011-02-28T09:57:00.000+10:302011-02-28T09:57:07.313+10:30

As you know, I've not been online very much in the last few months due to physical restrictions, so I was somewhat blown away when I received a phone call from Alan Baxter of Blade Red Press fame, and author of the excellent books Magesign and Realmshift, to give me the excellent news that Dark Pages Volume 1 had made the short list for this years Australian Shadow Awards! I don't expect to win

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-79542879610357786212011-02-22T12:35:00.000+10:302011-02-22T12:35:50.488+10:30

Recent topics Googled or read about in actual books! White slavery Deduction True Crime cases Mormonism Avenging Angles Danites Point of note: This idea I have is inspired by the the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes story titled 'A Study in Scarlet' where he outlines a "supposed" militant group of people the Mormon's employed many years ago to "recruit" suitable white women. My story will

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-39487462421932550052011-02-10T14:00:00.000+10:302011-02-10T14:00:56.206+10:30

I've been knee deep in research and I've made a couple of major changes regarding required characters, and that has led to changes in the plot. All this is being written down longhand. No subplots yet, but there wouldn't be, would there? I haven't finalised the characters yet so how would I know what tangents they're likely to go off on... Now when people tell me 'I'm off in my own little

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-44535621168970459892011-02-08T14:03:00.000+10:302011-02-08T14:03:37.282+10:30

It's been a long time. A quick update: My back is still preventing me from spending any quality time in front of a keyboard. Anymore than a few minutes typing and I start to push the pain tolerance levels. But this doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about it! I've been reading, and I have a new idea. I spend my time formulating how I'm going to progress once I'm fully back in the saddle.

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-15567870638270430272010-12-14T11:11:00.000+10:302010-12-14T11:11:46.081+10:30

Life is difficult at the moment. My back is a mess of pain and confused nerves which constantly send incorrect information to the pain receptors in my lower extremities, and cries for pain medication to my noggin. I'm having the house underpinned which is a three grand expense I could have done without just before Xmas, but which the the house desperately needs. My car brakes decided now would

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-64555173907252085622010-12-07T13:40:00.001+10:302010-12-07T13:41:31.700+10:30

I apologise for the silence from this end, but I'm guessing very few people still pop by to see if I've stirred enough to post something new - but if you do, then today is your lucky day (and thank you for being stubborn enough to keep coming back). I figured it was time I at least updated what I am reading - which I have. Cate's Men in Pinstripe Suits is something else. I truly believe if

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-40537370540859982442010-11-11T08:39:00.000+10:302010-11-11T08:39:51.657+10:30

My signed copy (I love collecting signed copies) of Strange Men in Pinstripe Suits arrived yesterday! (Thanks Cate) As did a number of other, unsigned, things clamouring to be read. I've taken to reading in the car as I wait for my little one to come out of school. I get there with just enough time to read one standard-length short story/day. I have just about run out of space on my '

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-66937758927281665532010-11-01T11:30:00.000+10:302010-11-01T11:30:56.146+10:30

I'm not writing at the moment. I'm reading The Blackness Within anthology very slowly (and enjoying it very much - becoming more and more honoured to have been included as I read the other contributor's stories). I still have opinions on the things I read. I still go through them with a critical eye. A friend sent me a story to critique hoping I was still around to do so. Unfortunately, I'm not

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-3460614907984892502010-10-18T11:54:00.004+10:302010-10-18T11:56:23.432+10:30

I'm still around the place and I'm still reading your blogs - lurking can be habit forming :c) I received notification that I had a comment requiring moderation, which surprised me as I don't moderate my posts and I haven't posted anything in ages, so why would anyone comment anyway? To my surprise, a very old post (Feb 20, 2009) titled Idolatry And An Acceptance received a comment from a TOC

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-40965687954270981302010-09-16T10:09:00.000+09:302010-09-16T10:09:06.245+09:30

Okay, I give up. Writing has once more come to a grinding halt due to outside influences. I'm not one to bang my head against a brick wall. I much prefer to build a support structure and go over the hurdle, but this may take a while. So, I'm not going to flog this dead or dying horse anymore. It's been a great ride over the past few years and I am thankful for all the friends I made while

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-1534928012708186022010-09-13T09:01:00.000+09:302010-09-13T09:01:08.312+09:30

I managed zero words over the weekend :c( Did I have opportunity? A couple but they were for small amounts of time to sit at the keyboard and I don't work well in snippets. So I spent the weekend, while doing other things, thinking about how to move the story forward and the central question of why this was all happening in the first place. (Check out Alexandra Sokoloff's blog to see what I'm

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-36212011657609927112010-09-10T13:14:00.000+09:302010-09-10T13:14:04.415+09:30

Day two of writing progressed. I've slipped into a new routine where I come home from work and spend an hour or two writing before moving onto other things. Seems to be working so far but the chances of getting something finished and beta read and then revised and submitted within a week are unlikely. Yesterday my story progressed to where things need to ramp up a notch or three. It currently

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-23811734850519613272010-09-09T12:21:00.000+09:302010-09-09T12:21:12.830+09:30

Last night I began writing a new short story I've only got vaguely outlined in my head and I'm desperately trying to figure out which way it will go. Normally I'd plot all this before I begin writing but the deadline is just too tight for me to work that way this time round. So - the currently unnamed story stands at a touch under 1000 words. The main characters have all been introduced and the

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-64923140395107167592010-09-08T10:05:00.000+09:302010-09-08T10:05:40.894+09:30

I'm intending to take this blog back to its journalistic roots. I began it to keep track of my journey in the craft and slowly went a little off track or ran out of writerly things to report.So - in the last week, I've received my contributor's copy of Night to Dawn, Issue 18, which contains my story Wamphyri, and The Blackness Within anthology, which contains Dreaming, from Apex has been

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-28250791487580615652010-09-07T13:16:00.000+09:302010-09-07T13:16:16.749+09:30

To say my efforts at writing have been sporadic so far this year would be the biggest understatement of this decade. Time to try and crack the whip once more! My plan to fix this isn't very clever or complex, and requires more willpower than I've been able to demonstrate so far, but I've got to keep throwing up opportunities for me to get back on track. Nothing else has worked so I'll give this a

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-36601497415475261072010-09-02T09:26:00.000+09:302010-09-02T09:26:02.100+09:30

Good old Google Alerts brought this to my attention: http://www.apexbookcompany.com/2010/08/apex-publications-releases-the-blackness-within-stories-of-the-pagan-god-moccus/ Super cool that advetising for The Blackness Within has begun, but when I read Dreaming being pointed out in the blurb... Experience the nightmare of an apostle unable to live up to His teachings in “Dreaming” and, in “Without

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-19576975842783124152010-08-27T12:26:00.001+09:302010-08-27T12:26:00.161+09:30

I thought I'd give this 30 Days of books meme a go, but rather than do a bit each day, or break it into so many each post, I thought I'd do it in one great swoop. So... Day 01 – A book series you wish had gone on longer OR a book series you wish would just freaking end already (or both!) Eric Lustbader's Nicholas Linnear series. I'll admit to having fallen behind a touch with these, not having

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-10911048209351054232010-08-27T09:53:00.000+09:302010-08-27T09:53:28.356+09:30

Nothing overly important like a publication or an acceptance or anything - just thought I'd share the news that I found my updated manuscript with the second bit in it that I was trying to revise yesterday. Time to combine and move forward. :c)

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-32406030741325809682010-08-26T12:04:00.000+09:302010-08-26T12:04:02.962+09:30

I've found an issue with not working on things for a long time and then suddenly getting a burst of energy - things get lost in between. Late last night and early this morning I had a couple of those moments of clarity where a small section of the story came to me in a complete format. A couple of bits in a scene that needed work, expansion, or revision (or all of the above), hit me. Not just

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-34766862449267362782010-08-25T14:00:00.000+09:302010-08-25T14:00:44.407+09:30

It took some time but I finally found what I was after. My new character, to be only casually introduced in the first book and then become pivotal in the second book is to be an Eclectic Witch. What is an eclectic witch? I'm glad you asked. One definition (from OzWicca) has it as: A person (or the practise of a person) who combines attributes from various cultures or Pantheons to create a

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-44629017059468780752010-08-21T22:19:00.000+09:302010-08-21T22:19:55.801+09:30

I got an email back from the people at the Bank of Iowa in Coon Rapids and it seems it will cost too much for international friends to send a cheque or wire money to them and then for them to have the currency exchanged into the US dollar. You'd think they would make it easier for people to send a little bit of money to two grieving children - but lets not go off on that tangent... So, to make

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-31913730880383277172010-08-21T00:07:00.000+09:302010-08-21T00:07:47.851+09:30

No writing news - I'm really not in that space at the moment and won't be until the weekend is over. It is Friday the 20th August here in Australia - at least it will be for another couple of minutes. In Coon Rapids, it would be almost time for two little ones to rise and begin what could only be described as two more days of additional heartache to go through. Today, in Coon Rapids, at 4PM is

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-69277573893247615212010-08-19T12:51:00.006+09:302010-08-19T15:09:13.010+09:30

As you are all aware, I've not been keeping up with things on Net lately so it was with shock and a very heavy heart I found out that Jamie Eyberg and his wife Anne passed away in a tragic accident a few days ago. You can read the story here: http://www.whotv.com/news/who-story-well-deaths-guthrie-county-081610,0,5278715.story. Additional information seems to be around that some form of gas was

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-1823510053154432902010-08-18T10:31:00.000+09:302010-08-18T10:31:14.289+09:30

I've done some work. I've written 1836 words. They join together to form something I think they call a story. It's not publishable. It's not even something I'm going to keep, but I wrote something! Maybe I'll even be able to do some work on my WIP... Okay, lets not push it (How's this for Freudian - I didn't originally put the space between push and it - think I'm trying to tell myself

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-7845952083862536882010-08-12T12:27:00.000+09:302010-08-12T12:27:27.425+09:30

Either I've been away from blogging  too long and my normal cult followers are no longer visiting, or everybody is suddenly shy and doesn't wish to offer up any suggestions or advice judging by the total lack of comments on my previous post - but that's okay, I get the message. From now on, I'll simply provide only updates on the WIP and/or any interesting information I come across. As for

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-68744722943401776002010-08-06T13:11:00.000+09:302010-08-06T13:11:00.872+09:30

So I don't make Cate lose bodily control through uncontrollable laughter, I've started making cards to pin up on my board, which will allow me to see the whole storyline in front of me. Those couple of days I spent a week or two (or three) ago hand writing the major points of each chapter have now been transcribed into a carefully created table within Word which spans 17 pages. Now that they are

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-6837120471368804962010-08-04T14:44:00.001+09:302010-08-05T13:03:12.077+09:30

I have been a very bad member of the blogging community, both by not posting and by not reading and commenting on other peoples posts. Today I managed to spend some time catching up. My Google reader listed well over 400 posts for me to catch up on. It now sits at 132. I've no time left today but I will endeavour to get it back under control by the end of tomorrow. Congrats to everyone who has

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-84395751781996354752010-08-03T08:40:00.000+09:302010-08-03T08:40:13.130+09:30

Sorry I've been non-existent recently. Our Internet connection is down at home and not likely to be available again for the best part of a week so I can only get online at work - and I've only just returned to work after extended time off playing Mr Mom. But enough about me - what about my writing...well, I'm glad you asked. Things are progressing at a snail's pace. That would be a bionic snail

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-29650484643588979812010-07-20T16:28:00.000+09:302010-07-20T16:28:11.300+09:30

I'm finally back at work after spending two weeks slumming it around home and trying to spend at least some time with my 10 (soon to be 30) year old daughter. It's been fun. I got to plot out the main points of 10 chapters and got no further with Inner Voice due to my mind and body drifting to other places. I've decided that we need to move the kids/family computer into the dining room so we

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-23325815955343611682010-07-09T10:16:00.000+09:302010-07-09T10:16:09.459+09:30

I've opened Inner Voice. Yesterday, day four of the school holidays, my daughter and I had our first stay at home and write day. She claimed the study and I ended up at the dining room table with no Internet access - by choice, so I had no excuses. It currently stands at nearly 33,000 words within 16 chapters (remember this is YA). Yesterday I began noting the major story points within each

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-39982851952040628592010-07-02T13:50:00.000+09:302010-07-02T13:50:25.220+09:30

I've always distanced myself, as politely as possible, from writers who talk a lot about writing, who discuss their current WIP, but who never sit down and actually work on them. I think I've become one. I think about Inner Voice a lot. I work on characterisation and plot and scenes, in my head, over and over again. I make break throughs, sometimes small, sometimes not so small, and I continue

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-22800342148893336962010-06-16T12:20:00.001+09:302010-06-16T12:21:59.083+09:30

From a male POV... As is my want, I have continued to read other writer's blogs which has led me to find a very funny passage in a very old book - which persuaded me to break my silence and post it here for all of you to enjoy. Over on Aaron's blog, he talks about KV Taylor's The Red Penny Papers, so I followed the link and read the submission guidelines. Being a closet writer, I sought out

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-35376607834743424992010-06-10T09:44:00.000+09:302010-06-10T09:44:43.231+09:30

So Bumping didn't go to well - not a single comment. Scratch that idea. In fact, scratch a lot of things. I haven't sat my bum in the chair to do some serious writing in 6 months and it's not because I don't want to or because I have writer's block. I've not sat down and worked on the craft because I haven't had the enthusiasm to do so - I couldn't give a rats ass about taking the time. I

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-17583746202036596982010-06-03T13:16:00.004+09:302010-06-03T13:25:05.527+09:30

I've been amazed over recent months that I've still attracted a trickle of new cult followers (waves at Ceri, Ms Pooh, Lyy, Collette, Miriah, & Bonnie Heather) and a steady stream of new visitors who usually don't return as witnessed by a fairly steady return visitor count - still, it's nice for people to drop by. But why do new people arrive? Usually it's all about writers who have taken the

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-83370858982121352552010-06-02T11:36:00.000+09:302010-06-02T11:36:07.983+09:30

Fear & Trembling has closed. It's always a little sad when one of the kind people who took on one of my original short stories closes shop. F&T was the home for my Winged Shepherd of Innocence, a tale with a long story of its own. It began as an entry to PARSEC, it was run through the mill at Authors by Design. It has been picked apart by a number of individuals from The Teacher (Amy) to Pharoah

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-71932623895897846192010-06-01T14:55:00.003+09:302010-06-01T15:07:54.134+09:30

The quite smoking campaign continues - slowly...very slowly...somewhat mule-like if I may say. I'm still partaking of single figures each day and seem somewhat stuck around the 8 or 9 mark. It's getting later each day before I really feel a need to light up but I tend to make up for it in the evening.   The best way to overcome this is to get busy. One decision I've been waiting on has now

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-45557883731495804892010-05-28T12:20:00.000+09:302010-05-28T12:20:01.732+09:30

There are stirrings of life within my dead-as-road-kill brain. I'm reading. My lovely wife purchased a whole heap of books from Jodi Lee (of New Bedlam Project and Belfire Press fame) for my birthday. For those of you who know and follow Jodi, you'll all be aware of her different lifestyle to what many in the city and cloistered religions of the world would call the norm. Well, I'm interested in

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-75142153836193679782010-05-27T11:38:00.000+09:302010-05-27T11:38:15.920+09:30

Dark Pages is now available on Kindle and Smashwords! Blade Red Press have been busy little bees and have made our little antho available in more locations. See here for the official release details. I've also been notified that Dark Pages has hit the top 100 book list on Amazon.co.uk. This list is updated hourly (I think) and we're not there now, but we were, and with your help, we can get

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-72842643239691337702010-05-21T10:02:00.000+09:302010-05-21T10:02:23.797+09:30

I've not got any evidence, but it seems sales of Dark Pages should be doing okay - at least if everyone who has made a comment on either this blog or the blogs of the contributors is anything to go by. I'll await official confirmation on numbers from the publisher before getting specific. In better news, my copy arrived in the mail last night. Stoked would be an understatement. The reaction of my

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-45326901737217353792010-05-17T14:06:00.003+09:302010-05-23T22:13:56.649+09:30

Dark Pages Volume One has been listed on Amazon.com for a paltry $10 and on Amazon.co.uk for a very reasonable £6.99! (Thanks for the tip, Alan) The cover image should update onto Amazon very soon. It's kind of like my baby has taken its first steps out into the world - all very exciting and yet a little scary as well. Now it's time for you to do your bit. Go order multiple copies for yourself

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-11528392112220190952010-05-12T13:20:00.002+09:302010-05-12T13:21:25.378+09:30

Using the new Blog feature of adding pages, I've done a bit of a tidy up of the sidebar. You'll see new links directly above the heading of this post. Why am I mentioning this? At the end of April 2009, I'd posted 140 times. That's 140 posts in 120 days! This year I've posted 37 times in the same period :c( I think it's official--I've gone just a tad quiet... Doing a bit of site maintenance

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-2125230244968292022010-05-11T13:26:00.000+09:302010-05-11T13:26:24.120+09:30

I think I've spent way too long contemplating my next move. The wife snapped this picture of me recently while in one of my trances... What do you think? Should I get out more? News is through that things are looking up to enable me to move forward with the renovation schedule--excellent news! Woohoo! I think much better (and I'm much better to be around) when things move forward. Onwards!

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-74418961502664400622010-05-10T13:06:00.000+09:302010-05-10T13:06:16.560+09:30

It's been 12 days since my last post, in that time my writing and reading has continued to stand still--but the house is coming along. The bathroom is all but done. The electrician is booked to come in and fit the three-in-one light/heater/vent unit and new switch arrangement, and then we can call it completely done. I've begun installation of the range-hood above the stove. The unit has been

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-36923727032483614542010-04-28T15:19:00.000+09:302010-04-28T15:19:26.002+09:30

Once upon a time I would blog at least once a day, every day for the duration of the month. Often it would be more than once a day. And then I would do it all again the next month, and every month there after. This is my fifth post for this month - which is nearly over. That's sad. When I have writerly things to talk about, I post. When I've not had time to scratch my writerly bum, not so much.

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-17471313314292151412010-04-20T13:17:00.001+09:302010-04-22T10:15:12.174+09:30

My short, and yet again, nautically-themed piece is up on 52 Stitches. There have been a lot of seriously cool stories in this years version of the micro/mini-flash anthology. Thank you to those who have read it and left nice comments. And yes, I totally forgot it was out this week until today - I'm getting very slack and wandering way off course from my writing. Life is what is. Hope you

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-34779406202685256122010-04-12T11:57:00.004+09:302010-04-14T08:41:56.481+09:30

Here it is in all its stunning beauty, the cover art for Blade Red Press Dark Pages Volume One anthology. (I believe if you click on the image it will open in its own window for better viewing) Superb - isn't it? The official release blurb can be found here. Check more images from the artist Halinka Orszulok here (worth the trip). We have excellence both inside and out now sorted with the cover

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-46017929826070051042010-04-09T13:19:00.001+09:302010-04-09T13:19:49.297+09:30

Today I was going to write about the unique, and very odd, thing long distance writing friendships are in this age of the Internet and email. But I'm still mulling it over in my head on exactly how to phrase things. So I figured I'd talk about how different writers approach their public image and how some have blogs and websites and twitter and etc, etc, etc - and how others only have their

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-86077430791075611022010-04-08T10:15:00.000+09:302010-04-08T10:15:44.122+09:30

I'm at work and they've blocked access to Youtube and other Internet video access - again :c( Kermit & Fozzie Bear Things are picking up a few paces in the world of Dark Pages. Final tweaks are just about done on the master copy (removing typos, finding missing words, etc), and the gathering of blurbs from wind-swept and interesting people is going well(ish). In tweaking the master copy, I've

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-66030380685717584762010-04-06T10:27:00.000+09:302010-04-06T10:27:36.546+09:30

We have finished editing the stories for Dark Pages! I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the editorial staff and the authors on getting through this period - an excellent job was done by all. We now move on to more mundane stuff like an editorial foreword, the gathering of quotes from ARC readers, blurb writing, and cover art finalisation! As promised by Blade Red, it will be released

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-67560465645794380982010-03-24T13:43:00.000+10:302010-03-24T13:43:32.360+10:30

I've been trying to get the last of the edits done on Dark Pages Volume One. I'm down to the last three stories. One has gone back to the author and two are currently with the copy editor before they go back to the authors. I'm hopeful that one more pass by all concerned and we'll be just about done. Blade Red press and I have moved onto cover design and the first mock up looks seriously cool.

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-70065304362590850732010-03-17T13:04:00.000+10:302010-03-17T13:04:24.751+10:30

Yesterday was my birthday. I can finally say I'm 21 again! That's not "21 (pause) again", that's 21 two times over...I'll take what I can get. As with most birthdays, it was a time of reflection and celebration. Thank you to my friends and family for the celebration part - it was a good day. For the reflection bit, I decided to go over what stories I currently have in the cupboard. Turns out

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-42433590731445048472010-03-15T10:30:00.000+10:302010-03-15T10:30:39.092+10:30

It's been a weird time around here lately. For those of you playing along at home, you'll be well aware of my lack of productivity of late so I'll not rehash over sad ground here, but things became a lot more difficult a little over a week ago. My left eye decided now would be a good time to develop a sty - but not just any old ordinary sty, this was a super sty that swelled up nicely and

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-62721999066396557682010-03-01T14:48:00.000+10:302010-03-01T14:48:18.175+10:30

It's the bottom of the ninth, two out, and scores are tied...whoops wrong sport. We won our penultimate minor round game on the weekend and gathered enough points to move into second place. A win in the final game should guarantee us a home ground semi-final which was the real goal of second half of the season. It would be nice to snaffle top spot and the possibility of a home grand final, but

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-40290400631573144122010-02-25T15:42:00.000+10:302010-02-25T15:42:18.124+10:30

Today during my insanely hectic *cough* day at the 'real' job, I "found" some time to do a little research. For the past few days I've been giving Inner Voice (IV) a nudge (playing with some line edits, marking things I want to change, having brainstorming session on characters and how to improve them). With just playing on the peripherals, in only about half the chapters, I've already added

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-20743763411065963032010-02-22T14:42:00.000+10:302010-02-22T14:42:12.577+10:30

No it isn't, it's cricket. Not a lot happening on my writing front, or back, at the moment so I'll dribble about my normal life. For those of you who have been playing along at home, the team I'm playing for this year, ATCO B Grade (that would be in PDCA Grade 4 - confused yet?) is doing pretty good. The season is played in two halves, on either side of Christmas. We play 14 games. We won five

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-86486868705475241832010-02-21T10:18:00.000+10:302010-02-22T11:44:40.796+10:30

Excellent advice from Elana over at Query Tracker on trimming the fat in your manuscript. Take note of the post-it note tip... Via the filtration that is communal blogging (snatched from Alan Baxter who was alerted by Cat Sparks who took it from Jay Lake's journal), I give you the The larval stages of the common American speculative fiction writer. Also from Alan, I was alerted to these two

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-76687163621513772322010-02-16T11:27:00.000+10:302010-02-16T11:27:29.521+10:30

I'm still here. We're almost there. I think we have two-thirds of the anthology edited and squared away. Not long now until we go into the production stages. Very cool. My mind is drifting back to Inner Voice and I'm making copious amounts of notes on what I want to add, need to change and have to revise - all good stuff. We're also about to enter our third heatwave for the summer. 35C and above

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-82976504385297884212010-02-11T09:38:00.001+10:302010-02-14T21:06:41.097+10:30

Jodi Lee alerted me to this one. My wife and I have watched The Deadliest Catch almost religiously over the past few years. We regularly watch reruns and have developed our favourites among the boats and crews who brave the Bering Sea. It was with much sadness that we heard about the passing of the Cornelia Marie's Captain Phil Harris at the way too young age of 53 after having had a stroke a

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-45357550185526928452010-02-10T13:29:00.001+10:302010-02-10T13:30:55.210+10:30

How true is this?The problem I have is the first sentence - 'It's not all bad.' Being a writer tends to make soul searching a downward spiralling experience: am I good enough; is my work good enough; am I actually improving; why do I bother...that is bad. I've not written a lot this year. I've not read a huge amount either. Yes, I've been working on the Dark Pages antho for quite some time now

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-42541545883207615292010-02-05T21:06:00.002+10:302010-02-10T09:07:10.819+10:30

I'm guessing I now have your attention ;c) The wonderfully talented, very beautiful, and obviously full of good taste Ms Danielle Ferris has bestowed upon me the 'Ray of Sunshine' award. Isn't it pretty, gum boots and all! Yes, it's doing the rounds and just about everyone in my small circle of writing friends already has one. Yes, I could do the same as Aaron and include all you lurkers out

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-73908163961719731162010-02-05T20:34:00.000+10:302010-02-05T20:34:52.184+10:30

Shock horror, I've not only read something, I've reviewed it! And it was good. The review is over at HorrorScope for your viewing pleasure.

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-49054562693602877462010-02-05T08:56:00.000+10:302010-02-05T08:56:13.955+10:30

I've seen a few of my writer friends take up this challenge so I figured 'What the hell. I'd love to know what little known author I'm supposed to be like' - and then the results came in: I am:Arthur C. ClarkeWell known for nonfiction science writing and for early promotion of the effort toward space travel, his fiction was often grand and visionary.Which science fiction writer are you? Very

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-25722627136992882522010-02-03T13:11:00.001+10:302010-02-03T13:13:45.107+10:30

I've been very selfish recently in regards to my writing - not the actual sitting down and penning a new story, because, well, I haven't done any writing yet this year - not really. I've started two new short stories in 2010 but they currently languish in the WIP file and the sheen has lost its lustre. I've not read a great deal. I've finally started on a book I've been meaning to read and

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-33997882769163829682010-02-01T14:23:00.000+10:302010-02-01T14:23:55.673+10:30

Nobody knows the look and feel of your story better than you. Nobody knows exactly what you meant better than you...except the editor who accepts your story. The purchasing editor will "get" the inner gem that is lying under the semi-polished version you sent them. Yes, you've spent a long time going through it, making sure the punctuation and grammar is as good as you know how to make it,

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-56721499744522553232010-02-01T13:44:00.000+10:302010-02-01T13:44:39.247+10:30

We here in the trenches we call Dark Pages Volume One, to be released early this year by Blade Red Press, have passed another milestone. We have completed reading and editing the ToC - the first time round. We believe all the major changes, punctuation, grammar, character nicknames, English versus Americanisms, etc have been decided, pointed out, and the suggested changes, well,er, have been

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-18763281760906590012010-02-01T10:47:00.000+10:302010-02-01T10:47:05.634+10:30

The following digest of recent horror news is compiled from pieces published to HorrorScope and the Australian Horror Writers' Association website. Blood, Boggarts and Battlestars: An Introduction to Speculative Fiction with Margo LanaganCome to the New South Wales Writers Centre, and dig around in the three genres that make up spec fic today: science fiction, fantasy and horror. Tutor Margo

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-85625240113145341112010-01-28T21:58:00.000+10:302010-01-28T21:58:27.306+10:30

I've finally finish 99% of the major project at work I've been stuck under for the past couple of months - and, shock horror, it all went as I expected and planned it to go! If only my muse would behave that way... It was Australia Day here on the Tuesday just gone so apparently over 500,000 Australians took a sick day (known as a sickie in these parts) on the Monday to turn it into a four day

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-44205133829724430152010-01-25T15:28:00.003+10:302010-01-25T15:31:41.760+10:30

Still not really writing. Still working through ToC stories for Dark Pages. The muse is still on holidays. I've come to the conclusion that summer is not 'My time to write!' I wrote my very first manuscript during the summer of 2006/7 but I was new to the whole writing thing, I had time up my sleeve, and I was working through some not very pleasant stuff at the time. Writing was an escape. Once

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-7532068674191769312010-01-21T09:54:00.000+10:302010-01-21T09:54:17.555+10:30

Yesterday, Wednesday, was one of the worst days I've had in some time. My car is in at the mechanics. I dropped it off there Wednesday morning (yesterday, Australian time) and it stayed there overnight due to them having to fly a part in from interstate. There is a strong possibility it could be there until Friday morning as I wait for the part to arrive and then be installed. And it's costing

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-24226579205173452562010-01-18T18:55:00.001+10:302010-01-20T12:38:08.892+10:30

I've been a little preoccupied with life outside of writing for the past four or five days, hence my lack of blogging and any real progress in any of my areas of writing. My car is about to cost me a packet to keep it on the road and we lost our second straight game of cricket on the weekend. Life is going well. I have finally started working on the tiles in the bathroom though. This week -

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-70900194709757134642010-01-18T18:18:00.002+10:302010-01-18T18:18:23.913+10:30

The following digest of recent horror news is compiled from pieces published to HorrorScope and the Australian Horror Writers' Association website. Popcorn Taxi presents The Wolfman Popcorn Taxi is proud to present a very special screening of The Wolfman, an exciting resurrection of a cinematic horror icon. Featuring the talents of Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and our own Hugo

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-63728061229423817422010-01-14T09:25:00.000+10:302010-01-14T09:25:11.840+10:30

...it's still Wednesday somewhere in the world! We're still waiting on confirmation from one author included in the ToC but everyone has now been notified, and all ToC authors (except the one noted above) have replied. Phase three is a go. The editing process has begun in earnest. Once more I'm in a very lucky position. I'm working with writers who are exceptional with the English language. In

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-33206536779259910932010-01-12T12:39:00.000+10:302010-01-12T12:39:52.035+10:30

I have said on numerous occasions how blessed I feel with the number of excellent submissions we received for the Dark Pages anthology. I have been doubly blessed because the final ToC winners have all been extremely professional people to deal with. We have done our best to correlate comments from all the readers of the shortlist and provide feedback to the unfortunate few who made the

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-78200299892297463082010-01-11T09:00:00.000+10:302010-01-11T09:00:09.127+10:30

Phase One - read 267 stories and narrow the choice down to the best and most appropriate 30. Phase Two - send shortlisted 30 to copy editors so we have a panel of three to reduce subjective variances and come up with the best 12-16 (preferably under 70K total). Over the weekend just gone, my brilliant minions have returned their lists and comments on the shortlisted stories. I then carefully

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-40193466589110967312010-01-07T14:42:00.000+10:302010-01-07T14:42:29.069+10:30

Today is forecast to be 36C here in little old Adelaide. The next three days are all forecast to be 41C! That's the bad news (although I much prefer the heat to the cold so I'm not complaining too much). The good news is I have tomorrow off to look after my little girl. We were going to go fishing with the new rod Santa got her for Xmas but this has been put on hold till next Friday due to the

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-73151899239689490162010-01-06T13:14:00.001+10:302010-01-06T13:14:46.496+10:30

I've posted my review of this novella from Damnation Books over on the HorrorScope blog. Check it out here.

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-49341649783911725972010-01-06T10:32:00.000+10:302010-01-06T10:32:15.536+10:30

But not from me... The undisputed Queen of online ninjas, zombies and everything just a little bit left of centre, Carrie Harris, had a brilliant 2009 and has now decided to give a little back to the writing community by holding a contest. The prize is a critique of the first five pages of your manuscript. In the words of 'She-who-must-be-snickered-with', aka 'The Sparkly One': So here's your

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-12390208240027365212010-01-05T15:52:00.000+10:302010-01-05T15:52:03.468+10:30

I've been catching up on my reading over the last week or so, and in doing so have written up a couple of reviews for you to peruse. Over at Aaron's Skull Salad I've posted a review of Issue 4 of TNBP. As usual, the issue is a good read - go check it out and feel free to comment on the review or leave comments on your favourite piece at the zine. In the next day or so, I'll also be posting my

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-63543908104520933072010-01-04T14:26:00.000+10:302010-01-04T14:26:28.527+10:30

 - I'm trying to catch up on everything I've been too slack to do over the last few weeks. Everyone has started listing their goals for 2010 and reviewing how they've gone on the goals for 2009. Jumping on the bandwagon... My 2009 goals: I would still like to win a competition so I will enter at least three:- I entered four (I think) but didn't do any good. I'll probably still enter the AHWA

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-73215457252188932492010-01-04T11:15:00.001+10:302010-01-04T11:20:19.318+10:30

I currently have 189 unread posts in my Google reader - I well and truly fell off the face of the writing world over the festive season. I'm back at the real job today and have a lot of work to get done during January, but my intention is to try and get a fair bit of writing related work done as well. We'll see... Thanks to the heads up from Jodi Lee (and for the nomination from her for The

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-24316272950270864912010-01-02T17:25:00.000+10:302010-01-02T17:25:08.273+10:30

The following digest of recent horror news is compiled from pieces published to HorrorScope and the Australian Horror Writers' Association website. Indie Books support Toodyay BushFire Appeal For the next two weeks Indie Books Online are donating $5 from every paperback and $10 from every hardback sold through the online store to the Toodyay Bushfire Appeal. Please, if you have a spare moment,

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-36706496967652616672009-12-21T10:09:00.001+10:302009-12-21T10:11:01.708+10:30

I'm on holidays. No work till the 4th of January 2010! At some point I intend to sit down and get a huge amount of writing and reading done - but not now, and possibly not before the fat guy in the red suit shows up. I'm going all handyman on and around my house. Cleaning, fixing, sorting, throwing, painting, tiling, and dismantling a plenty will be occurring at the Tomlinson household - with

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-65399828970324143262009-12-17T10:19:00.000+10:302009-12-17T10:19:44.473+10:30

Thanks to prompts by Aaron, Cate and Jamie, I figured it was time I assessed my efforts at supporting small press in 2009. The list of what I've read this year (I was going to be good and do all the links but it got a bit big): Novels and anthologies I've brought and read. Jack of All Trades by K. C. Shaw (One of the best buys I made all year) Shadows by Joan de La Hoya (A gift - thanks Joan)

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-85451200175832942422009-12-14T15:32:00.002+10:302009-12-14T15:35:43.616+10:30

Proof that my brain isn't totally broken took me by surprise yesterday when an idea for the Pill Hill Press Love Kills anthology took root in the dark recesses of my mind. I took a few minutes to jot down some points and read up on a few things. This ended up providing me with a rough outline. Today I wrote the first 1233 words. Once more I've tended too much into the realm of dialogue, but

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-41721307322003144352009-12-13T13:37:00.004+10:302009-12-13T13:49:25.107+10:30

So, as I sit here in somewhat of a dazed funk, I stare at inanimate objects around me and wonder what to do next. For the last two months or so, every spare moment of 'writing' time has been allocated to reading submissions for Dark Pages Volume One. Removal of that due to coming to the end of the slush pile has left me feeling a little numb. It's akin to holding a really heavy bag in each hand

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-45922027834013066122009-12-11T10:59:00.000+10:302009-12-11T10:59:00.798+10:30

The following digest of recent horror news is compiled from pieces published to HorrorScope and the Australian Horror Writers' Association website. Aurealis Awards finalists The finalists for the 2009 Aurealis Awards have been announced! The Aurealis Awards celebrate the best of Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror publications. Winners will be announced at the Aurealis Awards

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2300387287801526070.post-76780001130547949612009-12-10T14:57:00.000+10:302009-12-10T14:57:36.097+10:30

I've made my decisions. The publisher has been notified. Emails are soon to be sent. This could be the end of phase one but I'm considering the end to be when we're down to only the selected ToC winners - and that's a little way off yet. I have narrowed down 267 stories to 30. This will be further whittled down over the next few weeks (possibly 4 or 5 weeks) to the final ToC. This is liable to

BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170193722932454605noreply@blogger.com3