Dear Mr Kim Newman, I am very glad at all the Anno Dracula books, even though years ago I had to work hard to track down the original so now I have two, and I keep telling myself no, you don’t have to have the paperback of Johnny Alucard to go with the others just […]
Great news – At the Edge, a wonderful anthology of speculative fiction by New Zealand (New Zealandian?) and Australian writers, won the Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Collected Work. And you will immediately see my self interest at work when I congratulate editors Lee Murray and Dan Rabarts for their win, and thank them […]
Watched: The Dressmaker – how had I not seen it before? It was compulsory viewing for all Australians, but I must have been on shrimp-tossing duties that day. It made me want Kate Winslet to love me, the way she automatically and effortlessly fell in love with Liam Hemsworth. A bonus was that I have […]
Aurealis, a much loved and very entertaining science fiction and fantasy magazine that also happens to be Australian*, has released its 100th edition. In the world of genre periodicals, this is an excellent achievement. Congratulations to all involved, well played! *And just happened once upon a time, way back in edition #68, to include […]
Of course, anticipation is usually sweeter, but it remains that (not unexpectedly, but wouldn’t it have been noice, yes, noice!) “Eat, Pray, Wait” by yours truly shall not grace the pages of the next edition of Year’s Best Weird Fiction. However, it is available here for your reading pleasure, sandwiched with other morsels between the […]
Goodness, I haven’t blogged this warning for quite a while. The most excellent Jared Diamond has warned us of the dangers of ecological collapse, but perhaps there is a more pertinent warning of the dangers of … well, of the dangers of sweets: In 1849, hungry gold miners crossing the Nevada desert noticed some glistening […]
Surprise Cancer too is a prize You don’t have to queue at the newsagent’s to buy a ticket They slip it in with the teddy bear, the beatrix potter china setting, the first photograph album, unnoticed. The final draw may be foreshadowed in the missed stitch in the booties grandma made put aside, only used […]
Facebook reminded me of a post I made two years ago. I have updated it a bit and here it is, re-posted. This blog is meant to be about writing and fun things, not medical issues. However, maybe someone else going through this shit will see it and realise that they are not crazy. Lyme […]
I dreamed of moneylenders slicing flesh from shinbones with machetes, and people being rolled up and crucified, so they would fit more readily on a wall. Couldn’t find the explanation in my dream book.
My daughter, reading an internet quiz to me: “What super power would you like to have?” I responded, “The power to turn red into green at traffic lights”. The next day, walking to the bus stop, thinking about work, it came to me. My secret desire. What I have wanted my whole life. To be […]
Nobody is looking 