Sci.Phi Journal were kind and published my story, Mr Cranky, in November 2016. It has now escaped from behind its paywall, and is available for your free reading pleasure, by clicking right here. A (the only) review of this story concluded with “there are some effective images and a quirky nuance or two and this […]
I am conscious of (one of) Adam Roberts‘* projects, seeking “to write a short story for every sub-genre and premise that SF has made famous; to assemble a collection in which I can try my hand at all the hackneyed old conventions …”. My reading habits of course change over time, but in my life […]
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 […]
My good friend Stephen suffered a great loss recently, and there is little I can do for him, other than let him know that I am thinking of him. It is not my place to share that loss. I have written a bit here about my dear friend, and how much he shapes what is […]
The coming soon is coming sooner. Long awaited, the second volume of the Grapple Annual is, I hear, coming this way. If not just around the corner, then surely it is just down the street and couple of blocks to the left. Some rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches towards Canberra to […]
The new edition of Kaleidotrope is live and ready for your reading pleasure. Check out the contents below – in the words of various people, including that little kid, in O Brother Where art thou?, its bona fide. Fiction “The Song of the Whistling Crab” by Michael McGlade “One Thousand Paper Cranes” by Julie C. […]
Mr Cranky, a man who does not dream. Or who dreams in weight and movement, instead of images and memory. Or … Mr Cranky has been with me a very long time, and has finally oozed out of my pores to see the light of day, published in Sci.Phi Journal, the magazine of science fiction […]
I have been lucky to find some gold nuggets amongst the dross recently. It is amongst my favourite things, to settle into a book, and to have the feeling grow, yeah, this is one of those, I like it, I really like it … The smile widens, time passes, and I throw up a silent […]
Nobody is looking 