And here we have the big trout, a piece of unashamed motel art illuminating a stretch of road just outside of Oberon. I wanted to have my picture taken with it, but somehow we always managed to keep on driving past it on brief trips to Oberon and back. Lucky for me, Nicole was on the ball and she managed to take his picture after I left. As far as big trouts go, this one is a whopper!
after the rain
I bought a copy of this book yesterday and am looking forward to reading it on my Kindle in my comfy reading chair out back. Where we live is not flood affected this time, but it has been in the past. We had trouble getting insurance for our house when we bought it because of severe flooding that left the whole street underwater about 15 years back. Apparently the whole of Wollongong sits on a flood plain.After the Rain is an anthology due for release in April 2011. However, in the face of the ongoing flood disaster in Queensland, Fablecroft Publishing has produced a limited ebook version as a fundraiser. The authors have freely given their stories for this use. All payments will go to the Queensland Government Flood Appeal. Donators can decide how much they want to pay for the book. AUD$10.00 is recommended, but all donations are gratefully…
scoop from the department of gobsmacked!
It’s just been confirmed that my short story “All the Love in the World” from Twelfth Planet Press’s Sprawl anthology will be reprinted in David Hartwell and Kathryn Kramer’s forthcoming Years Best Science Fiction #16, to be published in the spring as a mass market paperback original by Harper Eos.That, folks, is just about as awesome as it gets!
greetings from Oberon
If any of my regular email buddies have noticed I’ve been quiet of late, it’s because I’m sequestered away at a writing retreat in Oberon, country New South Wales, along with fellow members of FWOR. We are staying on a delightful property called Stone Hedge where, there is, less delightfully, no internet access, except for at the top of a long and winding driveway. That’s where I’m sitting now, sucking up credit on Nicole’s dongle. Mostly we’ve been making occasional trips into Oberon itself to take advantage of the Monkey Bean café’s internet service. Oberon’s so small, it doesn’t even have a Maccas!Not having internet has been good in terms of allowing me to focus on the spit polishing of the front end of my manuscript. On the downside, no internet is just plain weird. I feel like half my brain is disconnected.Nicole and I have been walking in the…
currently reading
Clowns at Midnight by Terry Dowling. Very Australian. Very intriguing. Here’s a bit of blurb from the publisher’s website:Clowns at Midnight is a powerful and spellbinding tale of fear and wonder, of unexpected transformations and genuine redemption. David’s discoveries in this almost overlooked corner of rural Australia lead him full-square into both the universal mystery at the forgotten heart of Western civilisation and the deepest, darkest secrets of the human condition.one of those books you think about even when you’re NOT reading it.
picnic
Thanks to everyone who showed up to the sometimes annual spec fic authors, artists, editors, publishers & etc picnic on Saturday.lolling around behind the brickworks, Sydney ParkNicole, Alan, Halinka & RobAngie & LizJess & Richard. More pix here