IT'S A GIRL!
A big woohoo to Ray and Donna, on the birth of their daughter Grace on Wednesday. I'm stonkingly happy to be an uncle again! We're off to the hospital with the kids this evening to meet the new arrival and ooh and aah and get clucky and stuff. It's probably a good thing Luscious is already pregnant...
AND ON THE SUBJECT OF BABIES...
We went to the hospital on Wednesday for a progress report on our own pregnancy, and to set the ground should Lyn need to be transferred during the home birth. All seems to be progressing wonderfully, and despite the doctor's best attempts to persuade us to forego a birth in our own surrounding in favour of travelling 40 minutes to the kind of place we've both had terrible birth experiences in, we felt really positive coming out. We've now reached 21 weeks, so we're now closer to the birth than the conception, and all is happines and light in our pregnancy for the first time since Brisbane at 6 weeks.
DOING ANYTHING NEXT SUNDAY?
A couple of things going down at the Katharine Susannah Prichard writer's centre on the 8th of August that involve the Luscious One and myself. Firstly, the Thursday morning writing group we attend will be launching it's second anthology Word Thirst between 10am and noon, with readings from both Luscious and I plus others, as well as nibblies, music and champagne. I'll say that again: CHAMPAGNE! Copies of the anthology will be on sale for 9 bucks, and if TLO and I can rustle up some of our own publications we'll have them there as well for purchasing.
Same batday, same batplace, at 1pm, comes the announcement of the KSP SF Awards. My story The Dark Ages has been shortlisted, and the event will feature readings from the various winners. Last year saw the likes of Luscious, Carole Ryles and Matt Chrulew taking to the podium, so if you're into West Oz SF get yourself down there and give it some support.
IT'S FUN TO BE FAMOUS
On the subject of KSP, Luscious and I were interviewed there during the week by a journo from the Midland Echo. Not sure when the interview's coming out, but if you receive the paper, keep an eye out for it. We forgot to ask for copies, so let us know if you see it and we'll arrange to grab one or two.
JE SUIS UN PORNMEISTER
Received news today that my erotic horror story Love Me Electric has been accepted for publication in the anthology Consensual a Trois. It's the second time in a row I've placed with this outlet: Moment was featured in their second anthology. It'll be for sale at Swancon Thirty next March.
1173 WORDS
That's how far into my submission for the upcoming Daikaiju anthology I managed to get last night. Quite pleased with myself, I am: Lyn and I had 90 minutes or so to write, and I wasn't interested in working on any of my current projects, so I just sat down and started banging my flippers at the keyboard (Thanks Adrian, for that saying!) and out it came! Luscious finished her own submission during the week, and it's bloody good, so the house is just full of giant monsters at the moment.
HOW'S THE SERENITY?
Kid free weekend this weekend. No plans. Lots of writing. Sleeping in. Aaaaahhhhh.....
Friday, July 30, 2004
Monday, July 26, 2004
BLAKE AGAIN
My talking plot generator (ie: stepson) Blakey-Boy came up with another pearler the other day. The family was gathered round the Tv, and that annoying Cadbury's advert came on, in which the entire world is made of chocolate. So we started pulling it apart (as you do), decrying the stupidity of the whole exercise.
"Look at the sun," one of us exclaimed. "How would it shine?"
"Maybe it's made out of light chocolate." said Blake.
.........Fair enough.........
THE END IS NEAR
Big brother is almost over, thank the Gods. That mouth-breathing throwback Ryan was given his orders on Thursday night, and the rat-faced surfer boy Paul went last night. How sad a family are we that we all broke out into cheers when each name was announced...? :)
SO CLOSE...
Maybe it's the change in editor, or maybe I'm becoming a better writer, but my latest submission to Asimov's received a personalised rejection from new head banana Shiela Williams. In my best Maxwell Smart voice: missed by that much.
BOOK-IN-A-DAY
Sometimes you wish people would think these things through: I lost a full day with the kids on saturday by virtue of spending it at the KSP, volunteering my literary services for their Book-In-A-Day charity affair. Put simply, a group of us writer types collaborated on an 8000 word story which we wrote, illustrated, and bound ONE copy, which will be given to Princess Margaret Hospital for their library, along with a cheque for the sponsorpship thereof. Each of the 7 writers involved plumped up 20 bucks for the priviledge.
20 bucks, and 12 hours, to produce 8000 words and half a dozen or so illos. I could have stayed at home, written one in 4 hours, and donated it.
MOON LANDING + 35
It's been 35 years since the moon landing, this week. What a waste. The stars are just sitting up there waiting for us, and what have we done? Stuff all.
WOOHOO!
I start my KSP residency in 2 weeks, and set myself a target of 10 000 words on the novel by the time I started. I passed that on Friday, 2 weeks early. Yay me. I should be well ahead by the time the 16th rolls around...
SIGH
The school holidays are over, and we dropped the kids off at school this morning. They'll be back at their father's house by now. I miss them. We had a blast these last 2 weeks.
My talking plot generator (ie: stepson) Blakey-Boy came up with another pearler the other day. The family was gathered round the Tv, and that annoying Cadbury's advert came on, in which the entire world is made of chocolate. So we started pulling it apart (as you do), decrying the stupidity of the whole exercise.
"Look at the sun," one of us exclaimed. "How would it shine?"
"Maybe it's made out of light chocolate." said Blake.
.........Fair enough.........
THE END IS NEAR
Big brother is almost over, thank the Gods. That mouth-breathing throwback Ryan was given his orders on Thursday night, and the rat-faced surfer boy Paul went last night. How sad a family are we that we all broke out into cheers when each name was announced...? :)
SO CLOSE...
Maybe it's the change in editor, or maybe I'm becoming a better writer, but my latest submission to Asimov's received a personalised rejection from new head banana Shiela Williams. In my best Maxwell Smart voice: missed by that much.
BOOK-IN-A-DAY
Sometimes you wish people would think these things through: I lost a full day with the kids on saturday by virtue of spending it at the KSP, volunteering my literary services for their Book-In-A-Day charity affair. Put simply, a group of us writer types collaborated on an 8000 word story which we wrote, illustrated, and bound ONE copy, which will be given to Princess Margaret Hospital for their library, along with a cheque for the sponsorpship thereof. Each of the 7 writers involved plumped up 20 bucks for the priviledge.
20 bucks, and 12 hours, to produce 8000 words and half a dozen or so illos. I could have stayed at home, written one in 4 hours, and donated it.
MOON LANDING + 35
It's been 35 years since the moon landing, this week. What a waste. The stars are just sitting up there waiting for us, and what have we done? Stuff all.
WOOHOO!
I start my KSP residency in 2 weeks, and set myself a target of 10 000 words on the novel by the time I started. I passed that on Friday, 2 weeks early. Yay me. I should be well ahead by the time the 16th rolls around...
SIGH
The school holidays are over, and we dropped the kids off at school this morning. They'll be back at their father's house by now. I miss them. We had a blast these last 2 weeks.
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
UNDT NOW, A LITTLE BIT OF FUN
Found this on Splanky's Livejournal. Silly :)
You belong in Time Enough For Love. You are older
than you look. Your wit and wisdom are prized
by others. People throw themselves on you,
begging to be with you.
Which Heinlein Book Should You Have Been A Character In?
brought to you by
Found this on Splanky's Livejournal. Silly :)
You belong in Time Enough For Love. You are older
than you look. Your wit and wisdom are prized
by others. People throw themselves on you,
begging to be with you.
Which Heinlein Book Should You Have Been A Character In?
brought to you by
Monday, July 19, 2004
OOOOOHHHHH, PRETTTYYYY....
Blogger has colours now.... Oooohhhhh.....
Okay, I'll stop now.
ON TO REAL, ACTUAL, IMPORTANT NEWS
We just got back from the 20 week ultrasound. Everything looks okay. We also gave in to temptation and found out what sex Nemo is.
He's a boy :)
We've decided on Connor James for names, so I'll finally put Nemo to rest now and start referring to him by his proper name.
The kids came with us, and got to see images of Connor for the first time. The boys are well excited at the thought of a baby brother. Cassie is slightly less pleased at the idea of another one like the boys running round the place :) On the other hand, she's realised that it means she can go on specific-clothes shopping expeditions with her mum, so there's a bright side to everything... We got the obligatory video as well, so visitors may have previews. You have been warned.
Blogger has colours now.... Oooohhhhh.....
Okay, I'll stop now.
ON TO REAL, ACTUAL, IMPORTANT NEWS
We just got back from the 20 week ultrasound. Everything looks okay. We also gave in to temptation and found out what sex Nemo is.
He's a boy :)
We've decided on Connor James for names, so I'll finally put Nemo to rest now and start referring to him by his proper name.
The kids came with us, and got to see images of Connor for the first time. The boys are well excited at the thought of a baby brother. Cassie is slightly less pleased at the idea of another one like the boys running round the place :) On the other hand, she's realised that it means she can go on specific-clothes shopping expeditions with her mum, so there's a bright side to everything... We got the obligatory video as well, so visitors may have previews. You have been warned.
Thursday, July 15, 2004
OH YEAH, I'M MEANT TO BE WRITING A NOVEL THIS YEAR, AREN'T I?
To borrow a phrase from pal KA Bedford, I banged my flippers at the keyboard this morning while Luscious had a lie in (having spent half the night dealing with a sick and snot-laden toddler and the other half wrestling with pregnancy-induced insomnia) and managed to crank out just over 1300 words on my almost-forgotten novel. I've had a horrible dry patch in recent times as real life issues have gotten in the way of writing, but this last week has seen some ideas filter back into my consciousness, and a long bath in the dark two days ago cracked the block and enabled me to find the all-important what the hell happens next? part of the story.
I'd planned to have 10 000 words in place by the time I started my Katharine Susannah Prichard Writer's Centre residency in mid-August, and as of this morning I now have just over 8500, so I'm well on the way to having more than I'd hoped for. Mind you, as young Master Bedford managed 1200 words last week, I still ain't the fastest chicken in the pen :)
ON THE SUBJECT OF WHICH
My residency at the KSP runs from mid-August to mid-September. I'll be working on Nouvelle Hollande, and have set myself a target of 40 000 words to be completed in the 4 weeks I'm there. As part of the residency I'll be available to speak to people about their writing, and will be running two workshops on SF writing (21st August and 4th September) as well as attending each of the KSPs writing groups at least once, so if you'd like to catch up with me and ply me with questions, gifts and bribes, contact the fab and groovy Ramona at the centre!
To borrow a phrase from pal KA Bedford, I banged my flippers at the keyboard this morning while Luscious had a lie in (having spent half the night dealing with a sick and snot-laden toddler and the other half wrestling with pregnancy-induced insomnia) and managed to crank out just over 1300 words on my almost-forgotten novel. I've had a horrible dry patch in recent times as real life issues have gotten in the way of writing, but this last week has seen some ideas filter back into my consciousness, and a long bath in the dark two days ago cracked the block and enabled me to find the all-important what the hell happens next? part of the story.
I'd planned to have 10 000 words in place by the time I started my Katharine Susannah Prichard Writer's Centre residency in mid-August, and as of this morning I now have just over 8500, so I'm well on the way to having more than I'd hoped for. Mind you, as young Master Bedford managed 1200 words last week, I still ain't the fastest chicken in the pen :)
ON THE SUBJECT OF WHICH
My residency at the KSP runs from mid-August to mid-September. I'll be working on Nouvelle Hollande, and have set myself a target of 40 000 words to be completed in the 4 weeks I'm there. As part of the residency I'll be available to speak to people about their writing, and will be running two workshops on SF writing (21st August and 4th September) as well as attending each of the KSPs writing groups at least once, so if you'd like to catch up with me and ply me with questions, gifts and bribes, contact the fab and groovy Ramona at the centre!
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
HOLIDAYS!
The kids are home for the school holidays! We finally get them back, even if it's only for 2 weeks. We've had some primo fun already: a trip to the zoo, mask painting, kid-gym visits, lunhes out, movies... the great thing about having them back is the chance it gives us to engage in some kiddie-fun stuff ourselves-- not like I ever need an excuse to act like a 10 year old, but you know :)
SPIDERMAN 2
Went with the boys to see the 2nd Spiderman installment last night. Damn fun movie! The fight scene on top of (as well as inside and on the side of) the train ranks as one of the best fight scenes I've seen in a long time. The main cast have matured into their roles since the first movie, particularly James Franco, and Alfred Molina must go down as one of the most inspired casting choices of the year. His Doctor Octopus is layered, meaningful, and shaded in subtle human tones, as far from the cardboard cut-out school of villiany as you'd like to get. A thoroughly enjoyable movie.
BAD BAD BAAADDDDD...
At the other end of the spectrum are the movie nights that Cheshire and I have been discussing to replace the Sunday night Big Brother eviction parties when that particular spectacle draws mercifully to a close.
The idea is to gather a collection of movies within a specific range of awfulness. We don't want movies that are so awful they've become fond classics (Plan 9 From Outer Space, Robot Monster et al) or movies so awful that they remain simply unwatchably awful (The last 2 Matrix movies, anything by the Farrelly Brothers). Cheese, brother, that's where we're at: America 3000, Ice Pirates, Deep Star Six... post your suggestions on the message board, and we'll send round invites for the first Cheese Spectacular!
LIBRARIES ROCK
Our local library is running a bunch of workshops for ids over the holidays, and we've booked the kids in. Yesterday they spent an hour making scratch pictures. Tomorrow it's suncatchers. Next week they'll learn how to cartoon and send secret codes. Coooolll...
The kids are home for the school holidays! We finally get them back, even if it's only for 2 weeks. We've had some primo fun already: a trip to the zoo, mask painting, kid-gym visits, lunhes out, movies... the great thing about having them back is the chance it gives us to engage in some kiddie-fun stuff ourselves-- not like I ever need an excuse to act like a 10 year old, but you know :)
SPIDERMAN 2
Went with the boys to see the 2nd Spiderman installment last night. Damn fun movie! The fight scene on top of (as well as inside and on the side of) the train ranks as one of the best fight scenes I've seen in a long time. The main cast have matured into their roles since the first movie, particularly James Franco, and Alfred Molina must go down as one of the most inspired casting choices of the year. His Doctor Octopus is layered, meaningful, and shaded in subtle human tones, as far from the cardboard cut-out school of villiany as you'd like to get. A thoroughly enjoyable movie.
BAD BAD BAAADDDDD...
At the other end of the spectrum are the movie nights that Cheshire and I have been discussing to replace the Sunday night Big Brother eviction parties when that particular spectacle draws mercifully to a close.
The idea is to gather a collection of movies within a specific range of awfulness. We don't want movies that are so awful they've become fond classics (Plan 9 From Outer Space, Robot Monster et al) or movies so awful that they remain simply unwatchably awful (The last 2 Matrix movies, anything by the Farrelly Brothers). Cheese, brother, that's where we're at: America 3000, Ice Pirates, Deep Star Six... post your suggestions on the message board, and we'll send round invites for the first Cheese Spectacular!
LIBRARIES ROCK
Our local library is running a bunch of workshops for ids over the holidays, and we've booked the kids in. Yesterday they spent an hour making scratch pictures. Tomorrow it's suncatchers. Next week they'll learn how to cartoon and send secret codes. Coooolll...
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