BATTBOY CATCHES UP

Okay, a bunch of things since the last post, so yoiks and away:

XMAS, THE MAKING OUT LIKE A BANDIT SEASON

So what was the point of packing away all the kids toys, when everybody just goes and buys more for them than we'd packed? My God, did the kids make out this year. My personal vote for cool present-- the ant farm we gave Aiden, which uses not boring old dirt and earth but translucent blue gel developed on a space shuttle mission in an attempt to manufacture viable food sources for astronauts. Of course.

I did quite nicely myself, as it happens: 2, count them 2 volumes of the collected works of Theodore Sturgeon (Luscious and Fantastic Planet, I love you), a make your own Neanderthal head kit (from the kids. They know me so well.), the LP player for my computer I've been coveting, a CD/MP3 player for the car (all I have is a tape deck in my little green runabout).... and in a long -standing tradition (ie: we did it for the first time this year), Lyn and I decided we would give each other a second-hand book as part of our presents, so I recieved the Best of SF&F.

Yay for me :)

Oh, and a couple of days before the event, Luscious came back from the video store with an ex-rentla copy of Finding Neverland for me, and a couple of days after, walked in and presented me with the DVD of War of The Worlds (NOT the Tom the Weenie version, tyvm!). Just because.

She loves me.

BATTERSBY ON THE WEB

The ultra-groovy and luvverly Anna Tambour has asked both Luscious and I whether she can post a story at her website. So as of this very moment, you can go here and read my story A Stone To Mark My Passing. Originally published in the CSFG anthology Elsewhere, it scored a mention in the Datlow/Windling Recommended Reading List, and is one of my better tales, imho. Go, read, enjoy. Consider it a taste of the coming-who-knows-when collection, where it will also appear.

Lyn's story Simeon The Monkey will be up soon, and I'll let you know.

ANOTHER NICE MOMENT OF RECOGNITION

On top of my Aurealis Awards nomination comes the news that Father Muerte & The Rain has been selected for inclusion in Australian Dark Fantasy & Horror: The Best of 2005. Pater Familias will cop a mention in the Recommended Reading list. Lyn's brilliant story The Memory of Breathing will also be reprinted in the book, so start saving, Battfans.

SO SOON, SO SOOOOONNNNN......

You know how most drownings actually take place in sight of shore?

4 days until the new house is ours. 4 daaaaayyyyysssss.....

A NEW YEAR, A NEW SET OF RESOLUTIONS TO BREAK

Okay, so I'm going to: lose 10 kilos, write 10 stories and attempt to sell as many, write and sell a new novel, and I've set an amount of money I want to earn over and above my regular wages to contribute to the mortgage.

Odds anyone?

A nice task I set myself is to start each year by beginning a new story on the 1st of January, no matter what projects I'm already working on. Yesterday, I had 2 ideas while showering (I do some of my best work in the shower...), so Escapees and The Adding Machine have been added to the universal consciousness. I'll let you know when they're done.

WE'RE NOT GOING TO A PARTY, OR WHAT WE DID ON NEW YEAR'S EVE AND AFTER

So neither of us wanted to go to a party, we were both feeling peopled out and just wanted to stay at home, and Lyn felt the need for a personal shopping break. And while she was out I packed a million and a half boxes and was feeling pretty good about my work. And she bought herself 3 tops and a skirt for 70 bucks.

Which is why we ended up at PRK and Tori's NYE gathering after all :)

It was fun, for the most part, although the two halves of the party who didn't know each other seemed unable to share more than a few words before the inevitable butting in of mutual pals distracted everyone. Still, I had fun talking music with Sheldon, Chesh & the Perky One, and because of the kids we left late enough to have had a fab time and early enough not to feel drained. Apart from one pillock who needs a talking to I can't be bothered to give them, it was a casual and entertaining night, and damn good for my spirits.

Yesterday, halfway through the afternoon, bogged off with packing and in possession of hamburgers and buns, we rang up Calli and Chesh and spent the early evening eating home-made burgers, chips from the chishunfip shop and downing cold drinkies. Which was pretty near the perfect way to end the day.

The older I get, the more I want my social gatherings small, intimate, intelligent and casual. And that's just what I got yesterday. Aaaahhhhh.

LUNCH WITH LILY

A pleasant afternoon was spent in the company of Lily Chrywenstrom today, long time pal and editrix of the stylish magazine Fables And Reflections. Apart from using the occasion to thrust a story upon her, Luscious and I enjoyed the chance for a delightful conversation over lunch, and then the three of us wandered over to the nearby Elizabeth's and went bookshopping. There's something quite intimate about shopping for books with other people. You get a glimpse into their psyche from an angle you might not otherwise see, and any sharing of passions is an intimate thing. And booty was rescued from the cruel clutches of the shelves-- I walked away with an old Kitchen Sink Press graphic novel entitled The Upturned Stone, a biography of Elizabethan mystery man Dr John Dee (Is that a Muerte plot I feel unfolding?), and a copy of Ambrose Bierce's The Devil's Dictionary.

I am a happy fat little Bierce fan tonight, my friends.

Back to work tomorrow, but at least it's only a 3 day week, what with having Friday off for house moving purposes.

Song of the moment: Wuthering Heights Kate Bush