A Week Indeed.

Ten days, actually.

After a long drought on the 'seeing results from my writing' front, I've had an excellent time recently at Chateau Cameron. The best time in writing I've had in more than six months.

A couple of personal rejections from some big target markets.

I was shortlisted for a Ditmar award - Best New Talent. My second year running.

The forthcoming 'After Death' anthology was reviewed in Publishers Weekly, and my story (I Was The Walrus) was one of those mentioned by name.

I sold a story to Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine. Another market I've been chasing for a few years.

And to top it all off, I received my copy of Thoraiya Dyer's new 12th Planet collection, Asymmetry.

As I said, an excellent time.

Think Global, Go Local.

One of the things I'm really enjoying at the moment is reading local authors.

I've been paying attention to some of the small publishers here in Australia, and I'm discovering that not only is their production standard extremely high (layout, editing, artwork and so on) but they often publish writers that are either emerging (meaning I'll have a collector's item on my hands once they make it), or the offbeat and interesting stuff that major publishers don't have time for.

I love reading a local book and recognising places or situations, or some of those little in-jokes that only a native would understand.

My first real experience with this was when I bought a second-hand copy Striped Holes by Damien Broderick back in the early 90s while living in Tokyo. I'd never heard of him before, but it had a cool cover and was cheap in a land where imported books were very expensive.  Imagine my surprise when halfway through the book he mentioned Bourke Street, Melbourne, and some of the shops situated there. In fact, I seem to recall I was rather excited by it.

Do yourself a favour and check out Tasmaniac, MirrorDanse, Agog!, 12th Planet, CSFG, Ticonderoga, and all the others I can't think of at the moment.

Oh yeah, and my horoscope says I have good things happening this week.  It must be true, after all they wouldn't publish lies in a newspaper, would they?

p.s. - and they said it wouldn't last!