Congratulations Jason.

And so my story, Lodloc and the Bear, didn't win the Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novella. That honour went to Jason Fischer. Congratulations, Jason. Well deserved.

It was an honour to be shortlisted for an Aurealis Award, and it was amazing to have been a finalist along with so many great names - writers I admire and some whose work I have been reading for longer than I can remember. It was a real thrill to have had my story considered worthy.

Awards are a funny thing. Most writers will tell you they're not that important, that they're not the reason we write. Which is certainly true in my case. But they are something many of us long for. I know I would love to receive an award or two. Writing is a solitary endeavour, and contact with our reading audience can be minimal. We might receive an encouraging note or an email, usually from someone we know. We might even be lucky enough to get a positive mention in a review. But an award or nomination, especially for a jury-judged award like the Aurealis, gives us some sense of validation. It makes us feel like maybe we can do this, and maybe we can do it reasonably well.

Many writers, myself included, live with nagging self doubts. About our abilities, about our words, about our goals. In the weeks leading up to the Aurealis Awards ceremony I honestly gave little thought to the outcome. Occasionally it would cross my mind, and I would swing wildly between 'I have no chance' to 'You never know - after all my story was deemed worthy enough to be a finalist.' In the last few hours leading up to the announcements, however, I must admit the pending result played on my mind quite a bit. I was walking through the streets of London, checking my phone for free wi-fi as I passed coffee shops, updating my newsfeed, and hoping I would be lucky enough to see my name as a winner.

Unfortunately that wasn't to be.

I had the amazing Cat Sparks lined up as my proxy to accept the award (and ensuing free drinks), and despite Cat's assurances I only needed to say "I love youse all", I had written something a little longer than that. My speech included thanks to the publisher, Keith Stevenson, my crit and writing buddy, David McDonald, my best friend, Fenna, and my wife Lindsey.

Was I disappointed I didn't win? Of course. Did I feel cheated? Not in the least. Jason is one mean writer, and it truly was an honour to be shortlisted alongside him and the others. Indeed, congratulations to all winners and other finalists.

And if I've done it once, I can surely get my name on that list again. Surely, I can.

And I do love youse all.

A Few Days Away.

I've spent the past four days staying in a friend's holiday house down by the beach at Rye. Although we had a wonderful relaxing time, my wife was still a little disappointed. Here it is spring, but the weather has been very wintery.  Not only was it cold and mostly wet, we've also had a few days of extremely strong winds.

My wife and I took the dogs out most days for long walks along the beach.  They loved it, but we had to keep an eye out to make sure they didn't decide to roll in something dead, as dogs are wont to do. And be aware that due to the ceaseless vigilance of one of my dogs, our shoreline on the peninsula is safe from invasion by birds.  She ran after every bird she saw.  Don't worry, she never got close enough to even worry them.

I was even able to spend an hour or so luxuriating in hot springs. It was wonderful to sit in the hot spring water with a light rain falling, overlooking some beautiful landscapes.  We visited Box Stallion, a winery with some very beautiful wines, and we were able to restock our cellar.  I would also recommend Bamboo, a restaurant in Rye. We met up with some friends, and each one of us thoroughly enjoyed every course of our meal.  The service was very good too.

I ended up not getting any writing done. I wanted to spend as much time with my wife as I could so I grabbed the opportunity to do that.  I promise, procrastination had absolutely nothing to do with it.  Does it matter that my Q3 entry for Writers of the Future still needs some work?  I have three more days to get it in the mail, don't I? At least I came away with a stack of notes and ideas for future stories.

Speaking of WOTF, they have started posting Q3 results.  Congratulations to Felicity Dowker and to several of my Forum mates for their HMs.  Special congratulations to Jason Fischer for winning first place for his Q2 story. Good to see Aussies doing well. 

But enough from me.  Back to the keyboard to finish my story.