Japan.

I spent six years living in Japan - four of those with a Japanese family. I met my wife there. My god-daughter lives there with her family. Her parents are close friends that we haven't seen in far too long.

A lot of the media is focussing on the unfolding nuclear crises.

I have been touched by the people around me who have asked whether I have any friends missing in the disaster. I don't.

My thoughts are with the Japanese people.

What A Great Weekend!

Coeur De Lion has selected one of my stories to appear in the forthcoming anthology Anywhere But Earth. I am thrilled and honoured by this, as I will be sharing pages with a number of well-known and respected writers. This will be a great anthology to keep an eye out for.

Last night I went to see Hawkwind with my friend, George. He's the one who introduced Hawkwind and Hard Rock/Metal to me all those years ago. And, to a great extent, the one who introduced me to Spec Fic. We had a great time, the show was fantastic, and Hawkwind was everything I hoped for.  Lights, videos and dancers wearing Dr. Who-type costumes. The support band, The Night Terrors, were a lot of fun too.

Imagine that - two bands with Theremins. I've always thought modern music needed more of that. Along with banjos, ukeleles and trombones.

And then I was pleased to bump into Paul and Trudi Canavan as I waited to get in.  I had met them before, but we were able to spend a bit of time chatting throughout the night. Trudi sketched the support band, while Paul and I didn't.

And then I came home to a rejection for another story - but the note from the editor was personal, encouraging and right on the money. Wish I'd had those comments before I sent it off. But it's been re-written already and currently sits with another market.

That's what it's all about - perseverance, and being prepared to learn. And having fun doing it all.

Why?

I've been thinking a lot about motivation recently, both extrinsic and intrinsic. I've been talking to my senior students about it over the past few weeks. But the reason I first started on this path of thought was because I was questioning my own.

About two weeks ago, it suddenly occurred to me that I hadn't done any real writing for about 5 weeks. Sure, I had lots of excuses - guests from overseas, the school year starting up with all the reading and lesson preparation that comes with it, and so on.  As I said, lots of excuses, but no real reasons.

And so two weeks ago I drew up a chart, a schedule that sets out a certain number of hours a week I plan to write. If I fail to complete an hour on the evening I choose, I can make it up later, but it has to be the same week. And so far (well, I'm into my third week) I've met my goals, and even exceeded them.

I plan to keep this up. And I tell my students how I've gone, and ask how they're going with their study.

On the up side, I've got all my stuff out on submission at the moment, and even had a couple of positive nibbles.  More on that later if I hook anything.

While I'm here, I'm looking for a couple of mags and books.


New Adventures in Sci-Fi by Sean Williams,
Aurealis, #37
Andromeda Spaceway Inflight Magazine #1, #2, #20

Please let me know if you can help out.

I Really Wanted To, Felicia!

Someone told me about The Guild. You know, the internet gaming sit-com created by Felicia Day and much loved by lots of people including Joss Whedon. They told me I'd love it, that it was right up my alley. So I went online, hunted it down and watched it.

The good news, with episodes that are around 4 minutes long, is that you can watch all four seasons in about a 20 minutes. (OK, so I exaggerate - I can't be bothered doing the maths) The bad news is it's extremely average. Sorry Felicia, I really, really wanted to love this.  Not that I hated it - I just wouldn't be worried if I missed future episodes.

On the other hand, no one told me about Generation Kill, or Spaced. Both wonderful, clever and well-written.  I loved both of these. Spaced I borrowed from the library, simply because I liked the cover, and Generation Kill I bought on a whim, based on its connection to The Wire.

I need to do that more often - act on a whim. As Mia said, it's more fun to be a pirate than to be in the navy.

Summer's Almost Gone.

When I was much younger, my favourite show on TV was The D-Generation. And then a few year's later it was The Late Show. And then over the years I've pretty much loved everything The D-Generation and Working Dog has produced, whether on TV or on the radio. In fact, for a while in the 80s, I dreamt of being part of their shows.

So when I bumped into Santo Cilauro in a supermarket down along the Great Ocean Road, and simply said "Santo" as if I was meeting up with an old friend, Santo smiled with a look of puzzlement as though he had no recollection of who I was and yet should have. (Sorry about that, Santo!) We chatted for a few minutes, I apologised for interrupting his shopping, and then he wished me a good holiday. It was only later that I realised I forgot to ask him what Working Dog were planning next.

I also booked tickets to go and see Hawkwind.  Yes, not only am I an SF tragic, but I'm also a an old metalhead. And so much the better if you can combine the two. Should be a good evening though.

In between all this I've started reviewing books for Dark Matter. That's been kind of cool too. Check out Issue One online. Issue two is well into production and should be with us soon.

And then I've been watching lots of film and reading lots of books too.  I even liked Bran Nue Dae, which I didn't think I would enjoy at all. But Mary Poppins was indeed a highlight of the summer.

Practically perfect in every way.

Normal Programming Will Resume Shortly.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks. I survived Christmas and the New Year and I’ve travelled around half the state and had a great time.

Here's what I've read so far this year. (Well, the Keith Richards one I started just after Christmas.) I'll have a real post soon.

Life                                        Keith Richards

Travels in Nihilon                    Alan Sillitoe

Looking For Jake                    China Mieville

Unicorn Variations                   Roger Zelazny

The Virgin and the Gypsy         D.H. Lawrence

Festive Fear: Global Edition:     Edited by: Steve Clark

Currently Reading:

The New Nature of the Catastrophe           
                  Edited by: Michael Moorcock

An Evening of Long Goodbyes                  
                  Paul Murray

As We Wind Down.

And so the year winds down. But I find myself with lots to do and little time in which to do it. I have some reviews to finish writing, a short story to rewrite (yet again) and several more (currently clawing their way through my brain trying to escape) that need to be written.

My parents-in-law are visiting from overseas at the moment, and so I'm spending a lot of time with them. We certainly don't get to see them often enough. It's great to have them here, and they are doing great things in my garden. We spent a weekend down at Rye (where I found a couple of great books in the local op-shop) and visited Camberwell Market the week before (where I bought a saw) and spent a day driving all over the countryside (just like the Leyland Brothers).

As for school, my senior students received their VCE results today, and I was pleased with the scores they achieved. Not everyone did well, but the ones who worked attained good marks, and those that didn't got better marks than I expected. I'd like to think that's the sign of good teaching. None of them should be surprised, anyway.

And I got to see The Angels live again!