This afternoon I decided to bake a loaf of bread. We often bake bread, so it's nothing particularly unusual, but as I was tipping in the flax seeds and the sunflower seeds, I was struck by the label on the sunflower seed packet. It said (in big letters) Natural Sunflower Kernels. It struck me as hilarious, and … Continue reading Natural
Year: 2015
Reading Is Like A Smorgasbord
I'm in quite a number of groups on both Facebook and Goodreads. Some are writers groups, others are genre specific. I write speculative fiction, currently science fiction, and I've been pondering the myriad of sub-genres in the world of speculative fiction and the place of YA in current speculative fiction reading and writing. There are … Continue reading Reading Is Like A Smorgasbord
NSW Writers Centre Speculative Fiction Festival
I headed off to the NSW Writers Centre Speculative Fiction Festival yesterday. It was a chilly morning when we left the Upper Hunter at around 5am, but we made good time, and arrived just before the registration time of 9am. It's always a bit of a guessing game travelling to Sydney from here. On a … Continue reading NSW Writers Centre Speculative Fiction Festival
Injustice
This last week I've seen something I never thought to see, enacted into law in Australia. In the last few years, the two major political parties in Australia have, in subsequent governments, increasingly penalised asylum seekers and refugees who arrive on boats. They've sent them to Nauru, Manus Island, and placed them in long term … Continue reading Injustice
Frustrated
It's been a frustrating week. This year, for the first time, I purchased a supporting membership to World Con. For those of you who might not be into science fiction and fantasy, World Con happens every year, somewhere in the world, and is the place where the Hugo Awards are awarded, and much science fiction and … Continue reading Frustrated
The Stigma of Mental Health Issues
Recently I saw a post on Facebook that said "When cancer takes a life we blame cancer. Depression is a disease. Don't blame the victim for losing the fight." I've been thinking about it quite a bit. Partly because mental illness has touched our family, and partly because I've just submitted a story to the … Continue reading The Stigma of Mental Health Issues
Back from Continuum 11 (Southern Skies)
I missed blog posting last week as I was at Continuum - Melbourne's Speculative Fiction Convention. It was a great weekend, catching up with people I met last year, and being on panels and attending panels. Cons are great fun. My biggest problem is making sure I don't panel myself to death. I love hearing … Continue reading Back from Continuum 11 (Southern Skies)
Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly.
"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8 This was part of the reading at church this morning, and the basis of the sermon. I'm a Christian, which is not necessarily … Continue reading Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly.
Choices
I've been a bit slack with this blog recently - mainly a matter of life getting in the way of everything else, but I've been thinking quite a bit, which is what I do. There's a lot going on in the world. We've had floods here in Australia, and there's been the devastation of the … Continue reading Choices
ANZAC – 100 years on.
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the landings at Gallipoli in World War I. ANZAC Day is celebrated in Australia and New Zealand every year on the 25th of April. (ANZAC stands for Australian and NewZealand Army Corps). For those of us in Australia, it marks the date that we feel defined us as a … Continue reading ANZAC – 100 years on.
Leonie Rogers 