Australia Day #changethedate

It's Australia Day. All around the world, Australians are celebrating being Australian. For some, it doesn't get much further than contemplating a barbecue, eating a lamington or two, or maybe having Vegemite on toast for brekkie. For many indigenous Australians, this particular date is problematic. Some other Australians don't get this, however. You see, this … Continue reading Australia Day #changethedate

Hot, Hot, Hot…

It's hot. It's been hot for days, and it's getting hotter again tomorrow and Tuesday. And after that, it'll just be averagely hot. When you consider that I spent sixteen years living in the Pilbara, you'd think I'd be used to heat. Well, maybe I was once, but I think I've had enough now. Maybe … Continue reading Hot, Hot, Hot…

When You Have to Rearrange Your Story

I've been writing the second part of a fantasy trilogy. None of it's published at this point, but for the last few weeks it's been hard going. Partly because during the whole Christmas and New Year period there's been an awful lot of stuff going on, and partly because although I know exactly where this … Continue reading When You Have to Rearrange Your Story

Merry Christmas

It's eight thirty on Christmas evening here in New South Wales. Yesterday we spent the afternoon experiencing torrential rain, thunder, lightning and in some areas of our rural town, flash flooding. This morning at church, we sang carols, and then listened to a timely reminder of a sermon. I'm now sitting typing, listening to an … Continue reading Merry Christmas

Rogue One

I went and saw Rogue One last night with my husband. It's always a bit interesting when you go and see a new Star Wars movie. I was 11 when I saw A New Hope. I can still remember sitting astounded as the Imperial Star Destroyer seemed to fly directly over my head. It was … Continue reading Rogue One

Granny Undies…

Yesterday, one of the most ridiculous stories I've ever seen was published on the Daily Mail. The title was "Sunrise host Sam Armytage dares to bare with granny panties showing a visible line as she steps out in Sydney... after slamming rumours she's dating Channel Seven colleagues." I'm not going to link to the article … Continue reading Granny Undies…

Who Really Has the Best Steak?

I'm in Townsville. I drove up with our daughter, who is now living here. It took two and a half days to drive from where we live in NSW. I have to say that Townsville is lovely. It is hot, and rather humid, and all the residents are desperate for rain, which reminds me very … Continue reading Who Really Has the Best Steak?

Finding the Time to Write (or how I didn’t manage to do NaNoWriMo this year)

This year has been ridiculous. By ridiculous I mean that it's been so jam packed with stuff that it's almost been overwhelming. Frontier Defiant, Book 3 in my Frontier Trilogy (Hague Publishing) was published on August 26th. That meant that during most of the year prior to that, I was editing, polishing, and proofreading it … Continue reading Finding the Time to Write (or how I didn’t manage to do NaNoWriMo this year)

Singing Her Home

It's been a while since I posted. For two weeks my husband and I travelled around Tasmania, and then, when we returned home, a good friend of ours passed away unexpectedly.   What is it about music that strikes so deeply into our souls? Our friend was a musician, who taught and nurtured piano players. … Continue reading Singing Her Home

Elections and Other Stuff

Here in Australia, 2016 saw the longest election campaign in history except for one. In 1954, Robert Menzies had a campaign that lasted ninety four days between calling the election and the actual election. Our elections are governed by some rather complex arrangements, but generally, an election occurs each three to four years into the … Continue reading Elections and Other Stuff