Happy Birthday Dad

 On July 29th, my Dad turned 80.  Yesterday we had an 80th Birthday Party, full of food, drink and lots of chatting.  I've been thinking quite a lot about Dad over the last week, remembering all kinds of things.  The cackling laugh that used to scare the living daylights out of us during tense moments … Continue reading Happy Birthday Dad

Sci-ku

I was perusing the NSW Writers Centre newsletter yesterday and was intrigued to find in the "Opportunities for Writers" section, a piece entitled "Can you Sci-ku?" If you have a look here, you'll find the RiAus, who describe themselves as "RiAus is Australia’s unique national science hub, promoting public awareness and understanding of science. At … Continue reading Sci-ku

Thoughts on Women in Media (or one of my hobby horses).

This week I read a fabulous blog piece by Cori Schumacher, a surfer and writer.  You can read it here.  It got me thinking again.  Thinking about the way women are viewed in different cultures, and how even cultures that believe they are the most liberated, still seem to need to reduce women to the … Continue reading Thoughts on Women in Media (or one of my hobby horses).

Young Writers

Today I was up at our kids' highschool introducing a group of young writers to the stimulus material for a writing competition.  It was fantastic to see so many year 7-10's getting excited about writing creatively.  I tried to get the most boring bits out of the way (the rules) as fast as possible, and … Continue reading Young Writers

Writing strong female characters.

I recently read another blog post regarding the writing of real female characters.  It was a really interesting read, and highlighted the issues that writers face when they attempt to avoid misogyny.  I'm a female writer, and when I set out to write my first published story, I deliberately wrote about a strong female character … Continue reading Writing strong female characters.

The World Of the Future

When I was a kid, I dreamt of the day I'd become an astronaut, head out into space, and explore the universe.  As I grew older, I realised that my poor eyesight would most likely exclude me, and I turned to other dreams, fully expecting that the human race would be exploring at least the … Continue reading The World Of the Future

A Place Like This

This is an award winning short film by our friend, Dave May, who also did me the great favour of being one of my early test readers. It's a fantastic film, with an amazing story - just click on the link and you'll be able to view - A Place Like This

“Nothing to Something” to be published by AntipodeanSF

I just received the lovely news that my flash fiction piece "Nothing to Something" is to be published in Issue 184 of AntipodeanSF in October.  AntipodeanSF can be found at http://antisf.com  

Music, Wine and Food

What is it that makes us feel good?  I've spent the early part of the day delivering our son (drummer) to the Upper Hunter Wine and Food Affair, strolling around briefly, sipping on a latte, and listening to a bit of big band music, performed by the Muswellbrook Shire Concert and Jazz Band.  It's a … Continue reading Music, Wine and Food

MND Awareness – by Jordan Gageler

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8qE4Fes5G8&feature=youtu.be Our young friend, Jordan, says "This video was made to share awareness of Motor Neurone Disease (MND) a disease that affects many people around the world. It is also known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Lou Gehrig's Disease. I have watched this disease that has no cure slowly take my father's independence from him … Continue reading MND Awareness – by Jordan Gageler