Confession: My wife and I don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day. Sometimes we’ll go out for lunch or dinner, or maybe buy a card for each other, but mostly, we just get up in the morning and say “Happy Valentine’s Day” and that’s it. That’s not to say my wife and I aren’t romantics – we […]
On ‘Saving Francesca’ by Melina Marchetta and the Aussie voice
After finishing a massive rewrite of a manuscript, I wanted to crawl up in a hole and not do too much at all. The experience of having to more than double the word count of a finished story, while exhilarating when I was done, was also exhausting. I felt like I was out of words. […]
My favourite Christmas books
One of my favourite things to do this time of year (apart from having a quiet beer in front of the TV while watching the cricket) is to revisit some of my favourite books. There’s nothing quite like cracking open the cover of an old favourite to make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. […]
What I really think of… Hugh Howey
Hugh Howey’s Wool ‘The children were playing while Holston climbed to his death; he could hear them squealing as only happy children do. While they thundered about frantically above, Holston took his time, each step methodical and ponderous, as he wound his way around the spiral staircase, old boots ringing out on metal treads.’ So […]
Introducing… Layce Gardner
I’m not big on the lesbian romance genre. (I can’t believe I can say that with a straight face, considering I am currently dabbling in that genre, but anyway.) I guess it’s because my early forays into it were a little sub-par. The characters were all a little too beat up, and some of the […]