Recap: Our party has spent the past couple of weeks (game time) stumbling around a tiny island, summoned by a mage who wants us to retrieve certain magical scrolls from a secret stronghold inside a forested volcanic crater. The first time we attempted this, we lost our mage, Calwyn. Then we tried to leave the … Continue reading D&D Chronicles: The Green Man
Today I'm joined by my friend and fantasy author Deborah Kalin to celebrate the impending Easter launch of her collection, Cherry Crow Children from Twelfth Planet Press. I'm reliably informed they are four dark and disturbing stories, but they are also full of heart and emotion and beautiful imagery. I've spent hours writing in cafes … Continue reading Cherry Crow Children ~ A fantasy collection from Deborah Kalin
I've done my fair share of reading and providing feedback on short stories and novels over the years. It's much easier to be objective and analytical about someone else's work -- all in the name of being constructive and helpful, of course. In such cases you know the author will take onboard some suggestions, discard … Continue reading Musings on secret preview TV viewing versus feedback reading
When I travel, I take a fair few photos of walls. Particularly old stone walls, usually up close so you can see the way they've been constructed. For this week's WordPress photo challenge, with the theme of WALL, I therefore thought I'd share some of the of the old English walls I've come across in … Continue reading Walls of the old stone variety
Flights have been booked today for my next overseas adventure -- Huzzah! All will be revealed in time; but in the short term I'm going to focus on wrapping up the Travelling in the 90s series. There's not too much more of my 20-something year old ramblings to go. So today it's back to 1994 … Continue reading Travelling in the 90s: Provence (in the steps of Madam, will you Talk?)
It's the Port Fairy Folk Festival this weekend and I'm not there. (cue sad face) But one of the good things about the Port Fairy Folk Festival is that some of the international -- and indeed local -- musicians also perform gigs in Melbourne. Yay! A few days ago I was lucky enough to see … Continue reading Floating away ~ an evening of folk song
Every so often discussions about "white straight male privilege" cross my radar and I once again find myself examining my own assumptions and practices. Most recently, the following blog post appeared in my facebook feed and resonated with me: I Challenge You to Stop Reading White, Straight, Cis Male Authors for One Year (For the … Continue reading Hmm, what shall I read this year?
ZILLAH We're back at the cursed crater. The one where Calwyn was killed by Ammonite. That odd local fellow, Squirrel, has accompanied us, along with two of his friends, Xolra and Ragal, who were the ones to approach us and persuade us to return. I'm regretting it already. But at least they acquired us some … Continue reading D&D Chronicles: Back to the crater where there are centaurs
I've been enjoying another relaxing few days at Phillip Island, where beauty and inspiration abound. This morning I took a walk at low tide along the south coast section of the island known as "Surf Beach" to Forrest Caves. With this week's WordPress photo challenge theme of SCALE in mind, I picked up a shell … Continue reading A walk along Surf Beach – with shell
Sometimes I can be guilty of thinking life might be simpler without modern technology. Despite the fact I'm a technologist at heart. But then I hear about something that takes my breath away, and I'm back on the modern technology bandwagon. Hell, with this one I'm back on the research bandwagon as well... There came … Continue reading Hey, what about those Herculaneum papyrus scrolls?
Ellen Gregory 