Today is ANZAC Day in Australia and New Zealand -- a National Holiday when we honour those who have fought and died for our country. Many families have stories to tell about grandfathers, uncles, fathers, brothers who have served in our armed forces, voluntarily or otherwise. Some who returned; some who did not. So in … Continue reading Harry’s WWII memoir: Capture and the cattle truck
A-Z of fantasy: J is for Journey
One of the things I've always loved about fantasy is the JOURNEY. Journey: an act of travelling from one place to another. This can be literal -- epic fantasy is full of tremendous and inspiring journeys from A to B. None is more iconic of course than the journey of Frodo and his companions in … Continue reading A-Z of fantasy: J is for Journey
On top (of Bodmin Moor)
I really like standing on top of things... It's a compulsion. I don't know where I get it from, but if there's something to clamber on top of -- wall, post, clifftop (cliff edge), tree stump, fallen log... I can't help myself. OK, so I obviously didn't take this photo, but it was the first … Continue reading On top (of Bodmin Moor)
Travelling in the 90s – road trip UK
Welcome to the next installment of Travelling in the 90s, which comprises extracts of my 1993-1994 first ever overseas travel journal. Many things have changed since then. Many things have not. It's Christmas Eve and we're heading to St Paul's cathedral... *** [Sunday 26 December, 1993] Friday was a cold, windy day, and we were … Continue reading Travelling in the 90s – road trip UK
Sunday journal ~ entering the world of Mac
The past couple of weeks have been a challenge on the creativity front, owing to a few different factors, one of which has been the bad behaviour of my netbook computer -- which is the machine I've been taking to cafes. Basically the battery has more or less died, giving me little more than 1.5 … Continue reading Sunday journal ~ entering the world of Mac
D&D Chronicles: More death and some vengeance
KAE I have made a grave mistake. We came north with such high hopes, Effu and I. We two together were going to conquer the world and make a fortune doing it. "Opportunities abound in the north," someone said. Who said it? I cannot remember. It doesn't matter. They lied. All I have encountered in the … Continue reading D&D Chronicles: More death and some vengeance
Harnessing creativity at Conflux Writers Day
On Saturday I attended the inaugural Conflux Writers Day -- a day of short talks and workshops on various aspects of writing, held in Canberra. Organised by the Conflux team, headed up by Australian SF author Nicole Murphy, the Conflux Writers Day was also the prelude to the annual Aurealis Awards, which are Australia's premier … Continue reading Harnessing creativity at Conflux Writers Day
Songweaving solo and not solo
I've been experimenting with my voice recently. My singing voice, that is. It all started when I got talked into participating in a "Singing Solo" workshop as a spin-off to SoulSong -- the community choir I joined last year. I don't have aspirations to sing solo. For one thing, no matter what anyone says, I … Continue reading Songweaving solo and not solo
Sunday journal ~ new opening scene
My main creative achievement for this week has been a new opening scene for project WIP. Not precisely what I was planning to do, but fun nonetheless. It came about because I was writing some notes about the middle of the book, sharpening objectives, motivations, stakes and so forth, trying to figure out where and how to … Continue reading Sunday journal ~ new opening scene
March reading: psychics, farmers and superhumans
My March reading experience has been rather interesting. I kicked it off with a read-through of the messy first draft of mine own work in progress. I ploughed through a good chunk of it during a retreat weekend at the start of the month, then finished it off over the ensuing week. I've already discussed … Continue reading March reading: psychics, farmers and superhumans
Ellen Gregory 