It's always exciting to attend book launches, especially when the author is a member of one's writing group and an all-round nice guy. So it was with a spring in my step that I trekked north to the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy yesterday evening to attend the launch of Andrew Macrae's debut novel, Trucksong, … Continue reading Trucksong launch party
I can't remember who recommended it, or where I heard about it, but I recently read Nicola Griffith's Slow River, republished as part of Hachette's SF Masterworks series (it won the 1996 Nebula Award and Lambda Literary Award). Set in the not-too-distant future in a city that might be in England, Slow River is about … Continue reading Book Review: Slow River
It's remarkable how quickly one can fall out of the habit of writing every day. It's been almost two months since I worked on my current novel -- mainly due to travel and stuff -- and it would be very easy to drift along past Christmas without delving back into it. But with so many … Continue reading Right, now where was I?
Did I mention I was travelling for at least part of the time with nearly my whole Dungeons & Dragons contingent? Perhaps I didn't. Well, I was. Five out of the six of us were all crammed into a holiday unit in Cornwall for a week, and we happened to take our dice and character … Continue reading D&D Chronicles: A dodgy bargain with the enemy
I was going to write a post called 'Ode to my iPhone'. Because I really gave my 4S phone a workout over the past month while travelling. More than a workout... It completed an endurance event. Like an ultra-marathon. Navigator. Blogging tool. Camera. Social media interface. Hotel finder. Tourist information centre. Even occasionally a phone. … Continue reading After a mega all-round effort my iPhone screams ‘no more!’
So, last weekend was the World Fantasy Convention in Brighton, UK. My second, following the San Diego WFC in 2011. Once again, I had an excellent time, my activities largely divided between the official program and socialising, er, networking, in the bar. New friends were made and insights obtained... All very satisfying and definitely inspirational. … Continue reading World Fantasy Convention 2013 – a wrapup
After spending a couple of weeks in Cornwall and Devon, I have had many random and wonderful experiences. So in this post I'm covering a miscellany of adventures not hitherto covered in recent posts. Cream Teas One can't come to this part of the world and not fall in love with cream teas -- otherwise … Continue reading A miscellany of adventures in SW England
Dartmoor. A sprawling wild expanse of sphagnum moss and heather and sheep and rocky tors and babbling brooks. Of mist and mud and ancient monuments. Remarkably, it's the product of man, who cleared it of trees, mined it for metals and minerals, built bronze-age villages on it, and grazed animals upon its slopes. Without the … Continue reading Dartmoor: wild and wonderful
One of the essential areas of Cornwall to visit is the Penwith Peninsula -- essentially the glob of land at the very south west of England... You know, Penzance, Lands End etc. So of course we did a day tour down there in our trusty little red car. Our first stop was St Michael's Mount, … Continue reading Ancient monuments and a lighthouse on the Penwith Peninsula
Many walkers might have sat in the pub for an extra day instead of braving the SW Coast Path in the rain... Or caught the bus instead. But they would have missed out on a unique experience (that might have put my travelling companion off hiking for ever...). Having delayed our plans for a day … Continue reading South West Coast Path: Westward Ho! to Clovelly
Ellen Gregory 