Inspired by Mike and the ‘geezer jamboree'(!), I’m mulling over what music I’d want to take to the hereafter. You’re supposed to be limited to seven songs, which makes things tricky. My seven tunes today might well differ from my seven tunes tomorrow. Today’s pick,...
I don’t know whether it’s because of the amount of US television/music/movies our culture is saturated with, but it seems to me that Australians are becoming as obsessed with success – usually measured in tedious material terms – as any of our North American...
1. I have started a new kids’ novel. I felt despairing after my no-more-YA pronouncement; then I had more ideas for YA novels; but I returned to despair knowing I don’t have the time to bring the ideas to life. So I took my notebook on the train, and en route to...
This is the first couple of chapters of the V novel, put into Wordle (thanks to Meg McKinlay). Neat, huh? It seems to me as if I’ve been writing this novel forever, and one of the things to come out of my editorial meeting was the decision to push back (to coin a...
I am back from Children’s Book Week in Melbourne, having seen parts of the city and suburbs never before encountered, and boggled again at the variety of the place, and marvelled again at the wonderfulness of the inner city – the laneways, ACMI, the restaurants, the...
