To a fine 2009

Once upon a time, I used to religiously reflect on the year that was, and compose lists of resolutions for the year to come.  Like a good Protestant, I saw my life and the world around me as a project that always needed working on in order to feel that things were...

Reunion: a personal reflection

Yesterday I went to a small reunion of those who survived Kelmscott Senior High School in the mid 1980s, thanks to facebook (and A!).  My memories of the place, which were largely unflattering, found their (fictionalised) way into my first novel, Obsession.  Since the...

Would you keep reading this book?

I don’t normally let out anything close to a first draft, but as I’m about to start my summer holidays/serious writing schedule, any views on the following are most welcome:   Scene: Bold Park, car park, 2am. No lights, barely a moon. Location: The back of a...

The remembrance of things past

As someone who has kept a diary from the age of thirteen (and, more importantly, resisted burning them since), I have developed a possibly unhealthy obsession with dates and anniversaries (although not, to the disappointment of my extended family, birthdays.)  It’s...

Chess nuts

After months of writing and weeks of wondering whether you’ve written a dog or a winner (or something in between that is going to cause you a lot of work and grief), it is unbelievably delightful to get an email from your publisher and editor with the words, ‘We love...

Cheerful for the Chomp

After a rather tense and difficult week in the dayjob, I was beyond delighted to receive an email today from Penguin’s editor, LR, saying they would publish a reworked manuscript (tentatively titled Famous!) as part of their Aussie Chomps series in 2009.  After...