Posts made in March, 2009

New story published

Posted by The Author on 27 Mar, 2009 in He Writes, Stuff That Happens | 0 comments

A new short story has been picked up for the first edition of a new literary journal coming out of Brisbane.

The story is titled Induction. Is it a brutal introduction to an office workplace, or a psychological profile of the people at the cubicles? Pick over the wreckage and decide for yourself. Any similarity to real offices living or dead is purely coincidental.

More specific details to follow on the publication.

Design tweaks

Posted by The Author on 24 Mar, 2009 in Stuff That Happens | 0 comments

You should see some design tweaks happening over the next week or so. During the transition some weird things may happen to particular pages, posts, or products. Do not be alarmed.

Hoping for a smooth transition, but don’t freak if you see a few broken links or images in the next few days.

These things take time.

Writing for money

Posted by The Author on 6 Mar, 2009 in Stuff That Happens | 4 comments

Just completed some freelance work writing a non-fiction academic book chapter. Not exciting stuff, but it was good to stretch the legs in a new environment for a while.

Of course, seeing a few dollars dropped into the bank account was pretty good too. As John Birmingham says, ‘Writing for love is nice, but getting paid is even sweeter.’

I used to worry that writing schlopp for a living would negatively impact my fiction. That hasn’t turned out to be the case. In fact I think working your arse off in a piece with which you hold no affection is actually a good way to reaffirm your love of writing incredible fiction simply for its own sake.

And quality schlopp itself is a noble quest as well. The world runs on it after all.

The aftermath

Posted by The Author on 5 Mar, 2009 in Stuff That Happens | 0 comments

One of the more endearing qualities of my son: he believes a collage consists of cut up pieces of paper (or any other stuff hanging around) strewn over the floor or, at best, collected into a small box. Sultana boxes work best.

Collage pieces

The actions of others

Posted by The Author on 4 Mar, 2009 in Stuff That Happens | 0 comments

This is what happens when a four-year old is let loose in your study. It may also be his reaction to my lack of success in this competition over the last ten years.