Return of the Blogger

Okay, I know that it has been a long time between drinks for the old blog. There have been some technical issues, some holidays, plenty of work and some slacking (let’s be honest).

But here we are again and it’s full steam ahead with some good news to start us off. If you read, and liked, the excerpt “Dark Halls, Dark Duties” from my fantasy novel, which I posted here earlier, then you’ll be happy to know that the full book from which that chapter was taken will be available to you soon in an E-book format.  This will be book 1 of what will be the Zicastor Trilogy. There will be plenty more news as this develops and I’ll keep you informed every step of the way.

Now onto today’s story (because I can’t post without a story, it’s just wrong). What I have for you this time continues the tale of one of my darker characters: Steven and what happens One Night.

Words from the Outback

Well this time around I have a valid excuse for my lack of blogging. I have just recently returned from a mammoth 4 week trip around the Northern Cape of Queensland, sadly it was for work only but still it was an awesome experience and I got to see tons of Australia that many people just never get to see.

Which brings me to today’s story. It’s a bittersweet tale that I thought up on the many hours spent driving through the Australian bush. It has been described as having a Dreamtime feel, so perhaps it was subliminally supplied by one of the Aboriginal communities that I got to see along the way.

Seriously, in truth, it’s nothing so precious.  I’m sure you know that anyone who has gone on a long road trip in Australia will see the unfortunate creatures that do not survive the crossing of a road. As I saw at least one dead animal for every two kilometres of road outside of townships, on a trip nearly 5000 kilometres long, I was forced to wonder about how deeply the emotions of the animals run when a family member or mate is taken.

Some common Australian animals are used in this story. I have used Aboriginal names for them. There is a glossary at the end of the story to help. 

Enjoy The Road!

Literary Week or: How do I Survive Public Speaking?

Ahh, so here we are again. And what is that we are up to this time around?

Well... June 4 – 10 is Literary Week here in Australia and to celebrate my writers group, Writers in Townsville society (WiTS - you can visit their blog at witsnq@blogspot.com) are helping to celebrate by conducting a performance reading at a local gallery. This simply involves a group of us each standing up and reading a short story aloud to a group of complete strangers.

Nerve wracking to say the least.  I have jelly knees already.

But seriously, to help celebrate the week and the love we all have for reading and writing we will soldier on and fight our standing in front of a crowd demons.

And this, dear friends, brings me to the topic of today’s short. We all decided that our stories should reflect on a specific tree that is connected with our life in Townsville. Only being here for four and a half years limited what I could do, my childhood trees are a thousand kilometres away and have long since been bulldozed, and so what could I write?  Well, read on good people and you might learn about my feelings for a couple ofTownsville trees close to me. 

This is written in a gothic style, just for something different.

An Aprils Fools Blog

So what’s the joke... that this is a trick and there is no story? No, I couldn’t do that to you, faithful blog reader.  And I hope you won’t consider this month’s story a joke!

I do have something awesome for you this time round. I’m sure that I say that all the time, but I have to, right? Who else will?!

If you can remember back to November I mentioned a short story that I had written and was hopeful to make a series of it. This story has opened a world for me where there are several directions in which I can go to help serialise the world that the main characters live in. The directions not only include plot lines and character developments but also the whole genre can be redirected at this stage. Thoughts that I have entertained include all out horror/survival or a serious turn around to a more soap opera saga style.

Maybe you can decide for me?

Well, here is that story for you.  I have titled it ‘In the End’

All Quiet on the Blogger Front

Well, it has been a long time between drinks hasn’t it and I’m sure you were all ready to give up hope and believe that I’ll never blog again.

Wrong!!

But I freely confess that I have been more than a little slack when to comes to keeping you updated with all my latest stories. So what do I have for you today, well that’s going to have to wait for now because I’m going to take a little time here to bid my farewells to one of Townsville’s great writers.

My friend and one of my inspirations, Hettie Ashwin, is leaving our sleepy little town and heading even further north than what we are already. Over the years Hettie’s drive, knowledge, conviction and pure zest to write has been an inspiration for me to write more than ever before and try harder to get my work out there for the general public to see. It was Hettie who taught me how to create and manage a blog and that lesson has landed me here today. So, as you could guess, it is with a heavy heart that myself and all those that Hettie has inspired, I’m sure, bid her a fond farewell and best wishes on her travels. You can find Hettie’s work at her blog hettieashwin.blogspot.com

So what do I have for you today? Well today is a little different from every time before because I don’t have a short story for you. No, today I’m going to let you all read the first chapter of my novel. The book is titled Zicastor and my plan is to get it out to you all later this year. So watch this space and enjoy ‘Dark Halls, Dark Duties’.

Don’t worry, the short stories are still coming too...I’ve got one tucked away which I might throw up next week.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

Merry Christmas to all my faithful readers.

Ah, the joys of Christmas in North Queensland; the weather is always 32 degrees centigrade, the mangoes grow larger than emu eggs (well some of the mangos off our own tree anyway) and are so plentiful that you can see them falling off trees.  The rain comes down so hard that you can’t see three feet in front of you or even hear the person sitting next to you as they scream out “The rain is heavy, isn’t it?”

That is a brief glimpse of Christmas in North Queensland and in truth; it’s not that bad it just takes some getting used to.  The good bits are just like any other Australian Christmas.  That is, homemade slip n’ slides, kids laughing, hopefully only a little sunburn, the bell of the Ice-cream van, the smell of fresh-cut lawn, Christmas BBQ’s by the pool, cold beer and prawns.

So what has Santa bought for you today, well, it’s hardly a Christmas story, and I just don’t think I could write A Miracle On Any Street.  If I wrote a Christmas story it would probably turn out like Gremlins.

So what have I got for you then? Well, in all honesty, it’s not my favourite, I had a great idea and then had a lot of trouble putting my thoughts to paper, but it has been well received and so enjoy: Steven. 

The Marking of Time

Where...Oh where does the time go? It is the question that has plagued mankind for centuries and it is a burden that is on the writer.  At least the slack ones like me. But in my defence I had a fantastic week of writing a story that, if it is well received, I am considering making a series of.

Ohhhh, I hear you say. Cool, I hear from you.

 Yes it is cool and it is a venture that I have not tried nor even really thought of before. I am hopeful for my new story but that is not the story that I’m going to present for you today. Today’s story has a familiar flavour but the genre is not something I have tried before and it was well received at a recent reading so I’m presenting it to you for your own appraisal. So with no further ado I present to you “How I lost my pants.”

See, now you’re interested already.