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December! 2010!

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What. A. Year.

It’s pretty much done: one more day of day-job, several weeks of resting AND writing, and then back for another round in 2011. January seems so long ago I can’t even remember what I wanted to get out of this year. Of course, I *should* have written myself a message at futureme.org, but that ritual, like so many, fell by the wayside this year. It’s always interesting when the things you think you need turn out not to be that. I found myself reading my stars twice this year. I read my stars when I’m depressed & looking to engage in that crazy-delicious magical thinking, the kind that astrology brings. Jonathan Cainer is my favourite, ‘cos he’s so darn upbeat & ‘cos he clearly receives a lot of aggro, mocking emails which he always answers so politely. It cheers me. Like watching a battle of equals. Speaking of cheer, how excellent is it that Cap’n Wacky’s Boatload of Fun still exists? Especially Cap’n Wacky’s Unfortunates page. The Cap’n's website was one of the first I ever discovered on the inter-tubes & I love it’s actually stuck around. AND I don’t think it’s ever updated its design! Now, that’s staying power.

(Remember that guy who used to count how many times actors from the eighties appeared on Murder She Wrote? Man, I miss that website).

GoodReads.com tells me I read only about 21 books this year, but since one of them was THE PASSAGE and one of them was A GAME OF THRONES, I think I should that number should be doubled.

Look at me, linking to all my favourite things. What am I, Oprah?

In other 2010 reflections, A Book of Endings turned 1 year old. Overall, the Book earned 2 DITMAR noms, an Aurealis nom, WON an Aust Shadows award, was shortlisted for a Crawford award, and one of the stories is now appearing in Prime’s Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror. It also went into its second print-run BUT, srsly, we need to sell that print run out!! Buy it cheap, right now & for the next 24 hours during Twelfth Planet Press’s Xmas Silly Season Special.

Rjurick Davidson reviews the BOOK for Overland, which is awesomely cool, and even says nice things about inviting me to Xmas dinner (which, you should. Only: I’m busy that day). Stephen Hunt also reviews the Book for SF Crows Nest & finds something to like & some other things which he’s too polite to say he doesn’t like. ;)

In new news, editor Danel Olson got our gothic baby to Scarecrow Press & it looks amazing. You can see it here, and you can read an interview with the inimitable Danel over here. This is an awesome book: check out the ToC for some familiar names, like Graham Joyce, Robert Hood, Leigh Blackmore — and about 50 others.

As for me? I’m working out the kinks in teh Novel & yes, it begins to look like a novel (“it LIVES!”). Which is nice. And stories for BAD POWER, my next, much shorter collection from TPP: a story suite of what it means to have a power that just … doesn’t … do much good.

And what have YOU been doing this year, my precious-ez??

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Some other news

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Okay, I’m behind on all sorts of communication. In news:

A Book of Endings makes the DITMAR shortlist!
‘Six Suicides’ makes the DITMAR shortlist!

Many thank-yous to the peoople who nominated aBoE and Six Suicides. Thank-you, thank-you. DITMAR winners will be announced September 3 at Aussiecon, the 68th World SF Convention, this year in Melbourne.

‘Hush’ sells to the YEAR’S BEST AUSTRALIAN FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION!
‘Diamond Shell’ page proofs are in for the Prime YEAR’S BEST DARK FANTASY AND HORROR!
Gilgamesh’s Ishtar novella anthology has been pushed back in the publications line-up (awww!), with my story ‘And the Dead Shall Outnumber the Living’ (working title).

(No exclamation mark for that one.)

As of end-November, my day-job contract is DONE! At which point the money and the time-for-writing will switch places, and I’ll be hoarding my coins while addressing some unfinished projects (the novel will hopefully be with an alpha reader by then).

All in all, 2010, what a year, eh? More of the same, thanks! (Exclamation mark.)

Bagged

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Am in the eye of the storm on teh novel (aka BROKEN). Have just finished the BIGGEST edit so far, but I know it’s not the last. So I’m trying to relax & giving myself a few days off writing entirely. The effect of not-writing is to make me feel stressed & — according to a trusted source (or two) — cantankerous. Just can’t win with this writing gig, eh? Either I’m exhausted as all hell or stressed out of my brain.

Still, year of the tiger & all that. Meant to be very auspicious.

In news: WorldCon is coming & plans are being made. Travel & accommodation is booked, & we’re deliberating on which nights will be best for dinners at our fave Melbourne restaurants, & which nights might be best left free to go with the flow & — hopefully — catch up with friends. I seriously want more Melbourne Greek food!

In MORE news: the Baggage antho tour is in full swing. There’ll be a launch on the WorldCon Thursday afternoon (I think that’s confirmed now, right, Gillian?). But to whet your appetite in the meantime, there’s blog tours a-plenty. Alan Baxter cornered a bunch of us on his blog today (Kaaron Warren, Laura E. Goodin, editor Gillian Polack and myself) to ask us about our baggage. And yesterday the fabulous Angela Slatter interviewed me on her blog & gave me an undeserved but excellent introduction. Which I probably marred slightly with random comments on heartlessness to refugees & the downside of multiculturalism.

Considering how much hot water I got myself into on the Poe’s Deadly Daughters blog when I admitted to a deep horror of the Australian landscape (I think I’m supposed to find it pretty), this may well be another of my public miscalculations.

Well, onward & upward, I say!

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She’s heee-re

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Yes, she arrived safely in the PO Box last week, and she’s gorgeous:

Aust Shadows Award 2010

She sure could do with a sandwich, though. The camera batteries died before I could work out how to re-dress her (not that the scythe & the horned cape aren’t resplendent), but rest assured it’s a-coming!

In other news, very chuffed to see Diamond Shell make it into the Prime Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, edited by Paula Guran! Yes, there’s my name between Bear & Black (can’t wait to read Coldest Girl in Cold Town again). Also got a Lanagan & a Link & wow, a bunch of pretty fabulous authors. I’m pleased as all hell, frankly.

Also on interwebs, tastemaker Tansy Rayner Roberts admits she didn’t actually get around to reading A Book of Endings before (it’s all in the purchasing, people, you don’t have to actually READ it), but now she has, & she’s made some very flattering comments. Which includes a description of reading A Book of Endings as calming. Calming! You heard it here first. Or, there first, because I’m a few days behind.

See? I am calming. Not depressing at all.

(If I could afford it, I would employ Tansy to do ALL my marketing.)

And finally, A Book of Endings first editions are not long for this world, with stocks running low. Do you REALLY want to wait for copies to turn up on eBay?

Excelsior.

Ah, the humanity

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Chuffed to hear my story, Six Suicides, one of the newbies in A Book of Endings, has scored an Australian Shadows Award for best short fiction! Says judge Bill Congreve, “I eventually chose “Six Suicides” because of its character, style, structure and simple humanity.” Aw, shucks! Finally someone notices I have some humanity. See? It’s not all death & destruction at chateau deborahb.

I’m really chuffed to see Six Suicides take out an award. I figured of all the stories this was the least ‘genre’, & therefore the least likely to get any attention. (I had an entire scenario in my head where someone would point a finger & cry, “This story has no genre!” And all through the empire people would roar, “The child is right! This story is WITHOUT GENRE!” And there would be hell to pay. Thankfully, this hasn’t happened. If anything, it’s been pointed out to me now that I was wrong: the story had a fine genre all along!)

A Book of Endings was also mentioned by judge Martin Livings in the long fiction category — ably won by the excellent Kaaron Warren! — as “an absolute treat for anyone who likes their short fiction dark and unique, simultaneously intellectual and visceral, sometimes so opaque to be all but impenetrable, but always satisfying and enjoyable“.

And kudos to Jennifer Brozek & Amanda Pillar for their award-winning editorship of Grants Pass from Morrigan Books: an indie press we want to see more from!

A Book of Endings. Be part of the story, buy a copy now. Help me sell this sucker out!

Australian Shadows Award Finals

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Very chuffed to see that A BOOK OF ENDINGS is in the finals list for the Australian Shadows Award. My short story ‘Six Suicides’ (a story I swore nobody would read!) also made the shortlist, seeing as this year the Shadows are divvied into three categories: long fiction, short fiction, and edited publication.

Which begs the question: will there be THREE of those fantastical statues to present?!

Fine company to be had in the list, with Paul Haines, Kaaron Warren, Jason Fischer, Felicity Dawker and other fabby writers. Hurrah!

Shining

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Shiny 6 is out: the last issue of Shiny from the Twelfth Planet crew. (Does that make it ‘all out’?)

In this ultimate issue Dirk Flinthart delivers a rollicking good tale with pirates & Patti Kurtz has a rotten time with elves (“Really, the last thing I wanted to do was trudge through a raging thunderstorm with an Elf” goes the first line, so you know you’re in for an adventure right there.) My AA-winning story A Scar for Leida (with witches!) is reprinted along with an interview where the editor asks me why people keep thinking I write YA fiction.

Step up for Shiny 6, guaranteed to float yer boat.

Locus (def.): a centre or source, as in activities or power

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The Locus Recommended Reading list is up — & so is our little book that could, A Book of Endings! *woot* & thanks to all the Locus readers.

There’s fine company to be had on the list: Twelfth Planet shows its spine, with Horn & Siren Beat also getting mentions. :) Paul Haines’ Wives is (are?) there — a story I’m still too nervous to read. Also Nix, Ball, Lanagan, Strahan, plus Klages, Lake, Link, Valente, Griffith, Irvine …. I could go on but it seems crazy. Just go read the list.

In other Tuesday highlights, you’ve got a chance at (psychologist & sceptic) Richard Wiseman’s site to pledge your soul to the devil. Go on. Give it a go. What’s the worst that could happen?

A Book of Endings gets a cover!

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It’s here!

Nick Stathopoulos has done something really special — and really quite different to his usual work — to create this striking, modern, urban cover. A far cry from his trademark surreal landscapes or beautiful portraits.

A Book of Endings

I love it!

Buy the book, get yourself a Nick Stathopoulos cover.

There’ll be stuff inside, of course, but nobody will know if you don’t read it.

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