December! 2010!

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??