Thoughts on ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’
As regular readers would be aware, I have dubbed 2015 the ‘Year of the Classic’, or YOTC. I’m trying to read one ‘classic’ per month, as well as at least one book by an Australian female author. I chose ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ by...
The Sun Sets on the Holidays
Tonight, the school holidays draw to a close. No more long days in our bathers. No more serene afternoons with a book. No more evening walks and swims under a reddening sky. It’s back to the daily grind of uniforms and books, and lunches and bags, and music...
Camping at Lucky Bay, WA
We’ve just returned from our family holiday. This year, we camped at Lucky Bay in Cape Le Grand National Park, about 800 km southeast of Perth. We’re experienced campers now, and I’ve come home recharged and refreshed. There’s also a few more...
2014 AWW Challenge Round-Up
I completed the 2014 Australian Women Writers’ (AWW) Challenge. I signed on to read ten books by Australian women and review six, but I ended up reading and reviewing fourteen. Towards the end of 2011, Elizabeth Lhuede, the founder of the AWW...
Thank You and Happy Christmas
Dear Reader, Thank you for joining me on this long-haul writing ‘safari’—you’ve jumped aboard even without the promise of a destination, and I can’t thank you enough. Each time you read my words, or ‘Like’,...
Shortlisted for 2014 TAG Hungerford Award
I’m finally allowed to tell everyone that my novel, ‘Ida’s Children’, has been shortlisted for the 2014 City of Fremantle-TAG Hungerford Award. This is the nicest present I’ve ever been given, and a wonderful...
Snapshot Poetry #8—Graveyard Dreams
I posted this snapshot poem on my Facebook page a few weeks’ ago, but I’ve since slightly changed the wording. To tell the truth, I went back to the original wording, as it came out of my brain and onto the page. Sometimes tinkering with the words spoils...
Parenting Lessons Learned in 2014
All the calendars tell me it’s December, but I’m not ready for the end of another year. Time is not just marching on—it’s moving so fast, it’s exceeding the speed limit. I want it to slow down and return to the...
Snapshot Poetry #7—Soft Dawn
I took this photo with my phone at about 5am, facing west, with the sun rising behind me. The sky had a soft, muted appearance, but the air was thick and humid, and thunder rumbled periodically. There was a heavy sense of foreboding, as if something ominous was about...
Book Review: Shy, by Sian Prior
“Shy. It’s such a shy word; a timid little word that begs to remain unnoticed. Only three letters long and it begins with an exhortation to silence: ‘shhh’.” Sian Prior is accomplished. She’s a journalist and broadcaster, a...