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2018-09-30 05:00
Trace: who killed Maria James? by Rachael Brown My rating: 5 of 5 stars Absolutely jaw-dropping, compelling reading. I felt like I needed to have a shower after I'd fin… Read More
2018-09-18 05:15
The Violated by Bill Pronzini My rating: 4 of 5 stars Excellently constructed, multi-level narrative utilising a wide range of points of view and narrative strands. A s… Read More
2018-07-28 08:10
Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett My rating: 5 of 5 stars An absolute classic featuring the most literate and technically clever of the classic American noir-crime author… Read More
2018-04-07 05:40
Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening by Marjorie M. Liu My rating: 5 of 5 stars Absolutely stunning combination of artwork, non-traditional and traditional fantasy tropes, sexu… Read More
2018-03-06 06:39
X-Men Legacy: Legion: Omnibus by Simon Spurrier My rating: 5 of 5 stars Stunning extension of the graphic novel art that is reminiscent of the high points of Vertigo's… Read More
2018-02-13 11:25
Secret Invasion by Brian Michael Bendis My rating: 3 of 5 stars It's obviously a huge task to establish, narrate, and then wrap up a cohesive narrative in a single grap… Read More
2018-02-06 10:34
The Murder Of Nellie Duffy by Stephanie Bennett My rating: 3 of 5 stars An intriguing examination of a notorious Northern Queensland murder in the early years of the… Read More
2018-01-19 08:06
JSA: The Golden Age by James Robinson My rating: 4 of 5 stars Gorgeous artwork, a beautiful balance between superheroic nostalgia and historic paranoia, and plenty of o… Read More
2018-01-08 12:05
Writers on Writing by James Roberts My rating: 4 of 5 stars An absorbing and educational collection with writers from the 2000 Adelaide Festival of Arts. The majority o… Read More
THUMBNAIL THURSDAY 'AS BEEN UP T' PIT
2017-11-22 23:00
I can't think of a single reason why I would have drawn this. Offered purely for a sense of completism. (It's a word: shut up)"And in return, Management will commit to not shouting out 'Suck… Read More
FIVE FOR FRIDAY: SERIAL KILLER SONGS
2017-11-16 23:00
It's no great secret that I'm fascinated by murder. My bookcases are filled with True Crime books. My DVD collection is riddled with thrillers and biopics about infamous killers. I've writte… Read More
2017-11-09 23:00
I turn 47 tomorrow. There's no hiding it: I am well and truly middle-aged, and looking down the barrel of being old.I'm worried about my future. I feel like I've not achieved the things I wa… Read More
2017-11-08 23:00
It took me a few moments to work out what was going on in this one. That's a giant speaker on the right: the guy in front has played a chord, and it's blown his skin right off his skeleton… Read More
2017-11-06 05:06
I've just realised, as I was writing an upcoming Five for Friday post: I took the stage for my first stand-up comedy performance in 1992.A few fevered, and not particularly serious, attempts… Read More
FIVE FOR FRIDAY: SINGLE PANEL CARTOONISTS
2017-11-02 23:00
Unless you're terminally non-observant, or have just ended up here because you accidentally googled "Billie Piper's nipples", (It's true, and no, I don't know why), you'll be aware that one… Read More
2017-10-26 23:00
One of the better exercises I run during my workshops is also one of the simplest: I give participants a list of final lines from stories already published. Participants pick one and use it… Read More
FIVE FOR FRIDAY: SOUNDTRACK ALBUMS
2017-10-19 23:00
I love a good soundtrack album. A good soundtrack album highlights the narrative of a movie, and provides a beat-by-beat visceral reminder of that movie's significant moments, while simultan… Read More
2017-10-06 11:00
The International Youth Library is the world’s largest library for international children’s and youth literature. Founded in 1949 by Jella Lepman, it has grown to become the inte… Read More
THUMBNAIL THURSDAY IS JUST KICKING BACK
2017-10-04 23:00
Not funny, but there's a louche attitude I like in this one. If I were Luc Besson, I'd make this panel last 14 hours and it would lose $300 million at the box office. Aren't you glad I didn'… Read More
15/18 OF AN 18 MONTH PLAN
2017-10-04 10:59
It's July 2016. Every morning I park my car in the car park at work, and give myself five minutes to cry before I get out and face the day.Today is no different. what was a dream job when I… Read More
TOM PETTY
2017-10-03 12:29
Sad news today with the death from a heart attack of Tom Petty. Petty first came to my attention in the late 70s, just before punk hit the mainstream radio stations I was about to listen to… Read More
2017-09-17 05:25
I've been interviewed over at Horror Tree about many things, including why.... uh... I'm not really... you know... a horror author... Check out the whole thing here Read More
PRECIOUS THINGS: LYN BATTERSBY
2017-09-16 23:00
Well, here we are. The 29th, and final, Precious Things post. And I can't think of anyone better to round off the whole thing than the woman I call 'Luscious', Lyn Battersby.Lyn is a talente… Read More
PRECIOUS THINGS: CAT SPARKS
2017-09-09 23:00
Cat Sparks has done pretty much everything there is to do in Australian speculative fiction. She's been a publisher, illustrator, and editor. These days, she's expanding her long-standing wr… Read More
THUMBNAIL THURSDAY GETS ON THE PITH
2017-09-06 23:00
Given the lined note-paper, and the care I took sketching out, I'm going to say it was one hell of a boring team meeting I was stuck in at the time. I clearly was too bored to come up with s… Read More
PRECIOUS THINGS: SUE WHITING
2017-09-02 23:00
If you enjoyed Magrit, then Sue Whiting is the person to thank. Sue is, to put it simply, the best editor I've ever worked with: I learned more from working with her on this one manuscript t… Read More
PRECIOUS THINGS: KAARON WARREN
2017-08-26 23:00
There's no denying it: Kaaron Warren is an awards hoover. Over three novels and umpty-million short stories, she's won everything from the Aurealis, Ditmar, and Australian Shadows Awards to… Read More
PRECIOUS THINGS: ADAM BROWNE
2017-08-19 23:00
It's been too long since we've visited fellow artists' precious things: the KSP Residency kept me away from all but the most basic blogging, and since I returned to the day job, the weight o… Read More
2017-08-14 04:55
As part of my recent Residency, I was asked to provide a list of 10 writing tips, to be reproduced in the Centre's newsletter.What the hey: here they are, for you to argue over.Know what you… Read More
2017-08-14 04:30
On a whim, I entered a competition for 50-word short stories last week. I didn't win, so I thought you might like a little bonus reading material for your day: here are my entries, for your… Read More
2017-07-20 23:00
Last week, I touched upon five people who have had a direct impact upon turning points in my career. This week, I thought it would be interesting to consider another five people who have had… Read More
HALFWAY... PLUS A BIT... PLUS A BIT...
2017-07-17 13:11
Well, I missed posting last night, because I was out gorging myself on a brilliant Indian dinner at a restaurant with the 2017 KSP Fellows and Residents Group-- the life of a writer is a har… Read More
DAY SIX: NUMBERS FOR BETTER LIVING
2017-07-15 11:45
Anybody who thinks numbers aren't beautiful has never been a writer. As much as I have a love of mathematics (much like I have a love of boxing: I'm not much cop at anything beyond the basic… Read More
DAY FIVE AND STAGES THREE
2017-07-14 10:02
A simple day, today. After the social butterflying and story completion of yesterday, it was time for a return to the word mines, and an attempt to get some serious traction on Ghost Tracks… Read More
THUMBNAIL THURSDAY HAD TO BE THERE
2017-07-12 23:00
Okay, so they're storming the castle, and the defenders are pouring hot.... oil?.... and there's a drunk guy.... and he wants a cold.... oil?......You know, sometimes, I look back at these s… Read More
DAY THREE AND FREE LEE
2017-07-12 10:23
Day three of my residency, and apart from taking my work past a couple of notable milestones-- Song of the Water passing 2000 words and Ghost Tracks cresting 20,000-- today was notable for t… Read More
2017-07-11 10:31
My first full day of Residency, and it was important to set in place a routine that I can follow for my full time here. To that end, I started by being woken up at 2.30am: Greenmount may be… Read More
PRECIOUS THINGS: ANDREW McKIERNAN
2017-07-08 23:00
Andrew J McKiernan is a writer and Illustrator, living and working on the Central Coast of New South Wales. His stories have been everywhere since he first appeared in 2007, the length and b… Read More
2017-07-06 23:00
As of Monday, I start a two-week residency at the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers Centre. I'll be away from my home and family, tucked up in a little cabin, where I'll be pounding away a… Read More
THUMBNAIL THURSDAY SMASH!
2017-07-05 23:00
Let's be honest. The Hulk is the comic book version of Paul Revere: anything you fit into that whole "Hulk SMASH!" vibe is going to be as funny as "Give me (insert here) or give me death."Or… Read More
PRECIOUS THINGS: CLAIRE DAVENHALL
2017-07-01 23:00
I first met Claire Davenhall several years ago, as an entrant to the annual outdoor sculpture exhibition I coordinate for my day job. Claire made an impression on everyone at the exhibition:… Read More
FIVE FOR FRIDAY: ONE ALBUM WONDERS
2017-06-29 23:00
You know how it is. Some artists release a string of songs that speak to the innermost tremblings of your soul. No matter where you are in your life, somehow they seem to know, and find that… Read More
PRECIOUS THINGS: JAY WATSON
2017-06-25 05:46
I know I've said this about a few people, but Jay Watson is one of the loveliest human beings alive. He's a giant of a man, tall and broad, and just big, but there's not an ounce of malice o… Read More
FIVE FOR FRIDAY: VISUAL ARTISTS
2017-06-22 23:00
Full disclosure: if I could play guitar the way I wish I could, I probably wouldn't be a writer. If I could act as well as I wish I could, I probably wouldn't be just a writer. If I could dr… Read More
THUMBNAIL THURSDAY INVENTS SURVIVOR
2017-06-21 23:00
There's not much to say about this one. Okay, yes, Barrabas was chosen first time out. But isn't it nice to see him coming back to defend his title. May the odds be ever in his favour."Choos… Read More
PRECIOUS THINGS: COLIN SHARPE
2017-06-17 23:00
Colin Sharpe is one of those irritatingly handsome men who you can't hate because he's also extremely likable and manages to keep the terrifying things he does to kittens a secret. He's&nbsp&hell…Read More
2017-06-15 23:00
Back when I was growing up, it's fair to say that the explosion of artistic experimentation represented by the post-war literary boom, the New Wave, the Sixties, sexual liberation, good… Read More
THUMBNAIL THURSDAY MAKES LEMONADE
2017-06-14 23:00
Sometimes, when life throws you lemons, you just have to find a good quality gin to go with it. We all gots stuff, amirite? Even werewolves need walkies. "Just wait thirty minutes, it'l… Read More
2017-06-10 23:00
Amanda Curtin has always been one of those authors I've found slightly intimidating, as well as an aspirational benchmark. It seems like she's been on the stage at every Perth Writers Festiv… Read More
2017-06-08 23:00
When I was in my final years of high school: of barely-moderate achievement; from a family with a fair to middling military history; living in a Navy town; surrounded by friends who either c… Read More
2017-06-03 23:00
Daniel I Russell is a horror author and psychology student who, like myself, travelled from the heartlands of England to the Western Australian countryside. He, however, came from Wigan, so… Read More
2017-06-01 23:00
A little while ago, I posted my alternative, all-female, Five for Friday Avengers line-up. It was carefully worked out, beautifully rationalised, and, you know, I'm ready and waiting, M… Read More
2017-05-29 03:45
Congratulations to designer and illustrator Amy Daoud, and Walker Books, for winning Best Designed Children's Fiction Book with Magrit at the Australian Book Design… Read More
PRECIOUS THINGS: NORMAN JORGENSEN
2017-05-27 23:00
Norman Jorgensen is one of the finest fellows in Western Australian writing: welcoming, friendly, open-hearted, and with a well of bonhomie that makes instant fans of anyone who runs across… Read More
THE LAW DONE PROPERLY
2017-05-26 08:04
One one occasion, back when I was but a small boy, my mother allowed me to take some pocket money and hit up the newsagent's at the Big Shops and get me a comic book.By age 8, I was already… Read More
2017-05-25 23:00
I've been in a writing lull, now, going on something in the region of three years. The promise of my early days, when I was selling ten stories a year, seems a long way away as the combinati… Read More
2017-05-11 23:00
As a writer, half the battle of capturing your reader's attention is won or lost in the first line. Capture their interest-- hook them-- and they'll accord you extra time to do the things yo… Read More
PRECIOUS THINGS: AMANDA KOOL
2017-05-06 23:00
Amanda Kool lives at the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges, a glorious part of the world surrounded by valleys, forests, walking paths and, most importantly, she says, wineries.She writes in… Read More

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