Calissa

Spring is in full swing. The fruit trees everywhere are in flower and I've managed more than a few photos of bee butts. The peregrines are back nesting on the window ledges of Melbourne skyscrapers. The days have been warming up and I was able to go out for a walk in a t-shirt yesterday (carefully avoiding the routes guarded by nesting magpies). The weather is shifting, though, and we should get some rain tonight.

I've not really done any writing for a long time (perhaps a year or two now?), but I have felt some occasional stirs of creativity. Kathleen Jennings' posts on her observation journal have been a source of great delight. The current state of my health prevents me from keeping one by hand, so I have been experimenting with an electronic version. It's not nearly as satisfying, but it has produced some lovely turns of phrase.

There were no observations today, however. This morning I managed to step on my glasses. No lasting damage, thankfully, just popped out one of the lenses and needed to take them in to the shop. By the time I arranged for transport and had run the errand, most of the day had disappeared. I'm so very glad it was an easy fix. I fished out my old pair, but the prescription is a little different and even wearing them for just a few hours had me feeling the strain.

I'm delighted to announce I've sold a story to Twelfth Planet Press for their forthcoming anthology Mother of Invention. The book will be edited by Rivqa Rafael and Tansy Rayner Roberts and contains stories about gender, AI and robots.

From their pitch on Kickstarter:

From Pygmalion and Galatea to Frankenstein, Ex Machina and Person of Interest, the fictional landscape so often frames cisgender men as the creators of artificial life, leading to the same kinds of stories being told over and over. We want to bring some genuine revolution to the way that artificial intelligence stories are told, and how they intersect with gender identity, parenthood, sexuality, war, and the future of our species. How can we interrogate the gendered assumptions around the making of robots compared with the making of babies? Can computers learn to speak in a code beyond the (gender) binary?

If necessity is the mother of invention, what exciting AI might come to exist in the hands of a more diverse range of innovators?

We are excited to already have a team of fantastic, innovative SFF writers from around the world lined up to write stories for us:

Jo Anderton, John Chu, Kameron Hurley, Rosaleen Love, Sandra McDonald, Seanan McGuire, E.C. Myers, Justina Robson, Nisi Shawl, Cat Sparks, Bogi Takacs & Kaaron Warren.

Mother of Invention will also feature an essay about an Indigenous women's perspective on artificial intelligence by Ambelin Kwaymullina.

New Berth is a steampunk space story about a mother who has to come to terms with the fact her daughter has become an adult. It was picked up during the open submission period, along with stories from several other fantastic writers:

• Arguing with People on the Internet - E.H. Mann


• A Robot Like Me - Lee Cope


• Junkyard Kraken - D.K. Mok


• Knitting Day - Jen White


• Rini's God - Soumya Sundar Mukherjee


• Sugar Ricochets to Other Forms - Octavia Cade


• The Ghost Helmet - Lev Mirov


• The Goose Hair of One Thousand Miles - Stephanie Lai


• Tide Falling, Falling Tide - Meryl Stenhouse

Needless to say, I'm ecstatic. Being in such amazing company is a dream come true.

Macro of a prostrate grevillea 'Bronze Rambler' in flower.

What are you doing/thinking/wondering/making/reading/etc. that you don't normally post about?

Doing: I actually managed to get out yesterday and take some photos, as you can see from above. I've been stricter with myself about not working on weekends, making it a little easier to find time for these sorts of things.

Watching: My sweetheart and I have been juggling a few different shows. He was inspired to start rewatching Supernatural. I'm not quite sure why. We only made it to the 5th or 6th season the first time around, so it will be interesting to see how we do this time around. So far, we're a few episodes into the second season.

We're also rewatching an anime called Yakitate Japan. It's a shounen anime about making bread, is light-hearted and filled with puns.

On the roleplaying end, we continue to stalk Adam Koebel. He's got a Burning Wheel campaign going for Roll20. One of the things I disliked about the games on the RollPlay channel is that some of the players had a propensity towards murder and chaos, perhaps to make things more entertaining or to stir things up. It had the opposite effect for me, making me bored and irritated. I find the players on the Roll20 channel to be much more interesting. They make things difficult for their characters without wanton destruction.

Finally, we're watching a Russian drama called Night Swallows which is, unsurprisingly, based on the very same piece of history as our Night Witches RPG. We're finding some great inspiration and have already learned that we've been pronouncing one of the names incorrectly.

Thinking: There's something about September that triggers my "holy crap, the year is almost over" button. I've been looking over the goals I had for this year to see whether I can realistically achieve them or whether they need to be revised. I've also been thinking a little bit about what I might like to achieve in 2016.

Reading: I'm between books at the moment and I'm not quite sure what I'll pick up next. It will depend a bit on how quickly I get to writing a review of Equilibrium because I don't like to try keeping two review books of similar genres or styles in my head at the same time. So if I want to get started on reading something today, it will be Stormbringer by Alis Franklin because it will be fun and I won't be reviewing it. However, if I don't get any reading time until tomorrow afternoon, I'll read my next review book, which will be Aurora: Eden by Amanda Bridgeman.

Writing: I'm still struggling with making time for my own writing. I'm doing a bit better than I was, but that may simply be because work is quieter at the moment. Anyway, I'm back to plugging holes in Siren Songs.

Wondering: Related to the above, I've been wondering a bit whether writing is something I want to continue with. Editing and reviewing keeps me pretty busy and I've been enjoying it a lot. Whereas I really struggle to convince myself to sit down and so some more writing. And if I do want to continue with writing, what do I want to be working on? Do I want to focus on short stories or novels? Do I want to give fanfic a go?

Drinking: A mix of different teas, but mostly alternating between Earl Grey and Chocolate chai.

(New growth on a Callistemon 'Little John')

What are you doing/thinking/wondering/making/reading/etc. that you don't normally post about? It has been a while since I have done one of these and I thought it would be a good way to post about non-holiday stuff

Doing: I recently acquired six boxes of second-hand books from an acquaintance who was otherwise going to throw them away. Such books would normally be donated to the local crisis-counselling telephone service for their bi-annual fundraising book fair. However, my acquaintance tells me they're no longer accepting paperbacks. I'll be seeking to confirm this once my friends, family and writing groups have had a chance to pick through them. My sweetheart very kindly waded his way through the boxes to my computer and spent a morning helping me to catalogue what was there. My acquaintance is threatening to send another four boxes. I don't mind rescuing the books but I didn't properly consider the imposition on my time, energy and space this would take.

Watching: While down with a cold late last month, I started rewatching the TV show Castle featuring Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic. It has long been comfort viewing for me. I've also got the fifth of "Richard Castle's" Nikki Heat books to read and so I have been rereading the series in conjunction with rewatching the show. I've just finished Season 3 and have therefore just started on the third book.

Thinking: I'm still processing my thoughts on the return of Doctor Who but it left me prickly. I'm not entirely sure the new doctor was behaving any differently from the last two doctors but the way it came across definitely had resonances of dementia (at least to begin with). Considering how ham-handed they were with Clara (and with Madam Vastra) I'm not sure I can bring myself to think it clever.

Reading: As mentioned above, I just started reading the third of the Nikki Heat books, Heat Rises. I had a review to write for the second book, but have managed to misplace my notes. Suffice to say it doesn't hang together well as a series, since they seem to use a different ghostwriter for each book. I find that makes it hard to settle into the story to start with.

Wondering: September is known around here as "cake month" thanks to all the birthdays. It is truly a month of madness for me and the most stressful part of my year. A couple of years ago I began the practice of not accepting any social engagements other than birthday parties during September. I'll admit that I'm not always very good at sticking to that. I also tend to turn down any editing jobs taking place in September. This year, I'm wondering if there are any other self-care practices I should be engaging in to help make my life a bit easier. I suspect making sure I get enough sleep should be on there. I've not been getting quite enough lately and as a consequence am not quite at my sharpest.

Writing: Still working on Heartwood. Slow and steady wins the race, right? But only if you really are working steadily.

Drinking: I'm currently drinking the Jane Austen blend from Gillards of Bath. A very thoughtful friend brought it back from England as a gift several months ago and it is quite possibly the nicest tea I've ever had the pleasure of drinking.

What are you doing/thinking/wondering/making/reading/etc. that you don't normally post about? It has been a while since I have done one of these and I thought it would be a good way to post about non-holiday stuff

Doing: I'm back to swimming after a break of about a month. It wasn't intentional--a few different things were conspiring against me. My shoulder had started playing up again during the break, so I'm glad to be back to it (though I overdid things a little on the first time back).

Watching: On the anime front, I've been watching Sailor Moon Crystal on Crunchyroll. I was never into the original when it aired during my years at high school, but I have become a lot more interested in anime since then.

I am also watching a new anime called Glasslip. It is produced by P.A. Works who turn out the most gorgeous-looking animes and I have enjoyed most of the stuff they have released. This particular show is about the daughter of a family of glass artisans. When she stares into glass she has visions of the future. It is also about the changing relationships between her group of friends in their last year of high school.

On more of a RPG theme, RollPlay have just started up a sci-fi campaign called Swan Song. Utilising the Stars Are Infinite system, the campaign is being run by Adam Koebel. I totally have a new GM crush. He co-wrote the Dungeon World system and his style of game-running clearly speaks of intelligence, passion and long experience.

He and my other major GM crush, Steve Lumpkin, have also just started posting up a segment on GMing they're calling Playing Everyone Else. If you're interested in tabletop RPGs at all--as player or GM--it is well worth checking out.

Thinking: An acquaintance of mine has been getting on my nerves a lot lately. Ze does a lot of complaining about suffering from writer's block but seems to feel that in order to be published, ze needs to write in certain kinds of ways and in certain formats. This single-minded focus on publication seems to press a button of mine. I recently came across this wonderful article from Australian horror writer Peter Ball on why you don't really want to be published--it is simply shorthand for another goal. I'm wondering whether this person's reason for wanting to be published is fundamentally different from mine or whether it is simply our manner of getting there. Or perhaps we have different levels of patience with the process.

Reading: I'm in a weird in-between place with my reading at the moment. I'm slowly making my way through a gardening book put out by the local horticultural society and have been for months. However, I don't have a primary book that I'm reading because I can't decide on what I want to read. My sweetheart has made off with my Kindle in order to read some out-of-print Warhammer books and everything I kind of want to read is on that. Which is ridiculous--I have a zillion print books on Mt TBR, surely I should be able to find something I want to read. If anyone wants to make suggestions, you can check Mt TBR and my 2014 acquisitions list for what I have currently available.

Wondering: A while back, I began studying the AODA Candidate curriculum. I am almost finished--just some loose, time-consuming ends to tie up--but I have been pondering whether this is something I really want to do. While I think their curriculum is great, I'm not sure their philosophy and cosmology is really something that works for me.

Writing: Still going on Heartwood. I originally started writing the story a year or two ago and then shelved it for some unremembered reason. I'd only written two scenes and a bit. When I came back to it this year, I felt it needed rewriting and I bashed my head repeatedly against the first scene, trying different things. I finally got something to work and have been concentrating on getting the words for this new version down on the page without worrying too much about what still needs fixing. I have now caught up to where I was when I first shelved the story and am looking forward to breaking new territory.

Drinking: My mother-almost-in-law recently gifted me with some rose-scented tea that she wasn't fond of. I have zero problem with this because I absolutely adore rose-scented teas.

Earl Grey is generally my default tea (unless it is Twinings which I find way too harsh). I've been drinking much less of it over the last few months but I find myself starting to come back to it.

The weather outside this afternoon is absolutely gorgeous: the sun is shining and even though there is snow on the hills the temperature is reasonably warm. It would be the perfect day to do some gardening but I am down and out with a cold. I'm finding it difficult to be gracious about this--my To-Do list is rather long but my body refuses to have a bar of it. I've already had one nap today and am starting to feel in need of a second one.

After several difficult weeks, I seem to have settled into a writing routine. It probably helps that my gaming schedule has quietened down somewhat, with the Robin Hood campaign wrapping up and Cenotaph set to shortly. I'm not managing much in terms of word count, but just stringing together a couple of writing sessions has helped improve my outlook.

If you follow me on social media, you're probably aware of my outrage over the closure of one of my favourite tea stores. Adore Tea is a local business that first opened up at a village of boutique stores over the far side of town. They did so well for themselves that they were able to open up stalls at two shopping centres owned by Westfield. One was over my side of town and it was extra special because not only did it sell looseleaf tea but it also did take-away tea using specially modified coffee machines. Although the shopping centre was still a bit of a drive from my place, it was where my mum and I would go whenever we wanted an outing out and another friend and I would order their special of the week to take into the cinema whenever we were off to watch a movie.

The stall at the other shopping centre closed some time ago and yesterday I came across an announcement that the stall at the local shopping mall was closing too. T2 (a big chain selling packaged tea and accessories--but no take-away tea) had recently been installed quite close to the Adore Tea stall. Westfield raised Adore's rent, then terminated their lease, giving them just 24 hours to move out.

Adore had a sale where I picked up the following:

( Tea haul )

I am totally disgusted by Westfield's treatment of Adore Tea and will no longer be shopping at their malls. This isn't a hardship because I rarely go there and I find T2's tea to be of inferior quality. However, it does mean that I'll have to travel quite a distance to the nearest decent tea shop (the Tea Centre) and further afield if I want visit Adore Tea.

What are you doing/thinking/wondering/making/reading/etc. that you don't normally post about? It has been a while since I have done one of these and I thought it would be a good way to post about non-holiday stuff

Doing: Mostly just easing back into routine. Yesterday I went swimming for what was the first time in probably a month and surprised myself by being able to swim a full kilometre. Tonight I'm heading off the the monthly meeting of the Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild where we'll be having a guest talk on firearms. Could be useful for some of that post-apocalyptic stuff.

Watching: I'm making my way through an anime called No Game, No Life. It's about a brother and sister who are prodigiously talented gamers--to the point of being an urban legend. One day, they are transported to a world where all disputes are solved by playing games of all kinds. It's a fascinating setting and the story has a great premise. However, I find the extreme co-dependence of the main characters a bit disturbing and the fan service, while not as overwhelming as in other shows, is tiresome and unnecessary.

Thinking: I've been invited to sit on a guest panel on editing anthologies for the monthly meeting of the Canberra Society of Editors at the end of the month. It is a challenge to consciously articulate a process that has mostly been instinctive for me. I think it will be an interesting event. This won't be the first time I've sat on a panel about editing anthologies, but it will be the first time where the audience is primarily composed of other editors rather than writers. That should have a big impact on the feel of things, since writers are mostly concerned with what they should be doing to get published (or so has been my experience).

Reading: I'm currently reading (among other things) The Vinter's Luck in hopes of finally getting to lynnoconnacht and Memory Scarlett's review of the same. It is a fascinating story but I find I can only read a little bit of it at a time. Fortunately, it is nicely structured for small chunks.

Wondering: The last time I wrote one of these periodic ponderings I was contemplating starting up a poetry practice. That didn't happen. Now I am contemplating starting up a blog connected to my editing website. I wonder whether this is also something that is never actually going to eventuate.

Writing: Currently wrestling with Heartwood. The story just doesn't seem to want to let itself be written. I am determined to press on, regardless.

Drinking: My ritual morning cup of tea is currently oolong, despite oolong being my least favourite tea to drink (not that I hate it, mind). The tea was brought back from Japan for me by my lovely uncle and aunt. It sounds like they will be visiting us again at Christmas.

I've been feeling a bit swamped of late. None of it is at all serious. I just have a ton of posts I want to write and am falling behind with blog reading and commenting once again (apologies all). I had a massage on Wednesday which left me too sore to do much and on Thursday I spent some time with my family. All of which was very lovely but has left me feeling a bit scattered and needing to get back to routine. To compound matters, Daylight Savings ended last weekend and my body still hasn't quite adjusted to waking up and eating meals an hour later.

There is joy to be found, however. My nephew continues to charm and delight with his big blue eyes, cute dimples and ready smile. He has all the women in the family--my self included--wrapped around his little finger. It won't be long until he is crawling and then look out world!

Writing has been continuing reasonably well when I have been managing to sit down. saiena convinced me to try writing drabbles as a warm-up to a writing session and I have been find that to have worked so far. I'll probably post them once I have collected a few more.

We took Chippa to the vet today to check out a lump he had developed on his back. It is looking like a delayed vaccine reaction rather than cancer or anything alarming. He'll go back in a week to make sure but it does come as something of a relief.

Then this afternoon I headed out to have coffee with a friend who was struggling with feedback on his novel. It feels like ages since I last had a good face-to-face chat with someone about the craft of writing and I rather enjoyed it.

Now, off to do some more work!

I have recently started reading Terri Windling's blog Myth and Moor. This is partly for her gorgeous photos of Dartmoor and the lavish sprinkling of artwork (both hers and others') that accompany her posts. Often it is also for the wisdom--again, both hers and others'.

( Great expectations )

I expect to forget this again at some point. With luck, it won't be for a good, long while.

The sun has just set, leaving the sky looking pale and washed out. A little over twelve hours ago I was watching the full moon set while the sky turned the most glorious shades of pink and purple. The Autumn Equinox is in just a couple of days.

I've been feeling myself drifting a bit since quitting my last job. I suppose I have needed it to some extent but it has also been frustrating. I feel like there is so much to do--reviews and stories to write, books and blog posts to read, chores to catch up on and projects to move forward with. I know that I am probably being too hard on myself by expecting myself to move on quickly after such an extended period of stress and that just makes me more frustrated.

Perhaps it is just the way I'm feeling at the moment. A good night's sleep may have me feeling differently.

And truthfully, things are moving on at their own pace. I have now managed to dump all of Wolfwinter into Scrivener and am working on transferring the story bible into it as well. I am starting to get a feel for what the ending might look like but remain daunted by the extent of work to be done.

I mentioned back at the beginning of the month that I had been brainstorming ideas for the CSFG's new anthology. I had originally intended to spend a week working each one up and then decide which I liked best. However, my very first idea actually seemed to fit another market. The deadline for that market is April 14 and so I am concentrating on it for now. I have a vague outline which I am working on turning into a more detailed outline--my way of tricking myself into a first draft. I was supposed to be working on it tonight but just couldn't settle.

Blah, just going to go to bed now and be done with it. Before I go, I shall leave you with some seasonal colour.

( Pin oak leaves )