I’ve Been Snapshot! #scifi #fantasy #books @AustSFSnapshot

The Australian speculative fiction snapshot series celebrates the breadth and depth of Australia’s speculative fiction scene by interviewing prominent writers, editors and booksellers in the industry. I was first interviewed for the series in 2012 (by David McDonald), then in 2014 (by Stephanie Gunn) and it’s an honour to be included…

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What is a Writing Retreat? Culture Shock!

A lot of writers struggle to find the time to actually write. Among other things, we have family commitments, paid work, sleep and shiny things on the internet to juggle before any writing gets done. So I couldn’t wait for this weekend – an entire weekend of writing on a…

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How to Get Kids Writing

Earlier this week my 10-yr-old son Brandan and 9-yr-old daughter Ophelia were featured in our local newspaper, The Manly Daily, in an article encouraging more kids to get writing. This is Brandan and Ophelia’s third year entering our local council’s writing competition and their stories have received praise in the…

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Two Worlds Collide for The Kids’ Cancer Project

Last Saturday I was lucky enough to participate in the 2016 write-a-book-in-a-day challenge. I emphasize ‘lucky’ because if I were the parent of a child with cancer, I wouldn’t be able to spend a day writing… I probably wouldn’t be able to write at all. There’s nothing more heartbreaking for…

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Would You Live Off-Grid?

As a writer of speculative fiction, I often think about the future. I love disaster and apocalyptic stories, and sometimes wonder if I should do more to prepare for possible calamity. On a basic level, I should probably keep some bottled water and tins of beans in the garage. We…

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