Writers [on Writing]: Walter Mosley

Writing a novel is gathering smoke. It's an excursion into the ether of ideas. 

    

Walter Mosley, For Authors, Fragile Ideas Need Loving Every Day

Writers [On Writing]: Sue Miller

So, come on, really, how much is autobiographical?

All of it. None. 

                         

     Sue Miller, Visual Reality: The Perils of Seeking a Novelist's Facts in Her Fiction. 

Latest Stories (including Kisses by Clockwork) and Current Reads

Latest story releases: "The Tic-Toc Boy of Constantinople" in Kisses by Clockwork and "Submerging" in Overland Journal Issue 214, Autumn

"Submerging" in Overland Journal 214, Autumn can be ordered here: http://overland.org.au/shop/

There's some truly courageous articles in the journal, as well as three other stories, so it's well worth the read - as is every edition of Overland.

In fact it's Overland's 60th anniversary. That's sixty years of courageous dissent; sixty years of trailblazing for authors; sixty years of standing up for the wrongly marginalised; sixty years of meaningful provocation against those who lack compassion, and sixty years of fighting those who support anti-egalitarian ideologies. That's 60 pretty special years.



And "The Tic-Toc Boy of Constantinople" in Kisses by Clockwork will be released at a mega-launch party at Continuum (the national convention)  at the Intercontinental Rialto in Melbourne on Saturday the 8th June starting at 2pm.

Wish I could be there - it's a Perth tyranny of distance type of thing.

Needless to say, the story is a different work from "Submerging". Steampunk is a whole fascinating genre in its own right, including very stylistic art and craft. As usual, I'd imagine that there will be a little magic for all types of readers in Liz Grzyb's (Ticonderoga Publications) latest anthology. It's a pleasure playing a small role in it (or at least a good 20 page role). I can't wait to plunge into the steam-filled pages myself. I've set the timer on: tic-toc, tic-toc, tic-toc...

You can pre-order Kisses by Clockwork at indiebooksonline.com
http://www.indiebooksonline.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/164

And after the launch Kisses by Clockwork will be available from Amazon Books, Book Depository or Indiebooksonline:

https://www.bookdepository.com/Kisses-by-Clockwork/9781921857898

http://www.amazon.com/Kisses-Clockwork-Liz-D-Grzyb/dp/1921857897/

Congrats to Liz Gryzb and all the writers involved. 


Currently Reading: Just finished The Pure Gold Baby by Margaret Drabble. The ideas, commentary on society, and Drabble's rhythm, all scintillate. Its pitfall, however, is the distant narrative voice (distant from the story rather than cold and distant), which fails to captivate for the novel's entirety. It does, however, work superbly in patches.

The Pure Gold Baby isn't a bad read but I felt the observant quasi-Victorian point of view could have been more engrained within the story. I think it may be the case of a fine writer not being at her best here, or perhaps, Drabble is enjoying a dose of self-indulgence that ultimately over-weighs the reader.  

I'm also reading Dangerous Women ed. George RR Martin & Gardner Dozois. It's a compilation of stories and novellas with some real meat on them. Some standouts so far include: Joe Abercrombie's "Some Desperado", which is an action-packed Western with superb prose. After being slightly disappointed by Queenpin, Megan Abbott shows more than just the goods here with a wonderfully structured story that few writers could execute in the brilliant and psychologically intricate "My Heart is Either Broken".  "Wrestling Jesus" by Lawrence Block is a fun story of rugged 'old-school' masculinity. "Neighbors" by Megan Lindholm is easily the best story exploring issues relating to dementia that I've ever read and "Shadows For Silence in the Forests of Hell" is my first introduction to Brandon Sanderson and it's a pleasant surprise. More highlights to come.

Happy reading and writing!
 

Reading Meme for All

A fellow Perth short story writer, Laurie Steed, sent me a meme. I'm not going to add specific names - I'm happy to hear everyone's thoughts on reading.

What are you reading right now?

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey

Dangerous Women an anthology ed. by Geroge RR Martin and Gardner Dozois
The Neanderthals Rediscovered: How Modern Science is Rewriting Their Story by Dimitra Papgianni & Michale A. Morse

Do you have any idea what you’ll read when you’re done with that?

The Pure Gold Baby by Margaret Drabble for my book club and then Falconer by John Cheever.

What five books have you always wanted to read but haven’t got round to?

There’s hundreds on my random 'must-read' shelves. I suppose the extended 'five' whose numbers I’ve always wanted to come up of late are:  

The Prestige by Christopher Priest
Great Apes by Will Self
The Iron Heel by Jack London

Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan 

 Tallula Rising by Glen Duncan 

Assymetry by Throraiya Dyer  

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez  
Dr Rat by William Kotzwinkle 
Yellowcake Springs by Guy Salvidge
George Saunders' Pastoralia
The Australian Movement by George Megalogenis. 

I’ll confess that Karen Russell and George RR Martin are two writers whose work leapfrogs the random reading list everytime.

What magazines do you have in your bathroom/ lounge right now?

I currently subscribe to Overland Literary Journal, One Story (a great concept) and Meanjin. 

I also have a myriad of other literary journals lying around or on the shelves. These include many from: Griffith Review, The New Yorker, Tin House, Zoetrope: All Story, Granta, Island Magazine, Southerly and Ploughshares. And for the genre binge I’ve got a few Magazine of F &SF, ASIM and old print editions of Aurealis Magazine. These are all a wonderful byproduct of mad buying and very generous writerly friends.  

I always have National Geographic and an Australian Geographic lying about too. 

 National Geographic and Overland Literary Journal are the actual two on the coffee table at present. 

I have to admit that I'm dismayed by the rise of electronic fiction. I understand that it's complicated and relates to business prophet margins but as soon as a journal goes solely electronic, I stop reading it - whether it's quality fiction or not.

What’s the worst book you’ve ever read?

It's only been over the past few years that I’ve learned to surrender books which I really dislike. Worst that I’ve read to completion recently has to be The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  I know, I know, super popular. How could you?!

It just plateaus completely for me. When I say 'plateau', I mean like leveled concrete, same colour too.

What book seemed really popular but you didn’t like?

As just mentioned The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Didn’t finish Love in a Cold Climate either…

What’s the one book you always recommend to just about everyone?

 

So many! One is a strange concept:

Let's see for a classic American novel: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. 

The Fan Man by William Kotzwinkle. If you don’t mind comedy and political incorrectness.

The Song of Ice and Fire Series (Game of Thrones) by George RR Martin,  if you want a fantastic, epic story. 

LOTR by JRR Tolkien, simply because it’s superb in its richness, world building and uniqueness.

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole for a rich, comical, literary masterpiece. 

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson for a great Victorian novella.

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. Wonderful work.

 
Freedom and Death by Nikos Kazantzakis, a much forgotten and seriously underrated writer at his best here. When Albert Camus was awarded the Nobel Prize he proclaimed that Kazantzakis deserved it more.

The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene. Simply outstanding.

Captain Correlli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernières for a novel that has it all in terms of narrative.

Bluebeard, Timequake, and God Bless You, Mr Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut (along with many others)

Short stories:

 The Locus Awards: Thirty Years of the Best in Science Fiction & Fantasy ed. Jonathan Strahan & Charles N. Brown

Almost anything and everything by Richard Yates, John Cheever, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Karen Russell.

Joyce Carol Oates for a lesson in narrative craft

Will Self  if you’re after OTT ostentatious satire

Where do you usually get your books?

Love supporting independent stores. The following Perth bookstores may confuse interstate and overseas readers: I think I'm the backbone for sales at Northside Books on William St and Planet Books on Beaufort. Crow Books, if I’m in the area, and New Edition in Freo. Stefen's Books also does very well out of me. White Dwarf and Oxford Books too. 

When you were little, did you have any particular reading habits?

The laboratory/dunny/toilet, bed, sofa, dining table, you name the place, even managed the shower once or twice...

Never really read during school hours though.

What’s the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was too good to put down?

Always George RR Martin. Stayed up with Burial Rites by Hannah Kent too.

Have you ever “faked” reading a book?

Think I fake-finished a couple to impress when I was younger. Don’t see the point now.

Have you ever bought a book just because you liked the cover?

 As a teen, binging on fantasy? Of course

What was your favourite book when you were a child?

How much space do we have here? Tolkien’s The Hobbit and LOTR were fab. I adored Roald Dahl’s novels too. Asterix comics too - what a Gaul!

What book changed your life?

Wish I could say that they did. I suppose I dreamed of mountainous sword adventures in primary school? 

Hang on a tic, I’m a writer, so if I really take ‘reflection’ to an extreme, I’d say that they all have and still do. 

What is your favourite passage from a book?

It’s like asking you to choose a favourite member of the family.

Who are your top five favourite authors?

 ATM, this is my long five…

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Graham Greene

JRR Tolkien

George RR Martin

Karen Russell

Richard Yates

Joyce Carol Oates (short stories)

Kurt Vonnegut

John Cheever

What book has no one heard about but should read?

Depends on your hearing. 

Think that in Australian Independent Spec-Fic there are some great collections and anthologies from Ticonderoga Publications, Twelfth Planet Press and Fablecroft -  all Publishing Houses that are deservedly getting some real notice from elite level critics as well as winning (or being finalists for) The Aurealis Awards on a regular basis. 

What books are you an ‘evangelist’ for?

Anything on the favourite list. 

What are your favourite books by a first time author?

A Confederacy of Dunces. From recollection, John Kennedy Toole's first and only novel was published posthumously

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. Beautiful debut.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. As long as you forget about the icicle scene. 

Swamplandia! by Karen Russell as a novel, and her collection, St Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Girls is incredible. One of my all time favourites.

What is your favourite classic book?

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stephenson

Five other notable mentions?

Not classics, just mentions in general. I’m a rule breaker: 

Seahearts by Margo Lanagan

The Quiet American and The Confidential Agent by Graham Greene (as well as a host of others by Greene)

The Road by Cormac McArthy

Adult short stories of Ursula Le Guin .

Tobias Wolf

Roald Dahl’s twists are often seen as dated but I still love them, same applies for Kurt Vonnegut

Sherman Alexie

George Saunders.

Michael Swanwick’s short stories

Nalo Hopkinson’s short work too. Looking forward to reading her longer work.

I've read two short stories now by the Australian writer, Ryan O’Neil: “Four Letter Words” and “R and L" and I’ve been impressed.

And in Australian spec-fic, Margo Lanagan aside, the few stories that I’ve read by Lisa L. Hannett, Deborah Biancotti and Angela Slatter have been fabulous. I’m also looking forward to reading more from Faith Mudge, who has a real talent for fluid storytelling so it will be interesting following her writing journey.

I’d add my writing group here too… All are doing very well at present but that just seems in poor taste and they know who they are.

Jonathan Shaw Looks at Overland 214

Jonathan Shaw is an Australian poet, who also provides regular commentary on a few literary journals. His blog is of interest to any reader, especially Australian ones. His Overland updates often make my 'reading guide' when I'm busy and need to save my cover-to-cover reading for a latter date.

It's flattering to be mentioned in his recent review of Overland 214, Autumn ed. Jeff Sparrow:

http://shawjonathan.wordpress.com/2014/04/29/overland-214/

I think his final lines ring truer than ever regarding Overland's 60th birthday:

Sixty years of dissent, interrogation and craft! May the road rise to meet you, Overland, and the wind be at your back for at least 60 more.

Swancon Panel: Writing: The Lifestyle

Today, I was on a panel at Swancon about the writing lifestyle. Which, for me as a long short story writer, largely relates to holidays and early morning rises before work. The other panelists were Isobelle Carmody, Anne Bishop, David Luckett, and Cat Sparks.

Being relatively new to the craft,  I felt a little like a minnow in the room beforehand (as I work and don't make a sole living out of stories) but that feeling dissipated quickly due to the friendly, welcoming, and respectful nature of the panelists.

As for habits of the panel: some of us write at cafes (I often do),while others have a strict home routine (which I do too on holidays). What seems important to most is trying to maintain life balance. Writing is, after all, a solitary and consuming and hence, potentially dangerous craft.

Isobelle Carmody has a zest for living and writing. She prefers to write in cafes as the buzz of people makes the craft a little more social. She's quite similar to me in that if she takes herself to a cafe, she knows that she's there for a specific reason and can't fall asleep or be distracted by life or other responsibilities. Before workdays, I also often go for a morning ride and a quick write at a cafe to keep in practice.  I work in a more disciplined fashion during my time off work.

When writing at home and it's fair weather out, Isobelle plays soundtracks of actual rain to keep her in that Gothic writing groove. 

I met Cat Sparks for the first time at the Aurealis Awards in Sydney a couple of years ago and we had a great time, so it felt like a brief reunion of sorts. I felt that Cat, a multiple award winning short story writer, was far too severe on herself during the panel with regards to not having written a completed novel. I think we all need to celebrate every writing achievement and Cat Sparks has achieved plenty in the world of speculative short fiction. We all have goals and ambitions but Cat has been a stalwart over a vast period of time and that's something to rejoice in. 

David Luckett was both dour and philosophical and also quite entertaining as he challenged the whole notion of lifestyle.

Anne Bishop appeared to have great balance within her own life and strongly suggested to all that it wasn't always the case. I admired her open way with the audience. Anne is a disciplined 'home' writer by day. And her healthy lifestyle seems to have helped her in terms of both her writing and life in general.

All panelists were genuine and warm. All love the craft, although David's love was more veiled. I hope the audience got something out of it as I certainly did. 

Book Buying: I bought copious amounts of books (as usual) from Ticonderoga Press and Twelfth Planet Press tables and also the Ann & Jeff VanderMeer anthology of time travel stories: The Time Traveler's Almanac. I have bibliophilic issues...

Currently Reading: Dangerous Women ed George RR Martin & Gardner Dozois, Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey, which will be followed by The Pure Gold Baby by Margaret Drabble and an expository text about Neanderthals: The Neanderthals Rediscovered by Dimitra Papagianni & Michael A. Morse.

Happy reading and writing!
 

  

Overland Literary Journal 214, Autumn and my latest story "Submerging"

My latest story "Submerging" will be in the pages of Overland Literary Journal 214, Autumn. It'll be launched this evening in Melbourne at what looks like a fab event 'Journal-Palooza 2014'.

There's free wine, hundreds attending and I'd imagine lots of fun to be had. As a Perthite, it's the usual problem of distance but I hope those present have a wonderful time. Don't think you can go wrong with free wine in a great venue. So eat, drink and have a listen to what I'm sure will be some engaging speakers and readers.

If you're a Melbournite or in Melbourne or want to travel to Melbourne or... then here's the link below (hope it works. I'm too young to be a Luddite.):

 https://www.facebook.com/events/1463717933857213/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular

Just in case it doesn't, here's some of the details: 

• 9 April at 18:30–22:00

• Wide Open Road 274 Barkly Street, Brunswick, Victoria 3056

Join us on Wednesday April 9th as four of Australia’s premier literary journals - Kill Your Darlings, Meanjin Quarterly, The Lifted Brow and Overland Literary Journal - launch together for 2014!

I'm proud of "Submerging" and I'm not a writer who normally confesses that. Without giving too much away, I think, or at least hope, that you'll find it highly topical. It's also my shortest story at only 2400 words.

To have a second story in Overland within the space of a few years is a dream for any writer - it's simply a journal flooded with superb material. I look forward to reading not only the other stories by Ben Walter and Kate Hall but also a story inspired from Overland 32 by Roma O'Brien (1965): a 'fancy cut' piece by the wonderful, Josephine Rowe,  And then there's all the usual insightful, courageous and thought provoking articles that make up the literary, political and socio-cultural juggernaut that is Overland.


 

Writers [on Writing]: Ed McBain

Like a jazz piano player, a good writer of short crime fiction didn't think he knew his job unless he could improvise on all twelve keys. Ringing variations on the theme was what made it such fun.

Ed McBain "She Was Blond. She Was in Trouble. And She Paid 3 Cents a Word"

Writers [On Writing]: David Mamet

The purpose of literature is to Delight. To create or endorse the scholastic is a craven desire.

David Mamet, The Humble Genre Novel, Sometimes Full of Genius

David Mamet's essay is a celebration of genre novels (Patrick O'Brien in particularly) and what they offer the reading community. And, part of me, the part that writes genre, agrees with Mamet's above statement, trumpet blazing away: 'Hey, listen all. Genre is the real deal!' After all, literature of the past and present has so many lasting and memorable novels that fall into the 'genre' category. Concentrating on speculative fiction alone, (which nowadays refers to anything that touches on the unreal), a few obvious examples from the Victorian era that remain in our literary canon include The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Frankenstein and Dracula; and from the present, the much lauded collections of contemporary writers Micahel Chabon and Karen Russell are just a starting point.

Yet, another side of me, and it's not the 'realist' writer, steams over Mamet's comment.  A comment that reeks of intolerance. A comment which has the same stench of prejudice that fuels my anger when realist readers dismiss the genre world. 

There is no doubting that to 'Delight' or 'Entertain' is the crucial element of any narrative but to belittle any kind of text, 'scholastic' or otherwise, due to one's personal taste is both demeaning and narrow minded in itself. It's a notion that bears resemblance to the tyrannical: What the King thinks is law. After all, what delights me differs from others and others delight differs from others in turn. To dismiss the 'scholastic' novel is therefore as narrow minded as those who dismiss the 'genre'  world. After all, is there anything more subjective than reading?

Juicy narratives entertain me. I'll admit it.  I'm a sucker for a great spec-fic tale, fantastic worlds like those of George RR Martin and JRR Tolkien, and the wonderful storytelling that accompanies them, but I also enjoy writing for other reasons. I'm held willing hostage, for instance, by the prose of Angela Carter, even more so, perhaps, than her narratives - I'm stimulated, bewildered, and of course, delighted, by Carter's command of syntax. I also revel in the ostentatious or fresh voices used by writers like Will Self or Junot Diaz. And then again, there are those writers whose prose impresses me with its pared back and contained style: Cormac McArthy's The Road and Neil Gaiman's recent Ocean at the End of the Lane (although both are also rhythmical), being fine examples of this. 

The whole notion of completely separating the scholastic from genre is ridiculous in itself. Huxley's Brave New World is a fine example. Although not personally my favourite work (I still admire it),  the richness of the text clearly comes from Huxley's scholastic interest in the future and his scholarly investigation of both the sciences and the humanities, as much as the genre world, in which it is set. In fact, there are a vast number of genre novels in the 'spec-fic' field that explore the 'scholastic'.

At a fundamental level, 'Delight' in a fictional text comes through a variety of means: through prose, through intellectual exploration or simply through an intriguing entertaining narrative. To deny one form of delight is to be as intolerant and fearful as those who deny the others. Read for delight by all means, but don't try to deny that literature delights readers in different ways.

I think that the pigeon holers, from both sides of the field, need to reign themselves in... or even better: remain locked-up in their birdcages. 

Aurealis Awards

Great to see Dreaming of Djinn ed. Liz Grzyb as a finalist for the best anthology. A huge huzzah to all the writers, publishers and editors involved with any of the listed finalists.  What a wealth of talent!

http://aurealisawards.com/Media%20Release%20-%20Finalists%20Feb%202014.pdf

Reading and Writing Review, 2013

Books Read in 2013

The 25 books I read in 2013 are listed below:

Levant: Splendour and Castastrophe in the Mediterranean Philip Mansel(History)                                                           
Collected Stories Richard Yates                                            
Liars in Love Richard Yates                                                   
Selected Stories Alice Munro                                                
Burial Rites Hannah Kent                                                      
Sea Hearts Margo Lanagan                                                   
Bad Power Deborah Biancotti                                                 
The Ocean at the End of the Lane Neil Gaiman (YA)            
Dreaming of Djinn Ed. Liz Gryzb                                          
Siren Beat Tansy Rayner Roberts (novella)                          
The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror, 2011 Ed. Liz Gryzb & Talie Helene
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Jonathan Safran Foer    
Dancing with Bears Michael Swanwick                               
The Comedians Graham Greene                                            
Roadkill Robert Shearman (novella)                                     
Homer & Langley E. L Doctorow
The Night Circus Erin Morgenstern
Teatime for the Traditionally Built  Alexander McAll Smith
Queenpin Megan Abbott                                                       
The Sword of the Lictor Gene Wolfe                                      
Steampunk’d ed. Jean Rabe & Marin H. Greenberg                 
Granta 117 Horror  
Religion for Atheists Alain De Botton (Expository)                                                                     Strange Objects Gary Crew                                                   
All That I Am Anna Funder

Currently Reading

I’m currently reading Vampires in the Lemon Grove by the exceptional Karen Russell and Eclipse Four ed Jonathan Strahan. Reading Strahan’s Locus Awards anthology led me to appreciate long speculative fiction and its vast potential in the literary world. Since then I’ve bought most of his many anthologies, so it’s time I got around to reading them. I’ll comment on both of these works in next year’s review.  

I’m also reading Junot Diaz’ The Brief Wonderful Life of Oscar Wao, which has impressed me, particularly in terms of wit and fresh narrative voice. For those of us outside of the Hispanic World, a glossary of Spanish terms could have come in handy. Nevertheless, I think it deserved its awarded Pulitzer.

And finally, Dinosaurs, A Very Short Introduction by the palaeobiologist, David Norman. Robert Bakker’s innovative work rejuvenated my interest in the ‘adult’ world of dinosaurs and Norman writes along those lines (without being quite so provocative – Bakker covered a lot of that ground) so I’m savouring it. A recent visit to the marvellous Natural History Museum of London was the catalyst for the read.

THE BEST READS:

History

Levant: Splendour and Castastrophe in the Mediterranean by Philip Mansel (History)
                                                           
My Pappou grew up in Alexandria and was born in the town of Levisi, a now empty Greek town in modern day Turkey (Lycia), so this was a fascinating and almost personal read for me. I’ve also spent around six months in Thessaloniki (a city Mansel also delves into) when I was 24-25. Mansel is an extraordinary historian who is able to combine sophisticated language, anecdotes and primary sources in a style which is still quite intimate.  This is a must read for any history buff – or anyone interested in the Levant and its peoples (chiefly Arabs, Greeks, Turks, Armenians, Jews, French, Italians and Bulgarians). There is an in-depth coverage of Alexandria, Beirut, Smyrna/ Izmir and Thessaloniki/ Salonika. I consider myself well read on the topic but Mansel unearthed more than a few marvels for me in this excellent history.

Anthologies and Collections

It would be inappropriate to comment here on the two that I have stories in (Dreaming of Djinn and The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror, 2011). 

Richard Yates’ Liars in Love and his Collected Stories are simply superb. In my opinion he deserved so much more recognition for his rendering of the world of the everyday man in such a sardonic, colourful and often poignant manner. I regularly reflect on his stories well after reading them. Yates’ short fiction is easily some of the best that I’ve read. 




Selected Stories by Alice Munro, this year’s Nobel Laureate, is a collection that I’ve been dipping in and out of for the last couple of years. Munro is a modern day artist who breaks boundaries by venturing down different angles and paths in a rich descriptive tapestry, which often culminate in pensive open-endings. Although the collection is outstanding, I’d recommend that you read The Progress of Love or The Beggar’s Maid  (or both) as the stories from these collections stood out as being especially great. 

And finally, for the fans of speculative fiction, Bad Power by Deborah Biancotti was a well-paced and well-written collection that kept me utterly absorbed. It was a pleasure discovering another Australian talent this year. 

Novels

Two Australian writers stole the ‘reading show’ for me this year: Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites was my favourite with Margo Lanagan’s Sea Hearts just a smidgen away from it. Both are set on cold, windy isles. Kent’s is an historical story set in Iceland and Lanagan’s is on a fictional ‘selkie’ island that sounds like it’s off the coast of the British Isles.

 I also found Neil Gaiman’s YA novel (a genre I don’t typically warm to) The Ocean at the End of the Lane a very good read.

Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites left me wondering at first. There are a few places where the writing could have been stronger - her overt use of ‘pause’ in one or two places in her dialogue could have been handled with more subtlety (the word itself in dialogue is usually superfluous if the punctuation is there) and there were some other areas that in a basic technical sense jarred. But there are also so many strengths here. Kent places the reader into an Iceland of yesteryear in a brilliantly effective fashion, working with sensory imagery that has you living and breathing the very land.  I was consumed by the smells and workings of the hearth; the cold nipped at and bit at my skin. And then there is the constant unveiling, which invites the reader to plunge into the icy story and consume it greedily. This is not only a special debut novel, it is a special novel. Kudos to Kent. It will most likely be made into an award winning film. The atmosphere and tension that Kent has masterfully created have all the makings.

Margo Lanagan’s Sea Hearts is a novel that I’ve commented on before but do read this non–linear novel. You’ll feel as though you’re on some wind-swept, cold Celtic island being buffeted about (yes, both sun-struck Australians' works: Kent's and Lanagan's, share strong atmospheric similarities). The characters are particularly well-drawn and Lanagan writes this in her typically strong voiced folksy manner. There’s plenty of rhythm in the prose and although it may feel fairly simple, there are the usual ‘Lanagan layers’ that warrant a much closer look. Sea Hearts deserves the praise and many awards it’s received. Awards for Lanagan have become ubiquitous in speculative fiction, and why not? Lanagan is certainly a praise-worthy writer.

Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane utilises language appropriate for younger readers. It’s written in an honest and ‘pure’ style and doesn’t seem to overextend for anything more. Oceans at the End of the Lane is a reflective novel delving into the protagonist’s childhood. It examines fantasy and memory and the life-changing moments of one’s life. I always enjoy Gaiman but for me this had something special and the book club conversation with Tara and Colleen only confirmed that. There are a couple of ways that you could examine this novel and its use of fantasy. What’s real and what isn’t? The mundane vs the fantastic vs the combination of both. It’s Gaiman’s ‘coming-of-age’ work, although I’m not entirely sure that the younger target audience will appreciate it as much as older readers. Its reflective voice is sincere and honest and ultimately it’s this pared back ‘purity’ that makes the story all the more powerful.

Disappointment

Hate to say it but Anna Funder’s All That I Am.

I missed something here. I wanted to love it. It examines some potentially interesting characters during the latter days of the Weimar Republic and then the resistance against the Nazis afterwards. What shouldn't there be to like? But it fell flat with me. It wasn’t terrible but it certainly didn’t live up to the hype surrounding it. Then again, reading is such a subjective pastime.

WRITING 

I have only written a couple of stories each year of late due to work commitments, so having two more published in 2013 was very rewarding. It was nice to have a ‘lit’ story in Meanjin as well as an historical-fantasy in the anthology Dreaming of Djinn.

With regards to the story from that anthology, it was a thrill to see it reviewed so nicely by Rich Horton in the pages of the world’s leading speculative fiction magazine Locus Magazine. 

I’ve finished my first draft of a novel too.

So the goals for 2013 are:

1.     Write two or three ‘long’ short stories.

2.     Have a story published in 2014 (my goal is always at least one per year).  This goal has come to fruition already. 

As for blogging, possibly one post a month. I don’t put my personal world out there, which makes this a very ‘bookish’ blog. I’m not a blogger by nature, so expect fewer of these unpolished posts. I wrote far fewer this year too. It’s just not a world that I’m crazy about. Although I will confess to following quite a few blogs of others… 

WRITING NEWS

Once again, it’s been nice to have a foot in both camps: the ‘realist’ world and the ‘spec-fic’ world. I’ve two stories coming out soon: my shortest story ever at only 2300 words, “Submerging” will be in Overland Literary Journal #214. It’s my second story in what’s my favourite literary journal, and I’m also ecstatic that “The Tic-Toc Boy of Constantinople” will be in the Ticonderoga anthology Kisses by Clockwork ed. Liz Grzyb. 

The latter story is much longer at almost 7000 words. It’s the second time that I’ve purposefully written for an anthology (Dreaming of Djinn was the first). It’s an interesting process. You’re compelled to write something that at least squeezes into a theme and therefore it encourages ‘forced creativity’. And let’s not forget a much shorter timeline. It enables you, as a writer, to also test your boundaries, writing for a theme that you may not have naturally written about beforehand. The story, a fairly dark one, is my first venture into the realm of ‘steampunk’. Don’t read my story for the romance though – there’s not a Hell of a lot there. 

SHORT STORIES

I’ve read 106 stories and anally recorded them. My usual list of the 25 best reads of 2013 will be posted soon.

NEW YEAR

Just wanted to wish you all the best for 2014. Hope that you get to read a few books, watch a few films, go for a few walks, sing a few songs, and let those close to you know that you care. 

25 Recommended Stories from my 2013 Reading

In 2013, I read 106 'long' short stories. Finalising a list of 25 highly recommended stories is never easy but these were my favourites:

“A Private Posession” Richard Yates (Uncollected Stories in Collected Stories)     

“Fits” Alice Munro Munro (Selected Stories: originally in The Progress of Love)  

“Saying Goodbye to Sally” Richard Yates (Liars in Love)                                      

“Dulse” Alice Munro (Selected Stories: Originally in The Moons of Jupiter)          

“Evening on the Cote d’Azur” Richard Yates (Uncollected Stories in Collected Stories)                                                                                                                       

“The Turkey Season” Alice Munro (Selected Stories: Originally in The Moons of Jupiter)                                                                                                                           

“Forever, Miss Tapekwa County” Lisa L. Hannett (The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror, 2011)                                                                                         

“Reeling for the Empire” Karen Russell (Vampires in the Lemon Grove originally in Tin House)                                                                                                                  

“The Comptroller and the Wild Wind”  Richard Yates (Uncollected Stories in Collected Stories)                                                                                                        

“Regards at Home” Richard Yates (Liars in Love)                                                      

“The Oblivion Box” Faith Mudge (Dreaming of Djinn)                                            

“Palming the Lady” Deborah Biancotti (Bad Power)                                                  

“Liars in Love” Richard Yates (Liars in Love)                                                          

“A Clinical Romance” Richard Yates (Uncollected Stories in Collected Stories)     

“A Compassionate Leave” Richard Yates (Liars in Love)                                         

“Silver, Sharp as Silk” Dan Rabarts (Dreaming of Djinn)                                         

“Lichen” Alice Munro (Selected Stories: originally in The Progress of Love)         

“Web of Lies”  Deborah Biancotti (Bad Power)                                                       

“Berries and Incense” Felicity Dowker (The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror, 2011)                                                                                                     

“The Beggar Maid” Alice Munro (Selected Stories)                                                 

“The Quiet Realm of the Dark Queen” Jenny Blackford (Dreaming of Djinn)       

“This is my Living Room” Tom Mcafee (Points of View: An Anthology of Short Stories ed. James Moffett & Kenneth R. McElheny originally in Poems and Stories by Tom Mcafee)                                                                                                              

“A Convalescent Ego” Richard Yates (Uncollected Stories in Collected Stories)    

“Vampires in the Lemon Grove” Karen Russell (Vampires in the Lemon Grove originally in Zoetrope:All Story                                                                                  

“Cross that Bridge” Deborah Biancotti (Bad Power)