Geoff with Tiger at 8 weeks old 

Sword of Anubis

I sent the short story “The Sword of Anubis” off this morning to a magazine. Keep your fingers crossed. I rewrote it for the umpteenth time and finally was satisfied enough to send it.

I’ve run out of old stories to revamp now, so I’ll have to finish off a few of those stories I have hanging around half written.

It’s not such a good day here today. It started out raining, then the sun came out, now I think it is just about to pour down again. Very weird. Very springish.

Our plans for making hay while the sun shone have fallen in a heap. While we waited for the land to dry up enough to get the tractors on, the grass grew too long and fouled up all the equipment. Now we’ll have to strip graze it a bit at a time. The cattle will love it.

Pity about not being able to stock pile a bit more hay for tougher times, though. We still have some left from last season, but everyone knows how quickly you can go through that.

Oh well, with the floods and all, at least we have plenty of water.

Ah, sigh. Such is the farming life.

Okay, so now its back to writing again. Maybe I can get some poems sent off before Xmas.

Cheers.

Australian Community Writers

Australian Community Writers Inc.
President’s Report
November 2005

Well… we’ve made it through another year. And what a successful year it’s been for us.

Our conference and short story competition were both enthusiastically supported by members and non-members alike.

We hope to see these events continue to grow throughout the next few years as the A.C.W. grows in membership and in support.

I’ve been doing a little writing of my own lately. It’s been a while since I’ve written short stories and poetry for competitions and anthologies, but… ta-daaah… I’ve managed to write and re-write a few and I’ve actually sent them off. Keep your fingers crossed.

My novel has been left in limbo for a few months, so I have to get back to that as well. Since the writing bug has bitten me, I’d better take advantage of the poison and write, write, write.

And… guess what…?

I have even started a BLOG.

Yeah, I know, very corny, but have you ever tried one? It’s great. You get to jot down what you’re thinking at the time, just like in a real diary, only on-line. Of course, mine is about what I’m thinking about my novels, stories, plot lines and characters – nothing really personal – well, most of the time it isn’t deeply personal.

Cheers for now.

Until next time… keep writing, reading and loving every minute of it.

My soul-sister Kaye [on the left] and I at my place in November. I'm the shorter one. 

Vampires Gypsies

Vampires & Gypsies

My short story, “Shadow on the Crystal” is at last rewritten and ready to send away. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. I love a good Gypsy vampire story.

I think I’ll stick to contemporary times for my next short story, though. The research for historical times and settings is horrendous.

I’m also going to get a few poems ready for sending away. That should keep me busy for a while.

Unfortunately, while I’m busy doing all that, I’m not finishing off “Shadow Runners” – and I really have to get that done and rewritten very soon. My goal was to have it finished by the end of this year. I’d better get my bum into gear.

So… “hi ho, hi ho, a-writing we will go…”.

Anniversary Blues

Anniversary Blues

This is insane! It’s supposed to be our 25th Wedding Anniversary and I’m supposed to be able to sit back, relax and enjoy the day as my friends and family treat us to a special celebration.

Instead, I’ll be the one running around doing all the work, making and serving all the food and cleaning up afterwards. I’m really pissed off about this. [Not that you could tell, huh?]

No-one has even had the decency to organize a nice cake for us.

My ELBs -  ‘ever loving bridesmaids’ - were supposed to organize everything as a surprise for us. They dumped all the worry on our kids who don’t have the money or the time to do this, nor do they live here, which makes it very difficult for them. Now, I’ve ended up doing it all and have been left to pay for everything as well. So much for being treated to a special day! Huh!

Above all else I HATE INSINCERITY.

I loathe the fact that the ELBs are sitting back laughing and sniggering about what they’ve done. How could they be so cruel? They know we don’t have the money to hire caterers. They know I have to do it all myself. This is just not fair. I even asked one ELB if she would help me organize a cake. She just laughed and said there were cake decorators in the yellow pages.

YOU BET I’M PISSED OFF!!!

This is NOT going to go unpunished. Revenge has surfaced in my usually mild mannered accepting peaceful mind.

I don’t know how just yet, but justice is coming. They’d better look out!

If I can handle an alien love scene, I can handle the ELBs.

[Insert evil laugh here]

My Very First Pantou

My Very First Pantoum

Land Dreaming

Beyond the dreaming land,
ardent sunsets weave
magic bands of promises
upon this canvass scape.

Ardent sunsets weave
the colour of tomorrow’s songs
upon this canvass scape
in reds and blues that waltz to tunes unheard.

The colour of tomorrow’s songs –
magic bands of promises
in reds and blues that waltz to tunes unheard
beyond the dreaming land.

My very first pantoum
© Friday, September 30, 2005



OK. So it’s not perfect yet, but at least I’m giving it a go.

PANTOUM OR NOT PANTO

PANTOUM OR NOT PANTOUM

And I used to think haikus were tough!

Have you ever tried a pantoum? Challenge is one word to describe it. There are a few other words that spring to mind though.

Well, I’ve never shrunk from a challenge, so… a pantouming we go.

Great New Tool

Great New Tool

Hey, this Blogger for Word is great.

Give it a go.

Poems, Plays & Ghosts

I sent a couple of haikus off to a competition on Monday, Sept. 12. I haven't entered any competitions for years. I must start doing that again. It's fun. Don't know how I'll go, but you never know, do you.

The Beechworth Theartre Company's night of one act plays is on tonight - Friday, Sept. 16. First play is "Evidence", a little murder mystery by Ian Austin. The second is "Gosforth's Fete" a comedy by Alan Ayckbourn. Very funny. Very English. The full dress rehearsal was last night and it went rather well. There's a mix of experienced and inexperienced actors on the stage in both plays, but I think they'll go really well.

I'm not on the stage this time. I'm behind it. Literally! I'm the prompt. That's the worst job in theatre, I reckon. You sit in a little dark space following the script by torch light in case the actors forget a line. Not exactly glamorous. But, fun anyway.

It's on at the Bijou Theatre up at the old Mayday Hills mental asylum. What a creepy old place that is. It was built in the 1870s and most of it is still standing. It's now a university and most of the buildings have been renovated. The grounds are lovely. The old parts of the place, though, are still old, abandoned and ghostly.

There's a ghost in the Bijou Theatre. There's an old abandoned stair well that has had the first flight of stairs removed so nobody can get up to the bell tower. The entrance to it is behind the stage. If you go in there and look up, you can see a man leaning over from the top rail looking back down at you. He's harmless, but it gives you a bit of a scare to see him staring at you.

There are other ghosts there too. I took a friend on a night time ghost tour and we both saw a man in a white lab coat walk out of the wall one of the old buildings, through three rooms [by going through their walls] and disappear into the wall at the end. Wow! Exciting.

I'm taking a camera tonight to get a shot or two. Maybe I'll catch a ghost. Do you think? We'll see.

Break a leg -- as they say.