What’s happening? (Or what a bugger of a day)
Hi all, Well the day started off alright. Did my exercises and weights; watered the vegies, pot plants and fruit trees, picked a few tomatoes, thought about mowing the lawns. And then we got a telephone call that my father had collapsed and been taken to the Wang Base Hospital. Went to hospital. My father […]
What’s happening?
Hi all, Sad to hear that Arthur C Clarke has died. He and Asimov were probably the greatest contributers to the popularity of science-fiction. We have him to thank for the idea of the satellite too. I’ve read a few of his novels – Cradle and Rendezvous With Rama being two of the more memorable […]
What’s happening?
Hi all, Sad to hear that Arthur C. Clarke has died. He and Asimov were probably the greatest contributers to the popularity of science-fiction. We have him to thank for the idea of the satellite too. I’ve read a few of his novels – Cradle and Rendezvous With Rama being two of the more memorable […]
Graham’s last ten reads
Rated from * to ***** *** Armageddon’s Children, Terry Brooks, 2006. A young adult fantasy/science fiction novel that is just about all prologue for the coming books in the series. The characters are clichéd, eg a mystical American Indian, but I enjoyed his post-apocalyptic world where magic and genetic engineering are set to battle it […]
How much writing do I need to do before I get published?
Hi all, I was reading a post on Stephen Dedman’s blog on livejournal.com and he mentioned Ian Irvine’s writing rules at www.ian-irvine.com. Ian reckons a writer needs to write for 10,000 hrs before they will complete a publishable novel. That’s the equivalent of treating writing as a full-time job for five years. I estimate that […]
Review of Matt Browne’s “The Future Happens Twice”
The Future Happens Twice is one of the better science-fiction novels I have read. Its originality and Matt’s uncomplicated writing style made it a delight to read. Matt’s extensive research for the novel also shines through, as I never thought an element within the story was implausible.It is a hard science-fiction novel. By hard I […]
Sophie Mirabella’s boycott of the apology.
Hi all, If you didn’t know, Sophie Mirabella was one of three or four opposition members to boycott Kevin Rudd’s apology for past government policies to the Stolen Generation. Unfortunately Sophie is my local member. The local regional newspaper, The Border Mail, calls her the “darling of the far-right”. I would tend to agree. There […]
The future of the book (part two).
Hi all, In a previous post (January 6th) about the future of the book, I mentioned a few articles I had read that suggested novel writers might have a greater chance of fighting off the distractions of computer games and movies if they wrote stories that did the one thing that movies and games can’t […]
what’s happening
Hi all, I enjoyed my first day back at work, partly due to my nemesis not being there, but more due to a new teacher-librarian who is there two days a week – she seems open to suggestions. There also wasn’t the mad rush to return books before the end-of-year overdue letters were given to […]
Tv antennas, critiques, writing etc
Hi all, My holidays end this week – next week I will back at work in my part-time library position – so I finally got around to doing some of the things that I need to do while I’ve got the extra time. I visited the optometrist and finished up getting two new pair of […]