Category: castle-in-the-air

Ditmar ballot joy!

On By leiossIn A Hand of Knaves, achieved, castle-in-the-air, The Beast's Heart, writing, writing goals4 Comments

The Ditmar preliminary ballot got released today and, holy freaking hell, I’m on it!

The Beast’s Heart has been nominated for Best Novel, A Hand of Knaves has been nominated for Best Collection, and I’ve been nominated for Best New Talent!

giphy goat

The Ditmars, in case you’re not familiar with them, are Australia’s fan-nominated awards, so I am more than thrilled to find myself on this list. Just to give you an indication of the kind of company I’m in, when I showed my partner the list of other names The Beast’s Heart is up against to take out the gong, he laughed. Any day I find myself on a list with the likes of Sam Hawke for City of Lies, Kaaron Warren for Tide of Stone, Alan Baxter for Devouring Dark, or Amanda Bridgeman for The Subjugate, is a good day.

And, not only has A Hand of Knaves been nommed for Best Collected Work, but the obscenely talented Shauna O’Meara has bagged a well-deserved nomination for her exquisite illustrations.

It’s immensely satisfying to see so many other good friends receive nominations. It’d probably be just as easy to re-post the entire list rather than list them all individually, but I’m particularly pleased to see the noms for Rivqa Rafael & Tansy Rayner Roberts’ anthology Mother of Invention (including a nom for Best Artwork for it’s stunning cover by Likhain) and for Elizabeth Fitzgerald for Best Fan Publication for her review blog on Earl Grey Editing, especially given she’s just announced she will be winding that up in the near future (sad face).

Happily, I have already booked my ticket to Continuum in June (where the awards ceremony will take place). I’m really looking forward to sharing a drink with the others on the ballot and toasting the winners. So thank you from the bottom of my heart for the nominations, and congrats to all my fellow nominees. See you at Continuum in June!

Launch day…

On By leiossIn castle-in-the-air, The Beast's Heart, writing goalsLeave a comment

 

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So my not-so-little novel was published on Tuesday, and tonight I’m having a book launch at Harry Hartogs Bookseller. Fortunately Angela Slatter (Vigil, Corpselight, Black Winged Angels and about a dozen others…) is going to be on hand to help me out.

I’m not nervous at all.

It’s a thing, it’s really a thing.

And, once more, because it’s just so pretty, how about that stunning cover from Jo Myler & Daren Newman? *swoon*

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Crazy times at Conflux 13

On By leiossIn castle-in-the-air, community, conventions, peopleLeave a comment

Well, wow. That was intense.

Conflux 13 is over & it was amazing. I feel like I’ve been operating on overdrive for a week now. Where should I start? OK, highlights.

1. Meeting Ellen Datlow. Idol from my youth. Giant of the fantasy & horror genres. Hard not to spend the weekend in a total fangirl tailspin.

2. The panels. What’s not to like about spending the weekend talking with like-minded and fascinating people like Angela Slatter, Kirstyn McDermott and Aiki Flintheart about things like Fairy Tales With Teeth and Claws, Beastly Transformations, Magic Schools and Deadly Dance?

Kirstyn McDermott & Jason Nahrung on Fairy Tales With Teeth & Claws, courtesy of Cat Sparks
Liz Grzyb interviewing Angela Slatter, courtesy of Cat Sparks
Kaaron Warren interviewing Ellen Datlow, courtesy of Cat Sparks
The Magic School panel: Lyss Wickramasinghe, Angela Slatter, me, Dion Perry

3. Winning second prize in the CSFG/Conflux short story comp for my story Flawless! (Which I’ve now been invited to read at the next meeting of the Canberra Fairy Tale Ring. as it fits neatly with the AFTS November theme of Snow White.)

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4. Interviewing Zena Shapter for the launch of her new novel, Towards White, out from IFWG Publishing.

Zena Towards White
Photo courtesy of Cat Sparks

5. Drinking creme de violette bellinis and planning a live-tweeted rewatch of The Lady and the Highwayman and perhaps also A Hazard of Hearts (both movies based on Barbara Cartland novels made in the 1980s).

6. Discovering who was the mysterious origami master leaving perfect tiny dragons and unicorns all over the con.

7. Watching our guests of honour Ellen & Angela, & MC Kaaron opening their thank you goody bags to reveal a beautiful cast glass key by Canberra Fairy Tale Glass artist Spike Deane. I’m given to understand they were well received.

keys

8. And last, but definitely not least – because this is what it’s all about when it comes down to it – is spending time with beloved friends and kindred spirits, both new and old, talking about writing, publishing, reading, movies, games, art, history, research, language and anything else that moves us and connects us and makes us part of the same tribe.

Ellen Datlow & Angela Slatter
Cat Sparks
Shauna O’Meara
Kathleen Jennings
Abigail Nathan
Aiki Flintheart
Alis Franklin
Imogen Cassidy
Liz Grzyb
Louise Pieper, Ellen Datlow, Kaaron Warren
Lyss Wickramasinghe
Me, with Zena Shapter & Tim Napper in the background
Rik Lagarto
Rob Porteous
Alan Baxter & Sam Hawke
Spike Deane of the magical keys
Tim Napper & Kylie Seluka

(All photos, except the first four, by Cat Sparks.)

 

An oval mirror in an ornate frame on a deep blue background. The mirror has been shattered.

Proof

On By leiossIn achieved, castle-in-the-air, writing, writing goalsLeave a comment

So this little piece of exquisiteness just got revealed on Twitter over @Chapter5Books tonight.

It’s waaaaay past midnight here, and I’m so excited I can barely breathe, let alone sleep. And this is just the proof cover! The hardback cover reveal is still to come!

Between this and the Tour de France I’m not going to get any sleep tonight, am I?

0…

On By leiossIn achieved, castle-in-the-air, novels, sale, writing, writing goals2 Comments

So here’s what I’ve been counting down to. *silly grin*

Low-Fantasy-Dodo-Banner-400x200I am beyond excited to announce that on 31 May 2018 my first novel, The Beast’s Heart, will be published by Hodder & Stoughton in the UK. (If you click on the image above, it will take you to the announcement on the Hodderscape website.) Here’s a little snippet of what they say about it to whet your appetite:

Set in seventeenth-century France, it is a luxuriously magical retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale – from the point of view of the Beast. Both the writing and story-telling are lush and evocative, rich and achingly exquisite; this novel is the epitome of psychological depth and descriptive beauty.

*Blushes*

The Beast’s Heart (formerly known as Novel Project #1) was my way of immersing myself in one of my favourite fairy tales, and in my very own fairy-tale-come-true was picked up by Hodder & Stoughton out of the open submissions process they (bravely) ran in 2015. (Bravely: they got 1445 submissions! That is a LOT of reading!)

There is a bit of celebrating going on in my house tonight.

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Aurealis and Swancon revisited

On By leiossIn achieved, castle-in-the-air, community, conventions, writing, writing goals2 Comments

Just in case anyone thought I wasn’t still wallowing in the pleasure of my first ever award…

Aurealis 2016 PJG

Here’s a few of my fave pics from that evening.

The OMG moment… And celebrating with my gorgeous family afterwards.

Photo by Dennis Murphy
Photo by Cat Sparks

And here’s a few other snaps from the evening (courtesy of Cat Sparks, whose full album of Swancon & the Aurealis Awards is on Flickr).

Cat Sparks and Glenda Larke, the evening’s MCs
The very glamorous Lyn Battersby, one of the YA fiction judges
Russell and Liz of Ticonderoga Publishing
Sean and Terri
Alan and Durand
Michael, Davina, Traci and Roxy
Tehani, Sam & Terri

Other fave moments from the evening included getting to see Sam Murray pick up her Aurealis for Best Science Fiction Short Story; watching Sam deliver Tim Napper’s speech for his win for Best Horror Short Story; and having the honour of accepting Kaaron Warren’s award on her behalf for Best Horror Novel. (If you’re interested, the #fauxcon hashtag chronicles my Canberra crowd’s celebration of the evening from back home. Made me wish I could be in two places at once.) All the winners are up on the Aurealis website.

And here’s a few pics from the day I spent at Swancon in Perth (again, thank you Cat Sparks!). I caught a GOH talk with Traci Harding, attended *two* book launches, a panel debating various thorny issues that arise in SFF fandom and I got a short excursion to a local bookstore to catch sight of Cat’s new novel Lotus Blue in the wild. Plus I spent some serious quality time with my tribe in the restaurant and the bar.

Alan & I in the bar (Cat Sparks)
Traci & I at the launch of Ticonderoga’s 2015 Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror (Cat Sparks)
Alex in the bar (Cat Sparks)
Cat signing books in the wild
Alan & Cat at the launch of Ticonderoga’s 2015 Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror
Corinne looking a little bloody (Cat Sparks)
Dinner on Saturday night
Liz & Tehani (Cat Sparks)
Nicho & Durand (Cat Sparks)
Dinner on Saturday – crazy alien tree
Slightly licked Ticonderoga launch cupcake
Lotus Blue launch (Cat Sparks)
Sean chilling in the hotel restaurant (Cat Sparks)
Stephen & Anthony reading at the Ticonderoga launch

I rounded it all out with a delicious dinner with friends under a spectacular, purple, fairy-lit tree. As always, the very best thing about going to a con was the people. *sniff* I love youse all.

GASP!!!

On By leiossIn achieved, castle-in-the-air, short stories, writing goals2 Comments

Sooooo…

That Aurealis Award I was nominated for a little while ago…

Well, the Aurealis Awards ceremony was last night, and…

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I still can’t quite believe it.

I was happy just to be nominated. Seriously, to have my work rated as being on a par with the likes of Lisa L Hannet and Tansy Rayner Roberts, not to mention my very good friend, the extraordinarily talented Shauna O’Meara, counts as achieving one of my big writing goals, right there. My cheeks still hurt from smiling 24 hours later.

I’m not sure how coherent I was in accepting the award, so I’ll repeat all the eloquent thank-yous I wish I’d made here.

Firstly, thank you to Belladonna Publishing for picking up Pretty Jennie Greenteeth and bringing my strange little story out into the world.

Thank you to the Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild for being the most amazing writing community ever and for offering generous and incisive feedback and critique on this story (and many others). It was especially exciting to share the shortlist with so many other CSFG members.

Thank you to my beautiful family for all the encouragement and giving me the space and time to write.

A big thank you to the tireless Aurealis judges for their commitment and energy in the face of a task of massive proportions.

And, finally, huge congratulations to all the 2016 Aurealis Awards nominees and winners, especially (again) CSFG members Tim Napper and Kaaron Warren, who won Best Horror Short Story (The Flame Trees) and Best Horror Novel (The Grief Hole) respectively. I have so many good friends among this list of excruciatingly talented authors, I’m still amazed to number myself among you, let alone have come home with an award.

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Achievement unlocked: Aurealis Award nomination

On By leiossIn achieved, castle-in-the-air, short stories, stories, writing, writing goalsLeave a comment

HAPPY MONDAY!

No, I’m serious.

The short lists for the 2016 Aurealis Awards went up today and OMG I’M ON IT!!!

My creepy, nasty, strange little story Pretty Jennie Greenteeth from Belladonna Publishing’s Strange Little Girls has been nominated in the YA category!

And because these things are always better shared, I’ve got so many good friends on the short list with me, I’m hard put to count them all. So particular congrats to Shauna O’Meara, Dave Versace, Ian McHugh, Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Kaaron Warren, Tim Napper, Tehani Wessely, Thoraiya Dyer, Simon Petrie, Angela Slatter, Alan Baxter, Sam Murray and Lisa Hannett – and everyone else on the list!

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