Nearing the end, Christina Ballerina, and an upcoming author appearance
Tuesday, March 16, 2010 at 4:22PM I have been writing very, very hard, and I'm thrilled to say that THE DISTANT HOURS is almost finished.1 It's such a bittersweet moment: on the one hand there's a fierce drive to reach The End, on the other, a sort of grieving sets in. I'm not ready to say goodbye to the world and the characters who've lived inside my head this past year, and yet I must. Certainly, if I'm going to share them with you in November. (And I'm looking forward to that very much.)
And speaking of sharing. Today I broke free from the computer long enough to buy some lunch and while I waited in line, a song started playing that I recognised immediately as one that I love. It took me a moment to place it and when I did I was filled with the most delicious nostalgia. It's called Christina Ballerina and was written some years ago by one of the most creative people I know, Mirko Ruckels: a musical chameleon who at one time sang opera and is also known as the ambient artist deepspace. It's an utterly happy-making pop song, so if you're in the mood, have a listen.
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I haven't been doing much in the way of author talks lately (due to a certain pressing deadline!) but I'll be appearing at the University of Queensland on April 18th to take part in their centenary festivities. I'm particularly happy to be sharing the stage with Kim Wilkins who is not only my very good friend but also a brilliant writer. You can find all the details here.
This is a picture taken during another 'in conversation' that Kim and I did together at Secret Garden on Tamborine Mountain:
As you can see, it is a very, very serious writerly chore and not at all fun. See you there!
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Angus & Robertson are collating their annual Top 100 list at the moment and you may like to vote for The Forgotten Garden or The Shifting Fog (Riverton).
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A few people have asked whether my books are enabled for 'Text to Speech' on Kindle; I'm not sure, but have sent out enquiries and will let you know as soon as I hear back.
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And last but certainly not least, thank you so much for the emails and letters. I'm overwhelmed by your kindness and look forward to replying (including the Q&As) properly just as soon my characters have sung their song.
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1 Covers are being designed as I type: I've seen some of the roughs and they look brilliant. I'll post them here as soon as they're finalised.