We have had the first two entries for the competition! I’m amazed that Rose (11) and Racquel (14) got them in so quickly, but also very pleased, as I always have this niggling worry that maybe no one will enter, and I’ll be left clutching the prizes and looking around in a pathetic sort of way, saying, ‘Hello? Is anyone out there? Anyone?’ 🙂

I originally said that I’d put up the entries as they came in, but I have decided that’s a bit unfair, because people who haven’t done theirs yet might get ideas from the people who have.

So you’re going to have to wait.

What else has been happening? Well, I was sick for a week – nothing serious, just a cold, but I lost my voice and sounded as if I was about 95, and I took the week off from writing to sit by the fire with Harry snoozing on my lap and a pile of books to read. Now I’m back at work (with a pile of handkerchiefs beside me), and the experimental draft of Fetcher has turned into the first draft – which means I’ve stopped flailing around and it’s starting to feel a bit more like a book. Lots of problems to solve still, and I still don’t know how it ends, which is a bit scary, but I’m feeling happier about it.

I’m putting aside a bit of time every day for drawing. When I was learning to write I did it every day, and it seems to make a huge difference. Not straight away, but in the long run, so I am trusting that my drawing will also improve if I just keep doing it. 🙂 And besides, I’m really enjoying it. It’s a nice break from writing because it seems to use a different part of the brain (a bit like gardening).

Meanwhile the map for Book 2: Sunker’s Deep has received the Sebastian Ciaffaglione treatment and looks terrific. (I’m going to have to draw a map for Fetcher at some stage, but not yet.)

And I am in the middle of preparing a workshop for next Sunday, on the topic of ‘The public face of writing’. I rather like running workshops, but hate preparing them. This one is for the Tasmanian Writers’ Centre, and is to do with the fact that it is no longer enough to just write books – you now have to go out and talk to audiences about them. For many authors, this is a trial, as we tend to be an introverted bunch. I’m lucky, as my background in teaching and acting was perfect preparation for talking to large groups of people, but many authors have no idea where to start. Hence the workshop!

And the shortest day has been and gone, which means the days are getting longer (and colder), Harry is spending most of his time curled up on my bed, the bulbs are coming up in the garden, and the chooks aren’t laying quite as well. No sign of moulting yet, though.

I’m rambling on a bit. Better stop, so I can finish preparing the workshop.