Scaredy Cat?

So suddenly Angus, the neurotic scaredy cat, is becoming bolder. This is not a good thing because he's decided that going outside is mighty tempting. The first time - a few nights ago - he strolled outside, realised what he'd done and froze in panic so I was able to pick him up and bring him back in. Last night was scarier - for me, not him - because he had things he wanted to investigate and kept moving. Fortunately nothing spooked him and I was able to follow and scoop him up when he stopped to smell something. 

The thing is - apart from the illegality of letting a cat roam at night - he is still very nervous underneath the bravado. A knock at the door sends him to hide under the bed from which he doesn't emerge for hours so any sudden noise is likely to send him running in panic and there are lots of dangers out there for a cat that has spent his entire, pampered life inside.

Australian Women Writers Challenge 2014

So I've been taking part of the Australian Women Writers Challenge for a couple of years now. The idea is to encourage the reading of books by Australian women writers. They don't have to be contemporary and there are different levels of commitment from reading a small number of books to choosing to read and review a larger number. There are review hints if you haven't reviewed before and   the website has other interesting activities too.

I've enjoyed participating in previous years and I'm looking forward to this year. 

Star Trekkin'

Yes, it's been quiet around here but, hey, it's summer and it's been very, very hot. So to entertain you while I try to energise myself again I'm cheating and giving you some links that amused me.

First this Star Trekkin', a novelty song released by The Firm in 1987 which came up on my Facebook newsfeed via my mate Lee Battersby a couple of days ago. It's years since I'd heard it and now I can't get it out of my head. Yes, it's an earworm song but in a good way.

Then there is this also via Facebook but this time from my fellow Egoboo WA writer friend, Laura E. Goodin. I've been trying to think of how to describe it but I have no words so just enjoy it.

Year in Review: 2013

Well, nothing went as I thought it would, with the exception of the on-going delights of a small grandchild and a delightful visit to Conflux with good friends.

January brought a death - not unexpected but that didn't make it any easier to deal with - and all the cleaning up and clearing out that entails, which took much longer than we anticipated.

I didn't get as much writing done as I would have liked. There were reasons but I will be making a more diligent effort this year, not least because I feel so much better when I'm doing something creative.

I did manage to do some reviews - you can find some at the Australian Women Writers Challenge Review Listing website - the main website is here - and also on Goodreads  and Amazon - a nice way to enjoy guilt free reading. I might have read quite a few more books as well.

Health issues plagued either Pisces and me - and not infrequently both of us at once. I'd like say they were all sorted but they're not and showing little sign of improvement in the near future. The only good part is that they are not life threatening, just preventing us from enjoying life. I had to pull out of the World Fantasy Convention 2013 in Brighton among other things.

Work and the endless house renovations all suffered as a result so we're living in a house that is depressing in the extreme and with little prospect of improvement for some time. It's been made worse by the shortage of tradesmen here due to the call of well paid work on the mines in the north of the state. It's not uncommon to ring 10-12 tradies of whom maybe one will consent to make an appointment to give a quote. This, of course, doesn't mean he or she will actually turn up and then the whole round starts again.

So my wishes for the New Year? Health to return to us both and a rush of tradesmen ready and willing to rescue us from our dreary mess of a dwelling.

My fingers are crossed. I hope yours are too.

Happy New Year!

So That Was Christmas

'Tis done and dusted  - apart from the decorations which tradition decrees come down the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6). More miraculous is the fact there actually are any Christmas decorations at all given the year we've just lived through. I'll do a proper review of the year later - maybe - but for now I simply want to celebrate the fact that we have made it through a time that, like some psychic black hole, tried to suck all joy out of us for months. Please don't think that it was full of fearful horrors - it wasn't -but that doesn't mean it didn't drain us in so many ways.

Never mind. The time for New Year's resolutions is upon us and I'm off to ponder. I may even share some of them later.

Crows are Smart

Need a cheer up? Have a look at this. I found it on Jim C. Hines' blog.

I knew crows were clever and playful but this is even better than I expected.

AWWC 2013: Shadow Bound by Deborah Kalin

Book 2 of The Binding, Shadow Bound is a worthy sequel to Shadow Queen.

Matilde of the House of Savanaten may have regained her throne and managed to rid herself of Dieter, the husband who slaughtered her family, but it came at a terrible cost. The Empire, under brutal general and one time slave, Sidonius, has overrun her country and her power is limited to that of a vassal. Determined to free her country but a virtual prisoner, Matilde needs all her skill to stay alive and forge the new alliances she needs. Meanwhile Dieter continues to attack the Imperial forces, making her task ever more difficult. But one certainty is that no-one should underestimate Matilde.

This book is full of strong, well drawn characters. Matilde in particular, always under threat and often misunderstood, struggles to survive and do her best for her country. She makes mistakes but she learns from them and retains the reader's sympathy as a result. Even the villains have depth and believability, something that's not always the case but which elevates a book in my opinion.

The storyline is unpredictable and its twists and turns kept me guessing right up to the end. The author says on her website that The Binding was written as a duology but the unexpected ending leaves the way open for another instalment that I for one would love to read.

Published by Allen & Unwin in July 2010, Shadow Bound is still available in printed form while the e-book is available worldwide from the publisher and amazon.com.

Deborah Kalin's website is deborahkalin.com