Remember Me?

Hi! Yep, I’m still here. I’ve been off-line a while – a loooong while – three months, in fact – and yes, I do have the odd excuse (including, on 22nd February, another horrific earthquake, so destructive it pretty much flattened what remained of our already-shaken inner city). Still, I’m sorry I haven’t been more in touch.

So much has happened in such a short time! One summer holiday spent in sunny Auckland. Two competition results for my WIP – third and fifth. Three extra weeks up in Auckland when, post-quake, our house was deemed unsafe until the chimneys were demolished. The incredible generosity and empathy of people all over the country – hell, the world – has been humbling, reducing me to tears so many times I’ve lost count. It’s taken a long time to get my mojo back, but finally I can say I’m writing again.

My Lifeline With Sanity

On the odd occasion – you know, like 90% of the time – when things seem as if they’re going from bad to worse, or from worse to desperate, it’s good to know I’ve got friends who’ll help get me through.

Take this week, for example. It wasn’t enough that my Beloved was working out of town. Little Miss 13-month-old (aka The Destroyer) decided this was a good week to come down with Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease.

No, our ancestry does not include any cloven-hooved beasts. (Though I do have a devilish Read More…

Presidents And Assholes

We had some friends around for a friendly (read “hellish competitive”) game of cards in the weekend, and I learned how to play Presidents and Assholes. (I have no idea how I missed learning it until now. I must have been very, very busy . . . writing, of course . . . )

Now, as soon as you hear the name you know it’s gonna be a goodie. And boy, is it a goodie! (Mostly because I became the President in the very first round! And managed to retain that lofty position for so many rounds the rest of the table started muttering about beginner’s luck gone mad.)
Read More…