Critical “To Do” List Before Conference

I’ve just realised with something close to horror that it’s now only one teensy month until the Romance Writers of Australia conference 2015. Which is very exciting (can’t wait!) but also rather nervewracking (won’t know many people) and a little bit panic-inducing (too much to do, too little time).

So . . . it’s time to write the critical To Do list. I’m nothing if not a list girl. Feel free to adapt for your own list-y purposes. :)

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What Next?

Dear God

Thank you for the house sale (massive clean-up), and the house purchase (massive box-up), and the birthday party for Miss Four (massive mess-up), and the car purchase (massive stress-up), and the BIG fat mortgage/insurance/etc paperwork (massive loan-up), and the winter ills (massive health-down) . . . but did you have to give them all to me in the one little fortnight?

Love from Maggie xx

House Shifts and Other Sucky Stuff

Sometimes I have the strongest feeling someone upstairs is laughing at me. They’re hanging about, devising crisis after crisis to throw at me, just for kicks. Then they watch me doing my headless chicken routine. Their latest idea: let’s make her shift house with only a week’s notice. What, she’s coping? Hmm. Let’s throw in a sick kid as well. And work that is critical and can’t be delegated or put off. Mwah-ah-ah. Cackle. Snort.

Thanks, cosmos. Thanks a blinkin’ lot.
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We Remember

It seems incredible to me that ten years has already passed since 9-11 stopped being my friend’s birthday and became instead a symbol of terrorism.

Ten years since I woke to images so horrifying, so emotionally overwhelming that I struggled to comprehend them.

Ten years since I waited by the phone for news of our cousins, who were in transit to the States (from New Zealand). Ten years since I went into work, wondering how I could possibly answer the questions I knew my students would have. Ten years since I, thousands of miles Read More…

Brace Yourself: It’s The C-Word

Not cancer: Christmas. A word that conjures up such a range of emotions.

Emotion 1.  Surprise. Is it that time already?

Emotion 2.  Annoyance. The baubles and fake snow are cluttering shop windows, the piped music in lifts/malls/phone calls is Santa-themed, and the street decorations have appeared overnight. Do they really think we need reminding?

Emotion 3.  Panic. We’re in serious countdown, now. Have I organised presents? Bought Read More…