2007 In Retrospect

I know, I know - I haven't made a blog entry since like forever but I do have some good excuses for it, really!

For me, 2007 was a huge year, one of highs, lows, joys and sadness - a real mixed bag of emotions, let me tell you. My year couldn't have started off better since my son was born on the 5th of February. Nothing comes close to the joy I experienced when he entered the world for the first time. Now, in the blink of an eye, his first birthday is rapidly approaching. Time does fly.

On a sadder note, I lost my step dad in October. He lost his battle with cancer and I can now say that he's not suffering anymore. This was quite a difficult time and my writing did take a back seat for a little while.

But with my writing, this year I had a flash piece, Wired for Sound accepted into FlashSpec Volume 2 but the highlight of the year came when I learned that one of my micro stories, Edgar's Final Act made the cut to be included in Black Box by Brimstone Press. To be a part of a collection along with the top dark fiction writers in this country is a dream come true (it only took five subs for E.F.A. to make it!)

I also managed to write ten new stories this year, even though some of them were micro pieces - but it feels good to be churning out regular work.

Now, I do love to read. Unfortunately the list of books below I read this year doesn't even come close to the 2006 list. Anyway, here they are:

Dark Tower 1 - The Gunslinger - Stephen King
Dark Tower 2 - The Drawing of the Three - Stephen King
Cell - Stephen King
The Familiar Stranger - Brett McBean
The Good Guy - Dean Koontz
The Shining - Stephen King
100 Jolts - Michael Arnzen
The Last Motel - Brett McBean
Six Sacred Stones - Matthew Reilly
Mama's Boy - Fran Friel
Blaze - Richard Bachman
Friday Night in Beast House - Richard Laymon
Bag of Bones - Stephen King

What can I say accept the rigors of Fatherhood made extra reading time that little bit more elusive.

In current news I have a few submissions out there at the moment. One of my early short stories, Beware the Children has been sent to a TV producer to hopefully be optioned off and adapted for the small screen. Harvest, a new Melbourne magazine is looking at my latest story, Treasured Pages and I also wanted to score my first reprint so I sent Ion over at Antipodean my flash piece, Wired for Sound that first appeared in FlashSpec Volume 2 earlier this year. And Shroud magazine is looking at Treasured Pages also.

Hopefully the new year will bring some exciting news.

Anyway, here are my goals for 2008:

1) To write no less than eight new stories

2) To participate in the AHWA mentorship program

3) To outline a novel

4) To win at least one competition

5) To be shortlisted for an Aurealis Award

6) To publish two reprints

Happy New Year everyone and I'll be back soon.