The Cult of the Zombies

The super talented and hilarious Amanda Ashby is having a monster blog bash to celebrate the release of her second book, THE ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEWBURY HIGH.

She very kindly invited me to guest-blog over at her place this week. You can catch me there on Friday if you're in the Northern Hemisphere or Saturday for those Down Under. (I think that's right. The whole time diff thing is so confusing!) Please come along, comment and win stuff! Actually, you should visit Amanda's blog every day for the next week and catch up with some amazing YA authors.

Happy Feet?

I have never had a professional pedicure. I'm not ashamed. My toes aren't hairy or scary, I promise. And after watching this pedicure procedure, it's unlikely I'll ever go to a salon where the employees are fish.



This kind of reminds me of Flintstones technology (you know, dinosaurs that double as vacuum cleaners and bulldozers) but a million times creepier. If you live in Florida, relax, 'cause the state's Board of Cosmetology has just banned so-called Dr Fish from practising.

I love how the woman in the video says it's like getting a massage. Hmm, I've never been nibbled on at a salon, but I guess I've led a sheltered life. Do you have a spa war story to share?

Fire and Water

Koala facts:

* There are normally approximately 80,000 koalas in the Australian wild. About 15,000 live in the southern states, which have been devastated by fires.

* Koalas normally have a slow metabolic rate and sleep up to 16 hours a day.

* These marsupial mammals are normally most active just after sunset.

* They normally eat up to 500 grams (over one pound) of eucalyptus leaves each day. The high water content in these leaves means koalas rarely drink.

But this koala's normal life, like so many others, has just been turned upside down:

The firefighter in the pic, David Tree, said Sam the koala chugged three bottles of water. "I could see she had sore feet and was in trouble, so I pulled over the fire truck. She just plonked herself down, as if to say 'I'm beat'," Mr Tree said. "The most amazing part was when she grabbed my hand. I will never forget that."

The Herald Sun newspaper is selling this photo for $20. All proceeds go to the Country Fire Authority. Click here for details.

Victorian firestorm

Many of us here in Australia are reeling over the devastation caused by a huge firestorm sweeping through rural areas in the state of Victoria. It's estimated the human death toll will reach 200--it currently stands at 131. Countless livestock and wildlife have also been killed or injured. Adding to the grief is the suspicion that some fires were deliberately lit.

The government has pledged immediate financial help to victims of the fires, but you can also assist by donating.

Click here to donate to Wildlife Victoria.

According to Yahoo7, Bendigo Bank and the Red Cross are accepting donations. Or you can make a pledge at any Bunnings hardware store or at National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank or ANZ bank branches.


Photo: Mick Tsikas/Reuters as seen in the New York Times.

Fur Cryin' Out Loud

It's summertime here and my cats are shedding like crazy. I've vacuumed up at least a kilo of fur this week alone. Shame on me for throwing it all away - I could've made a handbag or a sweater out of the stuff, just like this enterprising pet owner:

My Word!

It's been a month since I last blogged. Time flies when you're having fun writing a book!

Well, to be honest, the last hundred pages of the book was quite a struggle. The 40C/104F temperatures didn't help. I finished it at 3am last Tuesday morning and now I actually miss hanging out with the characters. Not to worry--I'll be revising it soon.

Until recently, I never thought about using a word processor other than Microsoft Word. Apart from a few confounding niggles, Word is easy to use. But what I found when writing the last book is that I had a pile of separate research documents and I wrote many scenes out of order every time I got stuck. I also had alternative versions of chapters, a number of synopses, inspirational pictures, character sketches, "what if?" scenarios, etc, etc. After a while, my system became chaotic. What I really wanted was to have all the files related to the ms in one document, with easy access. I didn't want to have a million windows open at once.

[Here's where I go into infomercial mode. Sorry.]

So, after a bit of searching, I found a brilliant piece of writing software for Macs called Scrivener. You create one file for a project and stick every bit of information related to it in subfolders within that project. Then you can get on with writing the book. Once you've done that, export the book to Word where it is magically formatted to industry standards. Almost. I found I can't get the mandated 25 lines per page after exporting, so there's a bit of finessing to do in that department.

You can read all about it here, and if you like what you see, download a 30-day trial version for FREE. The full version is US$39.95. If you don't have a Mac, you can check out a program for PCs called Page 4.

Happy 2009!

The photos I took were beyond pathetic, so here's a couple of great shots from the Sydney Morning Herald:








Last year, I wrote down a bunch of New Year resolutions and I'm amazed that I actually stuck to most...some...okay, one of them. In 2009, I resolve to:

- Not ruin my gym efforts by rewarding myself with gelato or croissants or chocolate (sometimes all three on the same day).
- Buy motion-sickness tablets so I can read books when commuting on the train.
- Not get mad at self on days when I can only manage to write half a page.
- Limit visits to the Internet: 15-minute blocks every two hours. (Ha! We'll see how long that lasts!)
- Keep my desktop (both virtual and physical) tidy.

That shouldn't be too hard, now, should it?

The Little Things

Maybe I'm just easily pleased, but there's nothing like a few little wins to make your day. When I booked a haircut this morning, I learned my regular hairstylist is on holidays and that the only available appointment this Wednesday is with the salon's "art director." Which sounds fabulous and Hollywood-like, but it comes at a price. $95 to be exact. The receptionist rightfully took my hyperventilation fit as a sign of shock. She then said they're happy to charge what I usually pay. Yay! Now I'll be able to buy a couple of books with the savings and thus further stimulate the economy as well as my mind.

The second little win comes after yet another mail fail. I'd ordered moisturiser from online discount retailer activeskin.com.au. Surprise, surprise, the courier responsible for delivering the item lost said item. Amanda from Active Skin was very apologetic. On Christmas Eve, she arranged to send a few samples to tide me over until she could send what I originally ordered. A dozen samples arrived today and I think my parched skin will be fully hydrated for the next couple of weeks. Yay, Amanda!

Finally, the third "win" is a discovery that appeals not so much to my consumerism but more to my writing ambitions. The Australian Women's Weekly magazine, together with Penguin Group (Australia), has announced a short story competition. Stories must be between 3,000 and 5,000 words, and feature a woman as the central character. Contracted authors are ineligible. The winner will receive A$10,000 and a manuscript assessment if they've completed a novel. Entries close April 21, 2009. You must fill out an original entry form, which is available in the magazine. Full terms and conditions are supposed to be listed at www.aww.com.au/bookclub, but I must be blind 'cause I can't see them. There are great writing resources on this page, anyway.

And a not-so-little thing before I sign off: Big congrats to my CP Stephanie Kuehnert, who found a gorgeous engagement ring under the tree on Christmas Day! Very exciting! (She said yes to the accompanying big question, btw.)


see more pwn and owned pictures


see more pwn and owned pictures

Merry Christmas!

More Mail Mayhem

The postal crisis involving my Golden Heart contest entries (see previous post below) has passed. The copies FedExed by Papa Authorness arrived in Texas with more than 24 hours to spare before the deadline. Phew!

It seems I'm not alone when it comes to mail disasters. The publisher of lad mag Ralph last week lost a shipment of 130,000 inflatable breasts valued at A$200K. It's believed the boobs are adrift somewhere between Beijing and Sydney. The magazine had planned to give them away with the January '09 edition, but I guess their readers will have to make do with the articles. Read the full story here.

The postal system works in mysterious ways. I'm sure the fake boobs will get to their intended destination; so will my original Golden Heart entries. But they may take 112 years to get there, just like this postcard.