I’m toying with a bunch of ideas at the moment. I’m certainly not between projects, but I’m always playing with new ideas, new notions, while I try to work out what I’ll put my energies into over the next year or so. When I decided to do Eidolon with Jeremy Byrne nearly two years ago, my goal was to reconnect with the Australian SF scene. That’s still very much what I want to do. Russell Farr and I are discussing one possible project, and Jack Dann and I have been tossing ideas around for some time as well. However, this evening I was struck by another idea. I love fantasy, and I really like some horror, but my main thing is SF. I’ve edited two original anthologies for trade publishers over the past two years, both featuring space opera, or at least big spaceship stories. It’s always been a passion of mine, and I’ve always felt we’ve not done quite enough of it here in Australia. I’m not sure of the business end of it, but I think I might edit an anthology of big spaceship stories by Australians. If I do it, the absolute essentials for the project would be that all of the stories would have to feature spaceships in some way or another, and they would have to be written by Australians. I can think of a bunch of people who could write for it brilliantly, but I think, like Eidolon, it would also be essential for it to be an open submission book.  I even know what I might call it – Woomera: New Australian Science Fiction. But, is it a goer? I don’t know. I think I need to sleep on it a little, try to work out how the business end of it would work. It could be very cool.

This is the way it would be, if I could make it this way. This morning I woke a little early, checked the overnight cricket scores, and then decided to get some clerical work done. I’ve had some issues relating to The Starry Rift weighing on me for quite some time, but I got news in the morning email that the main problem had finally been overcome, so I dove into writing letters, drawing up cheques, addressing envelopes and so on. Then the girls got up and, because they were expecting a friend over for a playdate, I decided to bake them some fresh blueberry muffins. By the time they were out of the oven, I’d dealt with the morning email, then jumped into the shower. After that, into the car and down to sunny Mt Lawley. It’s a lovely fresh morning so, after mailing off the various Starry Rift documents, I decided to sit down with the laptop at a local cafe, get a little work done, and then head home. If I didn’t have a day job, this is how every day would be. In fact, if I can arrange it, it’s how I intend to spend a good part of my long service leave next year. For the moment though, I have some long overdue flap copy to finish, an editor bio to write and a few other things. It’s a nice way to spend the morning.

Gary K. Wolfe reviewed The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume 1 in the March issue of Locus. I was delighted with the long review and now, thanks to Gary and CHARLES, I’m able to post it here. Because it’s long, I’ve placed it on it’s own page. And, if you don’t already, consider subscribing to Locus. I know I’m biassed, but I think it’s a terrific magazine.

Today I baked a cake. I am rather insufferably pleased with myself. It’s Easter, and it’s an Easter cake. It looks to have come out just right, and all I have to do is decorate it and I’m done. Heh. Also made Easter muffins, with chocolate caramel egg centres. Also pretty pleased about that.

Another cool review for The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, this time from Booklist, who say:

The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year #1. Strahan, Jonathan (editor).
Apr. 2007. 478p. Night Shade, paperback, $19.95 (9781597800686).
REVIEW. First published April 1, 2007 (Booklist).
This is an excellent sampling of some of the most interesting contemporary voices in sf and fantasy, including Neil Gaiman, Cory Doctorow, Kelly Link, and Paul Di Filippo, tackling a pleasingly wide range of subject matter. Jeffrey Ford’s “Night Whiskey” concerns the strange customs of a small town and the terrible things that sometimes come out of the unknown. Christopher Rowe’s “Another Word for Map Is Faith” concerns a future in which the faithful of Christendom traverse the earth, “correcting” geography to conform to the errors on maps. The volume closer, Ian McDonald’s “Djinn’s Wife,” is a lovely fairy tale of the future about a dancer who marries an AI; as the narrator observes, even if it doesn’t have a happy ending like a Bollywood movie, it has a happy enough ending. Editor Strahan has selected a lot of winning stories here, well worth revisiting, often more than once. – Regina Schroeder

This follows on the earlier review from PW, and a good Locus review. All in all, the book’s been very well recieved, and I’m delighted. Now I just need to get to work on Volume 2.