Melbourne was wonderful fun. I missed seeing some friends, but got to catch up with others. Highlights included seeing Jack and Janeen, catching up with Cindy after way too many years, good times at the local coffee shop, long talks in the bar, and late night silliness in the hotel room with Sean, Rob, Mitch and Deb. It was nice to get the MacNamara Award trophy, which was nowhere near as ugly as I’d feared, but nicer to think that more than one convention had thought of asking to invite me to be a guest. I was very flattered.

In terms of doing things, I got far too little done. I did get a new project in train, take steps on a long-stalled one, and did very little reading, which is a real problem. Over the next one hundred days I’ve got to read a lot, finishing and delivering both The Starry Rift and Eidolon. Some stories are still trickling in for both, and promising steps are being made. If I can get the time, I’ll get into editing stories for Starry Rift this weekend, and start really building the submission ms. I’ve also got to get contracts out. Same for Eidolon, though there’s more time for that. I’ve also got to get head’s down on the year’s bests. They’re not due till mid-November or so, but it’s not much extra time. Oh, and I’ve got to finalise plans for the US trip. Busy, busy. I hate to say this, but I think I’m going to have to set schedules and deadlines. Read so many stories per day, etc etc. sigh.

Still, there are a lot of things I’m looking forward to in the near future. Hopefully we’re off to dinner next week with Theresa, Rob, Toula, Stef and Janet, which should be great. Then there’s my sister’s birthday, Marianne’s birthday, Rob’s wedding, and Sophie’s 4th birthday. And after that World Fantasy, which should be a hoot. I can’t wait to get to Oakland and spend a quiet couple days with Charles. I know I’ll see Karen, and possibly Bob, but mostly I’ll just goof off with Charles, drink scotch, stay up late, and sleep in the next day. The Con should be way cool too, bunking with Garth and seeing everyone. Can’t wait. Things are busy, a little stressful, but not bad at all.

i’m off to melbourne tomorrow. fly out of perth at 3.05pm and don’t get back till monday at 8.15am. i won’t be checking email or whatever during that time, so if you don’t hear from me, i’ll be having a good time and will get back to you on monday morning.

if you’re going to be in melbourne too, then i hope to see you at continuum. i’m on two events:

saturday 16 july

10.00 am Small Press Publishing
Small Press Publishing is a field of increasing importance within Australian genre writing. Are there too many small presses or is the market just beginning to open up? A look at the Australian market and what it takes to become part of it.
Cat Sparks, Sarah Endacott, Jonathan Strahan, Mitch

7.00pm Harper Collins Voyager 10th Birthday Extravaganza
HarperCollinsVoyager presents an evening of entertainment in celebration of their 10th Birthday.

come along if you can. otherwise, feel free to look me up. there are a lot of people going to be there, and a lot of people i really am eager to catch up with.

i got home today and a copy of scott’s blue noon was waiting for me. yay! i then opened the copy and found a printing flaw through the first 200 pages of the galley. there’s about a one to one and a half inch wide faded band diagonally across the bottom third of each page. you can make out most of it, but it’s not easy. still, i got it. so much for talking to robin on the plane. i’m gonna be readin’ :-)

I just heard the news that Byron Preiss was killed in a car crash on Saturday. Terrible, shocking news. I didn’t know him well – we’d met twice (once in Washington at World Fantasy and once in Boston at WorldCon) – but he seemed like a kind, decent man who was passionately committed to what he was doing. He obviously loved what he was doing, but when we talked family, it was equally obvious he loved them even more. We did two books together, and were set to do a handful more. My thoughts go out to his family and his friends.

wheee. move over mundane sf, move over infernokrusher. we got ourselves a new movement. yup, folks, it’s the…er…snappily titled new edge.