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Middle Distance

29/9/2021

Just as we were considering going out for dinner... I found my contributor's copy of Middle Distance in the mailbox! Well, that was definitely worth a celebration at Carey's Bay Hotel - particularly because one of the owners helped me with research for my story.

Editor Craig Gamble has written a wonderful introduction to the collection of stories, which are all around 10,000 words long. I'm looking forward to cracking open the (hefty!) volume and reading the other stories.

Middle Distance is available for pre-order now and will be released in November.
Visit the Victoria University Press website for details.

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Four days in Port Chalmers

9/9/2021

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This week I was supposed to spend six days on a little self-funded writing retreat at a holiday house in Hampden... but lockdown happened, and we've been kind of busy at work, and I ended up with four days at home instead!

Luckily I live in beautiful Port Chalmers, and it was the best four days I've had in ages.

I set myself the unrealistic and amorphous goal of working towards my novel and my doctorate... and actually achieved it!

Added four thousand words to the first draft of my novel (now up to 66K words - aiming to finish the first draft by the end of the year)
Added a significant chunk of writing to my practitioner thesis
Casually submitted seven ideas for VUP's Animals and Us within 24 hours of its announcement (just a TAD EXCITED about it)
Did some volunteer work for a literary organisation
Wrote a piece of flash fiction
Applied for a residency
Did pilates every day!

Bliss!

I also tried to polish an existing draft for the RNZ short story competition. But reading the story again - it sucked. Hopefully inspiration will strike before the end of the month.

On the reading front, I'm enjoying Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly. It's as though I'm reading about my old Auckland life.

Back at work tomorrow, and it will be nice to be back in town and see my colleagues in 3D again.

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Middle Distance

Four days in Port Chalmers

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