Writers’ Easter Eggs
It’s that time of the year and I started thinking off to one side, as I tend to. I know that software engineers and game developers hide little surprises in their stuff all the time. They’re called Easter Eggs. Some are legendary. In the 1997 versions of Microsoft Office,...
10 Futures Book Trailer
And here’s the book trailer for ’10 Futures’, which will be released next month....
The ‘Somehow’ Problem
I have a list of what I call ‘Traitor Words’. Toward the end of my rewriting/revising/reworking process, I always sit down and do a Search for each of them. If I find one, I destroy it and replace it with a better word – because Traitor Words weaken writing....
Writers Write: My Favourite Book 11
Justin D’Ath Justin is the author of over 30 books for children and young adults, including the hugely popular Extreme Adventures series. I grew up in a house of books – well, three houses really, since the family moved twice as it grew larger; and the books went with...
A New Book: 10 Futures
I can finally divulge details of the top secret project I’ve been working on for some time. 10 Futures is a series of linked stories which explore humanity’s next hundred years. Ten story segments, ten possible futures, each with its own challenges and opportunities – overpopulation, worldwide financial collapse,...
Writers Write: My Favourite Book 9
Ian Irvine Today’s Guest Blogger is Ian Irvine, one of our foremost fantasy writers and the author of the best-selling ‘Three Worlds’ sequence. We didn’t have TV until after I finished the HSC, in 1968, and my primary form of entertainment from the age of 4 was reading. I...
2011 Round-up
As is customary, here’s my round-up of professional whatnots in 2011: two books published – Hour of Need in May (the last book of ‘The Laws of Magic’) and The Extinction Gambit in December (the first book of ‘The Extraordinaires’) wrote two books (‘The Extinction Gambit’ and a top...
Writers Write: My Favourite Book 6
Tristan Bancks I wolfed these Paul Jennings’ stories down when I was about nine years-old. Unreal was so different to anything that I had read before....
Writers Write: My Favourite Book 5
Scot Gardner Today’s Guest Blogger is Scot Gardner. Scot is a much loved and much lauded writer for young people. His many books since include ‘Burning Eddy’, which was short-listed for both the CBCA and NSW Premier’s Literary awards. As a kid, I read about the world. I memorised...
History is a Fantasy Writer’s Best Friend
I visit many schools and libraries, and speak to a lot of young people about books and reading and writing. One of the (many) things I tell them is that history is a fantasy writer’s best friend. As a fantasy writer, I love what history can offer. As well...