The Big Issue: A Winter's Tale

Isn't it pretty?

I haven't seen a copy yet, but I am very excited about this and not just because it's my adult fiction debut. It's a great list of established and upcoming writers, including my mate George Dunford (who I've never actually met, but we go way back) and Louise Swinn who studied at RMIT with me, and Andy Griffiths who I did a talk with at the VWC last year and Terry Denton (I once sat at the same table as him for dinner, but it was a big table and we were very far away from each other, so even mentioning this occasion counts as utterly gratuitous name-dropping). I don't know Cate Kennedy at all, but I have a collection of her short stories out of the library at the moment. Oh and lots of other clever people, you can go and look at their names here. Or better still, buy a copy of the magazine from a street vendor near you.

Haircut Day

I have a memory of going to get my haircut, I don't know if it was one particular time or an aggregate memory. But a grey gloomy Saturday, trudging around Magnet Court in Sandy Bay to the hairdressers. I remember what it was like to sit on a board, get swamped by the big ugly cloak thing and have my head yanked around. I remember the sensation of sharp scissors poking my ears. I don't think in all the years I was a kid that I had a haircut I loved, in fact I pretty much always hated the short 'sensible' haircuts I ended up with.

Today Martin and I finally got ourselves organised and took the kids off for a haircut, after some cnsultation with the kids (Una wanted hers cut very short like Finn at creche - over Martin's dead body, but I was thrilled by the idea - and Fred was saying short at the front and sides and long at the back...um, you mean, like a mullet?). We made a last minute appointment at Doncaster Shopping Centre, but when we got there we quickly realised that there was no way we were going to get a park, cars were streaming in to each section and the only ones coming out were people like us, who'd done a few laps and were driving onto the next carpark. Having already driven through a deserted looking Main St Eltham we decided to go back and try our luck. And I'm so glad we did. This place was great. It was a big groovy proper grown up hairdressers with two seats at the front that I think is especially for kids (without any kid crap). Although it was busy, they took us in straight away. The girls had a hairdresser each and sat side by side on cool leather chairs that winched up and down. They loved it. And both were very happy with the results. This is really Una's first haircut. It's Fred's third or so, but the first time we've had such an attentive hairdresser who seemed to really understand Fred's hair.

I'm a Bargain

Readings is selling Girlfriends for $9.99, including the freshly hatched Little Bird. And the great thing about Readings is that if you buy two books they post them for free! We love free postage.

"I will destroy you"

More than meets the eye...
(That's Una in there by the way)

wordkids

I am currently conducting workshops at the State Library for 16 or so 13-17 year olds who are coming to the library in their school holidays to write. I love them all, for that fact alone. I so would have done it as a teenager.

Anyway, today I tried a new exercise with them, and took these photos of the results with my (ahem) new iphone. This last picture is of my two examples, and the middle one is Fred's*. They were a precursor to a storywriting exercise but the wordboys and wordgirls were often stories in their own right, conveying so much through an economy of language and a rich engagement with character. They were quite arresting laid out on the table together so we could all look over what other people had done.

Also I got my hands on Lili Wilkinson's book PINK. It was so pink. And so these things: smart, funny, embarrassing, sweet, funny, oh and did I mention embarrassing? I wanted to climb under the train seat at times (and I think that's where they raise the hell-beasts, made of human hair, so that's saying something).

*It says: 'Jack leaned forward at the gazing sun. Then he went home...(turn over) and built a robot.' I am so jealous of Fred's writing.

Blame it on the Boogie

I don't mind telling you that when I was scanning Wikipedia for the title of this gem, I found most of the Sweet Dreams title eerily familiar. In fact I may well have read Every Single One (I could do three in a night and still have time to fit in an episode of A Country Practice).

Anyway, this gem was about a girl who lived her dream - yes *squeesallround* she was IN A MICHAEL JACKSON VIDEO CLIP! Likeomigosh, she's the luckiest girl in the whole wide world. Exclamation mark! The love interest was not Michael Jackson, but another boy (whose name, I believe, was also Michael, and he looked like Michael, and he danced like Michael...he was like Ersatz Jackson). My memory of the storyline is that she decides to Get Noticed by Real Michael, embarks on a series of cringeworthy embarrassments and almost succeeds in alienating Ersatz forever, but finally she realises, that the minor C-grade celebrity is the boy for her after all.

From memory, I found this book quite exciting. My sister owned it, so I read it several times. There was something genuine about the brush with celebrity it offered. Perhaps because Sweet Dreams World usually never intersected Real World (except for the odd mention of Pat Benetar and Laura Brannigan).

I think by the time I read it, Michael Jackson had already begun his lifelong affair with a bizarre combination of self-hatred and egotism having plastic surgery. To me his life was a tragedy, and I'm really really not sure what his death was. But, such as it is, this is my tribute to Michael, or at least, this is a thread of a memory, a place of innocence from which I beheld him.

Here's hoping he finds some corner of afterlife to do over, and have a life that seems - to me at least - to have been taken from him, because the boy could sing, and there must be money in that.

Blog of Plenty

You have all given me lots of ideas about blogging and for that I thank you. I am going to try and do them all.

In the meantime you can read me over here talking about the novels hidden away in my hard-drive. Have I mentioned what a rocking chick Steph is?

And now, without further ado (except the further ado of saying without further ado), the winner of one mint condition copy of Penni Russon's novel, Little Bird, a novel Bookseller and Publishing magazine describe as 'unnerving' (woohoo!), a 'mature text' (woot!) and dealing with a 'vast range of human emotions with integrity and poise'...

(drumroll please)

HACKPACKER

for his suggestion:

quietness.

It was hard to choose and I wish I had a book for each of you. But quietness was the right word at the right time.

Do you know this book?

Without a doubt one of my most popular posts via google is one I wrote about my favourite childhood books. And overnight someone left this plaintive little cry for help on that post:

do you think you can help me?
i'm looking for a book for a friend. and this is all the hints I have.
Its about a monster that this little boy finds in the forest.
and he take him to his basement to live and feeds him.
and then he grows really big and his mom kicks it out and he's sad.
the little boy is sad he has to say goodbye to his friend.
(its a story about friendship)

the illustrator reminds me of the illustrator Where the Wild Things Are.
You have no idea how much you would do if you could help me.

Does anyone know? I feel like I almost do... Anyway, leave a comment here, and I can email him.

Twinterview

My friend Jasmin has been raising funds for an awesome project that helps women living in poverty start their own business. This isn't the first time I've mentioned this project on Eglantine's Cake - I entered Jazz's creative challenge last year. Anyway, she has less than two weeks left to reach her target so I wanted to help her spread the word - so I conducted this brief interview on Twitter. I just want to say that I think Jazz is awesome - she's taken her interest in social media and shared creativity and turned it into a force for good.

I started off asking Jasmine to describe the project.

wonderwebby @eglantinescake
Hi Penni! I'm raising funds for a two year program which provides business loans to Filipino women current living in poverty

the program helps between 15 and 30 women and also provides them with training on running a biz and weekly meetings

oh and it's run by Opportunity International Australia http://tinyurl.com/mqgk9d

eglantinescake @wonderwebby
What made you get involved in this project?

wonderwebby @eglantinescake
I heard Anita Pahor share her heart for the poor and disadvantaged. And then I made a decision to set a goal & do something.

also I had seem some great examples of women using social media to raise funds like @kanter , so I thought I'd have a go

eglantinescake @wonderwebby Has it been hard raising money for a relatively unknown charity? Or is part of your long-term goal raising awareness?

wonderwebby @eglantinescake
I became a formal volunteer ambassador with Oppty to raise awareness as well as funds, but yes it's a challenge

some people direct lending, but what I like about this program is the support and education that comes with it

eglantinescake @wonderwebby
How has your mission evolved as you plunged deeper in?

wonderwebby @eglantinescake
it has made me think about poverty on a daily basis. It has challenged me. Some days I feel hopeful, discouraged at times

eglantinescake @wonderwebby What's been your experience of using social media as a platform for fundraising? Tell us a + and a -.

wonderwebby @eglantinescake
- you still need face to face contact at times, when you are talking about poverty and things of the heart.

for instance how do you explain and convince someone to donate to a cause in 140 characters?

+ I am SO grateful that people around the world have joined in, I could never have done this on my own selling chocolates

You can learn more about Jazz's project here.
You can donate here. Every dollar counts.