A writer's adventures through lands real and imaginary
What do you get when you mix a lion, a fish and some venom? The Common Lionfish (Pterois volitans), of course.
This spectacular tropical species is found widely throughout the Indo-Pacific. It’s definitely a look don’t touch sort of fish – the 16 spines on its dorsal, pelvic and anal fins are venomous.
I snapped this particular fish on display at the Kula Wild Adventure Park in Fiji, along with the rest of their live coral display.
Hunting for riches in a foreign land, a disgraced mercenary must marry a young matriarch who is hiding the fateful legacy of her enchanted silveriron tattoo.
I recently finished the first draft of my current work in progress Binding the Strays, which sees the mercenary protagonist selling himself into a ‘binding’ (marriage) with a young pastoralist, who takes him away from his poverty-stricken country and introduces him to the flourishing matriarchy of her own country.
Being a fantasy story, there’s whispers of magic, and plenty of settings and characters inspired by Australia’s countryside and history. The twist on social hierarchy and arranged marriages has been a fun one to explore.
At the moment I’m close to finishing my first read through, to get a feel for areas that need more attention, then I’ll pick up the red pen and get stuck into the second draft. I tend to knock out my first drafts without much description of settings, so one of my first jobs is to add flesh to the skeleton.
What are you writing at the moment? What approach do you use to revise and edit your work?
I look forward to your thoughts and advice in the comments below.
I spent last weekend in a special little corner of Australia where the bush meets the ocean. There were lots of leaf-curling spiders’ webs around, but this one caught my attention because of the haphazard looking extension ‘downstairs’.
The homeowner, which would be a member of the orb-weaving spider family, was carefully tucked away inside its leaf. Can you spot it? It’s the brown curl in the middle of the big round web at the top.
Swamp Wallaby at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, Australian Capital Territory. Tidbinbilla undertakes important wildlife management and breeding programs to help with the conservation of endangered species. Although the swamp wallaby isn’t endangered, this is just one of the many animals in the reserve.
