Monthly Archives: June 2012

2012 Aussie Snapshot: Helen Stubbs

Australian writer HELEN STUBBS loves the beautiful weird, especially fiction about the future and alternate realities. Her short story The Perforation won the Aussiecon Four Short Story Competition and her unpublished novel Black Earth was a quarterfinalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Award. Her short stories appear anthologies and magazines including Winds of Change and Midnight Echo 6. Her interests include chatting to strangers, fretting about the environment and marvelling over art and innovation. Contact Helen at twitter.com/#!/superleni and helenstubbs.wordpress.com.

You describe your writing as having an “eco feminist” slant. Can you tell us a bit about what that means? How important do you think it is for speculative fiction to tackle the big issues?

I mean stories that take civilisation’s trajectory to its logical extreme, or explore our place within our ecology (and universe), and the interconnected lifecycles there. My favourite eco feminist author is Sheri Tepper, who explores the future of humankind out in the universe in books like “The Companions.” I’ve always found ecological relationships and lifecycles fascinating.

As for big issues, a fiction writer’s first priority must be to entertain their reader (or you won’t have readers). There are many examples of great Spec Fic that don’t explore big issues, however, when I begin to wonder about the universe it leads me to big questions. I love fiction where humankind gets a cosmic spanking for its arrogance, like when extra terrestrials come down and beat us up because we have technology but no conscience about how we use it.

Your novel, “Black Earth”, was a quarter finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Award and was read by Angry Robot. While it wasn’t picked up, this must have given you a great deal of confidence in the level of your writing. How did this recognition impact your writing? Has it created any other opportunities you might not have otherwise got?

These were encouraging…but, confidence…not really. When my work is chosen for something I want to shake the editors or judges and say, “Are you sure?” Parts of Black Earth are positively cringe-worthy. I find the more I learn about writing the more I realise I don’t know, while it seems like there is some magic in great writing that possibly can’t be learned.

Still, I’ll keep sending my work out put my hand up for anything because I love writing, working with editors, and talking with writers. And if I waited until my writing was perfect I’d die first.

Are you likely to return to “Black Earth”, or are there other projects you will be working on in the near future?

I plan to submit “Black Earth” to the Vogel’s Literary award, as it isn’t doing anything else… and I’m just young enough.

I’m currently working on a novella, “The Cupcake Girl of Winding Street,” with which I’d like to test the waters of e-publishing. I’m also writing a Science Fiction novel about a half robot girl who cares for a herd of humans, post I.T. takeover.

What Australian works have you loved recently?

I loved “Debris” by Jo Anderton and “The Couriers New Bicycle” by Kim Westwood. I also loved “Valley of Grace” by Marion Halligan, which is not Speculative Fiction.

Two years on from Aussiecon 4, what do you think are some of the biggest changes to the Australian Spec Fic scene?

Aussiecon 4 was my introduction to the scene so I’m not sure what it was like before, but since then I’ve found the community very friendly and highly talented. I had the best time at Aussiecon 4! Somehow I’d won their short story comp so I got to go in the green room with the real writers.

A huge convention like that grabs attention, inspires people and forges more connections between the community hotspots of Australian Spec Fic. It also creates international opportunities by bringing foreign publishers and agents in.

Thanks for including me in the Aussie Snapshot, David. It was a pleasure to answer your questions

This interview was conducted as part of the 2012 Snapshot of Australian Speculative Fiction. We’ll be blogging interviews from 1 June to 8 June and archiving them at ASif!: Australian SpecFic in Focus. You can read interviews at:

http://thebooknut.wordpress.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://kathrynlinge.livejournal.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://helenm.posterous.com/tag/2012snapshot

http://bookonaut.blogspot.com.au/search/label/2012Snapshot

http://www.davidmcdonaldspage.com/tag/2012snapshot/

tansyrr.com/tansywp/tag/2012snapshot/

www.champagneandsocks.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://randomalex.net/tag/2012snapshot/

http://jasonnahrung.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://mondyboy.com/?tag=2012snapshot

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2012 Aussie Snapshot: George Ivanoff

George Ivanoff is an author and stay-at-home dad residing in Melbourne, Australia.

He has written over 60 books for children and teenagers, including fiction and non-fiction. He has written school readers, library reference books, chapter books, novelettes, novels and even a short story collection. He has books on both the Victorian Premier’s and the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge booklists.

His teen science fiction novel, Gamers’ Quest, won a 2010 Chronos Award for speculative fiction. The sequel, Gamers’ Challenge, has been nominated for a 2012 Chronos Award.

George also writes short stories and articles for adults as well as kids. Of all these, he is most proud to have had the opportunity to write a Doctor Who story for the Short Trips: Defining Patterns anthology (Big Finish, UK, 2008).

Occasionally, George has been known to moonlight as an actor. He has had small roles in numerous productions including the television series Neighbours and the feature film Frozen Butterflies.

George eats too much chocolate and drinks too much coffee. He will sometime indulge in a nice bottle of wine or a single malt Scotch.

He has one wife, two children and two cats. And he is very content!

Your current novel, “Gamers’ Challenge”, is the second in the Gamers series of books. Did you feel any pressure in trying to follow up “Gamers’ Quest”, or was it easier going back to a familiar world?

There was definitely pressure. The first book sold quite well, so there was the pressure to produce something that would sell as well or, preferably, better. But I did find it an easier book to write. I had already done all the work of creating the world, with lots and lots of background that never made it into that first book. So slipping back into it that world was quite comfortable, and that gave me the chance to concentrate more on the actual plot.

You’ve previously been published in a collection of Doctor Who short stories which must have been a huge thrill. Are there any other shared worlds/franchises that you would be particularly excited to be involved in?

Ah yes, my one shining fanboy moment — “Machine Time” in Short Trips: Defining Patterns. I loved writing that story and I’ve been desperate to write more Doctor Who. As it happens, apart from reviewing lots of Doctor Who DVDs on my blog, I’ve recently had the chance to write essays about Doctor Who for a couple of upcoming books. That was great… But I so want to write some more Doctor Who fiction.

As for other franchises — I’d love to write for the TRON franchise. I love the films and I’m really looking forward to the animated series. TRON is definitely second on my list (after Doctor Who, of course), but I’m a fan of many different tv shows and films. I would happily write for numerous franchises. My problem is that I have no idea how to get a foot in that particular door. Getting that Doctor Who story was a combination of luck and persistence… But Big Finish is no longer publishing the Short Trips anthologies. 🙁

I see from your website that there is another Gamers novel in the works. Will there be more novels in that series, or do you have plans for something different once “Gamers’ Inferno” is done?

Actually, “Gamers’ Inferno” is a short story that has been published in a new anthology called Trust Me Too (ed: Paul Collins, Ford Street Publishing). It’s a spin-off story — Same world, but a new game environment and a whole new set of characters.

But, there will be a new novel as well, to be published in 2013. I’m currently working on it. The working title is Gamers’ Rebellion (but that may change) and it will definitely finish up Tark and Zyra’s story. Of course, if it ends up being a runaway success (one can dream) then there are many more stories I could set in the Gamers world.

I do, however, have ideas for other novels as well. In fact, I’ve got notes for at least six potential novels. It’s a matter of deciding which one to go with next.

What Australian works have you loved recently?

I’ve just finished reading Carol Wilkinson’s Blood Brothers, the latest novel in the Dragonkeeper series. Loved it! Carol is one of my favourite Australian writers. And I’ve just started reading Kerry Greenwood’s Flying Too High — the second of her Phryne Fisher mystery novels. With the novels having been turned into a tv series, I thought it was about time I caught up on them. I read the first one a few months ago and really enjoyed, so I’m now reading the second. And I’ve finally been catching up with Michael Pryor’s The Laws of Magic. Brilliant stuff!

Two years on from Aussiecon 4, what do you think are some of the biggest changes to the Australian Spec Fic scene?

There seems to be more spec fic being published — both by small press and by the major publishers. I’m hoping this trend continues. Every one of those potential novels I mentioned earlier is spec fic, so I have a vested interested in the genre continuing to be popular. 🙂

This interview was conducted as part of the 2012 Snapshot of Australian Speculative Fiction. We’ll be blogging interviews from 1 June to 8 June and archiving them at ASif!: Australian SpecFic in Focus. You can read interviews at:

http://thebooknut.wordpress.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://kathrynlinge.livejournal.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://helenm.posterous.com/tag/2012snapshot

http://bookonaut.blogspot.com.au/search/label/2012Snapshot

http://www.davidmcdonaldspage.com/tag/2012snapshot/

tansyrr.com/tansywp/tag/2012snapshot/

www.champagneandsocks.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://randomalex.net/tag/2012snapshot/

http://jasonnahrung.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://mondyboy.com/?tag=2012snapshot

 

 

2012 Aussie Snapshot: Dave Freer

Dave Freer is former marine biologist (an ichthyologist) who now lives on an island off the coast of Australia. Besides writing a lot of books and short stories he is a diver and a rock-climber and perpetually has his nose in a book when he’s not doing those three things. With his wife, Barbara, two dogs, three cats, three chickens, and other transient rescued wildlife, they’ve lived a sort of “chaotic self-sufficiency and adventures” life, sort of down the lines of the Swiss Family Robinson, only with many more disasters. He also has two sons and a daughter-in-law who will all tell you he hasn’t grown up very much.

A lot of Dave’s time has been spent (and still is) in small boats, or in water that no one in their right mind would get into, full of everything (sometimes entirely too close) from hippopotami (in Africa) to sharks (he was the chief scientist working on the commercial shark fishery in the Western Cape, once upon a time) and lots of interesting creatures like the blue-ringed octopus and poison-spined gurnard perch.

He’s written a slew of fantasy and science fiction novels, some with Eric Flint; being a scientist, he likes the strange creatures and machines he comes up with to work. His last book DOG AND DRAGON came out from Baen in April, and his next CUTTLEFISH from Pyr in July.

You can find out quite a lot more on http://davefreer.com/

You have a very unique place of residence, you describe it as “a remote island in the middle of the Bass strait, only reachable by plane or an 11 hour ferry trip”. And , of course, only cows are allowed on the ferry! Do you think that being so isolated has had an effect on your writing, whether positive or negative? Has this changed in the age of the internet?

Is it that difficult to moo? I live in ferry-lands, but if you can moo and travel yon broad, broad road, you too can be in fair…ferry land by nightfall. But don’t eat or drink there, or you may never return. Of course geography and the people affect my writing. Fortunately for me, this is a place ‘a savage place, as holy as enchanted…’ as well as Xanadu. It stirs me up. And the internet makes the world small.

You’ve had a long and productive relationship with Baen Books, not only releasing numerous novels on your own and in collaboration with other authors, but being involved in many other projects with them as well. How did this relationship begin, and what is it about Baen’s way of doing things that has meshed so well with yours?

How did it begin? Alphabetically. I was using that cutting edge of science publisher selection mechanism and working through all the publishers from A to Z. I didn’t get that far, as you can probably work out. How did the collaborations start? Argumentatively. Eric Flint and I had a huge public argument about writing on Baen’s Bar. He eventually clinched his argument with words to the effect that when I could get something published, I could tell others how to write. I wrote back to him, privately, saying I had no wish to make a public idiot out of him (the spat had been very funny – the monkey (me) / bear (Eric) battles were more like Monty Python than warfare, as I am quite hard to pin down and Eric is quite sharp.) but that my book was coming out from Baen in a couple of months. Eric did something which made me realise he was the ideal collaborator. He apologized and admitted he’d made a fool of himself. I like the ability to do that in myself (and I am good at making a fool of myself, and admit it) and admitting it engendered respect. We started talking on e-mail (while continuing riotous and ever noisier spats on the bar) and discovered we shared a lot of attitudes and, while we have very different points of view, we have a lot of mutual respect. Eric proposed the collaboration to Jim Baen, who let us have a go. Misty Lackey was one of Jim’s ideas, and it’s never been the same as letting oil and water find their own level. My latest two books are coming out from Pyr, although I still have several more books with Baen contracted.

Recently Tor made the decision to start releasing ebooks without DRM, but Baen has been doing this for a number of years. Do you expect to see more publishers follow suit? What impact do you think this will have on the industry?

You have to laugh, don’t you? Having urinated away generations of goodwill with this DRM rubbish – which assumed it was fine to treat all your customers as thieves… And Tor – as 1/3 owners of Baen knew it had proven long since to be a waste of time, goodwill and money, are finally following a decade old example… and being hailed as groundbreakers. The truth is the publishing world doesn’t like Baen. It’s all about politics, not common sense, or economics. Now that economics is finally forcing their hand a glimmer of common sense is being allowed through. You see, in the polarised world of the US publishing establishment, the left, if not far left, has been dominant for at least the last thirty years. The US market itself is far more divided, and Baen published work by authors that they thought they could sell. That included Socialist party members and Union organisers like my co-author Eric, hardcore Democrats, Libertarians, Republicans even odd foreigners. Left, right, center… Jim applied his own libertarianly inclined principles and let readers choose, just as long as the publishing house benefited. This was evil, according to the establishment. And thus anything Baen did, even if it worked really well (Baen made a success out of e-books LONG before the rest. Baen collaborations launched new authors very successfully. Baen gave away free stories on site. Baen had the free library of older work – which still makes us authors money, Tor is now finally doing a Baen’s Bar equivalent – etc. the list goes on) had to be done the opposite of. Before Amazon, as the publishing establishment effectively owned access to 90% of retail space… they could afford to. Now they can’t. And if Tor does it, it’s Okay to follow. Just don’t admit you’re following Baen, all right? Now of course Amazon has replaced and eclipsed Baen as prime evil, although it has done more for authors than all the big six publishers put together (access to bookscan numbers, rapid, transparent accounting, realistic e-book royalties, ability to sell your own work). I’m guessing within two years all publishers will be trying to sell DRM free books from their own websites. I’m also guessing that ‘stupid’ and ‘ídeology’ will continue to hamper at least some of them, and that learning from Amazon will be as hard as learning from Baen was. Some will learn, and some will go under.

What Australian works have you loved recently?

A Confusion of Princes, Garth Nix.

Two years on from Aussiecon 4, what do you think are some of the biggest changes to the Australian Spec Fic scene?

I actually think the biggest changes are coming in the next couple of years. The real impact of e-books has yet to be felt here. I think, well, the publishing establishement is going to have interesting times here. My biggest fear is that we follow US trends – which is bad enough when they’re in step with the US but really not good when they’re 5-10 years out of synch with the causative agents on a world scale. The US went into overdrive with angst-and-literary driven sf/fantasy in the naughties – when the US was heading up toward the sub-prime economic crisis, but was doing rather well. It always takes these trends a few years to start and several more to die when the zeitgeist has moved on. And some sf/fantasy authors do suffer from low self-esteem and were pathetically eager (at least some of them) for the ‘respect’ moving the genre in this direction would bring. Well, I suspect they’re in for a rude shock as ‘literature’ is judged by time and not the current fashion in academics and the literati. Books these ‘judges’ set as literature seem destined to be tomorrow’s toilet paper, while their ‘trash’ – you know, Dickens, Shakespeare, Verne… endure. We need to let our books be judged by readers, and that, hopefully, is what e-books will allow. There’s a place and a market for literary sf, and it should be able to find publishers, but if I am right and publishing and Australia are in for some choppy economic waters, books that make people laugh, that give them battlers they can identify with, that will lift them and cheer them… those might be the ones to save the establishment. If I was to give a single piece of advice to publishing it would be to learn from Baen: stop betting the entire farm and putting all your resources into one chosen book, and spread your bets.

This interview was conducted as part of the 2012 Snapshot of Australian Speculative Fiction. We’ll be blogging interviews from 1 June to 8 June and archiving them at ASif!: Australian SpecFic in Focus. You can read interviews at:

http://thebooknut.wordpress.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://kathrynlinge.livejournal.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://helenm.posterous.com/tag/2012snapshot

http://bookonaut.blogspot.com.au/search/label/2012Snapshot

http://www.davidmcdonaldspage.com/tag/2012snapshot/

tansyrr.com/tansywp/tag/2012snapshot/

www.champagneandsocks.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://randomalex.net/tag/2012snapshot/

http://jasonnahrung.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://mondyboy.com/?tag=2012snapshot

 

2012 Aussie Snapshot: Natalie Costa Bir

Natalie Costa Bir is the Web Content Editor at the University of Sydney. She worked at HarperCollins Publishers for five years, starting in the marketing department and finishing as Digital Editor in the publishing department, where she looked after the e-book program, and edited Voyager titles. She also created and maintained the Voyager blog and Facebook/Twitter accounts. She does a small amount of freelance editing but since leaving HarperCollins mostly uses her spare time to read through the giant piles of books in her house in order to avoid death by book-pile collapse.

Currently you are Web Content Editor at The University of Sydney. How important is having a web presence to an institution like the University? Are there any lessons about what do or not do in regards to an online presence you took from your time in the publishing industry to the University, and any that you would take back with you if you returned?

It’s absolutely essential for the University to have a web presence. This means not just a website but also being available through the preferred media of our audience, including places like Facebook and Twitter. The website is the central way that we communicate with our audience – from future and current students to our staff and to visitors and the community. Our website is often the first way that people get to know who we are and what we do – and what they can expect if they come to the University. I’ve definitely come to the role with some strong ideas from being an editor – namely that the content we produce should always be of the best quality possible. ‘Quality’ means accurate spelling and grammar, but also getting the tone and content right for your audience, and making sure the technology that powers the website and its functions works properly. If I went back into a publishing house, I would take with me a better understanding of proper content strategy and governance, which means understanding what our content is for, the best way to deliver it, and who should take responsibility for its quality and continual development.

During your time in publishing, you were, at various times, heavily involved in the establishment of social media presence, and working with the development of e-books. Do you think there was a period when the major publishers were struggling to decide on an approach to social media, and how to deal with the rise of ebooks? If so, do you think this tension has been resolved, and that the major publishers have a handle on it?

There was definitely a time when publishers struggled to understand both. I think that’s fairly natural with social media, or at least with Facebook and Twitter. Both started out at as personal ways to share information with your friends or acquaintances rather than as business promotional tools, so adapting these to a company profile didn’t always seem a logical step. It’s certainly a great way to communicate directly with readers and get their feedback and to promote to the media but it’s debatable how well a social media presence converts to book sales for a publisher. At one point in time I think many publishers felt they had to create web presences for their authors but now most are smart enough to let authors develop their own presences, blogs and websites.

When it comes to e-books, I think publishers are still experimenting but aren’t completely certain about they are doing. This is partly because of the sheer number of books the big publishers were dealing with at the start of the process. Without wanting to get too detailed, converting thousands of e-books and ensuring the resulting files are error-free is a huge task. Readers are making it known that they want their e-books as soon as possible and if you make it too hard for them to buy books in legal channels, they will seek the book files elsewhere. There’s also the question of applying Digital Rights Management (DRM) to e-book files. It’s easy to crack so is there any point in applying it and stopping readers buying e-books legally from reading those books on the device of their choice? At the same time, publishers must protect the interests of their authors, which includes making it more difficult for readers to acquire unpaid copies of books.

Have publishers got a handle on the changing face of their product? I don’t think I can answer that for them! I think they’ve established a stable platform for now, but that it will continue to change – and not slowly. I think Pan MacMillan has a good thing going with the Momentum imprint and Joel Naoum at the helm – he’s someone who understands e-book workflow and technology and is applying best practice to what he publishes. I think this sort of understanding needs to be brought into every publishing house.

Do you ever see yourself returning to editing fiction? Are you working on anything like that at the moment, or have any upcoming projects, especially ones with a speculative fiction component?

I do see myself returning to editing fiction, partly because I love the community of writers and editors I know, and it’s a way to stay in touch with that world. I also find that I read a lot more critically than I did before I was an editor, and I do occasionally wish I could tighten up sentences or plot in some of the books I read! I’m currently working on an Australian Publishers Association workshop on e-books with editor Sarah Hazelton, which will take place in June in Sydney and Melbourne. I’m also working on a two-hour class on social media promotion for authors, which will be one of a six-part series on self-publishing, in association with the Australian Society of Authors. That takes place in August (and the series starts in July).

What Australian works have you loved recently?

I’ve just finished the superb set of stories in The Year’s Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy Volume Two, edited by Jonathan Strahan and Jeremy G Byrne (1998). It’s not a new book, obviously, but it’s been sitting on my shelf as one of the books I took home when I left HarperCollins. The first story in it – ‘Reasons to be Cheerful’ by Greg Egan – is a ripper. It totally propelled me into the book. I also enjoyed ‘Love and Mandarins’ (in the same collection) by Sean Williams, which is a touching but humorous story of love gone somewhat awry. I must admit, I also enjoyed reading the introduction to the book because it set the scene as it was twelve years ago in Australia.

Looking back I can see I’ve actually been quite bad at keeping up with new Australian stories. I’m still working through a giant to-be-read pile next to the bed though … If Isobelle Carmody’s The Red Queen was to come out, I’d drop all the TBR pile and get straight into it. I plan to take several days off at that point so I can thoroughly enjoy it!

Two years on from Aussiecon 4, what do you think are some of the biggest changes to the Australian Spec Fic scene?

I think one of the changes I’ve seen is the growing success of self-published Australian authors thanks to the ease of publishing with Amazon. I follow quite a lot of authors on Twitter and have seen them talking about their successes and the ways they have promoted their works. I’ve also seen it with small press – just recently Jodi Cleghorn got Chinese Whisperings: the Yin and Yang book up to number two on the Amazon free list and is promoting another anthology from eMergent publishing that way this week.

I also think more options have opened up for traditional publishers to take a punt on authors. This is partly because they are freed from the costs of warehousing and printing books (though they still rightly invest in editing and proofreading). It’s also them being more open to experimentation in a world they are not sure of. They’re still willing to take some chances and see what sells in the e-book world – including trying out short stories and novellas. It’s great to see Pan Macmillan taking the initiative with Momentum, their e-only and print on demand list.

The number of authors and editors on Twitter continues to grow too, and I think we all find it a supportive network and a place where we can exchange questions, thoughts, news and general conversation, despite many of us working in solitary or quiet environments.

For me personally: I met a lot of new people at AussieCon, and have been able to keep in touch with them via Facebook and Twitter – which is wonderful. It would have been a lot harder in an e-less world, and I am very grateful to live in a time when I can get books and conversation with like-minded people no matter where I go (apart from when my train heads into the tunnel at Wynyard station!).

This interview was conducted as part of the 2012 Snapshot of Australian Speculative Fiction. We’ll be blogging interviews from 1 June to 8 June and archiving them at ASif!: Australian SpecFic in Focus. You can read interviews at:

http://thebooknut.wordpress.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://kathrynlinge.livejournal.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://helenm.posterous.com/tag/2012snapshot

http://bookonaut.blogspot.com.au/search/label/2012Snapshot

http://www.davidmcdonaldspage.com/tag/2012snapshot/

tansyrr.com/tansywp/tag/2012snapshot/

www.champagneandsocks.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://randomalex.net/tag/2012snapshot/

http://jasonnahrung.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://mondyboy.com/?tag=2012snapshot

 

2012 Aussie Snapshot: Nick Tchan

Day job: Project manager specializing in post-graduate education. Speculative fiction writer, WOTF Q2 2nd place for volume 28. 

It has been an exciting year for you, placing in the Writers of the Future contest and heading over to their workshop in the US. Could you tell us a little bit about that experience, and what you have gotten out of it?

The whole experience of writers of the future is somewhat surreal. A lot of people have blogged about the value of the workshop (my favourite is here: Brad’s been one of my on-line mentors and he was nominated for a Nebula, Hugo and Campbell award this year), but I received the most satisfaction out of the sense of validation that I received for approach I’ve taken to learning the craft.

I’ve been concentrating on speculative short fiction for about five years now (see below) and I determined pretty early not to submit anywhere that wasn’t Pro-level pay rates with certain exceptions (i.e. non-pro venues that still attract awards/reputable reviews or non-pro venues where I know the editor and know they’ll take good care of the story).

Everyone has a different approach and reasons where and how they submit (or even if they submit at all, with the emergence of e-publishing as a viable alternative). For me, the decision to largely submit to pro-markets required a great deal of mental fortitude. There are more pro-markets out there than in the recent past, but you’re still not going to see anything but rejection slips for a very long time. It took me five years and no matter how prepared you think you are for five years of rejections, it does take its toll.

On one level writers of the future was vindication. It’s only one step; I might never sell anything at the pro-level again. But it still feels good and that vindication is a tremendous confidence boost.

The workshop week reinforces that confidence. The staff at the workshop treat you like a superstar and the established big names treat you as a neophyte professional. Brad really captures how much winning is worth when it’s been broken down in economic terms.

At the same time, you do have to recognise that it’s only the first step in the ladder. For the hoopla and glitz, you’re not guaranteed to become a full-time professional.

How long have you been writing in the speculative fiction field? Do you have a background in fandom that inspired you to start writing?

I started reading speculative fiction when I was pretty young. My mother read me Lord of the Rings as a kid and my parents had copies of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant and The Mote in God’s Eye (though I can’t actually imagine either of them reading anything speculative fiction wise). That was enough to get me hooked.

I’ve also wanted to be a writer for as long as I remember (maybe I’ve always been needy for attention).

Strangely enough I wasn’t bright enough to put two and two together and try to write speculative fiction. I struggled along trying to write literary fiction for a number of years, but did so without much of a clue. I didn’t have any idea about story structure, plot, etc. just the desire to throw a whole bunch of words together and hopefully attract kudos along the way. And, at eighteen or so, I also hoped it would attract girls (I was very naïve). I didn’t even know how to submit short stories, I just kinda figured that someone would randomly recognise my genius one day.

Somewhere about 2007, I realised that if I ever wanted to become a writer, I actually had to have a plan and I had to write what I loved to read, rather than what I thought I should be writing.

That’s when I joined a course by Terry Dowling and I slowly became more acquainted with the Australian fan scene, what other people were doing and what I needed to learn.

After your Writers of the Future success, what comes next? Do you have any plans to move into other formats, or will you continue to focus on short fiction?

Right now the focus is on short stories, though I have a novel in the back of my mind. There’s so much I want to learn about storytelling that short stories seem to be the most efficient way to learn important elements of craft and structure at the moment. While I’m aware that there are significant differences between novels and short stories, I still think short stories are a great way of developing important skills. Mind you, once I actually start writing novels, I’m going to have to start from scratch to a certain degree.

The potential novel is set in the same world as my WOTF winning story, but it’s still in the very early planning stages. Mostly I’m using it as a chance to practice outlining (which is a skill I need to learn). I mostly write by the seat of my pants, making it up as I go along, but I don’t think that’s practical for me if I move onto novels. As such, I’m having fun learning outlining skills. Whether it results in a good novel is another question entirely.

What Australian works have you loved recently?

My Australian reading has mostly been restricted to people I know directly or who are friends of my friends, so it’s probably not as broad as it should be.

As such, Terry Dowling’s Tales of Appropriate Fear, Anywhere but Earth (with special focus upon Desert Madonna by Robert Hood and Dead Low by Cat Sparks), Angie Rega’s Slow Cooking, the late Paul Haines’ disturbing Wives, Margo Lanagan’s Seahearts and Kylie Bullivant’s Afterspin.

Two years on from Aussiecon 4, what do you think are some of the biggest changes to the Australian Spec Fic scene?

I didn’t actually attend AussieCon, but the publishing world as a whole is changing very, very quickly. The obvious thing that has changed and will continue to change is the way traditional publishing and self-publishing interact with the ease of Kindle, Smashwords, etc. The publishing world has changed, but I’m yet to be convinced that it’s changed in the way that the evangelists want. My personal take is that the same people who would have succeeded five years ago will still be the same people who succeed today, regardless of the model. At best, a few overlooked people might get an opportunity that they wouldn’t have otherwise received and that’s a good thing, is it not?

On the local scene one thing I’ve noticed is that Australian market is incredibly dynamic. There are a lot of unexpected and undiscovered gems out there; we compare to anyone with both our known and unknown writers.

This interview was conducted as part of the 2012 Snapshot of Australian Speculative Fiction. We’ll be blogging interviews from 1 June to 8 June and archiving them at ASif!: Australian SpecFic in Focus. You can read interviews at:

http://thebooknut.wordpress.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://kathrynlinge.livejournal.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://helenm.posterous.com/tag/2012snapshot

http://bookonaut.blogspot.com.au/search/label/2012Snapshot

http://www.davidmcdonaldspage.com/tag/2012snapshot/

tansyrr.com/tansywp/tag/2012snapshot/

www.champagneandsocks.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://randomalex.net/tag/2012snapshot/

http://jasonnahrung.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://mondyboy.com/?tag=2012snapshot

2012 Aussie Snapshot: Lee Battersby

Lee Battersby is the author of the novels ‘The Corpse-Rat King’ (Angry Robot, 2012) and ‘Marching Dead’ (Angry Robot, 2013) as well as over 70 stories in Australia, the US and Europe, with appearances in markets as “Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror”, “Year’s Best Australian SF & F”, and “Writers of the Future”. A collection of his work, entitled “Through Soft Air” has been published by Prime Books. He’s taught at Clarion South and developed and delivered a six-week “Writing the SF Short Story” course for the Australian Writers Marketplace. His work has been praised for its consistent attention to voice and narrative muscle, and has resulted in a number of awards including the Aurealis, Australian Shadows and Australia SF ‘Ditmar’ gongs.

He lives in Mandurah, Western Australia, with his wife, writer Lyn Battersby and an increasingly weird mob of kids. He is sadly obsessed with Lego, Nottingham Forest football club, dinosaurs, the Goon Show and Daleks. He’s been a stand-up comic, tennis coach, cartoonist, poet, and tax officer in previous times, and he currently works as the Arts Co-ordinator for a local council, where he gets to play with artists all day. All in all, life is pretty good.

This year you had some very exciting news, landing a book deal with Angry Robot (congratulations!). As someone who was already a multiple award winning and prolific writer, do you feel that this recognition has changed your profile or your approach to writing?

It’s definitely changed my approach to writing in one very simple but central way: I’m a novelist now. That probably sounds a bit flippant, but the whole texture of my life has changed recently, including a day job promotion to a co-ordinator position that really eats my days. I have very little time left over for writing, so what time I have has to be devoted to one task, whereas in the past I could skip from one project to the other on a whim. Right now, I’m exclusively focused on novels because I have to be: time just doesn’t allow me to do anything else, and I’m on contract, so I have to cut away everything bar the novel work for a while. As to my profile, I don’t know– I’ve been slowly sliding into the background over the last few years, and not being so prolific at magazine level hasn’t helped. Perhaps the promo splash of a novel release will bring me back into peoples’ thinking for a short while, but as long as the work stands up and satisfies people, that’s the important thing, not whether I get recognised at Cons.

Looking back at your time as editor of various publications, are there any writers whose current success you predicted, or ones that we should still be keeping an eye out for?

I’m not much of a prophet. I remember tutoring Peter Ball and Jason Fischer at Clarion South 5 years ago or so and feeling that they were likely to go on and do some impressive things, but there were several others from that class who I felt could do the same, and have done so in different guises, notably Chris Green and Laura Goodin. I’m not currently as involved in mentoring and teaching as I have been in the past, or as I’d like to be, so I’ve not got much of an idea of who’s at the grass roots level waiting to break out. Being surprised by a new voice is part of the fun, though, so it’ll be interesting. I think there are a number of authors who are now stepping up to full time novel production who could go a long way– I’d keep my eye on Joanne Anderton and Trent Jamieson, for two.

Are there further adventures planned in the world of “The Corpse-Rat King”, or do you plan on moving on to new projects once it and its immediate sequel are complete?

I’m contracted for 2 novels, which is standard Angry Robot practice, but there is a clause allowing for a third novel if they so wish, and I’ve got the story arc planned right through to the end of that third novel. The novels are designed to be stand-alones as much as possible, so if we only see two on the shelves it won’t lessen anything. But it feels good to have an extra story in reserve. I’ve also been asked to write a Marius Helles short story for a magazine, so there will probably be one short as well. But I’m easy– I love playing in the world of the Corpse-Rat King, but I’m 52K into a Father Muerte novel and have a couple of others in the early planning stages, including a post-apocalyptic revenger’s tragedy, so whatever comes along it’ll be fun to write.

What Australian works have you loved recently?

I feel guilty, because every time we do a snapshot I get asked this question, and every time I say “I’ve not been reading many Australians”, so I end up feeling like the least supportive guy in the world! I do read, and bloody well enjoy, Midnight Echo when it comes out, and I’m currently partway through Joanne Anderton’s fantastic debut novel ‘Debris’. I have Deb Biancotti’s ‘Bad Power’ and Trent Jamieson’s ‘Roil’ on my to-read list, but God knows when I’ll get to them. My current day job– I’m the Arts Co-ordinator for a City of 120 000 people– is eating my life, and by the time I get home, play with the kids, spend some time with my wife, do my own writing work…. reading is well on the back burner for the moment. But nobody needs my recommendations: go to a Con or an independent book store with a hundred bucks, plonk it on the counter, and demand Australian things. You’ll get a mad selection, if nothing else.

Two years on from Aussiecon 4, what do you think are some of the biggest changes to the Australian Spec Fic scene?

I don’t know. It’s hard to tell. Everything I’ve ever heard about Aussiecon in 1999 led me to believe there would be a seismic shift in the way we do things, but Aussiecon 4 doesn’t seem to have had any real impact at all. Maybe I’m just too divorced from the scene at the moment to see it, but apart from increased discussion about electronic publishing, which seemed to be on the rise anyway, I haven’t really seen anything massive taking place. I’m not be the best person to ask, though: the story of my journey over the last 3 years seems to be a slow parting of the ways with the intense, involved world of the Australian SF small press scene, which saddens me somewhat because that’s where I keep all my friends (although the friendships remain) and where I’ve had some of the best times of my life over the years. But the scene changes, and evolves, and something new will always arise. It’s the nature of the beast. I think we’re going to have the best small press publisher in the country come out of that scene in the next couple of years, and that’s going to be worth watching.

This interview was conducted as part of the 2012 Snapshot of Australian Speculative Fiction. We’ll be blogging interviews from 1 June to 8 June and archiving them at ASif!: Australian SpecFic in Focus. You can read interviews at:

http://thebooknut.wordpress.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://kathrynlinge.livejournal.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://helenm.posterous.com/tag/2012snapshot

http://bookonaut.blogspot.com.au/search/label/2012Snapshot

http://www.davidmcdonaldspage.com/tag/2012snapshot/

tansyrr.com/tansywp/tag/2012snapshot/

www.champagneandsocks.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://randomalex.net/tag/2012snapshot/

http://jasonnahrung.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://mondyboy.com/?tag=2012snapshot

 

2012 Aussie Snapshot: Kaaron Warren

Stoker-nominated author Kaaron Warren’s short story collection The Grinding House (CSFG Publishing) won the ACT Writers’ and Publishers’ Fiction Award and two Ditmar Awards. Her second collection, Dead Sea Fruit, published by Ticonderoga Books, won the ACT Writers’ and Publishers’ Fiction Award. Her critically acclaimed novel Slights (Angry Robot Books) won the Australian Shadows Award fiction,  the Ditmar Award and the Canberra Critics’ Award for Fiction. Angry Robot Books also published her novels Walking the Tree, (shortlisted for a Ditmar Award) and Mistification, which launched in June 2011.

Her stories have appeared in Ellen Datlow’s “Year’s Best Horror and Fantasy” as well as the Australian Years Best Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy anthologies.

She has recently been named Special Guest for the Australian National Science Fiction Convention in 2013, and appeared at Readercon in the USA as an invited guest.

Kaaron lives in Canberra, Australia, with her husband and children. Her website is kaaronwarren.wordpress.com and she tweets @KaaronWarren.

You’ve recently assumed the role of mentor through the JUMP National Mentoring Program, and in previous years have been involved in AHWA’s own mentoring program. What prompted you to put up your hand to become a mentor? Did you get much input into choosing your mentoree, and if so, what were the criteria that were important to you?

I have two reasons for being a mentor. One is that I believe we should all help to build our industry, and we do that by producing the best work we can produce.

The second is that I received very little encouragement as a young writer, and I do believe it would have made a difference early in my career to have had someone advise me, critique me and push me. I want to provide that to other new writers.

I have a lot of input into choosing my mentorees. It has to be a person you feel you can work with, whose writing you admire and who you honestly feel you can help.

Kimberley Gaal approached me when she was considering the JUMP program. Before I agreed to mentor her, I read some of her work and spoke to her about what she wanted to get out of the process.

She’s a talented writer, and I admired the professionalism she showed in her aims.

So far, it’s going well. We’ve survived our first critiquing session, which is good!

For the AHWA mentorships, I was part of the match up process as well. My three mentorees, Lee Dean, Amanda Spedding and Joanne Anderton, all stood out because of their original voices and the stories they submitted. Working with all three was fantastic, and I learnt a lot about my own writing and processes as we worked.

Kaaron Warren

You’ve been a Judge for the Australian Shadows Award and a Juror for the Shirley Jackson and, upcoming, the Bram Stoker Awards. What are the challenges in taking on such a role? What did you enjoy about it? Have these experiences influenced your own writing?

The main challenge is that it’s a lot of reading! Luckily, most of what I read is the stuff I choose to read anyway. And I’m a fast reader.

There are some pretty woeful books and stories you have to work your way through, but there are a lot of fantastic ones as well. I discovered a number of new authors, and fell back in love with a few more, too.
As far as influence goes, when you read that many books in a genre, ou see the tropes, the clichés. I have a short list of things I want to avoid, including titles. One that surprised me was twins. I would say at least half the books had twins as main or minor characters. Fascinating!

Next year you are one of the Guests at Conflux 9, the 2013 Natcon. What do you see as some of the main responsibilities of a Guest? What are you most excited about?

The guests I remember the most are the ones who get out there, and hang with the members. It’s that personal contact which is wonderful. The panels, discussions and readings are part of everyone’s convention experience; I hope to be available to people who want to talk about their writing or whatever else.

I’m excited about a lot of things. Natcons are brilliant, because you learn so much, and meet up with friends, writers and fans. Meals, drinks, room parties, more drinks, panels, fascinating discussions, readings and so much more.

The other guests (Nalo Hopkinson, Marc Gascoigne and Karen Miller) are fabulous and I’m looking forward to hanging out with them.

What Australian works have you loved recently?

Deborah Biancotti, Bad Power
Lucy Sussex. Matilda Told Such Awful Lies and Thief of Lives
Kim Westwood , The Bicycle Thief
Dead Red Heart, Ticonderoga Books
Ben Peek and Stephanie Campisi, Above and Below
Ishtar, Gilgamesh Press

Two years on from Aussiecon 4, what do you think are some of the biggest changes to the Australian Spec Fic scene?

I don’t know about changes, because I think Australians have been producing excellent work for a long time, but I feel as if we’re being noticed more broadly now. There are Australian names on International Awards, which means our work is being read outside of the country, and that’s fantastic.

This interview was conducted as part of the 2012 Snapshot of Australian Speculative Fiction. We’ll be blogging interviews from 1 June to 8 June and archiving them at ASif!: Australian SpecFic in Focus. You can read interviews at:

http://thebooknut.wordpress.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://kathrynlinge.livejournal.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://helenm.posterous.com/tag/2012snapshot

http://bookonaut.blogspot.com.au/search/label/2012Snapshot

http://www.davidmcdonaldspage.com/tag/2012snapshot/

tansyrr.com/tansywp/tag/2012snapshot/

www.champagneandsocks.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://randomalex.net/tag/2012snapshot/

http://jasonnahrung.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://mondyboy.com/?tag=2012snapshot

 

2012 Aussie Snapshot: Michael Pryor

Best-selling author of the ‘Laws of Magic’ series, Michael Pryor was born in Swan Hill, Victoria, and currently lives in Melbourne. He has worked as a drainer’s labourer, a truck driver, a bathroom accessories salesperson, an Internet consultant, a software developer, a textbook publisher, in a scrap metal yard and as a secondary school teacher.

Michael has published more than thirty popular and critically acclaimed novels, more than fifty short stories, and has over one million words in print. His work has been longlisted for an Inky award, shortlisted for the WAYBR award and six times shortlisted for the Aurealis Award. Seven of his books have been awarded Children’s Book Council of Australia Notable Book status.

For more, see his website www.michaelpryor.com.au

My first encounter with you was attending a book launch where you were the MC. It’s clear that you have a real talent behind the mike, but are there any particular challenges in speaking to a group of students in a school environment as opposed to a group of writers? Do you find there is a receptiveness amongst young people to hearing about books, and speculative fiction books in particular?

I have many speaking engagements in schools, and they’re always a challenge. Delightfully so, in most cases, otherwise occasionally. The major difference can be that the school audiences can be reluctant. They’re not always aware of who you are, or what you do. It keeps you on your toes, having to offer them something engaging almost immediately, and winning their confidence can take some work. Usually, though, students warm up. Most are genuinely interested in what goes on behind the scenes of anything creative. I see it as the equivalent of DVD extras – ‘The Making of …’ sort of thing. Add to that the fact that more young people today are seeing writing as an actual career choice, thanks to celebrity authors like JK Rowling. It’s the Masterchef effect at work. Over the last half dozen years, catering and hospitality courses have had an explosion of interest, thanks to celebrity chefs. I think we’re starting to see the same at work with authors. Spec Fic is still a favourite among young readers, but this does tail off a little as they get older. Then it’s replaced by a growing stream of geek pride – the avid readers who love books and aren’t afraid to show it.



“The Quentaris Chronicles” must have been an incredible experience, with involvement from some amazing Australian talent. Looking back, what were some of the highlights and challenges involved? Is it something we are likely to see more of?

The shared world thing hadn’t been done in Australia before the Quentaris Chronicles. I’d been sitting around for some time waiting for someone else to do it and to ask me to come on board, but nothing was happening so I started talking with Paul Collins and that was the beginning of a wonderful project. The highlights were simply getting to work with so many fine authors. Authors almost always work in a solitary mode, and being able to discuss concepts, help shape outlines and then offer suggestions on manuscripts was a real privilege. All the authors we worked with were gracious, reliable and thoroughly professional. Challenges? The amount of work involved … Trying to keep up my own writing, while supervising other writers, and having a day job meant that I was phenomenally busy, and ended up quite exhausted most of the time. Is it something we’re likely to see more of? I doubt it. Despite it being a creative wonderland, such a project requires a real leap of faith from a publisher, In these straitened publishing times, I think it unlikely.

You’ve talked about some of the challenges in moving away from a steampunk setting into more of a science fiction world with “10 Futures”. Do you think you will return to steampunk anytime soon, or does the immediate future hold more science fiction?

I’m currently writing the second book of the steampunk ‘Extraordinaires’ series, so my love of historical fantasy adventure isn’t going away for some time. I’d be happy to have a foot in both camps, so to speak, and to work with more serious SF as well as indulging in the style and humour of the Edwardian romps I love.

What Australian works have you loved recently?

I love David Cornish’s work, and I look forward to each new delivery in the Monster Blood Tattoo series. Sean Tan, of course, and Gabrielle Wang’s ‘Little Paradise’ was a little gem.

Two years on from Aussiecon 4, what do you think are some of the biggest changes to the Australian Spec Fic scene?

The health of it. The growth in the YA field. The inroads Spec Fic is making into the mainstream, both in consciousness and sheer numbers of works being bought and read.

This interview was conducted as part of the 2012 Snapshot of Australian Speculative Fiction. We’ll be blogging interviews from 1 June to 8 June and archiving them at ASif!: Australian SpecFic in Focus. You can read interviews at:

http://thebooknut.wordpress.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://kathrynlinge.livejournal.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://helenm.posterous.com/tag/2012snapshot

http://bookonaut.blogspot.com.au/search/label/2012Snapshot

http://www.davidmcdonaldspage.com/tag/2012snapshot/

tansyrr.com/tansywp/tag/2012snapshot/

www.champagneandsocks.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://randomalex.net/tag/2012snapshot/

http://jasonnahrung.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://mondyboy.com/?tag=2012snapshot

 

2012 Aussie Snapshot: Thoraiya Dyer

Thoraiya Dyer’s work has appeared in Apex magazine, Cosmos, Nature and Redstone SF. Her fantasy story, “Fruit of the Pipal Tree,” was the winner of the 2011 Aurealis Award in its category. An original collection of her short fiction, “Asymmetry,” will be published in 2012 as part of Twelfth Planet Press’ Twelve Planets Series. You can find her website here.

It’s been a pretty exciting year for you so far, with both local recognition in the form of Aurealis and Ditmar nods, and internationally with your name appearing on the Locus Recommended Reading List and some
overseas professional sales. How difficult is it for an Australian to get noticed on the international stage?

Erm. Thank you for that tough first question! I think it’s difficult. Winning an Aurealis Award does not get you snapped up by an agent the same way that winning a Nebula does. But I don’t have an alternate reality me (perhaps me from a reality where Dad didn’t get kicked out of the USA for working on a student visa, and got his degree from the Northrop Aeronautical Institute instead of going to Sydney University? OMG, alternate reality me would have a Californian accent and hate vegemite!) to compare with, so I can’t be sure that’s it. What if I’m just writing the wrong things?

I always feel like I’m writing the wrong things. Like, I’ll get to those things I should be writing after I’m finished writing this less appropriate and yet utterly absorbing thing that’s inside me and I have to get out of the way first.

Wrong things aside, I think no matter where I was from, I would worry about finding that balance between deep personal experience and the universal human experience. If you can nail that, you can get international notice. You can get international critical notice like Margo Lanagan, and/or you can be wildly beloved by hordes of international fans, like Juliet Marillier. Practice makes perfect. I intend to keep practicing!

Last year at Swancon you won the Ditmar for “Best New Talent”. Do you feel that recognition made any difference to your writing, as a spur or encouragement?

Not really. The people who thought I deserved it will continue to believe in me, no matter whether I succeed or fail, and anyone who didn’t, well, I’ve got nothing to prove to them. The best thing about winning BNT was having the Small One come up onto the stage with me to get the award. She remembers that room, full of friendly folk who were all dressed up and very generous with their Easter eggs and glow sticks. She remembers the clapping and the “statue Mum got because she is the best!”

As long as I can keep tricking my daughter into thinking I’m the best, all will be right with the world.

Obviously you have a real talent for the shorter form, but we have also seen an wonderfully received novella from you as well. Do you have a preferred format? Are we likely to see a novel in the near future, or more short stories, or both?

You’re very kind. I have no preference. I get enjoyment from short stories, novellas and novels. Unfortunately I have yet to meet the editor who prefers my novels. But I’m sure he or she is out there. My novel-length soul editor. I wonder what other writer’s novel they are pitching to their corporate masters right now? *romantic sigh* We’ll be together one day.

What Australian works have you loved recently?

“Sea Hearts” by Margo Lanagan and “City of Lies” by Lian Tanner.

Short stories “Possession” by Ben Peek (Steampunk Revolution, Tachyon) and “Stalemate” by Narrelle M Harris (Showtime, Twelfth Planet Press).

Artworks “The Lovers” and “Thinkie, Thinkie” by Marta Tesoro (http://www.rabbittownanimator.com/)

Two years on from Aussiecon 4, what do you think are some of the biggest changes to the Australian Spec Fic scene?

Another tough one. I wasn’t really “in” it last time; Aussiecon 4 was my first con, and if they hadn’t been selling books in the dealer’s room, I probably would have failed to recognise my own editors. Um, the short story submissions I sent to Ben Payne were so bad that he closed both his magazines in disgust before I could submit again? Aurealis stopped being a print magazine? ASIM went quarterly? Angry Robot came along and took a shine to us Antipodeans? A Paul Haines-shaped hole appeared? I can tell you what’s happened in my little corner, with my post-it notes of potential markets creeping up the wall or scrunched up on the floor. But you should ask Jonathan and Gary at the Coode St Podcast about “the scene”. I need at least 2 hours of interesting waffle for my next session on the treadmill, hahaha.

This interview was conducted as part of the 2012 Snapshot of Australian Speculative Fiction. We’ll be blogging interviews from 1 June to 8 June and archiving them at ASif!: Australian SpecFic in Focus. You can read interviews at:

http://thebooknut.wordpress.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://kathrynlinge.livejournal.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://helenm.posterous.com/tag/2012snapshot

http://bookonaut.blogspot.com.au/search/label/2012Snapshot

http://www.davidmcdonaldspage.com/tag/2012snapshot/

tansyrr.com/tansywp/tag/2012snapshot/

www.champagneandsocks.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://randomalex.net/tag/2012snapshot/

http://jasonnahrung.com/tag/2012snapshot/

http://mondyboy.com/?tag=2012snapshot