Realising that my publishers and agents all want me to stick with fantasy for adults, but also aware that it’s not good to keep all your eggs in one basket, I decided that I’d better make sure that those eggs aren’t all griffin eggs (did I just strain the metaphor?).

Therefore, I hastily promised my agent that I could and would come up with another fantasy series for grownups in case we needed something else to spruik. And amazingly enough, that very afternoon when I mulled over what I might do, I came up with something more or less on the spot.

Now, I really can’t say whether the new project is for adults; aside from anything else I’ve always been terrible at picking audiences for my own work (and quite frankly, no-one else can really agree either). But however it may be I started work on a new project some time ago, and by now it’s getting toward the 50-page mark and looking strong enough that I know it’ll be finished rather than petering out like some of my previous efforts.

It’s at this point that I’ve started wondering whether any of you might be interested in seeing it for yourselves, especially considering that there’s been no major news or much of interest going on here lately. So I’m asking you now to see what you think. I can just post up a short summary of what the story’s about, or I can go so far as to put up an extract. Or I can do both.

Which would you prefer? Don’t be shy; comment and let me know, and verily, thy wish shalt be mine command!

My own mother is a PhD at the University of Canberra, and she went into labour with me twenty-six years ago while doing the vacuuming before giving birth at about 1am the following morning.

Now, I’ve had writing sessions that went on all night, but unless I have kids of my own one day (unlikely), I’ll never really know what the original form of creation feels like. But more importantly than that my mother has always been there for me, and the rest of the family, no matter what she herself might want or feel, and that’s the greatest gift that a good mother gives after the gift of life itself.

And finally, and more relevantly to this LJ, longtime readers may have noticed that a good number of my important female characters are tough and no-nonsense, but loyal to those close to them. Why? Because that’s the kind of woman I grew up with. That’s my mum. There’s something of her in Senneck, in Saeddryn, in Skade, and probably even others like Elkin and Riona.

(My father, on the other hand, was the unconcious role model for the artistic, solitary and slightly neurotic men that seem to pop up in my books from time to time. But don’t tell him I said that!)

I was watching this video, and that got me thinking about how your characters’ greatest fears are one of the most important things you have to know and understand about them in order to write them well. Arenadd’s fear of heights, for example, came from a childhood trauma and was, more or less, what killed him in the end.

If you’ve clicked the link you may have noticed that it’s a video of fish jumping, which might not seem terribly relevant to the situation. Well, it probably wouldn’t have prompted the thought for anyone else but it did to me, because I’m scared of fish and that video gave me a serious case of the creeps.

Yup. Baring my soul here: fish give me the heebie-jeebies. I won’t run away screaming if I see one and in real life they don’t generally bother me at all, but I’ve had some seriously messed-up dreams involving terrifying fish monsters and I eventually realised that I’ve never actually had a dream about fish that weren’t terrifying or at least vaguely creepy. Hell, I could describe the last memorable “fish dream” I had, and it’d put you off smoked trout for life.

Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. I can’t fathom anyone being scared of my adorable pet rat, but it happens.

Anyway, I’ve now entered that first installment in the Text Prize contest for unpublished children’s/young adult manuscripts, for which the prize is a publishing deal with a $10,000 advance. I don’t have high hopes of winning because I’m not really the sort of person who wins writing awards (something my detractors will have no trouble believing), but wish me luck anyway!

In the meantime, here is a stuffed werewolf I made. It turned out to be quite difficult to photograph, but you get the general idea.

Meet Skarratt, the four-winged dwarf griffin you may remember if you read The Creature. She’s been lying around my room for a while with no wings, but today I finally got around to putting some on her. And if you’re wondering why I’ve been doing so much today, it’s because I’m at home with a cold and I can’t concentrate well enough to write, so I’ve been sewing instead.
Now I just need to figure out what to do with this little beauty. Right after I get started on the werewolf I’m going to make. I love werewolves.

This is Kraego (sitting on my messy desk, if you’re wondering). And believe it or not, he was actually designed by my friend and cover illustrator Allison L Jones, who picked out the gender, coat, and eye colours and actually led to the creation of him as a character since what she picked gave me an idea. Since she said he should be black, I realised he must be Skandar’s son, and the blue eyes made me decide that his mother… well, you’ll see.

Now, it’s not much of a spoiler to say that by the time the events of the second trilogy roll around, Skandar has a lot of offspring. He’s the dominant griffin, and female griffins find that very attractive indeed. Kraego, though, is different and a bit special, but you’ll see for yourselves! Eventually.

Cute, ain’t he? In cuddly form, anyway.

PS: Ah yes, I almost forgot, but I’ve been informed that The Shadow’s Heir is going to the printer’s this week. It won’t be officially released in Australia until July, whereupon I shall put signed copies up on eBay. But the advance copies sent to me will go to our lucky prizewinners (and a few close friends).

It’s one hell of a depressing movie is what I’m trying to say. But more than worth watching, if you can handle it.

(Thanks partly to the scene involving the guinea pig, when I got home I went straight to give my rat Goliath a cuddle. Rats are surprisingly cuddly, you guys!)

Anyway, in unrelated news, I’m feeling about ready to start the final installment of the third trilogy, which I’ve decided to title The Cursed Guard. The title will of course be subject to possible change in the future, but it’ll do for now. For those keeping count at home, this book will be the ninth volume in the griffin series, and at the moment I’m looking at writing up to fifteen all up, or five trilogies. As I’ve said before, that should keep me busy for a while, which is good because I’m easily bored.
I can’t speak for anyone else of course, but I’ve found that starting a novel is one of the hardest parts of the process. But I live for that hyped up feeling I get when I know I’m ready to start – when I can feel the novel rising up inside me, so to speak, ready to come out.

Hmph, it’s 1:30 am. No wonder I’m rambling. But stuff it – I’m gonna write the first little bit of the book right now! I know I’ll sleep better if I do. Wish me luck, everyone.