A pod of mermaids, a podcast for magazine-lovers, and our flying taxi future
The giveaway is ‘The Glass House’ by Anne Buist and Graeme Simsion
As I write this, I’m booking flights and researching transfers for spending two weeks in the Blue Mountains. In 2023, I was awarded a fellowship to go to Varuna the National Writers’ House, which has been a dream of mine ever since I found out it existed. It’s feeling real now – I’m just crossing all digits I don’t catch any of the lurgies floating around before I go (or while I’m there, for that matter)!
The plan is that I’ll be there at the end of June and the start of July, working on my crime novel manuscript Welfare Queens and sharing the house with other writers. To maximise my ability to work in-depth on this project, I’ve decided I’ll be taking a month off from publishing Becks and the City. The last post before I go will be next week on Tuesday 11 June.
Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere permanently (I’m sure you weren’t worried!). Last year, I pressed pause on this newsletter for a month mid-year when I had three-and-a-half weeks to produce a somewhat complete-looking manuscript after being shortlisted for the Penguin Random House Write It Fellowship program. To properly do a deep dive into the novel’s story at Varuna, I reckon this is a worthwhile thing to do again.
I’ll come back here Tuesday 9 July with a special report on how it all went.
Anyway, I’m not leaving yet. See you next week before I go! : )
xx
Becks
P.S. I had an eerie flash fiction piece published in Meniscus journal this week. It’s called ‘Fried Eggs’ and is based on probably the strangest phone call I’ve had in my entire life. I wrote it during an afternoon writing session with a friend and it pretty much came out as its been printed in one go. A writing miracle! It helps that it’s short, of course – only around 400 words. But still, I wish every time I wrote it was as fuss-free an experience as that one.
News
1. Feeling like real life isn’t resembling The Hunger Games enough these days? I’ve got you covered. China is vying to be the first country to operate flying taxis, which appear more like helicopters crossbred with drones. The only version of this I find acceptable is if we’re in the Fifth Element universe and Bruce Willis is my cabbie. This might be (definitely is) my suspicion of flying objects, including especially birds, kicking in, but it sounds like a mid-air collision waiting to happen. At least the flying taxis can’t poop on you from above, but I’m sure they’ll develop that feature in time.
2. TikTok (I almost wrote ‘TitTok’) isn’t my thing, but I’m loving this for Melbourne-based team Ginger and Carman, who are both over 60 and popular influencers on the platform with, together, more than 340,000 followers. It seems to be changing slowly for the better, but older women still feel unseen and unheard to a large extend in our society, but this is a leap forward. Conceived on a girls’ trip to Paris, their channel displays their flair for style and infectious energy. I want to hang with these chicks!
3. Personally, I find the thought of my legs being bound together while I’m trying to swim low-key terrifying, but I am extremely here for the whimsical idea of swimming in a mermaid costume – as long as it’s other people doing it. Why did I not come across this group of legends when I was in Newcastle a few months back??? I would’ve been ecstatic and these ‘mersonas’ (‘mersonae’?) might’ve even made it into my writing. Anyway, good on them doing something cute and kooky for their mental health. The world is a brighter place because this exists.
Reviews
1. With two of Benjamin Stevenson’s crime novels now under my belt (Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone and its sequel, Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect, though not in that order), I was a touch apprehensive to read Either Side of Midnight. The two I’d read were fantastically funny self-referential masterpieces, but I’d been told his earlier novels weren’t as good and I was afraid this one would be a let-down. I needn’t have worried. I can see how it wasn’t quite so intricately plotted and the humour wasn’t quite so finely-tuned, but damn, it was still super-entertaining. I’ve realised that, once again, I accidentally read the sequel before the original in the series but, once again, it doesn’t even matter (and usually I’d be mad as hell about it). The novel’s premise is basically a TV anchorman shooting himself live on-air and whether he did it willingly or was coerced. An ex-con and the anchorman’s twin brother decide to find out. This is non-stop fun with topical substance behind it.
2. I’m in new-podcast-gathering mode in the lead-up to my trip and this week I came across tasty American offering Print Is Dead. If you’re like me and magazines will never be over in your eyes, you’ll likely appreciate it. Each episode is dedicated to a conversation with a different high-profile magazine editor or designer. It’s been going since mid-2022, so there are plenty of episodes for you to feast on and the interview subjects come from the likes of GQ, Bustle, Vogue, and The New Yorker. From what I’ve seen (well… heard), this will restore your faith that magazines as here to stay, albeit in an evolving form.
What I’m Feelin’ Right Now
Cheesecake-flavoured yoghurt
Rejoicing that ra-ra skirts are back
Vitamin D-fortified foods
Strolling around in a strange place capturing photos on a disposable camera for a day
‘WORK’ by ATEEZ really is outstanding
Carrot ginger dressing to spiffy-up salad greens
A chocolate-coloured blazer with pale pink nails
A ruched tote bag with big bows at the handle bases
Taking myself out on a date for a vanilla cupcake and a pot of tea
Giveaway
Last week’s giveaway, Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan, was won by Kristin Carao. I’ve emailed you, Kristin!
The giveaway this week is The Glass House by Anne Buist and Graeme Simsion. Enter your name and email address here for a chance to win.
Playlist of the Week
The mountain retreat collection:
Enjoy Varuna, Bec!
I’m new here Beck. Lovely read!!! Looking forward to checking out the pod