Five-minute fixes, steampunk blimps, and Nordic noir

The giveaway is Zoe Foster Blake’s ‘Things Will Calm Down Soon’

Oct 22, 2024

This really does seem to be a regular thing. As soon as I complain, as I did last week, about the sea of troubles (thanks, Shakespeare) that is a writing career, a Big Good Thing happens.

In this case, the Big Good Thing was being shortlisted for the Richell Prize. Although I’m deeply enamoured with the story that I’ve written, I was not expecting it to make the shortlist. Twenty-one entries were on the longlist and now there are seven of us on the shortlist.

Each project received a little blurb of feedback from the judges and they all sound so good. Here’s the one for my crime fiction manuscript, Welfare Queens:

‘The use of humour and relatable dialogue immediately drew the judges in with its lively tone. The work is energetic and entertaining right from the start. The judges loved the way it was full of ‘in-your-face’ attitude and brought to life a refreshing cast of characters on the margins of society to address systemic issues surrounding poverty and mental health that set it apart and made for a very memorable story.’

I’m so happy with this description, as it’s highlighting what I was aiming for in the manuscript. Gosh, I’m embarrassed now by how butthurt I was over that rejection last week. At the time, though, I didn’t know what was around the corner and it’s valid to feel down when something you were striving for doesn’t work out.

But sometimes you aren’t swimming in that sea of troubles for as long as you’d anticipated. It’s mighty nice when that happens.

Have a good week. xx

News

1. I’m not sure how to feel about this one – Mt Isa has signed up to be Australia’s first freight blimp base. As soon as 2028, a French-Canadian company called Flying Whales could be flying huge airships across our skies to transport goods. I guess as long as it’s safe, environmentally-friendly, and creates jobs, it could be a winner in a slightly eerie steampunk kinda way.

2. Feeling like spreading a snippet of positivity that’ll only take you a couple of minutes? Tell The Guardian your five-minute fix for when you’re feeling healthier and happier. My answer was: ‘Making lists of your favourite things -- songs, places, TV shows, foods, books, movies, hobbies, memories, etc. Not only does it make me happy to think about these positive things, but I can look back on these lists when I'm in need of a pick-me-up in the future.’ It’s nice to think about these types of things. If you’re after inspo, I published this post on the topic last year.

3. Can’t get enough of Australia’s kitschy collection of Big Things and we’ve now got a new one – a big red tractor in Western Australia that’s five times the normal size. I appreciated the article’s guide to some of the need-to-know Big Things around the country. I wasn’t aware of the magpie in Canberra. Might be time for me to pay the city a visit and take a photo of him so I can add it to my scrapbook.

Reviews

1. Since I came back recently from a trip to Sweden and had a Nordic noir book in my to-be-read pile, I figured it was high time I checked it out. Closed for Winter by Jorn Lier Horst is a police procedural that centres around Norwegian police inspector William Wisting’s investigation of a corpse in a holiday home near where his daughter is staying. Although my crime fiction tastes generally lean more towards cosy mysteries and locked-room mysteries, the cosy-lover in me found plenty to enjoy in this story. It was gentle on the violence front and the icy weather created a suitably gloomy atmosphere. The mystery aspect of the tale also reached a satisfying conclusion. My only real complaint was that I would’ve preferred more character development and punchier dialogue, but police procedural readers probably aren’t as fixated on those aspects of a novel. Closed for Winter is actually the seventh title in the William Wisting series and the second to be translated to English. It reads well as a stand-alone, though. If you’re looking for a starter Nordic noir novel (as this one was for me), I reckon it’d be a good pick.

2. Here’s something to think about: you’re possibly like me and are in a perpetual state of guilt about what should be better organised around your house. Declutter the bookcase and kitchen drawers, get storage cannisters for the pantry, tackle the mounting piles of paperwork in the spare room. These sorts of activities can make you feel much calmer. However, they can also be time-consuming and sometimes by creating a system to sort your books or kids’ toys, you’re creating more work for yourself in the future. Lumping them all in the same place (out of sight) might be a better, simpler solution. As this Guardian article points out, we don’t need to organise everything.

3. I’ve been trialling a sample of Charlotte Tilbury’s Matte Revolution lipstick in ‘Pillow Talk’ (available from MECCA for $54). The sample is in the form of a mini lipstick bullet, which I’ve gotta say is adorable, although that’s really beside the point. There are other things to love – it’s cruelty-free, is a lovely your-lips-but-better matte shade, is soft and creamy on your lips, and has a lightly chocolatey flavour. My main gripe? It’s not long-lasting. If you don’t mind reapplying several times a day and the exxy price tag, it’s a great choice. If you’re like me and prefers to apply your lip colour once – maybe twice – in a day, it leaves you a tad unimpressed.

What I’m Feelin’ Right Now

A slouchy cream handbag
‘Close To You’ by Gracie Abrams
Clothes sporting bold bows
Sprinkling lemon juice and crumbled feta over roast vegies
Coveting pastel blue hair, despite currently working my way back to my natural hue
A trench coat with a delicate floral print
Cauliflower fritters with tzatziki
Doing one of those colour-your-own tote bags
Nail art stickers on luminous pale pink nails

Giveaway

Last week’s giveaway, Khin Myint’s Fragile Creatures, was won by Kelly Marie Rowe. Yay! My email should be in your inbox.

The giveaway this week is Things Will Calm Down Soon by Zoe Foster Blake. Pop your name and email address here for a chance to win.

Playlist of the Week

Just the best T-Swift tunes because her songs are epic: