Lightsaber lessons for ladies, mystery minion sculptures, and the Sugar Plum Fairy’s drugged-out playlist

And more than one piece of good writing news *streamers, rainbows, puppies*

Apparently, we’re up to the part in the writing cycle where I have a couple of breakthroughs and my work is accepted after a long drought. Thank heavens!

In the space of three days I had two pieces of writerly good news. I’ve had my eye on being published by Ellipsis Zine for a while now, and I’ve been accepted for issue 13 called ‘Hoochie Coochie’ (different!). It’s a collection of humorous micro-fiction. The piece that I wrote doesn’t really fit my usual mould. My tiny stories aren’t usually overtly funny – they’re often quite dark in one way or another, but occasionally I take a break to write something lighter. I’m not sure when the issue is coming out, but I imagine in the middle of the year. I’ll keep you posted.

The other acceptance I’ve had is for Glimmer Press’s ‘FUTURES’ fiction anthology. I’m all about everything futuristic, so I can’t wait to read the other stories. My piece has been shortlisted and will be included in the anthology, so I’m stoked with that result. My story is contemporary (I guess?) rather than sci-fi, but it’s still worlds away from the Ellipsis Zine piece. One of the things I value the most about being a writer is the freedom to try various writing styles depending on my mood and just in the spirit of exploration and play. To see what works, what doesn’t.

Anyway, I’m thrilled to have these two ‘yeses’ this week after a period of slogging through. I hope things go nicely for you in the coming days as well. Until next time!

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News

1.     Look, I’m to be fair I’m not really even a Star Wars fan but I would attend the crap out of lightsaber lessons given half the chance. Anything to help me forget I’m exercise is welcome in my world. Women-only classes have started up in Perth and I’m eagerly awaiting the club’s expansion to an Adelaide location (any day now, right?).

2.     What a delightful mystery and frankly, who cares if it never gets solved? Some anonymous person is installing Minion sculptures in a tiny Victorian town when no one’s looking. There have been 24 installed since Christmas and everyone has a different theory on who’s doing it among the 70 local residents. How cool.

3.     Wondering how people might have lived in years past in Australia? You’ll likely find the info you’re after at Trove, our country’s cultural database. Its continued quality and existence is under threat, however, due to a funding shortfall. If more money can’t be found for it in the government’s May budget, it might have to shut up shop in July. This would be a huge shame not only for writers seeking information about life in the near and distant past for their stories, but ordinary citizens after cultural tidbits for their own knowledge. Although that 1936 recipe for sliced heart and bananas on toast should probably stay buried in the past *shudders*.

Reviews

1.     A free sample of Peter Thomas Roth’s Water Drench hyaluronic cloud cream arrived on my doorstep this week along with the rest of my Sephora order. I don’t have a fixed daily facial moisturiser I’m in love with, so I thought I’d give this one a whirl. It has that generic gentle moisturiser smell and goes on slightly greasy without being a total oil slick. It soon settles down, however, and seems to do the business with smoothing out the dryness in my skin, which is normal/combination. I’ve noticed my skin appears to respond well to products with hyaluronic acid in them and looks noticeably drier when I stop using them for a few days, so this one could be a good option, although I wouldn’t say I was blown away by it.

2.     We won a free double pass to see 65 starring Adam Driver and watched it on Sunday. It was a shorter movie than most these days, with a run time of just over 1.5 hours. That’s all it needed, though. I hadn’t understood the fascination with Adam Driver prior to this – I saw the Star Wars franchise and thought he was good in that but didn’t really understand the action star appeal of him. After watching 65, now I do (did you know he’s an ex-Marine?). There was a tiny cast, and the vast majority of the screentime it was just him and a little girl (played by Ariana Greenblatt) his character was trying to save from a dangerous remote planet. Both actors did an excellent job. Somehow, the movie felt both action-packed and slow-moving on an emotional level. There was a single storyline going on, so all eggs were in one basket, emotionally speaking. If they’d muffed that, it would’ve wrecked the film, but I thought they pulled it off well. At its core, it’s a survival story. If you like those, and don’t mind a bit of sci-fi in the mix, or if you’re already on board the Adam Driver train, I reckon you’ll like this one.

3.     Any day you have a legit reason to step into a stationery store is a VERY GOOD DAY in my book, and Sunday I did just that. So I consider it my civic duty to share my good fortune and let you know that Officeworks are currently selling luxe-looking Otto-brand art deco notebooks for the tiny price of $12.95. I left the store only with what I intended to buy, which sadly didn’t include one of these babies. I’m hoping I can rectify this injustice and shop vicariously through you guys. (Not sponsored, I should point out, I’m just in a long-term love affair with Officeworks.)

Giveaway

The winner of Thirst for Salt by Madelaine Lucas from last week’s giveaway is Hannelie Eloff. Thrilling news! Hannelie, I’ve emailed you.

No giveaway this time around, sorry folks. Stay tuned for next week!

Playlist of the Week

Sugar Plum Fairy slips you a Valium:

1.     Why - Avril Lavigne 

2.     Ocean Eyes – Astronomy Remix - Billie Eilish

3.     Mea Culpa - Cody Frost

4.     People Help the People - Birdy

5.     Everytime - Britney Spears

6.     Safe & Sound - Taylor Swift, The Civil Wars

7.     Dear August - PJ Harding, Noah Cyrus

8.     The Tradition - Halsey

9.     Lie to Me - Vera Blue

10.  Adore You - Jessie Ware

11.  Slow Dancing - Aly & AJ

12.  Chosen Family -  Sawayama

13.  Rainbow - Kesha

14.  Love In The Dark - Adele

15.  Easy - Demi Lovato, Noah Cyrus