Love, lust and lies

I wonder if Gillian Armstrong realised the commitment she was taking on when she began documenting the lives of three teens from Adelaide in the 70s.

Last night a group of us (women all) went to the Nova to catch up with her latest instalment for this documentary - Loves, lust and lies . It was a late session and we shared the cinema with another group of women. At the end of our voyeuristic journey, we sat and talked, still in our cinema seats, while the group behind us did likewise. Finally we turned around and the discussion group expanded as we put forward our opinions about the women on screen whose lives were we picking over like scavengers over a carcass.

Is it just women who feel the need to poke and prod and turn things inside out? Or are we just more vocal about it?

The film has stayed with me today as I wonder where to from here for those three women and their families. Good films are like good books, they stay with you beyond
The End.

Hello? I've just got to let you know...

I've been thrown recently by finding out that a friend from high school had died three years ago.
I was thrown, because in my mind he was still 17, with hair, a cheeky grin and a wicked sense of humour.
I was thrown, because I have been writing YA and thinking about my Year 12 (Form 6 year) so he was
very vivid in my mind. I imagined discussing some details with him.

But Kismet has a way of finding me.
Another friend from that era got in touch through Facebook several days ago and mentioned this death
in casual conversation.

I have met many other people since high school, some who still remain friends, so I wonder why it is
that high school friends and the time spent there has such a nostalgic pull.
Was it because it was a time of 'firsts' or such intense emotions
that we learn to reign in as we became adults?

Maybe it is because it is a time of such promise.
We are invincible.

Vale Tony.

Goodies vs Baddies just the themes that change

That's Bond - James Bond. (Well, actually, that's Sean Connery, who was the best Bond in my opinion.) Just watching him tonight and thinking that the evil depicted in the movies of my childhood often centered on the Cold War. Today the baddies are often eco-terrorists or careless and greedy countries/people who have plundered the earth for their own selfish ends.

In the end, though, it just comes down to goodies vs baddies. Good hopefully triumphing over evil.

The kind of stories that give the reader/viewer hope for the future.

Willy Fest

Had fun at Willy Fest on May 1 with a group of writers armed with paper, pen and ready to write. I rarely get to this part of the world and I was struck by how gorgeous it is. A nice sunny day, the sun glinting off the waves, and some sail boats showing off their snowy white sails. As always, the festival volunteers were fab and all deserved medals. What a nice way to spend the day.

In Short

Okay, going to break my rule of never responding to book reviews.

After a nice review for Short and Scary in The Sunday Age, Young Lit section several weeks ago, I was surprised to see a review in today's Sat Age.

The readership for the anthology was years 8 - 14. There is no mention of this in the review which is flanked by adult titles such as The Woman Who Shot Mussolini and 35 Arguments for the Existence of God.

The idea for the short series was a mentoring program, matching established authors and illustrators with emerging talent, both young and old. There is no mention of this in the critique either. (Although there was mention of one contributor's poem as mediocre will probably have the 16 year old author running for cover.)

Feedback from teachers and readers about the short series has been positive. It is a smorgasbord of stories and poetry that young readers can dip into. That's what makes it work for young readers. Perhaps the reviewer is better suited to reviewing adult books...?

Is this your little one?

Someone thrust a copy of The Sunday Age magazine at me the other day and said, 'Is this yours?'
I felt like a proud parent — there was Short and Scary, a nice big cover, and a lovely review from Frances Atkinson.
No, not mine, but a proud parent nevertheless.
The illustration here is from Tegan Bell, a student who is interested in pursuing art as a career. Congrats to Tegan and the other students who made the final cut.

Sshhhhhhh

Went to the local library for a change of scenery armed with laptop and water bottle. Turns out it was preschool Monday, with singing (The Wheels on the Bus go round and round), excited tots and one emotional boy who didn't want to be there and then didn't want to go. At some point, though, it just became a white noise and I tapped away at my keyboard until the strains of Twinkle Twinkle filtered through and it was time to go home...