I'm about to disappear for a week. Laptop in car, manuscript in bag and head south to lock myself away from the world and create words!

It's needed - I've been procrastinating horribly over the last week or two. I've those illusive short stories to finish off and a few more chapters to create in the novel thingy. I also need a few days of healthy food and early morning exercise - which I can hopefully find at the same time.

I have a story up on www.antisf.com at the moment - if you want to read it better do so now - it's due to come off the site in a couple of days. The original inspiration came from an idea a friend gave me some time back. Anyway there's a review up on http://www.ozhorrorscope.blogspot.com/ which says,

"This issue features a spectacular line-up of Australian authors, beginning with Susan Wardle’s “Baby Time”. This is a delightfully creepy little story that works the twist seen often in flash fiction into something almost sinister, and yet totally believable."

And 'Last Bulkhead' is due up on www.shadowedrealms.com.au any day now.

In other writing stuff I have decided to focus on the two short stories needing re-writes. I'm going to fix them up and get them into circulation before I work on any new words.

I don't read as much as I used to, or as fast. This is what Clarion South and 30k plus of critical reading a night for six weeks did to me.

Now I read slowly, I mull over a book for a week perhaps more. I thought my days of chewing through something from cover to cover in one long langorous afternoon were gone. Then I picked up a book by Philip Pullman called 'Northern Lights'. I browsed slowly few the first few chapters - realising that it was well written but not really connecting with the characters, then around the quarter way mark 'BAM'. Folks I gobbled through the second half of that book in a matter of hours! (Love them sentient polar bears!)

Was it good? Largely yes. Characterisation was good, writing was good, world building was good. In the closing few pages there might have been a couple of plot flaws, maybe even a logic hole - but I just didn't care.

But enough of this - I have at least five unfinished writing projects on the boil.

1 x flash
2 x short story re-writes
1 x short story mid-way point
1 x YA novel

Must put some proper words on paper.