The official announcement came and went without me noticing (whoops) so I am unintentionally tardy in confirming that I am indeed writing Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance, the first novel tie-in to the LucasArts/Bioware MMORG due next year: Both game and the book are set “more than 3,500 years in the past of the far-away galaxy...when the Jedi and the Galactic Republic clashed with the Sith Empire.” Sound like fun? It was. The book is epic, hardback, and due in July 2010.

I say "probably" in the subject line, btw, because the first two titles in The Fixers series (Castle of Zombies and Planet of Cyborgs) are due the same month. It's anyone's guess at this stage which one will actually come out first.

Amanda is reading again for the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature, which means we get to take a quick survey of what blurbs have been offering in the last two years of Australian literature.

Family secrets are perennial, of course, along with small country towns, fractious siblings and romantic blasts from the pasts. Some things will never change.

This year a newcomer to the field has leapt out at us.


Could there be something in the air, or is a thesaurus simply in order?

Fans of The Crooked Letter and the Books of the Cataclysm in the United States have often asked about my first series set in that world, the Books of the Change, which was only ever published in Australia. Finally, I have some good news. The first novel, The Stone Mage & the Sea, is being released by E-Reads this week, making it available in electronic and POD form for the first time. Described by Jonathan Strahan in Locus as "an alchemical blend of elemental magic, tragic romance and the coming of age of a young boy ... poised between Earthsea and Mad Max, where the magic of fantasy meets the wonder of science fiction" (more reviews here) this novel is my "entry point" book for people interested in my work who never normally read SFF. Spanking new cover below. A different take on Shaun Tan's original, and I like it very much!


The subsequent books in the series, The Sky Warden & the Sun and The Storm Weaver & the Sand (which was recommended by Locus and won the Aurealis Award in 2003) will be following soon.

Meanwhile, Charlie Jane Anders over at io9 asked the question: "Your awesome novel is firing on all thrusters... except one. A major character, who's important to the story, isn't clicking. She's dull, or he doesn't play well with others." What to do?

Eileen Gunn, Rachel Pollack, Kelley Eskridge and I answered. (Hint: it has nothing to do with feeding them to the Movember Wolfman.)

I'm working on a bunch of sekrit things at the moment, so apologies for not posting much. There will be news one day! For now, here's a quick video I put together to say thanks to Paul Cornell for letting me play in his fantasy cricket tournament, in which I came last, of course. It's shot in my study, featuring various toys and things I have lying about the place. Sharp-eyed viewers will recognise my Peter Mac being put to good use, among other things.



Thanks also to Garth for his hilarious quote!

(from here: http://wondermark.com/542/)

This track embodies everything I loved about the 80s: morose boys, crazy-dancing girls, pretentious videos, and above all the music.  How wonderful that this was released in 2009.  Music is good again.  Hurrah!  (Watch it at least to the chorus before you decide either way.)

I’m very excited to be holding a copy of 50 Voices of Disbelief: Why We Are Atheists, a collection of essays edited by Russell Blackford and Udo Schuklenk featuring such luminaries as Michael Shermer, James Randi, A. C. Grayling, Joe Haldeman, Jack Dann, Susan Blackmore, Gregs Benford & Egan, and many, many more. Including me. Woohoo!

I posted a while back about my piece “Doctor Who and the Legacy of Rationalism” (Rassilon/Rationalism--geddit?) in which I dissect several old stories to demonstrate how watching them led me away from the idea of god, rather than towards it as several recent evangelists suggested it ought to go. Researching it gave me a great excuse to go back and read some of the novelisations mouldering away on my top shelf. They remain as fun as ever.

The essay and the book are out now. Paperback is listed at US$29.95, which is a bargain compared to the hardback (US$89.95) and money well spent at any price. It’s published by the very respectable Wiley-Blackwell. The gorgeous cover is below. Tell your godless heathen friends!

Unexpected benefit of leaving San Jose this Monday and arriving in Sydney on Wednesday?

Skipping Melbourne Cup Day completely.

So for once I didn't have to feel like a freak for not giving a shit.  It simply didn't exist.  Brilliant!