It’s been a year since I started this site, and this ‘notablog’ thingy, so I thought it was time for a recap. Here are my stats for the year:

1) The Good:
books published: 2
books contracted but not yet published: 2
grants awarded: 1
poems published: 5 (not including Cleanskin poems)
school presentations/workshops: 14
poetry readings: 3

2) The Less Good:
books written but not contracted: 3
poems rejected: 7
stories/articles begun but unfinished: 8

3) The Utterly Random:
references to my dog and/or breakfast cereal choices: 0
days I missed having to get up in the dark and take the bus to ‘a real job’: 0

As you can see, getting published doesn’t mean everything you write will then be published. This is as it should be. I still have a lot to learn about writing and who I want to be as a writer. This year, I’ll continue to feel my way and no doubt collect a few more rejections in the process. Hopefully, a few acceptances too.

So, that was the year that was, that was. All things considered, it’s been a pretty good one.

I’ve just sent back what I think are the final revisions on my next junior novel. Going for Broke (one world record, 52 tiny bones) will be out with Walker Books Australia in May next year. In a curious twist, I have actually done an illustration for the text (although once my editor sees the extent of my artistic skill, she may well place a panicked last-minute call to an actual illustrator).