Hi All

Some good news: My article  "Writing at Varuna" has been published in this month's edition of Southern Write magazine, the monthly newsletter of the South Australian Writer's Centre, Adelaide. It's a short (1.5 page) summary of my stay at "Crime Writing Week" at Varuna, the Writer's House, in Katoomba, New South Wales. A wonderful and rewarding retreat set in amongst one of the world's natural wonders. Check out my Blog notes from October 2011 for a more in-depth look at life at Varuna.

AND I have a link to my "Writer-a-Day" webpage on Varuna's website:

http://varunathewritershouse.wordpress.com/2012/02/20/writer-a-day-bo-henley-reading-from-the-fatal-span/

where you can read and hear the first two minutes of "The Fatal Span." (It has been altered a little since I made this recording).

And this week? Working madly on "The Isthmus," surviving Athletics Day at school, and chasing possums of my roof at home. Little blighters.

Bird news: The fantails and pardelotes are back around home and at the summit, the spinebills and honeyeaters are loving the correas (bell flowers) and the finches and wrens are flitting through. Had a beautiful pair of Adelaide rosellas on the bird-bath tonight.

Happy writing
Bo
x

The pic this week (you can tell I didn't get out much): Mount Barker summit, early morning.

Hi All

Apologies for the delaying in updating. "Open Day" (evening) at school ending up swamping everything including my weekend time. I brought home an instrument to get it working properly, and the only thing I couldn't do was get the settings right for one particular meter. Everything else - fine. The "one particular meter" must have an order of entering the codes, and the instructions are a little feeble here. NEVER MIND - I'll crack it.

The rest of the week was cleaning up from Open Day (true) and trying to overcome deathly tiredness. After a quiet Saturday, today is MUCH better.

I'm back onto the writing again after a few distractions, and working hard on "The Isthmus." I WILL nail that first draft this week and hammer out the second/third ASAP. Then it's back to "The Max Murdoch Series" and the real start of Book 2 (exciting!) plus sketch out another unrelated story and work a little on a short story for August.

Has someone invented stretchable time? :)

Bird news: the return of the RBFs (red-browed finches) is a welcome sight to any bushwalk PLUS they're in next door's butterfly bush. They are sweet little birds. The usual rabble has been at the summmit, although it lower numbers due to the dry weather - although we did have one good rain last weekend. Nothing like the eastern states though, with their serious flooding, or the west with its fires. A country of contradictions! And speaking of fires, the hills and southern regions nearly suffocated in the smoke from a controlled burn in VICTORIA - our neighbouring state. Not really appreciated, thanks.

One year on, and I remember those in Japan who lost their lives in the tsunamis. Rest in peace, dear neighbours.

Gotta go
Happy writing,
Bo

PS Today's pics: Smoke from the burn-off interstate, MtB summit, Calostemma purpureum...native garland lily - what a sight!