Haul out the Holly…

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xmas treeI’ve been wondering whether, at some point, ‘festive spirit’ becomes something one hears tinkling over the speakers in shopping malls, but is somehow unable to relate to. Does the jollity gradually begin to ebb, leaving us with comfortable memories of Xmas-past and no overwhelming desire to try to replicate them?

Perhaps context is a key element…

If one is a churchgoer, for example, then the religious symbolism probably provides its own kind of build up to the event: an always-already-there bye-in, as it were.

If one has children (or grandchildren), then there’s usually a certain frisson of excitement around the notions of decorating the tree, finding the right gifts for the littlies and, of course, visits from Santa.

Then there are those who spend time with extended family (or adopted family), where the drivers might be the fun of planning menus and of exchanging gifts and reconnecting with loved ones.

I imagine that any or all of these tend to make the endless carols in shopping centres just part of a greater whole.

So why did I find myself singing ‘I need a little Xmas, right this very minute…’ under my breath en route to the city this week and feeling not the slightest bit jolly? After all, I fall into two of the three categories, my (now adult) children, (quasi) grandchildren and extended family the very essence of what makes Xmas for me.

The festivities generally rotate between our house and that of Sibling#2. Given that this year it’s our turn as hosts, I would usually have crossed most things off my inevitable lists by now. Xmas stockings and other gifts would have been organised, the menu planned, the annual family letter would be underway and a number of handmade cards completed and waiting to go out in the mail.

All that I’d have left to do is to decorate the tree on December 16 (a family tradition), a flurry of last minute baking and some shopping for perishables, drinks and the like a few days before the event. At a push I might also need to make the odd foray for a couple of oh-my-gosh-extra-gifts if extra people end up invited to lunch.

But not this year…

This year I’ve found myself feeling more like an observer than a participant and have had to do some soul searching to figure out why…

… and I eventually got it! For the first time in forever (well, since I moved out of home at the age of 19) I am an observer. I’ve actively stepped back from all catering and hostessing arrangement for Xmas day – despite our house being the venue for the family gathering.

After the festivities last year, I suggested to the offspring that 2015 might be time for the baton to be passed on.

It went something along the lines of, ‘Perhaps you guys could organise the menu and sort out catering and so forth for me next Xmas… what do you think?’

‘Fair enough,’ was the response. ‘We’ll sort it out between us.’

In due course (about six weeks ago) they convened a meeting and, between them and their respective partners, decided on a menu and timeline. A couple of weeks later they issued invitations to all the usual suspects (including Himself and me) and roped their cousins et al in to help with the catering. Clever munchkins!

The upshot of all this is that I don’t need to be particularly organised this year! I can use this last two weeks to shop for gifts, pretty up the tree and get Himself to string up heaps of coloured lights.

Once I realised all this, I suddenly felt quite Xmassey! It’s not that I’m not in the mood or that the jollity has ebbed; it’s just that the mood’s been on hold.

After this little epiphany, I got stuck in and made my cards, bought a few gifts and have arranged to trot off to a family carols evening. To paraphrase Johnny Mathis, I seem to have found a little laughter, found a little singing, found a little Xmas-time 🙂

Puppy’s first Xmas, 2014 – it’s all about the wrapping paper 🙂

So what exactly is a GenghisCon?

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I’m often met with puzzled looks when I mention that I’m involved with a group called GenghisCon. “What on earth is that?” or “Did you say Genghis Khan?” or “Say what?” are fairly standard responses. Despite the relative frequency with which I get those responses, I’m always slightly taken aback. After all, it’s been part of my milieu for about 16 years…

So what exactly is a GenghisCon and how did it start?

Essentially, it’s a low-cost, max-fun 3-day geek annual convention. GenghisCon provides a range of activities from table-top gaming/roleplaying/LARP/console gaming to panel discussions on technology/gaming/geek culture/science/etc., as well as hands-on creative workshops. There’s even a one-day marketplace with traders and stalls, selling a wide range of geek loot, books and handcrafted items. We sometimes have water-balloon and water-pistol fights (because we can), tend to eat junk food and have been known whack each other (gently) with foam rubber swords 🙂

It all started in 2001 with DaughterDearest. A science fiction enthusiast and, at that time, a member of MARS (the Murdoch Alternative Reality Society), she’d become increasingly indignant at the cost of the then one-and-only science fiction convention in Perth.

“It’s iniquitous!” she ranted. “How do they expect students to afford those prices? And it’s not like it’s even fun anymore!”

As the annual convention drew closer, her litany of irritated exclamations escalated. Dinnertime conversations centred on the topic long enough for the parental unit (me) to eventually find it tedious. We’d thrashed the topic to death, we all agreed on the basic points and I was over it. So I suggested that instead of complaining, perhaps she should do something about it – perhaps start her own (low cost, max fun) convention…

One thing about DD – she does rise to a challenge – and this time she did so in spades. The next day she thrashed the idea around with some friends at MARS, several of whom were very keen to roll with it, and invited a few of them over to the old homestead to take the discussions to the next level. Before we knew it, we’d been invaded by a flurry of students and our whiteboard was being colonised with ideas, strategies, timelines and possible convention names.

deej at gcon1_2002This group included Danielle Linder (aka DaughterDearest), Mark Turnley, Douglas Linder (aka Boychilde), John Blahusiak, Wendy Macdougall, Colm Kiely, Mike Fineberg and Dean Caruana. By the second meeting they’d been joined by Zara Astle, Robyn Creagh and Msquared – who also thought the idea of an all-new max-fun convention rocked. Together, this happy band made up the first committee.

A lot of brain storming later the name GenghisCon emerged – a nod towards Genghis Khan, who’s empire changed the face of the world…logo_gcon banner3Having a name anchored the convention as a reality, after which things rapidly gained momentum. Robyn drew a Mongolian horse-shield/UFO logo, which remains the identifiable GenghisCon image. Grant Stone  agreed to be our Patron Saint and his tacit support of the new convention helped it to gain traction with the broader SF community. An affordable venue was found, a programme of events – with a strong focus on interactive fun – was devised, and some fundraising was undertaken to pay for the venue and to keep costs down.

A Brains Trust was set up: Himself had attended the very first Swancon (back in 1976), Sibling#1 had served as Treasurer on various Swancon committees, DrMark – a regular visitor and a long-time Swancon-er – had been on the Board of WASFF, Boychilde had uber computer skills, and I had helped to establish a couple of not-for-profits in the past. Between us we could offer suggestions on incorporation, insurance, finances and venue options when needed.

From there it was a relatively short step to the realisation of DaugterDearest’s core idea: a small, student-and-impoverished-fan oriented science and speculative fiction convention, with a strong emphasis on interactive fun. GenghisCon is now a Perth institution, with successive volunteer committees keeping to the basic premise of providing a small, friendly, fun, and inexpensive annual event.

It goes to show that a small group of people with a cool idea can make things happen. If you have an idea, why not start a club, build a convention, join a committee – get involved and create the culture you want to enjoy. If not you, then who?

GenghisCon 15 runs from 15-17 January 2016. Bookings are open now.genghiscon2004_M2pie2

Writing along the Highway

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WATH2015_LetterHead

This year a number of WA libraries linked up to celebrate National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). They put together the Write Along The Highway Festival (WATH), which provided the public with free access to a wide variety of interesting and challenging writing events from October through December.

As part of the festival, the Writers and Self-Publishing Expo yesterday focused on providing aspiring writers with access to information on editors, typesetters, illustrators and various pathways to self-publishing. There were a number of industry-appropriate stalls, with vendors both selling their wares and ready and willing to discuss their part in the publishing process with anyone who stopped by to ask a question.

Each attendee was presented with a little goodie bag that included various brochures, an A5 exercise book, a ballpoint pen and (oddly enough) two balloons. The balloons made me smile – and I’m sure I’ll inflate them at some point or give them to someone – but I was delighted with the notebook and pen, with the idea that everyone was being tacitly encouraged to write.

The highlight of the day was the opening address by well-known local author Rosanne Dingli. She started out by shuffling her notes, making a few opening remarks and then popping her on glasses, peering down at her notes and exclaiming, “Oh… words!”, much to everyone’s amusement. Intentional or otherwise, it served as a very effective icebreaker.

Rosanne went on to present an informative and entertaining account of her writing and publication journey. Although initially published at a time when conventional publishing was considered de rigeur, she took to the idea of self-publishing with a will once it became a viable option in 2009. Rosanne said that she revels in the notion of authors being increasingly able to jump the barriers to publication and take their stories directly to the readers. “It provides a bonanza, an extravaganza of books for readers!”

There are a number of key issues relating to self-publishing, but what it all boils down to is to have a story, edit it well, provide an accessible book layout and invest an attractive cover. Rosanne’s take home message was to write – often and enthusiastically. Then to edit and edit again, polishing the work before getting some beta readers to provide feedback. At this stage, she said, if you haven’t already done so then it’s high time to learn about cover design, typesetting and the various e-book options. If you can’t or don’t want to do these things, then you’ll need to employ someone to do them for you. Finally, re-edit and publish.

After that it’s a matter of promote-promote-promote in order to get, nurture and grow a reading audience. Rosanne emphasised that this is where the Internet shows it’s worth, providing worldwide access to a pool of readers. Make social media your friend, she said, review books, invite reviews, be interactive – it’s all about visibility.

It was a pleasure to chat with Rosanne at her stall later on. She was very generous with her time, answering numerous questions (comprehensively and clearly) from all comers whilst simultaneously promoting and selling her books. Amusingly enough, when asked how she can do it all – the public speaking, self promotion and selling as well as the writing, editing, typesetting and so on – she said that the public part of it is something that she dons like a cloak to disguise the fact that she’s actually an introvert. All I can say is that it’s an excellent cloaking device and that I need to get one of those!

Overall, I’ve been very impressed with the level of organisation at each of the events I’ve attended and interested to see how diverse the participant/audience groups have been. I look forward to hearing what indie-author H.Y. Hanna has to say on the subject of author marketing and promotion next weekend.

I love these free writers events! I’ve met some fascinating people, gained valuable insights and feel invigorated to be part of a larger writing network. If you haven’t been to any of the Write Along the Highway events so far, don’t stress – there’s still time to attend at least one.

 

 

Finally getting on with it

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After something of a hiatus, my epic-tome is finally moving forward again. My adventures in Tasmania have left me renewed, refreshed and only somewhat exhausted – but ready to focus on the final stages of production.

Since my plan is now to try self-publishing the tome as an eBook, there are a few hoops I need to jump through to get to launch point. First of these is to make some tough decisions about the cover design.

Given the number of eBooks in the market place, I feel that my cover image will need to be really eye-catching. This will (hopefully) get potential buyers to pause for long enough to become actual buyers. This sounds easy in concept but, for a first-timer in particular, it’s a little less so in implementation.

As is my way, I’ve spent an awful lot of time on the research phase, looking at book covers, both in book stores and online. Whilst there seem to be just about as many different styles as there are books,  only a fairly narrow range of these appealed to me and this had led me to the following conclusions:

  • there really isn’t enough space on a cover for more than a single image, the title and the author’s name
  • there needs to be a reasonably clear link between the cover image and the title – otherwise the potential reader is likely to move on to something less challenging/confusing (I certainly do)
  • the image needs to ‘pop’ as a thumbnail, to be sufficiently clear and eye-catching as to attract attention
  • the font selection needs big enough and clear. Crisp lines seem to work better, overall.
  • likewise, the cover needs to be one that can look good in colour (if used) and also in greyscale.

No presPhoto with permission, Lisa Ryesure, really…

Luckily it’s the end of the convention season, which meant that the creative talents of Lisa Rye have become available – much to my delight. Based on discussions over lunch at our first business meeting, she roughed out seven thumbnails and emailed them through for me to look through while I was in Tasmania. Super efficient.

Suddenly the tome has taken on a whole new dimension – it looks like a real book!

Choosing which image to run with took me much longer than expected, which is amusing since I ended up choosing the one I’d liked best when I first saw them! Lisa is currently developing the concept and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with. Watch this space for the grand reveal soon…

Of course, once a potential buyer has paused for long enough to admire the cover they need to find the text engaging as well. To this end, editiPhoto courtesy of Sandy Limng is all-important. I had the manuscript professionally assessed over a year ago and have had feedback from a number of beta readers since then, resulting in a number of minor revisions for clarity or consistency.

I think I’m on the home stretch now, with the help of talented writer/artist Sandy Lim. It’s been very interesting to have a fresh set of eyes on the manuscript. Sandy’s careful, professional editing and comments – some of which also reached me on holiday (!) – are proving to be most insightful and will result in a tighter, more readable product. No wonder she’s in demand 🙂

With all of this in mind, I’m off to a half-day self-publishing expo this coming Saturday. I’m hopeful that some gem(s) of information/insight will be forthcoming to push the process along. Maybe I’ll see you there…

writers expo_5dec2015

Holiday snapshots

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The last time I caught up with Sibling#3 in person was in 2011 when we travelled around Scotland and Ireland together. That turned out to be fun, so we decided we’d give it another go. This time we chose a destination a little closer to home (for me, at least): Tasmania.

Starting out in Hobart, we meandered around the island for 10 days. Many kilometres, a good deal of walking, lots of sightseeing and even more talking found us circling back to our starting point. A take-home tip for those considering a similar trip: Tasmania is often wet – then surprisingly sunny – then wet… (and so on), so pack a good quality rain jacket and make sure it’s one that has a hood. You’ll use it!

Our adventures took us to waterfalls, lakes, rocky outcrops, rivers and berry farms. In the first few days we went up Mount Wellington, had breakfast and browsed the stalls at Salamanca Markets, picnicked alongside the historic Richmond Bridge and spent hours viewing the fascinating installations at MONA .

Richmond Bridge

An afternoon at the 69th annual Huon Show was an unexpected addition to the itinerary, but provided plenty of local entertainment. I was particularly taken with the wood chopping competitions, a troupe of very interactive acrobats, an exhilarating demonstration of tent-pegging by the Tasmanian Lighthorse and a variety of livestock displays. Sibling#3 was a little surprised at this spur-of-the-moment agricultural show option, but was happy enough to trudge around in the intermittent drizzle and watch me pat goats and dogs (with some amusement).

Huon Show

We visited Mount Field National Park, Russell Falls, Queenstown, Strahan, cruised out on the Gordon River, ate delicious (!) chocolate-coated raspberries, went for a walk at Dove Lake (Cradle Mountain) and stayed overnight at Lake St Clair. The last two were particularly interesting as they’re gave me some insights into the 65km Overland Track that family and friends hiked back in 2013. I was impressed at the time, guys, and even more so after being there myself – and realising that you did some of that hike in the snow!

Lake St Clair / Cradle Mountain

Our final few days took us to Launceston, the Freycinet Peninsula, Swansea, Eaglehawk Neck and Port Arthur before we finally returned to Hobart. Highlights of this section were the vast array of roses at Endelhome Grange and the delicious raspberry pie at Kate’s Berry Farm (after a boat trip out to Wineglass Bay).

Raspberry pie at Kate's Berry Farm

There was a whole lot more to the trip, including our daily hunt for last minute accommodation when we decided it was that time of day. This was occasionally a tad fraught, particularly when Sibling#3’s navigation system (nick-named Susan, for some reason) took us to a number of rather out-of-the way bed-and-breakfast places. A few of these seemed highly implausible – little or no signage and no-one obviously in attendance. A couple of these looked as though they might have potential for duelling banjos in the cowshed – although that may have been the time of day, hunger and tiredness talking. Either way, Sibling#3 and Susan were politely requested to suggest alternatives rather speedily!

Sibling#3 at Freycinet Peninsula

We survived (sometimes despite Susan) and spent a few days together with the rest of the family before Sibling#3 headed home to RSA. I wonder where our next catch-up will be…