I might have mentioned this already, but I’m on a mission to churn out two of my thesis chapters before heading to Brisbane in January. Actually, I’d like to have them well-churned before Christmas so that I can have a bit of a holiday with the lovely Dr Sexington before I abandon him for 6 weeks… So, having said that, I’ve been MIA on this blog because I have been–hold on to your hats–actually writing my thesis.

Writing crap, mind you, but writing nonetheless.

I’m forcing myself to do 1,000 words a day (which isn’t necessarily a preposterous goal if I’m on a roll when writing a short story, but for thesis writing each word I force onto the page is a drop of blood punctured out of my eye with a blunt, tetanus-riddled, implement). So, since last Thursday I’ve written 6,400 words (have I mentioned that most of them are crap?) and even though they don’t fill me with pride, at least there is something on the page for me to edit in the future.

On a happier note, Robert H has started up a Yahoo chat group for the Clarion South participants, so I’ve finally been able to meet some of them! Hurray! Everyone seems very friendly, and there is an abundance of Old Norse enthusiasts amongst them — so I am feeling even more excited than I was before (if you can imagine it!) about going.

Also, I’m nearly ready to submit my story for the New Ceres anthology… I could submit it today, actually, but I’m waiting for two more readers to get back to me with their comments, so I’ll patiently await their feedback before sending it off… Maybe. Until then, I’ve started a new story, which I’m pretty excited about. If all goes to plan, I’ll be sending it off to the Clockwork Phoenix anthology in the near future. I’ll keep you posted.

All right. Overdue library books are beckoning me to read them…