It's hard to believe that two months have slipped by since I last posted on this web site, but Christmas has come and gone with its nine weeks of non-stop house guests. Lovely to have them all, as offspring came from interstate and other friends from overseas, and the months went by in a seemingless endless stream of meals cooked and washing and ironing, but oh so exhausting. I can see why my writing life has languished in the morass of living. Maybe a holiday from writing wasn''t a bad idea, no matter how frustrating. But now this other life resumes ...

Flowers & Forebears has had a great response. So many people buying multiple copies to send as small gifts or in lieu of Christmas cards. I had two re-printings done by Ginninderra Press and am once more almost out of stock. What a great idea of Stephen Matthews and Brenda Eldridge to create this series of Pocket Poets, and how good for the poetry world to establish a whole new reading audience through these small non-threatening volumes. Check out the sample poems that I am about to put on this web site, and you'll see why I say that flowers have a wonderful power to evoke memories.

Meanwhile, enough publications of my poetry have reached my mail box during these two months to keep me on track. Poems published in the last two months in magazines like The Mozzie, Tamba, Poetry Matters, InDaily Poets' Corner, Poetry Monash, have all reassured me that there is a writing public out there that I can connect with, and lovely incidents like the lady who came to me in tears after a poetry reading in the Adelaide Hills to say how much she had been moved by my poem. It's moments like  these that keep me writing when frustration sets in.

I'm waiting eagerly for the next edition of the journal Studio to arrive  - I've seen an advance copy of the two reviews of Passion Play that it will contain, and they are heart-warming. I definitely will post a link to these when they come. Meanwhile I'm working hard on organising for the publication and promotion of my next book, the sixth, to be released by Wakefield for a June 4 launch. More of this in another post on this page.

When I look at this 'News' page, it's a horrible reminder of how fast time passes. The last entry is dated August, and it's now three months later. True, we were overseas for almost two months of that time, and both the Irish and the German weeks were splendid. Totally different! Ireland was mainly a bus tour, hosted by the well-known Celtic singer from Melbourne, Maria Forde, whose passion for Irish music and the homeland of her forefathers made this trip a real delight. Our most articulate bus driver, Oliver, proved a mine of information on Irish history and proved to be a raconteur par excellence! The combination of unbelievably spectacular scenery, good weather, and many nights of music making in warm and friendly Irish pubs made for a very happy trip. (And yes, I did write a 'poem a day' - and have come back from this tour too with a swag of memories captured in verse.)

The German weeks were equally good in a very different way. Travel by train the length and breadth of Germany was quite an experience in itself ... you try manipulating heavy cases up the steep narrow steps of German regional trains! But the warmth of welcome and wonderful hospitality of our friends and relatives in towns all over the country made this time also a very happy experience. Perhaps the best moment for me was sitting in the warm golden light of a small chocolate/cake cafe in the main street of Oberammergau while outside in the grey afternoon snowflakes fell lightly. Magic!

Then it was home and back into work! Straight on with preparation of the Bystanders book for release next May, while meanwhile I found myself part of the very innovative Ginninderra Press series of publications: little Pocket Poet books, each one featuring twenty pages of poetry chosen by writers who have published books with this small boutique publishing house. I found that I had many poems written over the years about flowers and their power to evoke memories - so was born my book in the series, called Flowers & Forebears, released this week. Most of them poems which recollect my grandparents, parents, significant others, memories conjured up by the flowers of the title.  Samples and more about this book will be featured elsewhere in this website in the next few days. And yes, you will be able to order copies from the last page, as usual.

So it's been a very busy time, and the influx of Christmas house guests is almost on me. I love it.

And how rapidly it's going! Suddenly it's more than half way through August, and getting very close to our trip to Ireland and Germany. We do seem to be totally unprepared for departure, but then I usually feel like this at this stage. So maybe all will be well.

So much of this last month has gone on double-barrelled work: lots more book promotion of Passion Play - more guest speaking, which is always fun, and audiences have been so receptive that it's worth the psyching up ahead. But at the same time I've been getting organised for next year's book. Once the contract with Wakefield Press was signed, a great flood of relief swept over me, especially as all the readers ahead had given it such a positive reception and written great letters of endorsement for it. Also relieved that Wakefield want to publish it next year instead of 2014 - this suits me admirably and leaves me free to go away with a clear conscience and time to do the needed revisions and fine-tuning when I get back. 

So Bystanders (another book that's been simmering in my mind for many decades) will see the light of day in the second half of 2015.

Meanwhile I've had the fun of getting back the copies of A Poem a Day, based on the 33 poems I wrote, one a day, as we travelled round Spain last year. David put it together using Photoclub, a business that's worth a strong recommendation, and each day has a double page, a colour photo on the left and the poem for that day on the right hand side. I'm delighted with the way it's turned out, and we've produced a few copies for family members. I'm now thinking I might try to record our time travelling in Ireland in the same way. Journals and photo books are a great reminder, and we'll always do these, but the 'poem a day' book captures memories in such a special way. The power of verse, perhaps?