Donna Maree Hanson, Author, Phd in Creative Writing

Part of the old castle, Leeds Castle

Last Friday, our last whole day in Kent, we were joined by Dan on a wet and gray trip around Leeds Castle. It has rather extensive grounds better enjoyed when it is not raining. We also lost the restaurant in the end when in search of a nice, hot cuppa. There was a serious lack of puns on this excursion though there was an umbrella that had a long sword for a handle, which Matthew liked considerably. I guess me, bellowing across the shop that 48 pounds was a bit of a joke, put him off somewhat.

Now for those lovely photos.

Down the garden path with Leeds Castle in the distance

The list of things King Henry VIII brought with him to Leeds Castle

King Henry VIII seemed to mimic our itinerary. He seems to have already been where we go.

One more…

To polish off the day we had a wonderful dinner with Dan, Nik and family. An excellent braised and then roast lamb, with baked capsicum (red pepper), tomato with anchovies and peas. I stole the recipe for the baked capsicum from Dan and I’m working on the lamb one. Nik made an excellent sticky toffee pudding (dates and walnuts) and it looked good enough to dive into face first. Of course, being a lady I withheld my impulses and ate a single serving.

What made the rather damp day perfect was spending it with such wonderful (interesting, intelligent and funny) people like Dan, Nik and family. After dinner we played with Dan’s weapons of single destruction (mind you there was a gun that shot five bullets all at once). Here is a shot with James and one of Dan’s swords.

Okay I can’t resist. A shot of Matthew in one of Dan’s antique chairs…and yes he did get out of it.

A shadowed man in a little chair

I am currently in the UK, mostly England. I have been posting to my personal blog but WordPress is easier for photos and looking a castles, great houses and countryside is research for writing to my mind. I find myself inspired. I am three castles down, a UK Games Day down and York City down.

So for some photos.

We went to Bodiam and to Dover Castle in the same day. We were kinda knackered afterwards. I didn’t eat dinner and slept for 12 hours, which might be due to the fact that I was the driver on this little trek. Bodiam is not too far from Hastings (famous for the battle of) and then Dover Castle is in Dover (featuring white cliffs and a very domineering fascade).

Bodium, medieval castle with moat

Bodium across the moat

Interior shot of Bodium Castle

Now for a few shots of Dover Castle and then we have to head out to explore York. More castle shots later.

View from Great Tower, Dover Castle across the channel

Ancient Roman Lighthouse-only one left

It really was too big to get into the photo. Actually I realise this photo is the outer wall heading to the Great Tower. Apparently these walls had been lowered by about 15 feet to accommodate cannons.

Better go now. More later. I have Leeds Castle and Games Day to go, then maybe York photos.

Finally after a lot of hard work on the part of Michael C Pennington at Aurora Wolf (and Alaskan based small press), Novus Creatura is available on Amazon.com

There isn’t a cover image yet though, but I am very confident of the production quality. Michael advised the contributors that he had done 3 proofs and he also consulted the authors to get them to go over the proofs of their own story. I really appreciate the care he and co-editor Linda have put in to get the anthology into production. I am also grateful to John JAM Miller for organising it. Novus Creatura was an anthology that was caught up in the Lame Goat Press fumble. Lame Goat, which had taken on a very ambitious schedule, went into a spasm and dropped a quite a few projects. I have been lucky that the two I had stories in were championed by the editors. Static Movement published Deep Space Terror and now Aurora Wolf , Creatura. Michael has also been very generous with us, sending contributor copies. When I get back from England in October I will be putting my order in as I want to see the other stories as well as my own in print.

On the writing front, I’ve been sending stories out. I’ve had two rejections in a paranormal romance anthology but now that I sort of know what they are looking for I am working on story number three and hoping that it is the lucky one. I have four other stories out, two with the same collection. I have one of those stories lined up to go elsewhere.

I also have a story in a competition and need to send in a new one before I leave next week. Egads! I didn’t realise.

I have another story half-drafted for another anthology that I am aiming to get into. Make that two short stories half-written for two anthologies I want to get into. I really do want to get them done before I go because when I get back I will need to pull up the socks and go back to novel writing. I have had fun with the shorts while they lasted.

The cover of Novus Creatura is up on http://www.aurorawolf.com here

My story Liquid Night is in there. Yeah! Looking forward to this one.

After a week in Perth and a very delayed flight I am home brimming with ideas. However, I have a few things backed up. I had to review my contract for Novus Creatura and the proof of my story Liquid Night. I found one small typo and seeing it all laid out was very exciting. Many thanks to Michael Pennington from Aurore Wolf for bringing all together and being so generous and open about the process for contracts and contributor copies. Feels kind of zany working with someone who lives in Alaska. What a wonderful place the Internet is.

I have a few stories on the go that I need to attack but they may have to wait to later in the week. Very mentally tired at the moment from work. On the last day of interviewing people I couldn’t keep going, couldn’t think. Lucky it was the last interview. So I think I should rest before the trip to Melbourne.

Also I have to crit a story and then start beta reading a novel. I am looking forward to doing it because if I can’t write at least I can read. I also hope to finish the most amazing book Power and Majesty by Tansy Rayner Roberts. The world building and the setting is just so good and out there. As a seasoned fantasy reader am always looking for things that a new and interesting.

Better go. Duty calls.

My story Warning Buoy had a rocky start to publication. Lame Goat Press went into hiatus and Static Movement, which is owned by the  guest editor, Chris Batholemew, took over the publication. The anthology has been renamed ‘Deep Space Terror’ and is available from Amazon. I ordered my copies the other day.

http://www.amazon.com/Deep-Space-Terror-Chris-Bartholomew/dp/1617060267/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279435092&sr=8-1

Darn I noticed that they have discounted it since I bought my copies.

My story the Clean Streets of Oberest was renamed Liquid Night. It is still coming out but this time with Aurora Wolf in the Novus Creatura. When Lame Goat stopped responding the wonderful editors tried to keep true to their writers. JAM John Arthur Miller went to Aurora Wolf to publish Novus Creatura, which I think is really cool. The new publishers appear to be taking a lot of care in the shape of the MS and in its contracts with authors.

Strange thing. The other day I had an email from Lame Goat saying they were up and running again and please send more stories. I’m afraid that after the previous experience I would have to think twice before doing so.  The editor in chief did not let me know there were problems and I wasn’t the only one. Lack of communication equals lack of respect. And the offer only ever was publication, no contributor copy and no payment. I think I’ll be looking to other markets in future.

I had a submission with Weird Tales and when I queried found out that they did not receive it. That was a wasted 4 months of my life. And they are closed to new submissions until January 2011. I was very grateful the editor got back to me and let me know in any case.

I have been travelling extensively for work and am heading for Perth in an hour or so. So writing wise I have been a bit dead. I wrote a short story idea down last week. Thought of one while driving to Redcliffe in Queensland last week and then forgot it. The only thing I have been doing before passing out every night is reading.

I finished a beta read and now am starting a new one.

My first sale to Lame Goat Press was my story ‘The Warning Buoy’.

While I was looking for cover art I thought I’d put this one up too.

I am waiting, waiting for this one to come out. It will be available from Amazon.

I was querying earlier about edits, as I have signed the contracts. I thought at least they’d want to alter my Australian spelling. However I saw a note from the editor to say that they will not alter spelling unless it affects understanding. I think that is kind of cool.

Another one of my story sales is to Lame Goat Press.

I just found the cover image which I thought I’d put up here.

http://lamegoatpress.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=ncreatura&action=display&thread=229&page=3

My story was originally titled ‘Clean Streets of Oberest’ but is now going to be called ‘Liquid Night’. It was great working with JAM on the edits.

Again this is not a review, because I am in this,  but a few words about this paranormal romance anthology. Put it down to over excitement.

There are some standout stories in this collection. Stories that would stand in any spec fic anthology, not just a paranormal romance. All reading is subjective, I guess but’ Bread and Circuses’ by Felicity Dowker blew me away. How could she combine, love, zombies, human nature at its meanest and make such a rocking story?  I wonder if she’ll let me sample her brains so I can find out. (I want your brains!)

Kyla Ward’s ‘Cursebreaker: the Welsh Widow and the Wondering Wooer’ is another awesome story with intricate plotting and an exciting premise. It is amazing to me how she crammed so much story in.

‘The February Dragon’ by Angela Slatter and L.L. Hannett was another meaty piece of writing, combining dragons and humans and creating a riveting story.

I also enjoyed ‘Date with a Vampire’ by Annette Backshall and ‘The Anstruther Woman’ by Nicole R Murphy.’A Darker Shade of Pale’ by David Bofinger was a  slick and interesting vampire tale with a twist or tweak or two.  ‘Phaedra’ by Bruce Golden gave me a chuckle. Imagine a man in love with a cartoon character? Impossible right?

The other tales within  you will have to explore yourself.

As I finished the collection I had the sobering realisation that I had written the naughtiest piece in there. Simon Petrie called it vampire porn- Me?  Heat is a vampire slut story. Not much more to say. Simon’s review is here

http://www.indiebooksonline.com/catalog/

This isn’t a review. I can’t do that as I’m in this anthology. However, I wanted to say a few things about some of the great stories in this book and how fantastic it feels to be in such company.

The theme Belong-How far would you go to belong? Is a deep thinking theme and contributing a story to it marks a transition for me as a writer. I see it more and more each day and reading Belong brought it home to me. I’m not saying I wasn’t a deep thinker. I am but I have changed and my writing has changed. I am writing more for the way a story is told rather than telling a story. I suppose it was inevitable after nearly 10 years of trying.

Now flicking through a group of the stories

First up is Penelope Love’s ‘Border Crossing’. This is an awesome zombie story, complete with deep and meaningful commentary. I will look upon zombies differently in future. ‘Mrs Estahazi’  by Barbara Robson is a great story about how we (community) accept and don’t accept others. Very well depicted suburbia. ‘Norumbega’ by Linda L Donahue. I confess this story grabbed me and didn’t let me go. Loved the American Indian-Abernaki legend.  ‘Ice’ by Zdravka Evtimova had interesting and strange ice. ‘United’ by Jennifer Moore a sad little story that depicts reality too well. ‘The Gift’ by Barry Rosenberg was a very moving story of dislocation and assimilation by default. ‘All Tales Must End’ by Michelle Muenzler also captured my imagination. Cities on the move and the nature of the mob. ‘The Song of the Blackbird’ by Sarah Totton. This story stayed with me for a while and I wanted it to go on. I found it a mixture of grit and legend. ‘Iniation’ by Sonia Helbig marked a strong closing quarter of the anthology. A very interesting take on capitalism and socialism in a very colourful Australis. ‘Slow Cookin’ by Angela Rega- a great irreverent take on Sicilian ancestry and culture. I loved Nonna Elba. ‘The Hollow Ones’ by Kylie Seluka provides a change of pace to the pacific islands and the mysteries of the Earth. A richly told fantasy. ‘Deeper Than Flesh and Closer’ by Carole Ryles- you know a story is superbly written when 11,000 words sail by and you want more and more. Loved it. ‘Trassi Udang’ by Patty Jensen is a meaty, well-drawn space opera tale with Indonesian flavours which made me hunger for gado gado.

All the stories were a great read.It is hard to comment on them without giving things away. As a reader I feel the  collection does its work, it explores and measures what it is to belong. As a writer it inspires me to write more and to count myself proud to be among this great group of writers and their stories.

You can purchase you copy of Belong from

http://www.indiebooksonline.com/catalog/