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I’m getting so excited about these! The first Paper art workshop is this Saturday. The second one was just announced and if you’re in Perth and are interested, I recommend signing up straight away as the first one filled up overnight.

Paper Art Workshop

A passionate collector of found objects, Pam Langdon is inspired by the marine environment and patterns within nature. Her art practice resembles a beach combing expedition encountering strange, sometimes unidentifiable objects which have been washed ashore. Pam’s unique artist’s books are transformed and recontextualized from a discarded unloved existence, giving renewed life. Inspired by the stories and pages within each book the intricate cutting, folding and rolling of their pages forms spirals, symbolising movement and energy and reflecting growth patterns found in nature. The labyrinth of folds and curls entices the reader for closer inspection of their mysterious new life.

Pam will display and demonstrate 2 different forms of books, incorporating origami paper folding and paper cutting techniques. Each participant will also receive copies of Through Splintered Walls to enable them to begin work on their artwork for the combined community exhibition in May.

Due to materials, places are limited. To register, please contact Lee Battersby, Coordinator Cultural Development and Arts, on 08 9528 0386 or email lee.battersby@rockingham.wa.gov.au.

Date: 16 February 2013
Location: Gary Holland Community Centre
Time: 1pm – 3pm

 

Through Splintered Walls by Kaaron Warren (Book 6 in the Twelve Planets series) is available as a paperbook and ebook.



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It’s hard to get everything done in a day and I’m really starting to try to be ok with just getting one thing done on top of working the day job, cooking dinner, completing the day’s workout and whatever other small chores I need to get done in the day. Today I answered a few emails and I finished off the knitting for my niece’s baby surprise jacket. I just have to sew on the buttons and sew the seams which I’ll do tomorrow during Galactic Suburbia. So she’s all good to go ahead and be born now.

I *would* be going to Konga class tomorrow which has a new term starting but I can’t find any pants at all or by sneakers. See first sentence above.

Anyway, I wanted to post some photos from the speech the other night and maybe a few paragraphs of the speech. It’s kind of weird to talk about yourself and your achievements for 15 minutes. But sitting down to write a narrative about my publishing did help me nut out a few thoughts that I felt expressed a few things about Twelfth Planet Press.

This is me receiving the award.

And you know you’re in the right family when, during your speech, your uncle feels a need to document The Shoes getting an outing. And might I say, those shoes were very popular with the crowd. I picked the right fashion era :)

 

 

 

Some excerpts from the speech I gave:

I think what I appreciate most about this genre is the opportunity to interrogate the present through imagining an alternate reality. By placing people in extreme or alien scenarios, we can explore what it means to be human, what are our strengths and our weaknesses, who we are when it really counts. And in the best examples of this kind of fiction, advocate for change – in the way we think, what we value or the way we behave. For me, the true power of art comes from holding a mirror up to life to argue, suggest or demand that we, humanity, do better.

 

This desire to have women’s voices heard in the science fiction world powers my commitment and dedication to these ideals,

 

In this context my publishing company has grown and evolved. I’m driven by several objectives – the first and foremost is to publish fresh, original, well written work that seeks to interrogate, commentate, inspire or provoke thought. The second is to advocate for fiction written for, by or about women. To raise the awareness of women’s voices in science fiction and fantasy. And finally, to showcase and demonstrate the depth and breadth of Australian fiction and voice to the broader science fiction and fantasy scene.



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August 27   Twelfth Planet Day

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Today was such a big day for TPP! On the east coast, lots of TPP crew gathered at the Melbourne Writer’s Festival for the Twelfth Planet Press Showcase. I followed the event on Twitter and discovered it’s a lot harder to throw a party long distance than I thought it would be – I desperately wanted to be there and was so hungry for every photo and tweet – and text! – I got as the event progressed. I have such a big thank you to Jason Nahrung who first brought the idea to me and then worked really hard on the ground in Melbourne to make it happen and without his tireless organising, liaising, schlepping and programming, it would not have been possible. He even fixed that unfortunate TNT error from Natcon by collecting the books and passing them on to Dymocks who are the official bookstore of MWF:

(Thanks Deb for this lovely shot of the TPP books on the shelf!)

Also a big thanks to the authors who could make it to the event, some flying in from outer state – Deb, Kaaron, Cat, Rosaleen, Narrelle, Lucy, Kirstyn and Jason. (Hope I didn’t forget anyone?) And also to Julian Warner who MC’ed, Kerry Greenwood who spoke for the 12 Planets and Talie Helene who provided music. And to everyone everywhere who attended the event. I hear it was packed and I must admit I had fretted the “what if noone comes” a bit, so it was so exciting and overwhelming to hear that all the seats were taken and the standing room.

Whilst this was going on, I was at home preparing for a speech this evening. I was doing that thing where I couldn’t focus on anything else cause I had this thing to do, even though it was still hours away. Luckily, the universe has a way of filling a vacuum. I’m not *saying* it was the puppy’s fault and I know this sounds a bit conspiracy theorist but, he *was* the first to know, and sure, he spent a good 7 to 10 minutes trying to tell me about it before giving up, but he does seem like the other one to have profited from my dishwasher flooding the house. Yes. Water. Everywhere and not at all in an ironic way. About half an inch deep in the kitchen, dining, and half way in the tv and sitting area – under carpets and couches. And … and now you see it, right? but I had to move couches to mop up all the water and check for electricals and this, you see, exposed what was behind the couch – TWO uneaten treats, long forgotten…. or so i thought …

Anyway, that gave me something to do before heading up to Perth for the National Council of Jewish Women Australia WA evening for Women’s Achievers. Where in exchange for speaking for 15 minutes about myself and TPP, I won an award for being a Woman Achiever. It was a truly great honour to be recognised by this group and the other two award winners for 2012 (its a biennial award) were absolutely inspirational – Commander Michelle Fyfe APM (the 2012 Australian Police Medal recipient, did you know that in 1984, women police officers could only wear the uniform pants after sundown and part of their uniform included a handbag because they had no holster with that dress?) and Susan Cromb (Chairperson of the Adopt-A-School Partnership Bali-WA).

The evening also included a speech from the President of NCJWA in which she spoke a lot about the programs the organisation runs. A lot of really good work, and projects I really admire. And I was so chuffed by how many people came over to tell me how much they enjoyed my speech. It was really hard to write 15 mins worth about myself and I wasn’t sure the audience would care about science fiction :) I’m so glad my doubts were unfounded.

The evening was a fundraiser and my uncles and aunt, parents, family friend and Kathryn came to make up my table. I had a day where my heart overflowed because of all the love in it. Such a really great day. Thanks to everyone!

 



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July 22   Upcoming Events!

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August 26 is going to come round faster than I think it will and I have two very important events in my calendar for that day.

Here in Perth, I am scheduled to speak as part of the Women Achievers night for the National Council of Jewish Women of Australia fundraising event. I’m so blown away to have been asked that I have no idea what I will talk about. For 15 minutes. I need to start working on that speech.

In Melbourne, Twelfth Planet Press is scheduled to have a showcase at the Melbourne Writers Festival. We are hosting a free event with food and drinks at the Yarra Building, Federation Square at 5.30 pm. More information can be found on the Melbourne Writers Festival programme. Jason Nahrung has been working incredibly hard on the ground in Melbourne to make this work. And Deborah Biancotti and Kaaron Warren are flying in for the event. Also part of the event are the Melbourne Twelve Planets – Lucy Sussex, Narrelle M Harris, Deb Kalin, Rosaleen Love and Kirstyn McDermott – and Jason Nahrung. What a fantastic lineup! To top that, we have Kerry Greenwood to help launch the event and especially the newly released Cracklescape by Margo Lanagan. I wish I could be there! It’s going to be heaps of fun.

Things are incredibly busy at the moment. Just having to learn to run faster to keep up with it all!



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We’re having a competition to find the best trifle recipe for inclusion in our forthcoming crime novel A Trifle Dead.

A Trifle Competition

The search is on for the best trifle recipe!

In anticipation of A Trifle Dead, the debut novel from new crime imprint Deadlines, we seek delicious, inspiring trifle recipes to publish in the book.

We are looking for recipes that match any or all of the following themes: Shot Glass Trifle, Death by Trifle, and Tasmanian Trifle.

Up to 3 winning recipe/s will appear in the novel, with all credit and attribution to the creator/s.

The winner(s) will receive an early contributor copy of A Trifle Dead, a stack of postcards featuring your winning recipe, and your choice of 2 Twelfth Planet Press books (either backlist or forthcoming titles).

Submit your recipe to contact@twelfthplanetpress.com with subject line A TRIFLE DEAD RECIPE and including a photo of your finished masterpiece by August 8, 2012.

Please provide contact details, preferred attribution, and a mailing address.

 

A Trifle Dead

Tabitha Darling has always had a dab hand for pastry and a knack for getting into trouble. Which was fine when she was a tearaway teen, but not so useful now she’s trying to run a hipster urban cafe, invent the perfect trendy dessert, and stop feeding the many (oh so unfashionable) policemen in her life.

When a dead muso is found in the flat upstairs, Tabitha does her best (honestly) not to interfere with the investigation, despite the cute Scottish blogger who keeps angling for her help. Her superpower is gossip, not solving murder mysteries, and those are totally not the same thing, right?

But as that strange death turns into a string of random crimes across the city of Hobart, Tabitha can’t shake the unsettling feeling that maybe, for once, it really is ALL ABOUT HER.

And maybe she’s figured out the deadly truth a trifle late…

About Livia Day:

Livia Day fell in love with crime fiction at an early age.  Her first heroes were Miss Jane Marple and Mrs Emma Peel, and not a lot has changed since then!

She has lived in Hobart, Tasmania for most of her life, and now spends far too much time planning which picturesque tourist spot will get the next fictional corpse.  You can find her online at tabithadarlingsbedroomfloor.tumblr.com

 



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The Norma Hemming was awarded on Sunday night to Anita Bell and Sara Douglass. I was really thrilled to hear that Sue Isle’s Nightsiders was awarded an honourable mention. The press release mentions Nightsiders:

The judges awarded Honourable Mentions to Sue Isle for Nightsiders, Meg Mundell for Black Glass and Tansy Rayner Roberts for The Shattered City. Selected comments from the judges are:

Nightsiders by Sue Isle, published by Twelfth Planet Press:
Just as the Western Australian landscape is the site of discord, of discovery, of dissociation, so too is the body, in Sue Isle’s journeys into and out of self.

 



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Saturday was jampacked! After breakfast in the hotel with Terri, Tansy and Finchy and Jonathan and guest appearance Kelly Link and where we invented the drink The Hypocrite, we hightailed it to the panel Masters of Podcasting. It was the only panel I did all weekend and it was such a pleasure – Terry Frost for PaleoCinema, myself for Galactic Suburbia, Jonathan Strahan for Coode St and Kirstyn McDermott for Writer and the Critic who moderated. We had a smallish room and almost all the audience were podcasters too, though I think we had some more nonpodcasters fill the audience after we took the poll. The panel turned into a really relaxed podcasting community discussion where we just kinda shot the breeze and bonded as podcasters and podcast listeners. It was really cool.

I then scooted on to the TPP A Stitch in Time pattern beta testing workshop in the bar. I was sure that noone would turn up. Tansy said she’d come and sew with me as company and then someone wielding a crochet hook accosted me in the hall so we headed over to the bar. I pulled out the pattern we had to test – a little stuffed Roswell grey – and crochet hooks and yarn and everyone dived in. We had I guess 4 or 5 of us trying the pattern and a couple of others who sat with us and did other crafts. And I have to tell you, I had the best time. I was so happy to be crafting in a group with some fellow geeks. There were others who did an awesome job interpreting some of the instructions, working through the pattern and then helping and explaining to others. It was such a fun hour. And I spent it thinking how awesome fandom is. (Photo from Cat Sparks)

There should be more crafting circles at cons. Actually something I really loved was the scattered boxes of craft throughout the con – you were encouraged to pick up works in progress and work on them and if I’d had time I would have. I wonder if that could be something we could carry on through – even something like working on blankets or scarves over the course of a con and then donate the finished ones to a hospital or somewhere?

A photo of how far we managed to get in the hour (photo of our crochet thanks to Tansy and Finchy). But I saw Jo’s later on in the con and she’d managed to make it past the head and body and onto the legs!

I headed off to lunch, which is where I was when Tansy rang me to tell me about the catastrophe that was the printing of Through Splintered Walls. It was at this point that we discovered that there had been a terrible printing error in the book and would need to stop selling it and try and recall all those sold. (If you’re reading this and didn’t know, please contact me to organise an exchange or replacement. The printer is currently reprinting the entire print run and I expect to have those by early next week.)

I then returned just in time for the Galactic Suburbia live recording panel. It’s still weird recording in front of an audience and also where we can actually look at each other whilst we talk. I figured that it wouldn’t be rude to craft on the Galactic Suburbia panel since I do normally do so when recording. Apparently, I’m told, you can tell? Anyway, I was balling up a skein of sock yarn from Blue Moon Fibre Arts during the podcast. This is a photo of the sock I started during the con after balling the yarn and where it got to by the time we landed back in Perth yesterday. I’m just turning the heel.

After the podcast, we headed back to the dealers room and prepped for the Embiggen Books Event. I was very excited about this and not just because I might have been really wanting to find a way to visit this store this time in Melbourne and bring everyone I knew who loved bookstores with me. It’s a truly gorgeous specialist store that’s really really supportive of small press and generally funky and interesting books. We all traipsed down Swanston Street to set up at 4pmish for a 5pm start. The Writer and the Critic were so generous to host, record and produce the podcast. Yes I’ve been dying to be on their podcast for ages! And it was so awesome to watch Kirstyn do her audio technical stuff. Very cool.

First some shots of the bookstore:

Mondy graciously hosted the podcast and interviewed 9 of the Twelve Planets authors and myself. Ian did what he really has a great skill in doing – he asked the exact right questions in the right way, with lots of humour, such that everyone opened up and really said such interesting things. I sat that there listening to everyone talk about their individual collections, their approach to the project and their own style and approach to writing and I realised just how great the sum of these parts this project will be. And what a vibrant, creative and thoughtful group of writers I have been lucky enough to collect. I’m so looking forward to hearing the podcast. And discussing it with others.

Here’s a few action shots from Finchy and Jason Nahrung.

And Jason has a few more shots of the event over on his Flickr stream.  A big thank you to Warren at Embiggen Books for letting us take over his store at 5pm on a Saturday evening. And also thank you to those who helped carry books and food and wine down and to those who came down to watch. Especially those who came down just for the event outside of the con. And also thank you to the TPP authors who came in great spirits and enthusiasm.

After the event we all headed over to a cool little place near the Wheeler Centre for drinks. Check out the beer in beakers!



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With three new books to launch at Natcon, and with a new and exciting announcement for our 20th title, we wanted to make a bit of a splash. We were able to secure a really great timeslot at the beginning of the con and we wanted to throw a party to celebrate Twelfth Planet Press.

Terri came up with the awesome idea of making cupcakes, decorated for each of the TPP books, especially the Twelve Planets. She spent a week baking and freezing cupcakes beforehand and lugged 10kg of cakes in her suitcase to the con. Not only did she decorate the cupcake to suit the book, but she matched the the cake flavour to the book as well! They all sounded delicious and she’s going to do more on that at a later date, stay tuned. 

Meanwhile, we arrived on Thursday night and unpacked. Terri was up first thing on Friday morning to go out for supplies and after I had breakfast, I did a second run for her for all the other bits and pieces. Terri spent the entire day in our room icing cupcakes. She turned our room into what I thought looked like an edible art studio and the air was thick with sugar. The sugary smell hung around all weekend too.

I like this photo here with all Terri’s cake decorating paraphernalia – it looks so much like art paints and scrapers and things.

Terri baked something like 400 cupcakes. And whilst they didn’t all quite make it over, that was really quite an achievement in itself. Having done it myself for previous book launches I know how long it takes and how sore your feet get. I’m very sorry too that I didn’t get to taste the salted caramel cupcakes for Margo’s Cracklescape inspired ones. Or the blue ones for Deb’s Bad Power – the cake and the icing were blue!

And there was the decorating. Terri sat down and planned the topping for each of the books inspired by Amanda’s covers. In some cases she bought new moulds to make chocolates to place on top, for others she made things out of icing and chocolate. We didn’t get the time in the end to photograph each of the finished works nor place them next to the matching book as we had wanted.

These are the lemon meringues for Sue’s Nightsiders. Terri made the meringue on the day AND yes that’s a kitchen blowtorch she’s got there thanks to Alex, who Jason and I went and picked up via taxi in the early afternoon.

And for Margo’s Cracklescape, Terri made mirrors – hard boiled lollies melted into hand held mirrors she’s crafted out of icing.

Her creativity is just astounding.

It was not long into the morning that I realised Terri’s efforts were a very real and very beautiful edible art project. There will be more on this project to come, she plans to reenact and take close up photos for her blog. And at TPP, we’re already planning something to celebrate the Twelve Planets project as a whole so we’ll have more to say on that in due course.

More on the party itself next (this photo to the left is courtesy of Cat Sparks) But I was thrown into what felt like the most overwhelming couple of hours of generosity and support that I think I have ever experienced. I was already blown away by the work and care Terri had taken with the cupcakes. But then we needed people and hands on deck to run what became a much bigger than we had expected event.

Tansy and Jason snuck into the back of the panel before ours on the programme to set up the drinks and book display. They even snuck in a table! TPP peeps and friends came up to help bring down all the platters of cupcakes – there were a lot – and as we entered the room to arrange it all in an artistic way, we were bowled over by a party that had already gotten started. And not just a few earlybirds, the room was already packed, cupcakes were whisked off plates before they even made the table and champagne corks had already been popped. We were absorbed by the pulsing crowd and that was it – Twelfth Planet Press Hour was on for young and old! There was already a queue to buy books, there were so many familiar faces to say hi to and catch up with. It was the perfect way to start the con – everyone was catching up with each other and just getting into the groove. (Photo to the right and those below thanks to Tansy and Finchy) And because it was gold coin donation day, people who weren’t going to come to the con were able to come in and say hi and grab a cupcake. (Thanks to all of you who did!)

We’d vaguely planned a schedule for the hour but that just got thrown to the side – this party didn’t need to get warmed up, it arrived raring to go! And it was just what I hoped it would be! We had a roaming juggler from the Women’s Circus wandering around to add a bit of a carnival feel to the event. And friends helped out serving drinks, offering cakes around and selling books. I’m so grateful to everyone who helped make this party a success. Thank you to everyone who did.

I got up on a chair at some point in the evening to offer some “remarks”. When I got up there and the crowd quietened down, I looked around at the many people in the room looking back at me and was overwhelmed. I was really touched by the show of support for my press and authors and for me. It’s not often that you have a chance to just take a moment and see it. It’s so easy to get caught up in all the things that you do but as I stood there and looked around, I saw friends helping me make the party happen, and my press successful. I saw authors (old and new) proud to be a part of this thing, and I saw the community supporting and encouraging me and the press along the way to just go and see what we can be. I took the moment to readjust my personal perspective on things.

I then got to say basically everything I’d talked over with Jonathan that morning that I wanted to say. I thanked Terri for her ideas and her efforts helping me with the party. I launched the three new books – two are out now Through Splintered Walls by Kaaron Warren, book 6 of The Twelve Planets and Salvage by Jason Nahrung, an Australian gothic novella and Cracklescape by Margo Lanagan, book 7 of The Twelve Planets will be available in August. And then I made a very exciting announcement – the launch of our new crime imprint Deadlines, the first title of which to be our first novel A Trifle Dead by Hobart author Livia Day (out later this year).

And then I got to grab a glass of champagne myself, pose in photos and see a few people. My cousins popped in briefly which meant a lot to me and as  I looked around, I saw so many friends and familiar faces. It was such a great event!

Some more of the cupcakes:

From top left to right:

Thief of Lives inspired perfume bottles; A Stitch in Time Travel inspired knitting related balls of yarn, knitting needles and loops of yarn; cameos for Love and Romanpunk; the hand mirrors for Cracklescape; Lucy Sussex showing she matches the Glitter Rose cupcakes which were a little bit glittery; the table of cupcakes including the TPP logo, police tape on blue for Bad Power and ghosts for Showtime. Other cupcakes had sugared almonds for Through Splintered Walls, trifle for A Trifle Dead and bloody droplets for Deadlines imprint.

And Cat got all the Twelve Planets present ( we had 10!!) and me to pose for photos. These really feel like they’d be appropriate at the end of our movie of the week where we can all reflect back on how keen we looked at the beginning!

This photo is courtesy of Cat Sparks’ Flickr stream. From top left to right: Deborah Biancotti, Kirstyn McDermott, me, Rosaleen Love, Margo Lanagan, Narrelle M Harris. And bottom left to right: Cat Sparks, Lucy Sussex, Kaaron Warren, Deb Kalin and Tansy Rayner Roberts. These (and Sue Isle and Thoraiya Dyer) amazing and talented women took me seriously when I pitched the Twelve Planets at them. What an honour.



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I keep feeling like I should apologise for saying that I had a really great time at Continuum 8. I think it’s because I’m so used to hearing complaints about cons. But I don’t really have any so herein, and to follow, are a bunch of upbeat happy reporting ins of the weekend.

First up, my haul.

The rule when you’re a trader is, if you brought books in your suitcase, you can only buy books if you sell books. It’s a completely different rule to the To Be Read ones as it relates to baggage weight. Luckily. I had sent 4 boxes of Twelfth Planet Press books and table bits and pieces in advance via TNT to Alex’s but they let me down and I realised on Thursday at lunchtime that my books would not be there in time for the con. A quick call to Terri and we worked out we could pack an extra suitcase of books and bring that. Which we did. And discovered that this is probably a better option in future, both for the cost and the reduction in stress. This meant I had an extra suitcase for fitting in any purchases from the con!

So my haul! And I get To Be Read pile points because they were all books I had been intending to get so were technically on my reading list. That’s ok, right?

I had a very busy weekend. For me, most of the con was experienced in terms of the events or commitments I and the press had on. I got to kind of slow down and take in more of the con on Sunday when all that was behind me. I had a really awesome time. I didn’t get to speak to as many people as I wanted and of course I had all those half conversations you have at things like this where you’re constantly in the middle of conversations the whole weekend long – it’s both fantastic and frustrating. But I got to hang out with my friends, get lots of real life hugs and I got to get my groove back. I love fandom and I love the scene and I had a really great time. I’m so overwhelmed and humbled and thankful to everyone who helped me out this weekend and who support the press – both over the weekend and in general. I’ve come home happy and inspired and with oh so much more work to do. And I wouldn’t want it any other way.

I can’t wait for Conflux 2013!



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We’ve sent all our forthcoming books to the printers, we’re in the process of making our lists and checking them twice –> Twelfth Planet Press is off to Natcon 2012/Continuum 8 in Melbourne. We shall be in the dealers room all weekend! You can also find us at:

Twelfth Planet Press Hour on Friday Night – its a gold coin donation day at Continuum so open to all and sundry!

Ever wondered how your favorite Twelve Planet collection would taste like in cupcake form? Then come along to the Twelfth Planet Cocktail hour, to celebrate the launch of the newest Twelve Planets, Through Splintered Walls, by Kaaron Warren, and Cracklescape by Margo Lanagan, plus the new TPP novella Salvage by Jason Nahrung. All your other favourite Twelve Planets will be there and we’ll also be making a surprise announcement!

Each book will be lovingly interpreted as a cupcake by master baker, Terri Sellen. Your cocktail choice is entirely your own…

Galactic Suburbia will record an episode live over the weekend,

Embiggen Books Event, 5pm Saturday

A book launch with a difference! Come join host Ian Mond, TPP publisher Alisa Krasnostein and TPP authors as they launch the Twelve Planets into space, via a live podcast from Embiggen Books. Find out what goes in to putting together this acclaimed series of boutique collections. Hijinks will undoubtedly ensue.

A Stitch In Time Travel Preview
Come and help beta test a pattern from the upcoming new craft ebook from Twelfth Planet Press.
Crochet hooks optional.



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February 26   Checking back in

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Well. This blogging thing has fallen over. I’ve got so many posts I want to write and I’m beside myself that right now I have absolutely no time to even draft out words for them. This week went by in a blur. Last weekend we had our engagement party, just a small thing for very close family and friends, and I want to post about that and some other wedding related things. I’m hoping to grab some photos first – one of my uncles took like 450 photos! Can’t wait to see them. Anyway, we were utterly exhausted Sunday night after the weekend and that’s never a good way to enter the work week.

By Thursday I was so knackered that I got into work, woke up and realised I felt vile, sat at my desk working for 2 hours and ran hot and cold and awful and then got back in my car, drove an hour and a half home and collapsed fully clothed on my bed. And slept. And slept. And Slept. And I don’t nap. I mean, I NEVER nap. Not even when I’ve pulled an allnighter or flown 36 hours to the other side of the world. I hate napping. And then I was Zombie!GJ for the rest of the evening. Bleurgh. I would have also taken Friday off but we had this big meeting on and I knew that I needed to be there for it to figure out my role in the project (which I’m glad I did attend because now I do know what’s going on and how to move forward. Also weird to have been doing this gig long enough to go to random meeting with 10 people from all over the place and know like half of them really well.)

Anyway, I mostly stayed on nutrition track this week. Treat meal came a little early in the week but I’ve managed to avoid falling off the tracks this weekend. Exercise though fell by the wayside. I was just so freaking tired, I was literally dragging myself through the week and standing next to walls to avoid falling over. I skipped three days of exercise, only getting back on the wagon yesterday. So I only managed to lose 0.5kg this week. On the other hand, normally for me, a week like this one, I would have yoyo’ed back up a bit so that I’m taking as a win. But yeah. One of the excuses I noted down that I use before I started this thing, is “I feel sick” and that is such a hard one to navigate. Should I have continued dragging my arse through cardio on Thurs and Fri? I do know my body and self pretty well and I was hitting the wall on Thursday. I reckon if I hadn’t pulled the plug on some stuff, I’d have been ill in bed this weekend.

Fact is, currently this routine is unsustainable. There is no time left in the day after commuting, working, exercise and sleep. I’ve been trying to find time for TPP and that’s ended up being taken out of the sleep bucket. Doesn’t really work long term. I’m a bit better on track with the upcoming books - Showtime is at the printers, Through Splintered Walls is half at proofing and half at finalising final copy edits, I’ve begun working through Salvage edits, Cracklescape is almost ready to go to layout and we’re working on edits for Asymmetry. Though I’m only ever happy when it’s not me being the bottleneck. And it’s possible that with the end of last week, I am. And of course my readers are working through the novel manuscripts and I’ve made a start on those. Publicity and marketing are behind. And I had one grant application to submit last week (done but through the haze of exhaustion) and one still to be written for next month. And I’m working on a talk that I’m giving on a Saturday in a couple of weeks. And so on and on and on.

It’s not sustainable right now.  Tired. So very very tired.



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February 23   Showtime Cover

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Check out the gorgeous cover (and back!) that Amanda has designed for Showtime (Book 5 in the Twelve Planets) by Narrelle M Harris!

Never ask me which is my favourite – I’ll never be able to decide!

 

 

Here’s what the text on the back cover says:

Family drama can be found anywhere: in kitchens, in cafes. Derelict hotels, showground rides. Even dungeons far below ruined Hungarian castles. (Okay, especially in Hungarian dungeons.)

Old family fights can go on forever, especially if you’re undead. If an opportunity came to save someone else’s family, the way you couldn’t save your own, would you take it?

Your family might include ghosts, or zombies, or vampires. Maybe they just have allergies. Nobody’s perfect.

Family history can weigh on the present like a stone.  But the thing about families is, you can’t escape them. Not ever. And mostly, you don’t want to.

 

It’s a beautiful collection of pieces, each one utterly classic and completely new at the same time… In Narrelle’s hands, everything old is new again, and everything new has the weight of age.  There’s magic in that, and in this book. — Seanan McGuire

 

The book went to the printer’s last week so I’m expecting the proofs any day now. Can’t wait to see this one in real life!



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We have a lot in the works over at Twelfth Planet Press and are looking for enthusiastic people to come on board and help us. Hence another ad!

Twelfth Planet Press has several great opportunities for those looking to gain experience in ePublishing and be part of a fast growing indie press. The Twelfth Planet Press ePublishing team is expanding to meet the demand for high quality eBook production. Several short term intern positions and a volunteer eBook Designer will play a vital role in the development and delivery of Twelfth Planet Press eBooks and online products by supporting the conversion of our back catalogue to eBooks and in-development projects.
As the successful candidate, you will love reading, have experience in copyediting and proofing, have competent to advanced computer proficiency, have access to eReader software (preference will be given to applicants with access to multiple platforms) and if applying for the eBook Designer position, will have experience with coding. You will be enthusiastic, with strong communication skills, have attention to fine details and be willing to manipulate data. You will be a team player, open to feedback and constructive criticism but also an independent worker with initiative and ideas.

These are volunteer positions with no salary attached. It is expected that these roles will offer experience, skill development, network building, exposure and perks including Twelfth Planet Press product. These roles will be filled by more than one person, in more than one location. This role is not limited to Australian applicants.

Your application should include a cover letter addressing aspects of the job description as presented in this advertisement, detailing your relevant experience in proofing, copyediting and/or eBook layout and production, your interest and involvement in publishing, what you hope to get out of the experience as well as how much time you have available for this role.
Email your application to contact@twelfthplanetpress.com along with your current cv by February 14th 2012.



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Twelfth Planet Press has a great opportunity for someone looking to be part of a fast growing indie press and gain experience in the world of publishing. The Publicity and Promotions Coordinator will play a valuable and key role in the Twelfth Planet Press team and will drive the promotion and expansion in the international publishing scene.

As the successful candidate, you will love speculative fiction, have knowledge or experience of the publishing industry and a passion for independent press. Publicity, promotions or marketing experience is appreciated, but not required. You will be enthusiastic, outgoing with strong communication skills and interested in building on the networks and promotional opportunities already developed and used in house. You will be a team player, open to feedback and constructive criticism but also an independent worker with initiative and ideas.

Role description:

  • familiarity with Twelfth Planet Press products, both published and forthcoming
  • writing content for press releases, website and social media outlets
  • developing and expanding promotion contacts and networks
  • developing a marketing strategy
  • representing Twelfth Planet Press at conventions and other industry related events

This is a volunteer position with no salary attached. However, it is expected that this role will offer publishing industry experience, writing skill development, networking opportunities, increased industry profile and perks including Twelfth Planet Press products. This role may be filled by more than one person, in more than one location. This role is not limited to Australian applicants.

Your application should include a cover letter addressing aspects of the job description as presented in this advertisement, detailing your relevant experience, your interest and involvement in speculative fiction publishing, why you want to join the Twelfth Planet Press team and what you hope to get out of the experience as well as how much time you have available for this role. Your application should also include examples of any previous promotional work and short writing examples (preferably non fiction).

Email your application to contact@twelfthplanetpress.com along with your current cv by February 29th 2012.



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Twelfth Planet Press Call for Submissions:

A Stitch in Time Travel

Craft Ebook Project

Twelfth Planet Press is looking for innovative and fun science fiction, fantasy or horror inspired craft projects on the theme of time travel for a Geek Craft ebook to be released at Craftonomicon, the Australian National science fiction convention, 8 – 11 June, 2012.

Projects

We’re looking for anything from a knitted scarf or jumper to socks, toys, hats and anything and everything in between. Draw inspiration from your favourite books, comics, games, movies and television. We want it creative and geeky!

Some examples of what we’re looking for:

Knits for Nerds

Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi

Steampunk Softies

The AntiCraft

 

Submission details

Your submission should include:

  1. your pattern with clear step-by-step, repeatable instructions;
  2. list of materials and supplies required;
  3. photos for easy reproduction of your project by others;
  4. whether your pattern has been beta tested by others
  5. your contact and paypal details.

Wearable patterns should include suggested sizings. Consider using http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/sizing.html. We will give preference to submissions that provide a range of sizes.

Your photos should show the completed work but might also include steps along the production process. They should be in colour and good lighting, with a minimum of 72dpi resolution.

Send your submission to contact@twelfthplanetpress.com with “Craft Project Submission” as your subject heading.

Submission Period Closes April 30, 2012.

Payment: $50 for each pattern or tutorial and a copy of the final publication.

 

Caveats

We are looking only for previously unpublished works. Please note, work published on a blog is considered previously published.

We are not accepting any works derived from copyrighted franchises.

We are aware that riffing off a theme or idea is a large component of this kind of project. Please let us know about the original products that inspired you so we can determine whether your submission encroaches on any intellectual property rights or copyright infringements.

Additionally, if you do obtain permission to design a project inspired by someone else’s creative work, please include this with your submission.

 



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January 15   Serendipity

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I had a really good week. One of those rare great weeks that I can’t even remember the last time I had one. And I don’t mean a week in which something awesome and unexpected happens. I mean, that the whole week rocked.

Monday I had to tell the boss I had given notice and that Friday would be my last day. I’d been kinda dreading it because I wanted to avoid discussing it. He’d been away since about 8th of Dec so… yeah it went how I thought it would go.

Tuesday though was the team’s farewell lunch for me and M, who was also leaving. It was really lovely and my face hurt from smiling for the rest of the day. A couple of past team members came along which was so lovely for the opportunity to catch up with them. And we both were given a voucher for a manicure/facial and I got this frog, which is a bit of a work in-joke. I think it’s hilarious and I’m going to take it to work and put it on my new desk.

And then when I got back to the office, reception called to tell me I had a delivery and when I wandered down to collect it, I discovered that C had sent me flowers and chocolates to wish me good luck on my change of job. And everyone agreed that he is a great guy and a keeper. But I already knew that.

Wednesday and Thursday I spent tying up loose ends, writing handover notes and filing and trying to mentally and emotionally move on. I’m kinda sad about leaving this team and the work. I’ve been there 4 years and I feel like I accomplished a few biggish kind of achievements and worked towards progressing some weaker areas. I networked a lot and met a lot of really great people, both in my agency and outside it. And I’m going to miss my team. Though M is also leaving so the team is kind of splitting up in any case.

Friday was my last day and I spent it really manically trying to finish up memos and letters to pass on to the others to just wrap up and send out. And I packed up my office and we had afternoon tea and then … then I left. And I couldn’t really believe that I had given them my keys to the building and was actually leaving. There were lots of hugs and that was the moment that I finally realised it was real and that I was sad. And J gave me the gorgeous card up in the top photo which says “Well-behaved women rarely make history”. I’d gotten a really lovely group card and so many people said so many beautiful and well meant things and then I got this follow up one from a teammate who I have I guess gotten really close to only in the last year or so. We’ve had so many heart to hearts and she held my hand at work through Swancon. So sad to leave her but also so touched that she really “got” me. Isn’t that what we all want in life, to be understood?

C had dropped me to work and so had picked me up, and attended the small farewell afternoon tea so I had him to leave with and not feel really down about having left my team. And we headed off to do more shopping and then to have an early dinner at the Daily Planet before meeting Marianne and Jonathan to see Ira Glass! I had been so looking forward to this. We headed up to the bar to hang out, wondering if they might come up there but they didn’t and then I couldn’t remember if we’d booked our tickets to be seated together. We hadn’t, as I recall now, we’d just talked about it online and both bought tickets at the same time. It was only then that I realised that we would just be at the same event together but not actually *with* each other. So we went in and were looking for where our seats, they were 3 rows from the front and C turned to me and said, “really?” and all I could do was shrug and say, “I’m a REALLY big fan”. And then … and then you won’t believe it. Our seats were right next to Marianne and Jonathan. Unplanned, pure coincidence, utter serendipity. And in that exact moment, as we sat down next to our friends and C settled in for 2 hours of watching someone he’d never heard of speak, I knew that the universe was smiling down at me, and that everything will be be ok. That I am in the right place, at the right time. Finally.

And I just loved Ira Glass. It was a fantastic performance. Really interesting and engaging and so very very enlightening, not just on how they  put the show (This American Life) together but on what they intend for the show to be and a lot on good storytelling. I got a lot out of it – first the buzz of inspiration to want to go home immediately and throw myself back into TPP but second, he had a lot of interesting things to say about storytelling and on building momentum and how to seduce your reader/listener to not put the work down/turn off the radio. Since I’m currently reading novel manuscript submissions and thinking about that a lot, it couldn’t have been a better time to immerse myself in the careful musings of such a great storyteller/editor. And it made me realise how the asking for only 3 chapters is really a great submission process because, I should NEED to ask for the rest of the manuscript because I NEED to know where the story goes. And if I don’t, then that’s not a project for me. I also really got a lot out of how he spoke about the show and how he thinks about what it is and so on. I think you do need to know what your intent is from the outset. If not what it will end up being, at least what it is that you set out to do. Because that should underpin every decision you make after that and should allow you to constantly check back in with whether what you are doing now is consistent with what your project model or philosophy is.  At the end of the day, when I’m stuck on rejections, I do this, I look back at what TPP is and what I see that it should be, and if something doesn’t fit with that, then it’s not a project for me.

After the show, we headed off for coffee, the four of us and just hung out and caught up. And it was the perfect end to a damn fine week.



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Before I forget to remind, we’ve got a bunch of things going on at TPP.

Firstly, our sale off a bunch of titles ends Dec 31, 2011. Visit our website here and grab A Book of Endings for $16, Glitter Rose for $20, Horn and Bleed for $9.60 each, any of the first 3 Twelve Planets for $14.40, Sprawl for $20 and a bunch more.

Secondly, our novel manuscript submission period opens January 1, 2012 and ends January 31, 2012. Check out all the details on guidelines etc here.

Thirdly, we’re supporting the Australian Women Writers Challenge 2012 with a 10% discount on all our books which fit the challenge all year long. Here’s how.

Fourthly, enter our Goodreads Giveaway to win a copy of Deborah Biancotti’s Bad Power:

 

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Bad Power by Deborah Biancotti

Bad Power

by Deborah Biancotti

Giveaway ends January 20, 2012.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Fifthly, keep an eye out for more TPP announcements over the next fortnight or so!

 

 



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Well, I have a list of things that I want to do in 2012 and I know it’s ambitious. But it does include getting my read on so I thought I might as well throw my hat in the ring and join along the Australian Women Writers 2012 National Year of Reading Challenge.

Objective: This challenge hopes to help counteract the gender bias in reviewing and social media newsfeeds that has continued throughout 2011 by actively promoting the reading and reviewing of a wide range of contemporary Australian women’s writing. (See the page on gender bias for recent discussions.)

Goal: Read and review books written by Australian women writers – hard copies, ebooks and audiobooks, new, borrowed or stumbled upon by book-crossing.

Genre challenges: 
Purist: one genre only
Dabbler: more than one genre
Devoted eclectic: as many genres as you can find
 
Challenge levels:
Stella (read 3 and review at least 2 books)
Miles (read 6 and review at least 3*
Franklin-fantastic (read 10 and review at least 4 books)*
* The higher levels should include at least one substantial length review

So, I’m going to be a Purist and stick to speculative fiction :). And I’m also going to be practical and set myself the Stella Challenge level – 3 books and 2 reviews.

I think it will be a lot of fun and I want to encourage others to participate. There’s also a second part of the challenge WeLovetoRead2 which is also a really worthy challenge. I’m not going to participate in that aspect of it though, due to time constraints.

However, Twelfth Planet Press will be getting behind the campaign and will be offering a 10% discount on our books throughout 2012 which conform to the challenge. Either email us at contact@twelfthplanetpress.com with the link to your challenge post for a discounted invoice or let us know in the instructions for your purchases by including the link to your challenge post. In the meantime, we’re having a sale for December and are offering 20% off almost all of our catalogue.



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We’re expecting the arrival of Bad Power by Deborah Biancotti – Book 4 in the Twelve Planets series – any day now. To whet your appetite in the meantime, enjoy a series of excerpts from and about the book.

Palming the Lady

“She told me my future.”

“What was it?”

“In the words of Dorothy Parker-”

“I know. No one gets a happy ending.”

“You want to hear something really creepy, you should ask her what she sees in her own future.”

Detective Palmer is called to the home of Matthew Webb, an anxious young medical student who claims he’s being stalked by a homeless woman. When Palmer takes the nameless woman in, she finds she has an uncanny ability to tell the future. By the time Palmer unravels the truth about so-called ‘Mad Mary’, Palmer herself must confront the devastating future that Mary has left her – a future where the only forgiveness available to her will be her own.

Preorder your copy of Bad Power here.



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December 5   I keep meaning to update

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Really, I do keep meaning to update but time is just getting away from me. Seriously, where the hell did November go? I’m not even sure that we actually did all 30 days of it? C and I keep looking at each other and wondering where the month went but also noting that we did a heck of a lot of things this year too. I’m planning on making a wrap up end of year list to remind myself because I know it’s going to be ridiculous.

I’m still doing my 6am starts with being at work by 7.30am. And that means I’m going to bed 10ish which feels like I have very little time in the evenings, or outside work. It must be about the same though, surely? Though, I am also using these hours so probably I have less hanging about in my out of work hours. Today we opened up the Dance Central 2 game that C bought me cause I said I would dance if I had it. And we had a good hour of that. I kinda think that dancing is a far more fun way to get fit than booooring going to the gym agaaaain. Plus I’ve been watching So You Think You Can Dance on Friday nights on 11 and missing that part of my life a bit. And then I had a terrible dream last night, a nightmare if you will, that I went to audition for SYTYCD and the only judge on the panel was Robert Shearman and my body just … well … it got old and it couldn’t do any of the things it used to. Well that put a light under my bushel (is that the saying?).

Other than that, we’ve been recording podcasts - Galactic Suburbia the week before last and then again this week. And I’m enjoying actually finishing novels. I have a new one for this week’s episode and am determined to finish Yarn by it too. So that we can get on with the spoilerific podcast for that. But somehow, I’m working my way through my very pared down to read queue by my bed and actually books are making it to the real bookshelves at the other end of the house. I can read! Phew!! Though I keep thinking of all the things I want to get done in my holidays and forgetting that I am not 9 anymore and it’s only 10 days and not 10 weeks. Bummer.

We also recorded a new episode of Live and Sassy. You know what December is like – I really don’t know why we a) all leave everything to the last 4 weeks of the year and b) have this imaginary line in time where simply MUST catch up with everyone we know before the end of the year, as though terrible things will happen if we leave some of them til the week after just cause it’s the first week of the next year. Anyway, so our calendars didn’t coordinate so well and we skyped this episode. We’ll be back to doing it live in a cafe and annoying our listeners with background noise early in the new year.

And books! And projects! I’m really pushing to get a few projects to the printer’s by Xmas so that I can work in a I’m in the Future kind of publishing world in 2012. We’ll see how that goes. I’m expecting Bad Power to arrive any day now. And we have Showtime in layout proofing. And Through Splintered Walls is shaping up nicely. I’m also working on a novella project which we’ll announce soon. And another possible sekret project. And of course, I’m clearing the decks for the novel submission month of January.

And planning a wedding. I only just realised today that I get to plan a holiday as well since we know where we are off to on our honeymoon. EXCITING!!! Yesterday we all trouped back to the wedding venue and did very important things like sign the contract and pay the deposit. Tis booked. And they said “see you in 8 – 10 weeks before the wedding” – OMG! And I got a showbag which was rather exciting. Or you know … useful. The venue owner finally managed to convey to my mother what I had failed to do so -the awesomeness of bonbonierre. It’s not a thing in our culture so it’s a completely foreign convept to us, I guess. However, we now have some awesome ideas to play with for that.

So, you know. Busy.



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