Sean Williams

"This is where I heal my hurts." (thanks, Faithless)

Actually, it's just my study, revealed in all its glory. Kinda. Enjoy!

Provoked by this inspired Clarion fundraiser, here lies my toothless old keyboard, along with the detritus of sixteen novels, four short stories and four novellas--around a million words worth of crumbs, bitten nails, and cells sloughed off my hard-working fingers.


Is that hair in there? I can't imagine where that came from.
 
(No, wait. I can. Ewww. Don't go there!)

I'm on my way home from the Aurealis Awards bash, killing some time at the Brisbane airport before my plane departs. Just wanted to say huzzah to everyone for a wonderful night. The champagne flowed hard; I mixed up everyone's names (not just yours, readerofasaph); my head was pounding hard this morning. Could these facts be related? (Beloved Clarionites, I blame you for leading me astray.)

I also wanted to say that I am excited that Magic Dirt received the first ever Best Collection gong, and sad at the same time that Rob Hood and I couldn't share the honour between us. He has been such a force for good in this awesome community, and a profound influence on me since we first met in 1994. It shocks me that he has yet to receive a single Aurealis Award. How can that be possible? Here's hoping it will be corrected soon.

It remains only for me to remark on my record-breaking string of unconsummated nominations in the Best SF Novel category (seven and counting, iirc) and a jump in non-wins overall to twenty-four. What a wonderful thing it is to be shortlisted so many times! I am extraordinarily lucky. Thank you all.

To all I owe emails: thanks for being so patient. I will be in touch soon. Apart from starting a new book and bringing this journal up to date, I have a completely free February. Double huzzah!

ETA ( Judges' reports below the cut. )

I'm back. Hello.

The last few weeks have been kinda crazy. Part of me wants to give you all the numbers: people I've met; libraries, schools, bookstores and events at which I've spoken; topics I've covered. There were panels, workshops, seminars, signings, interviews, retreats, photo shoots, and numerous waits for flights. That it's all become a bit of a blur (like the countryside from a Japanese bullet train) is probably a blessing for all concerned. I can't imagine how some people do this for weeks on end.

A big thank you to all who came along, and apologies to those dear friends I missed along the way. Everyone's been wonderful, even the woman in Queensland who asked me if my books would make her a better person (of course they will!). Expect some delays as I catch up on mail and the family. Normal service, whatever that entails, will soon resume.

Meanwhile, I'm craving a home-cooked meal. So, just for Kate Eltham, here are my Top Five Comfort Foods, as prepared by me or Amanda when we can't be bothered to think of something fancier to eat:

1) Beef casserole in red wine accompanied by a healthy dollop of buttery mash.
2) Vegetable stir-fry, with tofu.
3) Lamb pot roast.
4) Cheese, olives, pate and dips.
5) Chocolate.

I think I'll have all of them this week.

Note: the title of this post comes from Gary Numan's "I Dream of Wires". Is anyone is as excited as I am that he's touring Australia next year?

1) Home.

2) Not sick any more.

3) Able to talk about The Force Unleashed. AND ABOUT FRIGGIN' TIME.

(The Star Destroyer scene is my favourite.)

Thanks, everyone, for the best wishes (the haiku remedies particularly helped). I'm back on-deck now and pondering which news to blog first: Swancon, the launches of Magic Dirt and The Changeling, finishing The Grand Conjunction, the Ditmar Awards, my Dickless status, the wonderful rain in Adelaide...?

I guess I'll start with the first one and work my way through. Swancon was a blast. Thanks to everyone involved for putting on another wonderful show. There have been reports posted on-line and I don't see the need in repeating what's been said many times over, but the guests were wonderful, the masquerade was a hoot, and the weekend in general went by in a happy, drunken blur. "Tick...tick...tick...tick...BOOM!"

A very big thank you to everyone who attended the launches, and even engaged in audience participation when pressed to. Magic Dirt is out and proud, and available from Ticonderoga in two splendid editions. Buy it now, if only for the cover! The Changeling is just as beautiful, imho, and a very different read. The feedback has been wonderful. I hope every kid in Australia reads and is freaked out by it.

Saturn Returns might have missed out on the Philip K Dick Award (despite Jay Lake's most excellent spruiking of it on the night), but it was still a splendid spread to be part of. Receiving the Ditmar Award at Swancon was icing on the cake, really, and I'm enormously grateful to everyone who voted for it. Kudos to everyone else nominated, and congratulations to the other winners on the night. This is such a talented and good-natured community. There will never be enough awards to go around.

My damaged status had everything to do with sleepless nights and exposure to the real world, and bore no relation at all to the cold and wet Adelaide to which I returned home. Perfect weather, really, to dive into the final edits of The Grand Conjunction, the last book in the Astropolis series. It's been a long and winding road, writing this book; I'm both relieved and sad it's done. So often I don't know what books are about until I've finished them, and in this case it appears I've spawned another romance: one in which the collision of the Milky Way and Andromeda plays a role, but a romance all the same. I'm a sucker for it, I guess.

My next projects are The Scarecrow (the last of this round of kids' books) and completely reorganising my study (you know, because there's never a good time so it might as well be now). Lined up after that are a thriller, another YA novel, PhD stuff, and appearances here and there. I'll report on the latter as they grow nearer.

For now, I'm off to have some soup.

Thanks for being such a wonderful bunch of people. I am sending you all happy vibes.

Here's a trio of Christmas presents I received from (L to R) Xander, Amanda and Finn. They know me pretty well, hey?



The robot is another Fatman like the ones I received for my birthday in 2005. Combined with the Daleks and proto-Cyberman from last year, plus a couple of others I haven't snapped yet, I'd say we're building up quite a metal menagerie.

(Advice from the future #4461: When the robots outnumber the humans--probably a good time to start worrying.)

I've been taking a leaf out of Teh Angriest's book and trying to walk and/or run for at least an hour a day. That means I'm getting to know my new neighbourhood pretty well. Going to and from my city PO Box takes about fifty minutes*, for instance, and that's enough to make me feel virtuous.

But here's something much more important to know. Six minutes and thirty-nine seconds is how long it takes to walk from my front door to the Haighs Chocolates Factory. It's like having the Wonka factory right up the road, and just as dangerous.

Yesterday I bought presents, nothing for me, and didn't even take the free sample they always offer. But still I think I broke even, calorie-wise. Oh well.

* That's long enough to hear some albums from start to finish on my fab Bose headphones, which is good for someone who doesn't normally get to spend any time at all listening to "real" music. In theory I could spend this time deep in contemplative thought about the next book, but more often than not I've been catching up on fave old albums and trying not to sing aloud.