Louise Cusack - Diary 2006

Sunday 3rd December, 2006: I'm a week late reporting on my agent Selwa Anthony's annual seminar in Sydney, but I've been waiting for photos!  So I've got them now and can let you all know that I had a fabulous time, met heaps of new people (as always) and caught up with some great writers I've known for a while - Ian Irvine and Richard Harland, as well as Kate Moreton & Katherine Howell who are both doing incredibly well.  Kate's novel "The Shifting Fog" has just been listed in the top ten of Nielsen's 2006 book sales list of Australian fiction which is an incredible feat for a debut novel!  In fact, three of the top ten were Selwa's authors which is pretty darned impressive in it's own right, and goes to prove she definitely is Australia's top agent (no bias of course).  Katherine Howell's novel "Panic" (which comes out next May) has already sold into multiple International markets and looks set to be bestseller in Australia as well.  Here's a photo of a group of us at the Awards Dinner:

Left to right is: Katherine Howell, Josephine Pennicott, moi, Kate Moreton and Ian Irvine. 

To the left is a photo of Selwa and I.  Lovely to catch up with her and bask in some of her wonderful positive energy and nurturing.  She's such a dynamo, and also a great mentor and role model to us all.  Being one of her authors is like being part of her family, and I can't begin to tell you how much like 'coming home' it feels to go to her seminars and spend time with so many supportive and generous people.  She encourages us all to share our expertise and our time with those of her authors who are coming up to publication, the same way we were helped when we first joined her stable.  And there aren't any other agents I know who take such pains to ensure their authors are surrounded by a network of reliable and supportive peers.  Being picked up by Selwa is like winning Gold Lotto, and nearly ten years down the track I'm just as in awe of her talent as skill as I was when I first met her.

In other news I received a High Distinction for the first assessment component of my Masters degree, so that was encouraging.  I'm not completely sure I'll finish on time in March, but that's what I'm aiming for.  Really looking forward to my Literature Review which I hope to undertake over the Christmas break.  Lots of mermaid things to read, so that should be fun!

Wednesday 30th November, 2006:  Tonight I attended the Show and Tell speakers agency Christmas party at Riverbend Books in Bulimba and caught up with Nick Earls and Rebecca Sparrow.  So while the Three Musketeers of the Queensland Writing Showcase were in the one room we decided to nab a photo (right).

I also managed to catch up with Kate Eltham who runs the Queensland Writers Centre, met some fascinating patrons of Show and Tell (teachers and school administrators) as well as the vibrant and energetic Helen Bain who runs Show and Tell and the beautiful Bronwen Bennett who keeps our bookings flowing and timely!  A lovely relaxed night and a great way to wind up a very successful opening year for Show and Tell.

Monday 28th November, 2006: Had a surprise visitor at our house.  Ms Possum decided to spend the day curled up in the cupboard on our back patio, waiting for nightfall.  At first I thought she was a baby because she was so small, but the Wildlife carers said she was a Brushtail possum and they only grow to be as big as twice your fist size.  She's pretty adorable, isn't she?  When it started getting dark we brought our little dog Dinky into the laundry and waited until she had 'left the building' before we let him back out.  Wonder if she'll return?

Saturday 11th November, 2006: Finished my Express Year of the Novel workshop series at the Qld Writers Centre last Sunday and that was sad and lovely too!  Don't have a fresh photo of that group because the batteries ran out on my camera (must remember to bring fresh batteries along with it - and why is it that they don't say "two photos to go before battery expires"?  Instead of stopping right when you need it.  Sigh...).  But I did get a photo of the group earlier in the year and it's posted down below a ways.  I'm keeping in touch with both groups via our separate yahoo email groups, so that's nice.  I won't have lost contact completely, and can crack my liquorice whip over cyberspace to keep them working!

When my camera was functioning, a couple of weeks ago on my way to a workshop at All Hallows Girls School, I took a photo of Brisbane from the cliffs at Kangaroo point and it's so lovely I wanted to share it with you, so I'll include it below.  I just adore this time of year in our "River City" when the bougainvillea is in bloom, not to mention the gorgeous jacaranda trees dropping their pretty violet flowers on the grass.  I used to roll in them when I was little, because they looked so pretty.  And have to admit, sometimes as an adult that urge comes back.  But I resist.

This week has been busy doing one of the online modules for my Masters, as well as some manuscript assessing.  Really enjoy doing that (the assessing, not the online module).  It's great working with other writers and helping them improve their craft.  Sometimes I can see the manuscript is nearly ready for submission to a publisher, and sometimes the author has a way to go yet, but I console myself in those cases that at least I'm able to point out craft problems and help the writer learn.  Persistence is the key at any stage of the writing career.  And believing it will happen.  I think that's true for any dream.  If you think you don't deserve it, it aint gunna happen!

I work on 'deserving' myself, because even as a published author, continued publication isn't a given.  Every book stands on its own merits.  Maybe that's why I'm taking so long to edit my mermaid.  I want it to really blow the publishers' socks off.

Fingers crossed.  And here's the photo of beautiful Brisbane:

Saturday 4th November, 2006: A bittersweet workshop at the Logan Hyperdome Library this morning.  My last one with this group who were supposed to "Write That Book" in 2006, and they did!  Of the eleven workshop participants who hung in there (out of an original group of 15), all 11 finished their novels.  Of course I'm proud of my whip-cracking part in that, but I'm more proud of them.  They're all talented, dedicated writers who deserve to be published, but even better, they're lovely people to spend time with as well.  Here's the group:

Front row (L to R) is Wendy, Diane Waters (visiting editor from Pulp Fiction Press), moi, Janet Poole who looks after Logan City Libraries and organised the workshop series so beautifully, and Joan.  Middle row (L to R) Hazel, Marilyn, Geneve, Alison and Michaela.  Back row (L to R) Tony, Kelly, Kelvin and Phyllis.

We're all going to keep in touch, which is great - so it's farewell but not goodbye - and I'm hoping to be able to invite you all to one of their book launches soon :).

Part of the final workshop today was also a talk from Diane about Pulp Fiction Press, what they're looking for in a manuscript, and more general advice about how to present a manuscript to publishers.  That was a really helpful segment, not only to get the info, but for the guys to see how human editors really are.  Diane was funny and charming and completely approachable, which was great.  And it was fabulous to have Janet there for the final workshop (not the least because she brought along a celebration lunch!) so we could thank her for having the initiative to put the workshop series on in the first place.  Logan has a wealth of creative talent out there.  It was really enjoyable being able to nurture and guide that talent towards the completion of these novels, and hopefully eventual publication.

Wednesday, 1st November, 2006:  Rainy day, cup of coffee, a strange new world growing underneath my fingertips.  The simple pleasures of creation.  Just wanted to share that with you.  So much of my "life" ends up in this diary - meeting people, giving talks, travelling.  But the part of my life where I'm all alone typing words is the most profound for me - the only time when I really feel like I'm one hundred percent connected. 

Out and about in the "real world", I'm Author Louise.  And although that's a real persona, like Daughter Louise and Mother Louise and Friend Louise, Author Louise is still just a part of me, not the whole.  But when I'm here in my little house with the scent of my Blue Moon roses drifting in the opened door and the sound of rain on my roof barely penetrating the zone that I've slipped into, every part of me is engaged in the process.  I'm completely unselfconscious, unguarded and unafraid.  This is the only time that I'm able to share everything that I am, and I feel so incredibly grateful to have discovered that unending and completely safe channel for my passions and my energy.

In this sometimes-scary world, safe is such a comfortable place to be!

So can I say to the many people out there who long to be published because they want the kudos or the money, for me the best thing about being published is simply the permission it gives you to keep writing.  And writing is what keeps me sane and happy.  So if you think it's what will keep you sane and happy too, just do it.  Write first and foremost because you love it, because it's a place where you can live any life you want to without fearing the consequences.  And because it's a magical place to play, and a soul-satisfying place to come home to .

That's my philosophising for today.  Can't imagine it'll change any time soon :)

Monday, 30th October, 2006: Had a fabulous time on the weekend at Jason Nahrung's legendary Halloween Party.   I'm pictured here with Jason in the top-hat-and-horns and Didier who I hadn't met before.  There were heaps of people there I knew: Merryon, Sharon, Traci and Katrina who used to work at the QWC and the beautiful and talented Kate Eltham who is the CEO (she came in a fabulous "Alice in Wonderland" dress and was apparently Kirsten Dunst from Interview with a Vampire).  Great costume.  She and her partner Rob won the "Best Couple" prize.  Heather Gammage from my Year of the Novel group was there with Nicky Strickland, and I also bumped into Mark Curtis, Nea Bovill and Bad Barbie Deb Soukup, all of whom I knew from Envision days.  I've probably left someone out.  There were heaps of people, live music and the props were incredible, everything from elegant fibre optic trees and a golden harp to tacky bats hanging in the tree.  The drinks cooler was a coffin (!) and I spent part of the night sitting on a church pew.  It was wonderful, and I got to wear wings and carry a wand for the night.  Doesn't get better than that!

Friday, 20th October, 2006: I’ve had a busy week, manuscript assessing and being the guest speaker at the Duchesne (a residential girls college at the University of Queensland) Valedictory Dinner’s last night (fabulous vegetarian food and the dessert was to die for!) which was quite exciting and new for me.  The girls were lovely and some were musical so they entertained us.  The pianists were superb (studying at the Conservatorium across the river), then a duet sang “Moon River” and “Danny Boy” and I just couldn’t help crying.  Danny Boy was my father’s favourite song and I adore Moon River.  But despite the quality of the music it was an odd experience sitting up on the dais at the main table while on the floor below 150 girls were seated at long tables in their traditional cloaks eating dinner.  For a moment I felt as if I was at Hogwarts!  That unsettling moment aside though :) I thoroughly enjoyed myself, had the opportunity to speak about Women and Creativity - a subject dear to my heart - and had fun with it as well!

So it was a fab, if late, night, then I woke up early this morning to drive up to the Sunshine Coast for a Fantasy World-Building workshop with some grade 7-8’s at Sunshine Coast Grammar School, which was a heap of fun.  Beautiful grounds, their oval is edged by a very thick rainforest.  Stunning place to work.  I was quiet envious.  Off to the Gold Coast for my writing support group meeting tomorrow, then Sunday I'm volunteering at the Koala Phone Survey here in Redlands. 

Busy week.

Monday, 16th October, 2006: I've been away again, this time to beautiful Mt Tamborine in the Gold Coast hinterland to do my QUT Masters retreat.  It was a full-on, totally exhausting weekend of soaking up academic terms and what they meant in relation to the exegesis (essay) I have to do shortly.  It's like learning the requirements of another genre (in another language!) and not nearly as much fun as the 'talking shop' we writers did between sessions.  I've got some photos courtesy of Jenny Fallon who had some fabulous technological 'girl toys' with her.  Below is the group.  I'm at the back in the maroon top listening to Jenny Fallon on my left, going around the table from Jenny are Maxine McArthur who you can't see at all, then Anita Bell in green, Valerie Parv in black, Rowena Lindquist in white, Jason Nahrung in his trademark black, Sonny Whitelaw, Nike Bourke (one of our supervisors), Josie Santomauro in green, Craig Bolland (my supervisor), and back to me. 

The missing member of our cohort was Michelle Taylor who is a Queenslander currently living in Portugal.  We were supposed to have a web-link with Michelle but the technology failed on the night which was very disappointing.  It was a bad area of mobile phone reception too, which was a nuisance, but we managed.  Here are a couple more shots and in this one you can see Maxine between Jenny and Anita, just above Craig's head:

This last one is blurry, but it's a lovely shot of Rowena and Valerie:

So I've had a fab time, but as usual, back home and hit the ground running.  I'm assessing manuscripts this week, editing the mermaid, presenting an award and delivering a talk at a college graduation, as well as preparing workshops for next week.  No time for navel gazing, which is probably a good thing.  The life of a busy writer... (is there a novel in that?  Oh wait, it's been done).

Sunday, 25th September, 2006: Just back from 'Write Up North' in Townsville and I had a FAB time.  The northern hospitality was really turned on for the visiting authors and we were treated royally.  The lady responsible for organising the festival was Mandy Wildeheart (isn't that a great name!) and here's a picture of us together at Write Up North's official launch:

My weekend in Townsville actually kicked off on Friday when I did a Masterclass on "Creating Fictional Worlds" with some totally imaginative people.  I tell you, writers are the same wherever you go - regions, big cities, islands.  We're all creative and full of ideas, and this group was no different.  Our youngest was a boy in high school (well, the absolute youngest was a six week old baby who I managed to cuddle cluck, cluck) and the eldest was... well, perhaps one shouldn't guess but let's say retirement age.  Yet the ideas came thick and fast from all sides.  It was a fun day for us all and I'm hoping it was a good learning experience as well.  I certainly learnt a lot!

Friday night was the official welcome and I was involved in a light hearted debate, "If it's on the net, is it really writing?"  My team (below) was the affirmative: Christine Langtree, moi, Joel Deane

While below: The chair was local radio personality Michael Clarke and the negative team was Ross Clark, Sandy Curtis and Madonna Davies

We had fun with the topic and afterwards I had a great time meeting other writers and local supporters of writing (who are very much appreciated!) as we schmoozed and listened to live music.  Very nice.  Sandy Curtis and I ended up having  room service at 11pm and sat up talking for ages!  Which was fun.  Like a pyjama party, but not.

The next day I had a panel with Simon Higgins and Elizabeth Knox about 'Dreams, Reality and Otherworldly Collisions'.  That was really interesting and I would have liked to have heard more from Simon and Elizabeth about their creative processes, but time ran out.  I had to race off to the airport to catch a flight but I've got happy memories, and am looking forward to next year when I'll be coming back to Townsville for a weekend every two months from February, to do Year of the Novel up there, courtesy of the Qld Writers Centre.  During one of those trips I will be visiting Paronella Park (that lovely castle in the rainforest I want to see for researching 'Beauty and Mr Beast').  I didn't get a picture of the Saturday panel but here's one of me at the official launch with Simon Higgins and Kate Eltham (CEO of the Queensland Writers Centre):

Tuesday, 12th September, 2006: Only a fortnight this time - yay!  I've been working away on my own writing for a change and getting to the end of the structural edit on the Mermaid book (at last).  Beauty and Mr Beast is busting to get out, so the sooner I get the Mermaid away to Selwa (my agent) the better!

I've got a couple of photos to share.  This first one (below) is the mad group of Qld Writer's Centre writers I'm working with on the Express Year of the Novel workshop series:

The second and far more sedate photo (below) is of my Logan City Library group who are doing a year long Write that Book workshop series. 

As you can see, we're far calmer at Logan than we are in at the zany QWC!  Actually that's not true, both groups are a heap of fun and I'm thoroughly enjoying the interaction with so many talented and inspiring writers.  It's great to pick up on that creative vibe, and their enthusiasm for their books is really infectious (even if I do put them through the mill with structural edits etc).

I'm heading off to beautiful Townsville in a fortnight to do a Masterclass and a couple of panels at the Write Up North Writers Festival, then I'm back the next Monday for a Young Writers Masterclass on Creating Fictional Worlds for the Qld Writer's Centre.  So it's a busy month but I just love meeting other writers so I'm not complaining!

And this weekend is the Brisbane Writer's Festival where I'm doing Kaffee Klatsch for the QWC.  That's where I have an intimate chat with 5 writers and they get to ask me anything for an hour!  Should be fun.  I'm looking forward to that.  Then if there's time I'll be heading over to the QPAC concert hall to see A Russian Affair performed by the Queensland Orchestra.  I adored their Sounds of Sci Fi a couple of weeks ago, so am really looking forward to a day of inspiration on Sunday.  And if you're at the Bris Writer's Festival and you see me there, do come over and say hello :)

Monday, 28th August, 2006: How is it that I only manage to get in here once a month!  Busy, I guess.  Well lots of stuff has happened, not all good, but a girl has to have mysteries so I'll just say I've had some emotional "grist for the mill" which will no doubt come in very handy when I'm writing about an overwrought character in the future!  Life goes on, however, even if you'd rather curl up in bed and pull the covers over your head.  So I'm busying myself with my manuscript assessment, really enjoying that (helping talented writers get even better) and looking to getting on with the structural edit of my mermaid story. 

I didn't make it to the launch of Grace Dugan's fab new novel "The Silver Road", but I'm getting Ron from Pulp Fiction Bookstore to post it out to me so I can re-read it ASAP.  It was one of the novels I took over in the New York Queensland Writing Showcase and I can thoroughly recommend it.  The photo on the left is of Grace who shares the same agent I do, the wonderful Selwa Anthony.  And as it's Grace's debut novel I think you should all race out and buy it, to support a wonderful new talent and a perfectly lovely person.

My Speculative Fiction Masters at QUT is ticking along.  I'm looking forward to the retreat later in the year where the 9 of us get together and critique each other's work.  I've never had my work peer-critiqued in a group of other published authors, so I'm looking forward to learning a lot from that experience.  No news of how my New York agent is going selling my Shadow Through Time trilogy into that market, but there's no point lunching on my fingernails.  Best to just get on with the next book and let the universe "look after me" as it does so well :)

Friday, 21st July, 2006: Another busy fortnight!  This time assessing manuscripts and doing my BAS (ah the life of the writer, all daiquiris and waiting for the muse - not).  So not a lot of my own writing done, but I'm hoping to improve on that this next fortnight.  I've been getting clearer ideas for Beauty and Mr Beast, so I've been noting those down.

I also attended Kate Morton's launch of "The Shifting Fog" at Mary Ryan's Milton and it was a fabulous event.  Kim Wilkins launched the novel (Tara Moss did the Sydney launch) and Kate gave a lovely talk about how much Kim's friendship and mentoring had helped her.  She also thanked our agent Selwa Anthony who sent beautiful bouquets of flowers for both girls.  I met up with Katherine Howell who has her first novel with Pan MacMillan coming out next May, and Grace Dugan who is launching her fantasy "The Silver Road" at Pulp Fiction this month, I think.  More news on that when it comes to hand.

Also in the last fortnight I performed at the Queensland Writer's Centre Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang Wordpool (Literary Cabaret) at Barsoma in the Valley. The event was really well programmed with lots of variety and some laugh out loud moments.  Leigh Redhead recreated a lap dance from her stripper detective novel "Peepshow", Kate Holden had the audience mesmerised with her raw reading from "In My Skin" a true survivor novel, flagrant entertainer Chris Maver belted out a showtune then read from his novel "The Girl in the Lime Green Bikini", Jason Nahrung alternately scared and aroused us with a reading from his delicious soon-to-be-released novel "The Darkness Within" and I steamed up the room with a comedic sex scene from my upcoming "Wicked Little Mermaid"..  ABC radio personality Richard Fidler cracked the whip and kept the evening flowing along beautifully, so we all had a heap of fun.  If you get the chance to attend a Wordpool, I thoroughly recommend it.  They're fast and fun and highly entertaining. 

Friday, 7th July, 2006: Well, I've been as-busy-as since I got back to Brisbane, preparing for my Express Year of the Novel series of workshops with the Qld Writers Centre which started last week.  met 16 lovely writers who are going to have completed novels by the end of the year (that's the plan!) and spent my birthday with them which was pretty cool.  If there's one thing I like almost as much as writing itself, that's talking about writing, and they had such interesting ideas.

Have some photos back of New York but they're pretty big.  I'll post a couple here, but they could take a while to download.  I'm hoping to minimise them when my IT person comes home from holidays :)

This first one is of me (in the red jacket) exchanging cards with my new agent, Chris Lotts of Ralph M. Vicinanza Ltd.  Also in the shot are (foreground) Bobbe Siegel who is an agent, and (background, left to right) Patrick Nielsen Hayden of Tor, (a waiter in a white shirt) William McGorry of Publishers Weekly, Ricia Maindardt of RMA (in the hat), Anne Sowards of Ace Books (with her hand up), Rachel Vater of Lowenstein-Yost Associates (with her back to the camera) Jaime Levine of Warner Books on the far right, and behind them is Tina Radburn and Hon Bob Gibbs from the Qld Government.

This second photo is of me presenting the showcase.  Weren't the tablecloths white!

I think all the dazzliness of the tablecloth made the background dark, but you get the idea.  Swanky place, power point presentation and no wine at lunch!  But we still had a good time.

Friday, 23rd June, 2006: What a rush!  New York was incredible, and I had the best time.  Saw heaps of touristy sights: Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, Central Park (where I saw my first live squirrel!)  Ate way too much New York Pizza, watched a Broadway Show and just walked and walked.  An unforgettable week.

And the best part of it was the Queensland Writers Showcase, which was held at the 21 Club in Manhattan.  The club itself was gorgeous and steeped in history - it's the place where Humphrey Bogart proposed to Lauren Bacall.  Very swanky.  The food was to die for, but of course it was the guest list I was more interested in.  Publishers from Bantam Dell, Ace, Tor, Del Ray, Firebird, Eos and Harlequin, as well as a swag of prominent New York agents all turned up to schmooze and listen and they really seemed enthusiastic about the authors we presented.  We had a table of sample books for them to take away and at the end of the lunch not a single book was left! I'm thrilled with how successful it was, and really grateful to Arts Queensland and my local sponsors, Redland Shire Council, State member John English and Fisher & Paykel for making my presence there possible.

Friday 9th June, 2006.  One sleep to go.  Tomorrow I'm off to New York.  Can't begin to say how excited I am.  So excited I felt sleepy this afternoon, as if the emotion of it all had caught up with me.  Am looking forward to bringing back heaps of great photos and info from the publishing capital of the US.  Fingers crossed that I can snag an agent and a publisher for myself while I'm there.

That would be nice.

Thursday, 1st June, 2006.  Well, only nine days until I head off to New York and anxiety has finally made way for excitement.  The showcase is all planned, I'm collating what I need to take and starting to think about the sights I'd like to see while I'm there.  I've had heaps of great recommendations from people about places they loved in New York, so if you've been to the Big Apple and have a must-see tourist stop, please let me know.  Alice in Wonderland has always been my favourite book, and I adore the whole idea of a Stranger in a Strange Land, but this will be the first time I've experienced that for myself (and it won't be that strange because I'll understand the language!)  Still, for a stay-at-homer like me it will be all new and exciting.

I'm picking up my new camera today and will have fun practising with that before I go. as well as continuing with my manuscript assessing which is going really well. 

Tuesday, 23rd May, 2006: Well I've finished my regional "Write that Book" workshop tour (after Townsville and Toowoomba) with a fabulous weekend at Longreach.  Left is a picture of our intimate little group in the beautiful Longreach council building.  The facilities were fab and the council staff (including Carmen in the library) couldn't have been more helpful.  Bruce set us up with coffee and biccies in the morning, and on the Sunday when we were flying out we realised he worked at the airport too!  These Longreach people are multi-taskers, that's for sure.  Taryn from the Qld Writers Centre and I had a great weekend talking writing with locals, checking out the sights (including the Stockman's Hall of Fame which is a must-see if you're going out west - I loved it!) and generally soaking up the laid-back atmosphere. 

The landscape was so different from anything I'd experienced before, the land was incredibly flat and the sky seemed huge, with big fluffy clouds you could almost reach up and touch.  It was certainly another world to me (city girl that I am) but one that I felt very much at home in, probably because of the wonderful hospitality the locals showed us.  We were welcomed everywhere and vegetarian food was no problem - a vast change from my last foray out west a decade ago when the only meal I could buy at the local pub was chips and frozen vegetables!

Here's a photo of me on the Longreach to Barcaldine road Taryn and I travelled on Friday afternoon.  We were hoping to visit the Tree of Knowledge in Barcaldine but someone has poisoned it.  I felt so disappointed to hear that.  It was the birthplace of the Labour Party in Australia and that holds an important part in my own personal history as my father was committed to the Labour Party and stood for local elections while I was growing up.  I'd planned to have my photo there but Barcaldine was in mourning for the tree and it just wasn't the time.  Beyond the history, it was just incredibly sad that a 200 year old tree is slowly dying because of someone's stupidity.  Politics is one thing, vandalism quite another.

But I'm trying to be philosophical about it.  Trying...

Friday 12th May, 2006: An unbelievable opportunity has plopped into my lap folks.  The Queensland government has invited me to be the presenter of their 2006 Queensland Writing Showcase this June in.... New York!  For someone who has never been overseas (all my travelling has been in my imagination) this is a huge step outside my comfort zone.  But the universe seems intent on pushing my boundaries this year, and I've promised myself that if doors open, I will step through them.  So in approx four weeks I'll be packing, ready to step into a Qantas jet carrying the hopes and dreams of nine other Qld speculative fiction authors with me when I showcase their novels and my own to top New York editors, agents and publishers.

There's a lot of preparation involved, firstly reading the novels I'll be showcasing, then preparing how best to showcase them at the swanky literary lunch the Qld Gov has set up at New York's ritzy 21Club,  I'm also hoping to get time to sightsee while I'm there, but not hanging by the throat for that.  Meeting the publishers and agents will be my first priority.

So wish me luck guys, and anyone who has any travel tips or 'must see' places in New York to visit, please email me: mail@louisecusack.com .  I'll certainly be a stranger in a strange land over there, but am starting to get quite excited about the idea.  I'm sure it will be great for opening up my imagination even more, and providing lots of interesting characters for future novels.....

Easter Monday, 17th April, 2006: Well, I deserve a good smack on the wrist for not being here for ages!  But in my defence, I've been really busy. My manuscript development business had taken off, which is fabulous, I've moved house, and am now preparing for a trip to New York to represent Qld Speculative Fiction authors to top New York publishers and agents.  No pressure!  But seriously, I can't wait.  Well... I can wait.  It's nine weeks away and I've got heaps to do before then, but in the mean time I'm getting excited :)

Yesterday (between moving and unpacking) I attended CONJURE, the National Sci Fic Convention in Brisbane where I sat on the "Cultural Melting Pot" panel and chaired the "Love and Sex in Speculative Fiction" panel, which was SO much fun!  Why is it that I always get put on the panels where we talk about sex?  Must be my irrepressible enthusiasm for the subject.  I'm endlessly fascinated about sex in literature and love talking about it and asking questions.  The audience was really intelligent too (no sniggering) and asked some fab questions I wished I'd thought of, and the panel members were fascinating too, so it was a great afternoon.

The highlight for me, however, was shaking the international guest, Bruce Sterling's, hand.  I'd read his "Involution Ocean" when I was a teenager (it was his first book, written when he was nineteen, and he went on to pioneer cyberpunk) and I adored it.  It's still in my list of top five novels, and it was such  a thrill to meet him in person and tell him how much pleasure that story has given me and how profoundly it influenced me as a writer.  Of course he was delightfully self-deprecating and nonchalant about the whole thing, but I wasn't.  It meant a lot to me, so despite being desperately sleep deprived I was very glad that I'd made the effort and gone in for the Con.  I also caught up with Ron from Pulp Fiction Bookstore and heaps of other writers so it was great.  I was just too tired to fully appreciate it. 

One thing I did remember with great clarity, however, was the EnVision Readings, where previous EnVision attendees gave readings of their works in progress.  And wow, have those guys improved in the short period of time since I saw them last.  I felt like a mum listening to my kids on graduation night.  Very proud.  They did really well, and I noted that Stephanie Smith from the Voyager line of Harper Collins was there for almost the whole reading time, which was great.  She certainly would have heard some talent.  So it's been a very busy month with not much of my own work happening, but that's okay.  You can't write 24/7 (or that's what I tell myself when I start stressing about my self-imposed deadlines not being met).

Thursday, 2nd March, 2006: What a month!  I've launched my Working with Louise business in manuscript development, mentoring and workshop presentation PLUS presented the Best Science Fiction Novel of 2005 at the Aurealis Awards in Brisbane, which took a long time to prepare for - choosing the frock for a start!  Not to mention the whole hair and makeup thing.  Still, it was a fabulous night of fun and networking and I really enjoyed it.  Anyone who can make it to Brisbane for next year's Aurealis Awards, I thoroughly recommend the night.  You get to meet and schmooze with all your fav spec fic writers and there are plenty of editors and publishers to get your face in front of too if you're a writer yourself.

The Working with Louise business is going really well.  I've got heaps of workshops lined up and I thoroughly enjoy the manuscript development side of it  as well - working with writers who want to take their stories to the next level.  The mentoring is very satisfying, advising writers on how to improve their craft, overcoming psychological barriers, motivation and career advice when it's time to start dealing with agents, publishers and booksellers.  I love seeing writers I'm working with step over that invisible barrier and snap up a contract - two in the last year with major Australian publishers and two more currently working with publishers (so close we can smell success, but the rule is that you don't bust open the bubbly until you've got the contract in your hand, so nothing to brag about yet!).

So there are exciting and positive things happening on that front, and  I'm also pretty thrilled with how my mermaid novel is shaping up in her structural edit.  After all, there's nothing better than taking a good novel and making it great!

Thursday, 2nd February, 2006: January was a busy month for me, working away on finishing the edits on my mermaid while planning my workshop program for the year.  I'm doing "Writing that Book" full-day workshops for the Queensland Writer's Centre in Toowoomba, Longreach and Townsville during April/May, as well as a series of Saturday morning workshops for the Logan City Council Libraries where I'm pleased to announce that I'm WRITER IN RESIDENCE 2006.  They have a lovely room ready for me and I'm looking forward to working there each day on Beauty and Mr Beast.

Last week I took time out to visit my beautiful cousin Elizabeth in Melbourne and to attend her wedding which was terribly romantic (I'll admit, I got a bit sniffy listening to the vows).  The reception was full-on, and between sightseeing (finally got to see the little penguins at Phillip Island on this trip!), eating out at all the fab places, shopping, Art Galleries and the IMAX theatre to see "Walking on the Moon" (which was SO good I had goosebumps), I've come back tired but very relaxed - sign of a good holiday.  No time to sit around though, I'm back into my edits and honing my mermaid into slithery, slippery perfection.

Thursday, 5th January, 2006:  Well, another New Year has begun filled with all sorts of resolutions I'm hoping to keep.  One is to write every day, so I keep in touch with my story and keep the passion strong.  I had so much trouble with that last year - gaps of weeks and even a month where I wasn't working on it and I lost track of the characters and their motivations.  Don't want that to happen with my next book: Beauty and Mr Beast.  It causes dramas when you come to the editing phase.  But I'll get there.  My mermaid is coming together and I'm hoping to have her away to Selwa in the next month or so. 

Also hoping everyone out there had a fabulous relaxing Christmas with the people they love most, and that those writers among you are all enthused to get cracking with your stories - new year, fresh start.  If you'd like some networking and support, do join our Messageboard and let us know what your writing plans are for 2006.

If you'd like to see what was happening with me last year, you can look back at: Diary 2005