Archives
Posted by Justine at 9:56, March 31st, 2009 under Admin, Cons & Other Gatherings, Liar |
Posted by Justine at 0:05, March 30th, 2009 under Bloggery, How To Ditch Your Fairy, Magic or Madness trilogy, New York City/USA, Publishing business, Young Adult literature |
Here's a photo of the view from our new Sydney digs at night. Twas taken by Stephen Dunbar on the 6th of March:
And here's the same view taken during Earth Hour by my dad:
I wish I'd been home to see it.
Posted by Justine at 0:13, March 29th, 2009 under Sydney/Australia |
Posted by Justine at 17:19, March 28th, 2009 under New York City/USA, State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 10:41, March 28th, 2009 under 1930s NYC novel, Bloggery, New York City/USA, Research |
Some of you have been writing to ask me what I think of the
Australian Productivity Commission's draft report. I've been trying very hard to put my thoughts into words, but frankly I'm too depressed and angry. But now Michael Heyward of Text has a
most excellent opinion piece in The Age:
THERE'S a lot at stake in the world of books and writing and publishing. Our industry is blossoming. We're selling great books at home and exporting our writers in unprecedented numbers. We have a superb retail environment, with a dynamic independent sector, and a competitive printing industry that generates significant numbers of skilled jobs. There's never been a better time to be a writer or publisher ...
Posted by Justine at 0:44, March 27th, 2009 under Publishing business, Ranting, State of the World, Sydney/Australia |
I am now the proud owner of a 1931 edition of Etiquette: The Blue Book of Social Usage by Emily Post. Up till now I'd been making use of the
Project Gutenberg edition. And while I adore digitised books---they certainly make research much much easier---you still can't go past an actual held-in-your-hands book from the period you're writing about.
I have been flipping through it all day, checking out the illustrations, enjoying the jacket copy and ads for other books. (None of that matter is included in the Project Gutenberg edition). It feels like a direct link back to the people of that era. I can imagine them holding it just the way I'm holding it. And I'm pretty ...
Posted by Justine at 0:41, March 26th, 2009 under 1930s NYC novel, New York City/USA, Research |
Went shopping today with my friend
Alaya who knows where to buy good, cheap hair accessories in New York City. I made out like a bandit:
Thanks, Alaya! (Happy birthday for Monday!)
Posted by Justine at 0:31, March 25th, 2009 under Fashion, Frippery |
Several people have asked me about my research for the 1930s novel. Specifically, they're interested in writing a novel set in ye olden days and they want to know if there are any particularly useful tools/techniques I'd recommend. Something that applies to more than just the 1930s.
Why, yes, there is one single research tool I would recommend: the
Oxford English Dictionary. It's the best value for money of all my online subscriptions. I could not write without the OED. I'm not even sure I could live without it. I hug its bits and bytes to my chest.
I probably spend just a tad too much time looking up words to see if they were in use in the 1930s and ...
Posted by Justine at 0:00, March 24th, 2009 under 1930s NYC novel, Research, Writing process |
Posted by Justine at 9:42, March 23rd, 2009 under Admin |
We've worked our way through the first season of Mad Men and I didn't enjoy it. I can see that it's well written and acted. The costumes and sets are remarkable. It has a very shiny kind of verisimilitude. I can see why it wins awards. But it leaves me cold.
Actually, worse than that---it make me uncomfortable and unhappy. I watch with pursed lips and my arms crossed tight.
I don't feel like they're exploring the sexism and racism of the period I feel that they're skirting a line towards reproducing it. Why are there no black characters? The black cleaner or lift operator could easily have been major characters. Instead they're rarely seen and less often heard. There are many ...
Posted by Justine at 0:50, March 23rd, 2009 under New York City/USA, Ranting, Viewing |
Posted by Justine at 0:26, March 22nd, 2009 under New York City/USA, Writing life, Writing process |
I wonder why it is that women in sports get so little attention. Unless they're tennis or golf players and pretty. Or winning gold medals during the Olympics.
I've been following the
women's world cup online, but apparently I don't have much company online or offline where
very few folks have been going to their games. I don't get it. The NZ v Pakistan game sounds like it was amazing. Wish I'd been home to see it. ((Here's hoping the Kiwis can crush the Poms in the final. Guess, I'll find out when I wake up.)) Games were $5 each or $35 for a pass to see all of them. Standards were high yet attendance was crap.
And then there's ...
Posted by Justine at 0:44, March 21st, 2009 under Basketball, Cricket, New York City/USA, Sport, State of the World, Sydney/Australia |
I mentioned recently that
my big goal for 2009 is to learn to tie a full windsor really well.
This is my first attempt:
Perhaps, I need a longer tie. Yes, um, that's what's wrong with it.
Herewith my second attempt:
Okay, I didn't need a longer tie. This one's an improvement but it's still not triangle-shaped enough. More work needed.
No criticisms of the photos please. Is very hard to photograph your own tie when you're wearing it. Or it was for me, anyways. Stupid camera.
By year's end my double windsor will be perfect and my life will be complete!
Posted by Justine at 0:42, March 20th, 2009 under Frippery |
Our NYC Teen Author Festival event last night at the Mulberry Street Branch of the
NYPL was unbelievable. Over a hundred people showed up. Standing room only. And many of them were actual teenagers---YAY!---who asked incredibly good questions including one we'd none of us ever heard before. But more on that that below.
The event was to celebrate everything that Joe Monti has done for YA literature in the US of A. Joe used to be the YA buyer for Barnes & Noble. In that role he went out of his way to champion a whole host of fabulous books that otherwise might otherwise have disappeared. He was a supporter of Scott and mine and played a huge part in ...
Posted by Justine at 12:08, March 19th, 2009 under Cons & Other Gatherings, New York City/USA, Praising, Young Adult literature |
Posted by Justine at 10:41, March 18th, 2009 under Writing life |
Posted by Justine at 1:47, March 17th, 2009 under How To Ditch Your Fairy, Liar, Magic or Madness trilogy, Publishing business, Ranting, Writing process |
To duck out of work and come see me and Alaya and Cassie and David and Diana and Holly and Scott make total fools of ourselves sharing our earliest attempts at writing, while Libba laughs her head off.
For extra incentive: in Sydney I unearthed a piece I wrote while in the thrall of Raymond Chandler at the age of 13 or 14. It involves a scary Erroll Flynn and has to be heard to be believed.
Details of this extraordinary event:
Juvenilia Smackdown
Monday, 16 March---otherwise known as TODAY---4-6pm, Tompkins Square Park branch of the NYPL, 331 E. 10th Street
Join
Holly Black, Cassandra Clare,
Alaya Dawn Johnson, Justine Larbalestier,
David Levithan,
Diana Peterfreund,
Scott Westerfeld as ...
Posted by Justine at 11:59, March 16th, 2009 under Cons & Other Gatherings, New York City/USA |
Posted by Justine at 13:59, March 15th, 2009 under Cricket, Magic or Madness trilogy, Praising, Sport |
Posted by Justine at 15:39, March 14th, 2009 under Cons & Other Gatherings, New York City/USA, Writing process |
Posted by Justine at 15:23, March 13th, 2009 under Publishing business, Ranting |
Posted by Justine at 5:32, March 12th, 2009 under Fans & readers, Love is Hell |
Posted by Justine at 0:59, March 11th, 2009 under Fashion |
Posted by Justine at 20:17, March 10th, 2009 under Travelling |
Posted by Justine at 6:41, March 9th, 2009 under Praising, Sydney/Australia |
Posted by Justine at 1:28, March 8th, 2009 under Cricket, Liar, Sydney/Australia |
Because a good writing day is better than all the mangosteens in the world. Because a good writing day wipes the memory of all those bad writing days entirely. Because I love it.
Posted by Justine at 1:23, March 7th, 2009 under Mangosteens, Writing life, Writing process |
I am no longer interested in hearing how lovely a particular person is in real life when they are a bully and a bigot and a troll online. I'll go further than that it no longer matters to me if I have met said nasty online person in real life and have found them perfectly charming. Behaving well in only one or two spheres of your life does not make you a good person. Treating people with contempt speaks volumes. Always.
The internet is real life. What you say and how you behave in the land of livejournal or facebook or myspace or wordpress blogs or elsewhere is real behaviour. Those words are real and have real affects even if you ...
Posted by Justine at 16:56, March 5th, 2009 under Ranting, State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 2:01, March 4th, 2009 under Book tour, Cons & Other Gatherings, How To Ditch Your Fairy, Sydney/Australia |
Posted by Justine at 17:14, March 3rd, 2009 under Cricket, State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 3:26, March 3rd, 2009 under 1930s NYC novel, New York City/USA, Research |
It's pretty bad, isn't it, that one of my favourite aspects of my 1930s NYC/USA research is the hilarious names I keep coming across.
Exhibit A:
Rexford Tugwell.
Readers, I admit that I laughed for about half an hour. And then I made the mistake of telling Scott about Monsieur Tugwell. More laughter.
For the record, Mr Tugwell was a dead interesting bloke. A member of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Brain Trust and thus a key contributor to the New Deal.
And yet, REXFORD TUGWELL!!!!
Posted by Justine at 8:27, March 2nd, 2009 under 1930s NYC novel, New York City/USA, Research, Titles & names |
So, this is very weird but I've had three people write to ask if it's true that I changed hotels in Perth in order to watch the South Africa v Australia test.
Yes, it's true. The Duxton did not have Fox 3, the Hyatt did. What else could I have done?
Posted by Justine at 21:23, March 1st, 2009 under Book tour, Cricket, Sport, Travelling |
Posted by Justine at 4:20, March 1st, 2009 under Book tour, How To Ditch Your Fairy, Travelling |
