Voted at 9am (below the line, of course) and feel amazing about our preferential democratic system. Tough going at the end, though. Who to put in *true* last place? The racists? The Trump-lites? The right-wingers?
I earned my #DemocracyMuffin and #DemocracyCoffee today 😘 #AusVotes

Happy 9th Birthday to this chocolate bundle of manic joy 🎉🎊 Your chin whiskers may be grey, but you're still a puppy at heart 🐶🥹

A glimpse of Melbourne's skyline on a pre-summer day. First time I've been able to get out and away from the desk at lunchtime in months - and what a sight 😍

#melbs

First sighting of the season 💚 Noisy little buggers, but the first sign that summer is truly on its way.

What cat?

Krampus hiding in the tree.
Now it's Christmas 😈 🎄

Thousand-yard stare....

OMFG. I didn't know these existed and now I can have my fav icecream for the first time in over 20 years 😋😋😋😋.

X-posting because he's WORTH IT!
He has been with me for almost 2 decades. His eyes are cloudy, his steps unsteady, and his purr-box stutters & skips. He caterwauls, gets lost & pees 11 times a day. But he loves the dogs, the heater (& maybe me). My beautiful bête noire turns 19 today. 
HB, Jack 🐈

Always coffee, black. Mostly in this 🖤☕

The DITMAR AWARDS are open for nominations! Any Aussie readers who have a yen to nominate my novella, RESEMLBING LEPUS: my eternal thanks! There were so many terrific works released last year so go vote for all your favs!
Nomination forms and details: https://conflux.org.au/blog/ Closes 14 Aug!

Minding my own business on a Melbourne park bench at lunchtime and this guy scares the bejesus out of me, almost climbing onto my lap.
You are nocturnal my guy!
(I felt bad because I had no food. Wish I knew what he was trying to tell me.)

Accidentally said "walk" in a Teams meeting.

And now I must or apparently the world will end.

Buds! Unseasonably warm for winter, though. Might stay inside and write...

I love this time of year. I love this decades-old orange tree in my yard. It inspired a pivotal scene in my novel, WIRES, where my MC wakes up in an orchard after being shot. The fruit from this tree has no pips and supports bees in summer, possums in winter.
Here's to the humble orange. 😋☺️🍊

Odd find on a chilly walk. This little cicada molt has somehow survived most of winter intact 👏

When one door closes... you must run along the street banging on every door until someone lets you in.
Same with publishers. I need to start over--which SUCKS--but as a wise person told me, "this is the business".

I have 3 books and a WIP to home. Knock knock!

Or I could be like my cat... :)

Today working on a weird crime novella set in the 30s. (I guess we'll have to start prefacing that with '19' as the 2030s are fast approaching!)
Current inspiration from "Death Scenes - a Homicide Detective's Scrapbook". It's grim stuff. Fascinating, but grim.

Luckily, I've got these two :)