Interestingly, Piper, my German publisher, has changed the title to You Are Mine, but decided to leave it in English as shown. The interior text will, of course, be fully translated into German. The book will hit the shelves over there later this year in March 2012.  But enough from me.

Here, look at the pretty pretty:

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The wonderful and always eloquent Stephanie Gunn has embarked upon an ambitious personal project she calls Her Words and Worlds, wherein she chooses a female author and endeavours not only to read her entire published bibliography — in chronological order — but to write a lengthy and considered review of the body of work at the end of it all.  It’s a brilliant idea which I’m sure which lead to some fascinating overviews and I’m looking forward following her along on her journey.

And, of course, I was delighted and honoured when Stephanie chose me to be first cab off the rank.  She provides very insightful commentary about my work over the years, and I have to admit that the some of the questions she asked me in her follow-up interview really kicked my brain into a higher gear. It was a strange — but very rewarding — experience to be asked reflect upon my own work in such a way and make explicit a lot of ideas and intentions which have always enjoyed a fairly nebulous existence inside my head. Hmm, thoughtful writer is thoughtful.

To top it all off, Stephanie is giving away a copy of my debut novel, Madigan Mine, which I’ll be more than happy to personally sign for the lucky winner. For a chance to win, all you need to do is visit the Her Words and Worlds page and leave a comment. Entries close this Sunday, 7th August.

Here’s a quick taste of what Stephanie can do with a scalpel:

McDermott’s work tends towards the dark and the feminine.  Several themes wind their way through her body of work, including that of the seductress, of romantic obsession, of blood and sex and death.  Many pieces also deal with the nature of art and the artist; these pieces are arguably amongst the strongest of McDermott’s body of work and culminate (thus far) in her debut novel, Madigan Mine.

The next author up for dissection is the frightfully talented Angela Slatter. As a massive admirer of Angela’s short fiction, I await the new installment of Her Words and Worlds with a heightened sense of antici . . . pation.

More Scary Kisses, the paranormal romance anthology edited by Liz Gryzb and published by Ticonderoga is now available in a Kindle edition. For only US$4.99! It contains a short story of mine called “Frostbitten” — which is definitely more scary than kissy — among a stellar line up of new work by Australian authors, including Felicity Dowker, Nicole R. Murphy and Martin Livings.

Vampires and fairies, werwolves and wizards, oh my!

So if you don’t already have the very pretty paperback — or if you also like to grab a handy e-book edition — head on over to Amazon now.

I totally forgot to even mention this!

The wonderful Nicole Murphy, author of the Dream of Asarlai urban fantasy trilogy, has been hosting series of posts from guest authors on the theme of “Dreams and Fulfillment” over at her blog. My post lives here but it’s definitely worth your time to read through what everyone else has written on the subject. Personally, I loved what Tansy Rayner Roberts has to say about the Dream of Getting Published (and what comes next), as well as Justina Robson’s thoughts on the importance of dreams for ensuring a fulfilled life in general.  Many thanks to Nicole for having us all over to her place. Hope we didn’t leave too many crumbs on the carpet or wine stains on the tablecloth.

Meantime, Rabbit Hole both worked and didn’t work. I didn’t reach my hoped-for word count, but I did force myself to sit and think through problems until I fixed them instead of wandering off to do something else. The novel is progressing well again and I’m actually feeling excited about where it’s heading.

In the meantime, here’s an interview I did for Michael Wilson for Read Horror. I enjoyed answering the questions, even though I did find the one asking why people should read my work to be a particular challenge. Obviously, I need to get better at the whole self-promotion thing. You know, being able to publicly acknowledge that my writing is actually good and that people might actually enjoy reading it. I’m pretty crap at that. Of course, “enjoy” is such a relative term . . .

Right, back to the words.

Oh, and I won a very pretty Chronos Award for Madigan Mine! Karen Healey‘s Aurealis Award-winning novel, The Guardian of the Dead, was nominated in the same category and I was fortunate enough to meet and have dinner with Karen on the Sunday night. She’s witty and delightful and I’m looking forward to reading her new novel, The Shattering, which is due for release in July. (I was so very good and only purchased that one book at the convention — my To Be Read pile is already structurally unsound!)

The full list of 2011 Chronos Award winners are:

• Best Long Fiction: Madigan Mine, Kirstyn McDermott (Pan MacMillan Australia)
• Best Short Fiction: “Her Gallant Needs”, Paul Haines (Sprawl, Twelfth Planet Press)
• Best Artwork: Australis Imaginarium cover, Shaun Tan (FableCroft Publishing)
• Best Fan Writer: Alexandra Pierce
• Best Fan Written Work: “Review: The Secret Feminist Cabal by Helen Merrick”, Alexandra Pierce
• Best Fan Artwork: Continuum 6 Props, Rachel Holkner
• Best Fan Publication: Live Boxcutters Doctor Who at AussieCon IV, Josh Kinal and John Richards
• Best Achievement: Programming: AussieCon IV, Sue Ann Barber and Grant Watson

I should also remind you that the Conquilt fundraising auction is now up and running on eBay with some impressive early bidding. It’s an amazingly gorgeous quilt — after seeing it on display at Continuum, I’m half-tempted to bid on it myself. Honestly, the photos really don’t do it any justice at all.

I’m already very excited about attending Continuum 8 next year. Not only is the NatCon but it has Kelly Link and Alison Goodman as Guests of Honour. Huzzah!

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Finally, on matters unrelated to Continuum, I was interviewed by the Adventures of a Bookonaut blog as part of an ongoing series featuring Australian spec fic authors. The questions were about authors and social media, and I had a lot of fun answering them. Next time you have a few minutes to spare, wander across and have a read. Sean’s blog is a treasure trove of news and reviews and other SF tidbits — well worth following!

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While I was over in Perth at SwanCon, Alisa Krasnostein interviewed me for Galactic Chat, the sister podcast of Galactic Suburbia. The Chat podcast is an ongoing series of lengthy interviews with Australian authors and it’s well worth catching up on if you’re not already a regular listener. My interview is now available for downloading or streaming here. It runs for about half an hour wherein I talk about various writing-related matters including my novel, Madigan Mine, how writing a story can be likened to making a patchwork quilt, and why the imperfect truly is beautiful.

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If you’re in Melbourne this weekend, get your zombie on and stumble along to Dymocks Southland on Saturday 28 May to celebrate International Zombie Awareness Month with author signings and a zombie shuffle! The timetable for the day will be:

11am-12 noon: Local horror authors Kirstyn McDermott (Madigan Mine) and Bob Franklin (Under Stones) will be signing copies of their books. Be afraid!

12 noon-1pm: Bestselling author James Phelan will be signing copies of his YA zombie novel Alone #1: Chasers (plus copies of his adult thrillers!).

1-2pm: ‘The Walking Dead’ Zombie Shuffle! Turn up to Dymocks Southland in full zombie costume for your chance to win a fantastic The Walking Dead prize-pack (courtesy of our friends at Madman Entertainment). Best costume wins, prizewinner announced 2pm.

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Also in Melbourne, the Emerging Writers Festival starts tomorrow with a plethora of panels, conference, launches and other literary delights. I’ll be appearing on a panel next Tuesday evening to chat about speculative fiction with Alison Croggon, Paul Haines and Rjurik Davidson. Here’s the nitty-gritty:

Get Into Genre: Spec Fic
6:00 PM, Tuesday 31 May 2011
The Wheeler Centre — 176 Little Lonsdale Street

We all know genre rocks, right? For writers and lovers of fiction, Get Into Genre is an opportunity to hear from our sepculative fiction writers and industry professionals. Our panellists discuss how they got started in their writing field, and the challenges and opportunities of their writing forms. All sessions are interactive, so you can ask the questions you want answers to.

∞

The Aurealis Awards were announced in a glittery — and, at times, shoeless — ceremony in North Sydney on Saturday night and I was absolutely thrilled that Madigan Mine won Best Horror Novel. So thrilled that the just-in-case list of names I’d been intermittently rehearsing all day flew out of my head and the first thing I managed to say after been handed the award by the inimitable Kaaron Warren was, “Wow, it’s heavy.” In my defence, it is quite heavy. It’s also very, very pretty.

But I did manage to thank everyone I needed to thank and surprised myself by becoming just a wee bit emotional up there on the stage. I’m really, really grateful to receive this particular award. Madigan Mine took so long to go from initial spark of inspiration to final publication — a time which spanned some very difficult years in my life, personally and creatively — and to be awarded the Aurealis at the end of all that … well, I am so very happy right now.

It truly was a fantastic night. SpecFaction in Sydney have taken over the running of the Aurealis Award from Fantastic Queensland — who did an extraordinary job of hosting them up in Brisbane for the past six years — and it was wonderful to see the baton passed to such and enthusiastic and hard-working team. Nathan Burrage, Susan Wardle and the rest of the organising committee deserve huge kudos for putting on such a great show. Highlights included Garth Nix‘s dry humour as MC, Rob Hood‘s quirky visual presentation slideshows, the divine Angela Slatter accepting not one but two awards in bare feet, and Tansy Rayner Roberts gracious and moving  — and well-prepared! — acceptance speech upon receiving the award for Best Fantasy novel.

Wine was drunk, carousing was had, old friends were caught up with and new friends were made. It reminded me once again how special, close-knit and supportive the Australian speculative fiction community really is. As I possibly failed to articulate clearly enough in my acceptance speech, I feel proud and honoured and so very grateful to be able to count myself among their number.

As has become customary on such occasions, the multi-talented Cat Sparx was on hand with her trusty camera to provide a superb pictorial chronicle of the evening. The full set lives over on Flickr but I want to include this photo of myself and my beloved, Jason Nahrung, right here. (Thanks, Cat — you always take the best photos of us!)

2010 AUREALIS AWARD WINNERS:

CHILDREN’S FICTION (told primarily through words)
• The Keepers, Lian Tanner, Allen & nwin

CHILDREN’S FICTION (told primarily through pictures)
• The Boy and the Toy, Sonya Hartnett (writer) & Lucia Masciullo (illustrator), Penguin Viking

YOUNG ADULT SHORT STORY
• A Thousand Flowers, Margo Lanagan, Zombies and Unicorns, Allen & Unwin

YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
• Guardian of the Dead, Karen Healey, Allen & Unwin

ILLUSTRATED BOOK/ GRAPHIC NOVEL
• Changing Ways Book 1, Justin Randall, Gestalt Publishing

COLLECTION
• The Girl With No Hands, Angela Slatter, Ticonderoga Publications

ANTHOLOGY
• Wings of Fire, edited by Jonathan Strahan and Marianne S. Jablon, Night Shade Books

HORROR SHORT STORY
• The Fear, Richard Harland, Macabre: A Journey Through Australia’s Darkest Fears, Brimstone Press

HORROR NOVEL
• Madigan Mine, Kirstyn McDermott, Pan Macmillan

FANTASY SHORT STORY (joint winners)
• The February Dragon, LL Hannett & Angela Slatter, Scary Kisses, Ticonderoga Publications
• Yowie, Thoraiya Dyer, Sprawl, Twelfth Planet Press

FANTASY NOVEL
• Power and Majesty, Tansy Rayner Roberts, HarperVoyager (HarperCollins)

SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY
• The Heart of a Mouse, K.J. Bishop, Subterranean Online (Winter 2010)

SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL
• Transformation Space, Marianne de Pierres, Orbit (Hachette)

PETER MCNAMARA AWARD
• Helen Merrick

The full list of finalists can be found here. My sincere and heartfelt congratulations to everyone!

I had a character in mind — who I loved — and a vague of idea of how her story would unfold, and generally that’s all I need before I start actually putting words on screen. So I started and was promptly met with a near constant series of roadblocks and dead ends. Most of these related to content. There were plot elements and complexities I had to abandon due to lack of space, resulting in character dynamics that needed to be recalibrated. There was also a poignant climactic scene which I regretfully set aside because it necessitated the body of an eleven year old being found buried in her own back yard — and there is simply no way for an eleven year old girl to be found buried in her own backyard without A Very Bad Thing having happened to put her there.

(Normally, Very Bad Things are my stock in trade. But this time I wasn’t writing that kind of story — I was trying for quirky and optimistic — and the prospective weight of A Very Bad Thing was causing a fatal imbalance in the narrative, so the envisaged scene was never written. I’m sure it will find its way into another tale somewhere along the line.)

The ending itself took ages to find. I wasted a couple of frustrating hours one evening writing and deleting — and rewriting and redeleting — before realising that I’d already stumbled across the finish line a few paragraphs before and all I was doing was trying to manufacture an unnecessary coda. And the reason it took me so long to see this was that the ending was a happy one. I have a natural distrust of happy endings. They very often don’t feel right to me. They don’t feel genuine. They lack resonance. But this ending was right for this story, even if it wasn’t the kind of story I usually write. So I trusted it and tightened the narrative in a few places to provide better support and . . . I think it works well.

It’s not a particularly scary story, because ghosts don’t have to be scary, but it has fear and it has wonder. And it has a happy ending. (Stranger things have happened.) Best of all, I’ve heard back from the editor and he loves it. There’ll be some tweaks to make in copy editing — a couple of minor points that I need to be less subtle about, exposition wise — but it’s basically living and breathing on its own. Overall, I really enjoyed the experience and writing for kids is definitely something I’d like to do again if I get the opportunity.

But for now, it’s back wrestling with Novel the Second.

Against Professionalism:

It’s all rather nightmarish: don’t complain about rejection letters or reviews, don’t talk about editors and agents on Twitter or your blog, wear khakis and not blue jeans to conferences and bring plenty of business cards, keep away from politics except for the fannishly correct (and legitimate) concerns about diversity in publications in your public utterances. This advice is the new currency in the community of aspiring writers because it’s easy to give and easy to follow. What’s hard is writing.

Against Craft:

“Craft” today is not a counter to the Romantic vision of an artistic elite chosen by the Divine, it is a quasi-proletarian flinch often designed to protect one’s work from being compared to art, thus protecting it (and one’s ego) from its near-inevitable failure to stack up to the idea of art as a superlative.

Against Story:

What do people want? “A good story.” How do we know? People can barely say anything else. When editors describe the sort of material they’re looking to acquire, they want “a good story.” Readers are always on the hunt for “a good story.” Good stories are also useful for shutting down a variety of discussions. Are there not enough women being published, or people of color? Who cares who the author is, so long as he or she writes a good story? Can writers do different things with their stories—create new points of view, structure words on the page differently, work to achieve certain effects not easily accessible with more common presentations? Why bother—a good story is the only important thing.