Attended the Aurealis Awards in Brisbane over the weekend and had a truly amazing time. Caught up with lots of lovely old friends, made some lovely new friends, drank way too much, slept way too little, partied way too hard, stumbled across something delightful and unexpected, and … oh yes … won a little award. I didn’t have a speech prepared because I seriously, 100% totally, definitely for sure, knew I wasn’t going to win. Deborah Biancotti was going to win. Which was just as well, I thought as I sat down for the presentation right at the back of the theatre, because of all those stairs. Let Deb tackle the stairs. But I did win, and I didn’t fall down the stairs, and I think I managed to say something vaguely intelligent and funny and thank most of the right people.

What I forgot to say was how awesome the other authors in my category are. Seriously. They all rock, and I felt pretty damn humbled that the judges chose my story over theirs. Which, as anyone who knows me can attest, doesn’t happen all that often. The feeling humble stuff. It was kinda … cool.

Oh, and while half-napping on Saturday afternoon in my hotel room before the big night, a beautiful new story bloomed just about whole and entire inside my head. Which almost never happens. And I think it has a happy ending. Or, at least, a not unhappy one. Again, with the never happening. Strange days, good days. Not even the 40+ degree temperatures we’re forecast to have down here for the next week are really depressing me. So, there you go. Shiny.