Help Paul Haines battle cancer

From dragonkat @ LJ:

Paul Haines, a much-loved member of the Aussie specfic commuity is going through a tough time. After being diagnosed with bowel cancer, having sections of his bowel removed and enduring six months worth of chemotherapy, he has recently discovered he has spots on his liver. Paul has met this news by reloading his guns and is going to fight it with two other forms of chemotherapy for cancers like his, combined with a monoclonal antibody called Avastin. Avastin, however is not part of Medicare or the private health system's funding at this stage. It costs $20,000 to do it. Money that he doesn't have.

So we're going to try and help him raise it.

Please follow this link and kick in some cash if you can.

You can also help by joining the Facebook group.

Interview with Shaun Tan

I recently interviewed Shaun Tan about his new book Tales From Outer Suburbia. You can read the interview at Articulate.

Black #1: on sale now

Issue one of Australian dark culture magazine Black is now on sale.

I haven't had a chance to see where exactly it is available, but if you ask at your local newsagents you may be pleasantly surprised.

If you don't have any luck there, every Borders store in Australia should be carrying it.

For those overseas, you can subscribe here.

Issue one features a range of juicy content, including my articles on Heath Ledger's turn as The Joker, the secret life of a Dominatrix, an interview with The Zombie Diaries director Michael Bartlett, and a feature about the ghosts of Toowong Cemetery.

Writing software feature

My feature on writing software is now available in Writing Queensland magazine (exclusive to members of the Queensland Writing Centre).

I went into the research process a sceptic, came out a convert -- I definitely think writing software is worth checking out, given many of the programs offer a free trial period.

I don't think writing software is for everyone, but some will find it useful to strengthen their weak spots.

If you've read the feature and have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below and I'll do my best to give you an answer.

OBMB at Brisbane Writers Festival

A few One Book Many Brisbanes authors, including myself, will be doing a reading/talk as part of the Brisbane Writers Festival later this year.

The event takes place at State Library, from 10am on September 21, 2008.

I'll post more details closer to the date.