The Kemblog

Friday, July 30, 2010

Reading: feast & famine

Download now or listen on posterous

Feast.mp4 (191 KB)

A tiny snippet. Testing recording on phone and posting via posterous.

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Cover: Macabre

Here's the cover of Macabre: A Journey Through Australia's Darkest Fears, edited by Angela Challis and Dr Marty Young. More info: http://www.brimstonepress.com.au/macabre.htm

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'Feast or Famine': a time capsule

I received and signed off on the galleys of my short story, 'Feast or Famine', which will appear in Macabre: A Journey Through Australia's Darkest Fears (Brimstone Press).

It was an interesting, slightly scary experience, printing off the PDF and reading through it, with my red pen ready.

Slightly scary because I wrote the first version of 'Feast or Famine' waaaaay back in 2005. It was featured in The Writing Show's 2006 Halloween special, and then I submitted it to Macabre shortly after that. Following feedback from editor Angela Challis I rewrote the story, and since then I've been waiting for publication.

So checking out 'Feast or Famine' was a little bit like peeking into a time capsule. I'm happy to say that I'm still fairly happy with it, although I wonder how it's going to go down, given its rather gruesome subject matter.

Three-word synopsis: Journalism. Terrorism. Cannibalism.

Of course, there's much, much more to Macabre than my story. It's a veritable feast of Australian dark fiction, with classics by Australia's earliest horror writers, a selection from our existing 'masters' such as Terry Dowling and Kaaron Warren, and the 'new generation' Shane Jiraiya Cummings, Stephen M Irwin, David Conyers and much, much more.

Macabre: A Journey Through Australia's Darkest Fears is now available for pre-order from Brimstone Press.

Posted via email from garykemble's posterous

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Horror on Articulate

Wednesday, July 07, 2010

The Horseman: go see it!

I've done a rare post over at HorrorScope, for a very good reason.

The Horseman has finally got a limited cinema release!

Head on over to HorrorScope to find out more.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Why zombies? Why not!

Myself and a bunch of other zombie lovers are hanging out at Jonathan Maberry's Big Scary Blog, chewing the undead fat.

Head on over and find out why we love zombies so much.

(Jonathan Maberry is the author of a bunch of stuff, including the excellent Patient Zero)

Thursday, June 03, 2010

Bug Hunt: read it now, online!

You can now read all the One Book Many Brisbanes 5 stories online, for free!

I haven't read them yet but, judging from the conversations I had with various writers, I can guarantee it's an eclectic collection with something for everyone.

Check it out at the One Book Many Brisbanes page.

And if you want to jump straight to 'Bug Hunt', you can find it here.

I'd like to once again thank Trent Jamieson and Stephen Dedman for their input on the story. I'll still take credit for all the sucky bits. :)

If you like the stories, you can buy a copy of the book from Brisbane City Council libraries for $11.

Thursday, May 06, 2010

Grants, rewrites, anything

I've got a good excuse for not updating my blog lately. Queensland Writers Centre's Angela Slatter told me to! Or told me not too.

Well, kinda. At the One Book Many Brisbanes masterclass she gave us a few tips about living the writer's life, and one of those was that you shouldn't be updating your blog when you could be writing.

I haven't been the most diligent blogger in the past, and this basically got me off the hook!

But I felt bad because my last post was so lame, so I thought I'd better give a quick update.

The One Book Many Brisbanes masterclass was excellent. I got to work with Trent Jamieson and it was like 'being a writer' for three days. Only better, because Trent was there for metaphorical hand-holding.

So, by the end of the three days I felt that 'Bug Hunt' was a much tighter story. Having said that, when I got the final proofs I decided I didn't really like it anymore! There seemed to be way too many short sentences. Like Raymond Chandler on crack, or something like that. I'm hoping this is because I'd been re-writing it so much that I was sick of it. So it will be interesting to see how people like it.

Since then I've been rewriting the bio-terror novel I wrote last year. Moving it from 'generic US city' to Brisbane has been fun.

Unfortunately, I've been a bit sidetracked by grant applications. I've just sent off an application for the Arts Queensland Career Development Fund. If I'm successful I'll be able to go to WorldCon in September, which would be awesome.

I'm also applying for an Australia Council New Work grant. I'm very happy with my AQ application. Nothing is ever guaranteed with these things because you never know who else is applying. But I figure this really is the right time for me, so I figured I may as well throw my hat in the ring.

So thanks to Kate Eltham and Queensland Writers Centre, because without them I wouldn't have know where to start.

The frustrating thing is that my life at the moment is such that I can only work on one thing at a time, so for the past couple of weeks that has mostly been grant applications. But I'm looking on it as an investment -- if it pays off it will be well worth it.

Well, that's a brief summary of what I've been up to. If you want to know more you can find me on Twitter!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Updated bio

Heading off to the One Book Many Brisbanes masterclass tomorrow, so I thought I should update my bio.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Far from Freedom

This is Far from Freedom, the project I've been working on.

It's a special investigation into the plight of Iraqi refugees in Jordan, by Ed Giles and a bunch of talented people at the ABC.

I've been working on the social media side of it.

Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Far-from-Freedom/308611309085

Twitter: http://twitter.com/farfromfreedom

Please let me know what you think.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

2010 Snapshot of Australian Speculative Fiction interview

Kathryn Linge has interviewed me for the 2010 snapshot series (a follow-up on similar series ran in 2007 and 2005).

You can read the 2007 interview with me here.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Australian Dark Fantasy and Horror 3 review

Dark Scribe has a (belated) review of Australian Dark Fantasy and Horror, volume 3 (Brimstone Press), which features my zombie story 'Dead Air'.

Head on over and check it out.

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Brisbane battens down for cockroach invasion

Nope, this isn't a State of Origin post!

I can today reveal that I'm one of the winners of the 2009 One Book Many Brisbanes competition.

Later this month myself and 19 other winners will work with mentors to polish our stories, for the 5th edition of One Book Many Brisbanes.

My story is about survivors trying to escape Brisbane after an infestation of dog-sized, brain-eating cockroaches.

The masterclass should be a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to it.

Monday, January 25, 2010

L4D2 tshirt: Kill all sonsab*tches

Official instructions: Kill all sonsab*tches
Originally uploaded by garykemble

You can buy the tshirt here: http://www.redbubble.com/people/garykemble/t-shirts/4536817-1-official-instructions-kill-all-sonsab-tches

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Hans, boubie, I'm your white knight

Hans, boubie, I'm your white knight
Originally uploaded by garykemble

T-shirt design. You can buy it here: http://www.redbubble.com/people/garykemble/t-shirts/4514885-1-hans-boubie-im-your-white-knight

Thursday, December 17, 2009

LoudTwitter now turned off

Hello there. I just turned off LoudTwitter. I figure, if people want to read my tweets they can go to http://twitter.com/garykemble.

Now I'm going to have to blog about something.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Tweet digest

08:29 @jemappellekim 2 legs good, 8 legs bad is coming tonight, hopefully. So I'm a vacillator rather than a traitor. #
08:30 In case you were NOT clicking F5 at 10.30 last night. New tshirt: All hail our octopodal overlords: digg.com/u1I6OL #
09:48 @qldwriters Yes, and a strange, mildewy smell. #
10:24 RT @timmadden: Did a cartoon today for Barrie Cassidy's piece on Wilson Tuckey over on The Drum,,,, bit.ly/87T1Xk #
10:24 @ChasLicc oh boy, i think my brain just melted. #
13:28 An she was like, 'I'm on leave that week' an he was like 'No, you're not' an she was like 'Check the calendar... chk-chk-BOOM!' #rostering #
15:35 Recapping: @firstdogonmoon's guide to how the internet filter will work: digg.com/u1I7Iw #openinternet #
15:53 RT @abcnews: Computer says no: Google slams internet filter bit.ly/4OEzcG #
15:56 Queensland's ugliest pet. WARNING! It really is ugly: digg.com/u1I7Lo Full story: digg.com/u1I7Lo #
16:00 The freakiest thing about that cat is how it's walking LIKE A HUMAN! #
16:13 @GemmaLBreen I think I'm going to have nightmares about that cat. #
20:26 New tshirt: 2 legs good, 8 legs bad is.gd/5pM9g #octopusoverlords #coconutcarryingoctopus #aaaargh! #
20:30 @Dr_Tad This one might be more your speed then: is.gd/5pMrp #

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Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Tweet digest

08:51 @jimwhimpey I deserved that. #
08:52 @blackvalo Bad, as in good, right? As in, "That Michael Jackson, he's *bad*!" #
08:55 RT @abcnews: Coconut-carrying octopus bit.ly/8muzDa <- does anyone else fear they are but one step away from becoming our overlords? #
09:17 Aurealis Award finalist Stephen M Irwin (digg.com/u1I3b1) just bought one of my zombie mugs! digg.com/u1I3bb @zazzle #
09:19 @jemappellekim We need to take a stand now: 2 legs good, eight legs bad! #
10:05 @HarperBooksAus I'm working on an article about advances. Can you recommend someone at HarperCollins I can talk to? #
10:14 @blackvalo :) that's okay. I'm used to seeing really bad horror films. It can be worse than Saw V, can it? #
10:54 @HarperBooksAus Thank you! I've just dm'ed you. #
11:23 RT @jg_rat: RT @readfearn: How to swap your old mobile phone for a chicken.. for Australian readers only! bit.ly/7cIhv4 #
11:34 Black hole much closer to Earth than previously thought digg.com/d11Ckj3 <- great, that's all we need. Can anything else go wrong? #
12:25 RT @cassie_white: My story for @abcnews on self-gifting bit.ly/8eY7Nr Go ahead, treat yourself this xmas. <- iphone? #
12:53 All this talk of R-ratings for games reminds me of playing Barbarian on the C64: digg.com/u1I43r #
13:01 RT @rosieryan: when cris said "twitter loves the octopus story" i thought of a certain simpsons meme— i w asn't alone: is.gd/5nV3v #
13:08 @blackvalo I saw Saw I, then won a free ticket to Saw V. It had not aged well. #
13:34 @jimwhimpey Careful, @cristentilley might block you. #
14:50 RT @abcnews: Our internet filtering story is now open for comment. Have your say: bit.ly/5QZ27R #
15:51 Over 250 comments on @abcnews internet filter yarn. The vast majority against. THE INTERWEBZ ARE ANGRY! #
15:56 And those comments came in in an hour. Phenomenal response. #
17:48 In my estimation, 60% of pop songs are about breaking up,35% are about falling in love, & 5% are like tism's i'm on the drug #
17:51 ...that killed river phoenix #
17:55 heading into city for dinner with wife. #kidfree #
22:24 New tshirt: All hail our octopodal overlords: is.gd/5oqrK #octopus #octopusoverlords #overlords #freakyseacreatures #tshirts #

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Monday, December 14, 2009

Tweet digest

11:54 RT @nic_macbean: Journos who had eaten bananas in 12 hours before a press conf at a school were asked to stay away... Why? <- #bananagate #
14:06 RT @abcnews: Have you used Facebook's new privacy settings? What did you think of them? (@sarahcollerton is working on a story it) #
14:21 Welcome to Twitter @gemmalbreen! #
14:44 I'm mildly surprised no-one wants to buy my @abcatthemovies-inspired 'Oh David!' tshirt: digg.com/u1I0y9 #
15:07 @rinosphere I'm trying to factor the difference between 'liking' and 'buying'. :) Crucial t o my plans for world domination. #
15:23 No, Mr Butrus Yazid, I do not want to help you transfer $10.5m from Burkina Faso, but thanks for asking. #spam #
15:26 @rinosphere Touche, my fine feathered friend. Maybe we should organise a trade. Storey Bridge. Midnight. Be there! #
19:26 @rosieryan It depends on the amount of irony invested in the purchases. #
19:29 Working on article for @qldwriters. Wow, it's been so long since I opened my Word clone that it *creaked*. #
19:58 Paranormal Act ivity Friday evening at South Bank? Drink after at @greystonebar? Who's with me? #smugcocd #
20:01 @jimwhimpey It sounds like a snoozefest. #
20:01 @pinglo Boom. #
20:02 @Templesmith I'd prefer it if they spoke with Hollywood Cockney accents. #

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Sunday, December 13, 2009

Tweet digest

19:02 @fluffodile @sarahcollerton Hear, hear. Awesome night. #
19:19 Working on an article for @qldwriters about the pros and cons of advances. #
19:30 Why do kids find going to bed so traumatic? It's often the best part of my day. #parenting #

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