Z.R. Southcombe's Blog, page 17

Monday Musings: Plans for 2016

I have some lofty ambitions for 2016, but I also have a plan to achieve them – well, I have a plan to achieve the bits that are under my control The last book of the Caretaker Series will be released on February 20th (though subscribers will get access to an earlybird copy during January. You can sign up here). After that, there’s another series I’m working on, and I’ve.. Read More

Monday Musings: Looking back on 2015

Publications Well, it kicked off with a massive launch party for The Caretaker of Imagination, and it’s ending off with two anthologies: the (wo)manpower zine (which is just $4 and you can purchase here) and the Secrets anthology, which is currently...
Read more

Nominations for the 2015 Sir Julius Vogel Awards are now open

Hi lovely readers! The nominations for the Sir Julius Vogel award (SJV) is now open, and I would appreciate any nominations I can get This is a prestigious NZ award for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror and emcompasses writing, screen...
Read more

Monday Musings: Taking a Break

We all need breaks from time to time, and this is one of those times for me. I’ve realised I need some behind the scenes time. I’ll still be creating – writing stories, painting, doodling and strumming on my uke....
Read more

Returning home: a blog response to a Samoan proverb

Earlier this week I read a post from fellow NZ children’s writer, Helen Tau’au Filisi. In this post she shared some Samoan proverbs that reflect my journey over the last few years. “O le sola a Faleata” of one who...
Read more

Monday Musings: Creative Energy

Last week I spent more time writing and reading than I had for a long time, and am all energised to go with editing and my new story. There’s a couple of works I’m putting together at the moment –...
Read more

Focusing on the long term

At the end of last year, I gave this year two priorities: production and publicity. As the year progressed, the strength of my focus on these priorities started to fade, and I believe this is what caused me to start feeling...
Read more

Tuesday Musings

Oops. It’s Tuesday. My brain’s been full of negative self-talk lately, so I’m giving it a kick in the butt by going for walks (even when I don’t feel like it) and starting the morning with gratitude lists. The key,...
Read more

Do you enjoy this?

Someone asked me this today. It started nagging me, which usually means it’s relevant to me. Maybe I’m not enjoying this as mu as I thought I would? I’ve been working a lot this year. I kept a work log...
Read more

Getting it down on paper [personal response]

The other day, I read some fantastically probing questions over on Inger Kenobi’s website (click the link to go to the original post – worth reading). Yesterday, I went along to one of my favourite eateries (Cafe Paris in Howick, which...
Read more