Michael Burge's Blog, page 10

Massacre books a Myall off the mark

ONE of the earliest crimes I ever became aware of took place just a few kilometres from my home. It wasn’t recent and it wasn’t widely discussed between neighbouring farmers. My mother whispered what she knew of the story one afternoon, in between social tennis matches at the Myall Creek courts adjacent tothe old tin … Continue reading Massacre books a Myall off the mark

The Land of Parrots

“I find myself less concerned withextreme ornithological accuracy, and more intent on capturing their character.” WHEN I was a teenager,long before I realisedday jobs were essentialfor most artists, while my school mates were off working at perfectly goodweekend jobs, I was earninga decent income painting and drawing wildlife. I fell into it, when at the … Continue reading The Land of Parrots

Dirty Nurse

A short story by Michael Burge. MARILYN GOT THROUGH her childhood as quickly as she possibly could. She mastered puberty by filling out her plain school uniform before she was a teenager, and inhabited the body of a middle-aged, overweight woman by the time she reached her twenty-first birthday. Swapping school plaids for sterile nurses’ … Continue reading Dirty Nurse

The killing of the plebiscite

“For the first time we are seen not as an issue but as people.” THERE has been no progress on marriage equality in Australia since long before former Prime MinisterTony Abbott tricked his moderate frontbenchers into a marathon joint party room meeting with the hard-right National Party in August 2015 and gave Australia a new … Continue reading The killing of the plebiscite

Thumbs up to doing it yourself!

THIS week Ireleased my book about independent publishing:Write, Regardless! A no-nonsense guide to plotting, packaging and promoting your book. Paperback | eBook BUY NOW It’s compact, to-the-point and pulls no punches. If you want a quick way to get across what it takes to compete in the publishing world without the support of a traditional … Continue reading Thumbs up to doing it yourself!

Unlocking the secret life of (most) writers

WRITERS are livingthrough tough times, and times are usually tough enough for wordsmiths. “Of optimal use to writers who have at least one manuscript completed and the willingness to create another.” Not since the invention of the printing press has it been easier to publish books using an array of affordable online publishing services, but … Continue reading Unlocking the secret life of (most) writers

Indie publishing support, come and get it!

I AM very pleased to announce that burgewordsis going up a gear, with a suite of publishing servicesnow on offer forindependent publishers. I’ve made a detailed study of the process and practice of independent book publishing in the past few years, the greatest lessons of which came with the publication of my own titles. I … Continue reading Indie publishing support, come and get it!

Mrs Mountbatten Turns Over a New Leaf

A Writer’s Review of Alan Bennett’s The Uncommon Reader. “Goes to the very heart of what literature does.” ALANBennett has made a career out of writing about ordinary people, in fact he seems embroiled in a competition with himself to ‘out-ordinary’ his cast of characters who fade into the wallpaper, noticing the dust and fingerprints … Continue reading Mrs Mountbatten Turns Over a New Leaf

Weathering relationships with Stephanie Bishop

A writer’s review of Stephanie Bishop’s The Other Side of the World. I CALLthem ‘weather stories’, books in which the protagonists are anaesthetised by the attention they pay to the elements in endless cycles of sun and rain and the sensations of water, leaves, dust and wind; and this intriguing novel qualifies. Locked in the … Continue reading Weathering relationships with Stephanie Bishop

I am my first book (at my first festival)

UNDER the general theme of ‘belonging’, the 2016 Brisbane Writer’s Festival (BWF) set itself up with few boundaries, and writers have been rushing to traverse the intentionally unfenced territory across the city. “We were inside the building. We belonged, inasmuch as new students belong in new classrooms when they change schools.” As an independently published … Continue reading I am my first book (at my first festival)