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An Idea, A Need To Do Something …

Back in April last year, as Covid-19 took over our lives, we wondered how were would manage it all. My mind grabbed onto the phrase “Plague Invasion” and wouldn’t let go of it. I felt I had to do something. The ‘something’ I decided to do, was to edit an anthology, on the theme of Covid-19, the disease that was killing people all around the world, including my country of Australia.

So I reached out to my writer friends, both locally and overseas, and the result is almost ready to go out into the world. I’ve written further about the whole process – See here for me details. It’s a fine book, and I am proud to have edited it, to make it the book it is!

So I have this, my ninth book, on its way, with another coming in next year, a poetry collection to be published by Ginninderra Press, who have already published two of my poetry collections. And there is another book in the thinking about stage, which will be something quite different to this serious Covid-19 book, the fourth book in my ‘Buster the Dog’ series.

I just need to get my part of the book written, and the person who is going to join me in getting this fourth book done, getting her part written. Then there will be the images that will need to be drawn and decided on. But in the meantime, I will be concentrating on ‘Plague Invasion’!

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Launch Of Covid-19 Related Anthology

Things are moving ahead! Today I saw the completed version of the front and back cover of the Anthology I’ve been working on, and it looks fantastic! This Anthology is “Plague Invasion – Creative Writing Responses to Covid-19”. I put the word out in various places, including this blog, and in the responses came, from may different places in the world, but mostly from my own country, Australia.

I have this book with the printer I’ve used previously for printing my own books, a printer close to where I live and travel to often. They do good work. I have a friend, a fellow member of my writing group, who also uses this printer at times, when appropriate.

I’d asked for both poetry and prose creative writing and received a large variety of different works, some serious, some funny, and others in between. The quality was great of almost all of what was received, and it was difficult to turn down most of what was received …

I’d quite early decided I was going to raise the money to print this book, and give free copies to each of the contributors. So I’ve been saving my money to be able to fund this work, which is completely a work that suits my wanting to help others, in any way I can. Doing good is a thing that warms my heart, and suits my heart and mind well …

So my next job, is to wait … But it will only be a short wait, and then, once I get the email from the printer, I will pick up these books, and gloat about how clever I’ve been, and how wonderfully good it all looks! Then after that, I will give a copy of the book to the Mayor of Gawler, who wrote the foreward of this book for me!

And then. once that has been done, there will be another wait, which will end once we get to the day this book will be launched, on the final day of the Gawler & Adelaide Plains Festival of Words (Recovery). It will be a fine day indeed, with a variety of people in attendance, including a goodly number of contributors to “Plague Invasions”. These people will be given their own copy of the book, whilst there, and what fun that will be, for them to meet with other contributors!

So 25 July is going to be a fine time to think about how we’ve been going with this pandemic, and be glad we can meet with other people again! That’s as long as Covid lets us …