Amra Pajalic

I received an email from the Black Inc publicist who was wondering if I was interested in participating in a interview in the local paper about my story being published in the 2005 Best Australian Stories. The answer was obviously-absolutely. There are three other anthology participants (this is from across the three collections Best Essay, Best Poems and Best Stories). The group interview will be on Monday and the journo will be callling us individually to ask a few questions.

I’m so exited and I just can’t hide it!!!! At the moment all I’m imaginging is all these little tidbits being displayed on my as yet non-existant website. My husband (who learnt some website design when he was completing his degree) said he’d do it but I’m getting the feeling that boat ain’t sailing any time soon. My friend Jodi who comes up in January learnt how to use Dreamweaver so she’ll give me the heads up.

I’ve got manuals on how to use Dreamweaver and I have done some basic html design by updating an intranet site at one of my previous jobs but I just don’t feel like I have any energy to teach myself at this point. I’m so consumed with my novel and all the other writing I want to do that I don’t feel like I have the headspace to take this on too alone. So it will be great. Once Jodi shows me some basic things I’ll be able to start mucking around with it on my own and using the manuals to figure things out. And now I’ll have a reason for a media page (ha, ha).

But it’s so funny I know what I want to be up on my website (as in the content) but the thing I’m caught up with at the moment is: what colours represent me as an individual. But then I think is it really about the colours that decide me as an individual or is about colours that represent my writing. Yes, I’ll be having fun with this debate.

Well I inhaled Meg Cabot’s novel and finished it on Monday. She is so cool. I love the character of Suze, the main character in her Mediator series. She’s so unconventional for a girl, a wisecracking smart arse with a mean right hook. It’s so much fun to be in that world and just enjoy the ride. Now I have to restrain my impatience and not read them all back to back. I need to save them as my special pick me up when the going gets tough.

I’m reading Jennifer Weiner’s Goodnight Nobody and it’s not floating my boat as much as I thought it would. She’s still got her touch and is a wonderful writer, but my problem comes more from the credibility of her main character stumbling around and investigating this murder and the way she’s doing it. I’m halfway through so the jury’s still out on this one.

I’m hoping to do a bit on the writing front today. My goals are to finish a short story I started a while ago and type up my notebook pages. Although to be realistic I know I’ll only get one of these things done. I’m in the study (my main computer is in for repairs so my laptop is tied up with cables etc). My cats are with me. Trotsky (the fat wog cat) is on the chest of drawers next to the window and Roscoe (my pepi lama) is on the second computer chair. They’re sleeping sweetly and keeping me company. I think I’ll take a photo and put it up later. Anyway, I’m off to do some hard yakka.