[O&AM] I...hate the sun (though I know I need it)

"Out & About Me" is a monthly blog series in which I tell you guys a bit more about me. I'll focus on a particular topic each month, and let you all get to know me a bit better than you already do.

Today I'm going to talk about the weather. I know a lot of you will have received comments from me over the years about how I hate summer, and I've also mentioned it in this blog now and then. But today I am focusing entirely on the weather and my sheer hatred of (the Australian) summer. I'll admit I don't mind a bit of Norwegian summer, what with its dramatic rainclouds overhead and the threat of a shower or two. Yeah, that's what I saw in Norway back in 2004, and the friend I was having lunch with that day indicated it was quite typical of that part of the country in summer (it was actually fairly reminiscent of a Western Australian winter). But the Australian summer is a different beast.

A friend from the US recently posted a link to this story on my Facebook page, about how in some parts of Australia it's so hot they had to add a new colour to the weather map - purple for the extreme heat of up to 54° c (129° f). Thankfully where I live it gets nowhere near that revolting sort of temperature (max temps tend to be around 43° c = 109.4 f). I live on the coast, and we get the sea breeze in the afternoons (called the Fremantle Doctor). But on days when that precious breeze fails to arrive, everything pretty much sucks around here. I always comfort myself with the fact that some people in the world have it worse than us, hot weather-wise.

I do have better reasons to hate the sun than most - I am susceptible to skin cancer and have already had a few cut out of my face. Not only is it physically and emotionally traumatic to go under the knife like that, but it's costly as well. And yet I know that the sun is life-giving, and that I need it to survive! Thankfully I recently got my Vitamin D checked and, surprisingly to myself and all who know me, my levels were within the healthy range. I guess around here you can't help but get some sun exposure no matter how hard you try to avoid it. It bounces off the ground and the walls and the leaves, no doubt, and finds you even in your shadiest hidey hole. ;)

Last year's A-to-Z TBR list - an update

It's not too long until the A-to-Z challenge kicks off, and I still have no clue what I'll be doing this year. I could wing it, as I did one year, but that was a bit scary, even if it was fun. Anyway...today I'm going to reflect on last year's challenge, when I put up an A-to-Z of books from my GoodReads TBR. I'm going to update you all on my progress in getting through that list:

I've read these:

• Ring (review)
• Phantom Waltz (review)
• Oscar and Lucinda (review)
• Carrie (review)

I haven't yet read these:

• Zod Wallop
• You Dropped a Blonde on Me
• Xs
• The War of the Worlds (I own this)
• Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
• The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
• The Tempest
• The Silmarillion
• Queen of Sorcery
• The Neverending Story
• The Mermaid's Mirror (I own this)
• Legend
• The Keeping Place (I own this, but don't own book #4...so I'm not reading any of this series yet)
• Jacob's Room
• In Cold Blood
• The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray
• Guilty Pleasures (I own this)
• The Fathomless Caves
• The Earthsea Quartet (I own this)
• Death on the Nile
• The Beggar's Opera (this is on its way to me in the mail!)
• The Anatomy of Wings (I own this)

Dude, I've got a long way to go!

Launching the OVERCOMING ADVERSITY anthology!

Back in early February, a bunch of bloggers including myself participated in Nick Wilford's Overcoming Adversity bloghop. My little flash fiction piece "An End" is featured in the anthology, and I'm honoured to be included alongside such a great bunch of writers/bloggers, and to be helping out such a great cause. But for now I'll shut up and let Nick do the talking!

Cover art design by D.R. Cartwright.
Cover art concept by Ella Wilson.

[Overcoming Adversity is] a collection of seventy moving and uplifting original pieces - real life, flash fiction, and poetry - about battling against the odds and the ultimate triumph of the human spirit. The contributors include Amazon bestselling authors Alex J. Cavanaugh and Kyra Lennon, and the cream of upcoming talent.

The anthology is part of a fundraising effort to send the editor's stepson, Andrew McNaughton, to a specialist college in England. Andrew has cerebral palsy, and is a remarkable young man with a promising future. However, the free further education options offered in his own country of Scotland will not challenge him and allow him to progress. In order to access the education he deserves, Andrew will have to pay exorbitant fees, thus creating a situation of discrimination.

Help us get Andrew to college by buying a book that runs the full gamut of human emotions, ultimately leaving you inspired and glad to be alive. Whatever struggles you are going through, our sincere hope is that this book will help.

Purchase the Anthology:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Smashwords
+ add on Goodreads

Nick Wilford is a writer and stay-at-home dad. Once a journalist, he now makes use of those rare times when the house is quiet to explore the realms of fiction. When not writing he can usually be found spending time with his family or cleaning something.

He has four short stories published in Writer’s Muse magazine. Nick is also co-running a campaign to get a dedicated specialist college built in Scotland. Visit him at http://nickwilford.blogspot.co.uk/.

Back FROM the Future & Bloghop of Joy

There are two fun bloghops happening today, and I'm signed up for both of 'em. So without further ado, here goes. ;)

"The doorbell rings, [and] you go to the front door and cautiously swing it open. No one there. You cast your eyes to the ground [and] see a parcel addressed to you ... from you. You scoop it up and haul it inside, carefully prying it open. Inside is a shoebox -- sent from ten years in the future -- and it's filled with items you have sent yourself. What's in it?" - Nicki Elson

These are the things I would send myself from ten years in the future:

• A letter from my (soon to be) home loan provider congratulating me on having managed by some miracle of determination to pay off my home loan in ten short years
• A photo from the day I finally wed Mr. Billy Corgan (I've been "engaged" to the guy for decades now, despite his complete lack of knowledge of said arrangement)
• The stubby end of a boarding pass for a rocket that went to the outskirts of Neptune (with me on it)
• A ticket from a Type O Negative concert I went back in time just to see (RIP Peter Steele)
• A picture of me with my first book contract and another of me at my first in-store appearance ;)

"All you have to do to be a part of this happy hop is sign up on the Linky List, and on March 1st, post your list of joy - with a minimum of five things that put a spring back in your step!" - Kyra Lennon & Clare Dugmore

Kyra and Clare are apparently depressed by winter and felt the need to focus on the warm fuzziness. Well, I say they can have all this warm and sweaty grossness we're getting here in Western Australia, and heck, they can keep it! So here are my cold and shiny points of Autumn cheer for ya:

• I'm soon to buy my very first apartment, and I'm super excited!
• This arvo I am going to catch up with an old friend (from Finland!) I haven't seen since 2004, since she's visiting my town
• It's Friiiiiday!!
• I have a little pad of post-its that are in the shape of a star - how cute!
• This coming Monday I'm going to see Metallica for the very first time - woooo! :)

I could have mentioned much more obvious things, like my awesome family, friends, good health, living in a relatively free country, etc., but I thought I'd be a bit more frivolous.