Supanova super guys!!

No, I am not kneeling down! Great to catch up with ICT past students - Lance and Rappo at the Behind the Sun stall. The axe has no significance. They are both charming young men (even if they did major in software engineering instead of information systems :(

Richard Hatch at Supanova

Supanova 09 was terrific. Best memory was meeting Richard Hatch and getting a pic with him holding my book - which he made nice comments about - that's why they call them film stars! But really, a lovely guy - total charmer and even better looking than when he played Apollo. If I'd had the nerve I would have asked him to audition for the role of Rick Jones in Behind the Sun. Never mind, I'll keep him in mind for Annomee Awakening.

Amazing costumes and some great performances. Up for special mention is the Doctor Who - dead ringer for David Tennant - almost paid for his autograph.

Special thanks to Jen Gasston who struggled valiantly against the flu (managed to look amazing anyway in that blonde wig!), Ellie who stayed the whole day and Colleen Box who kept me amused for hours on end (and pushed me towards the Richard Hatch squee moment).

Annomee Awakening

After I finished writing Behind the Sun I couldn't wait to start on the sequel and The Golden Apples is well underway. But I also wanted to tell the stories of some of the Annomee, so I decided to co-write a prequel with Jen Gasston. Annomee Awakening should be finished by mid-year. It is set two years before the action starts in Behind the Sun so none of the characters from Earth know that Earth 2 even exists. The story follows the adventures of a group of young people who are abducted and taken to Earth 2 and their encounters with the Annomee (and all the other bizarre people on Earth 2). Of course, we couldn't get it all into one book so there will be at least one more Annomee book before their story intersects with that of the Millennium team.

Earth 2 - a great view

At last a clear picture of Earth 2, created by Jen Gasston from her memories of the return voyage from behind the sun (only joking Jen).
An article in National Geographic discussed what life would be like on a planet with a 45 degree tilt; greater variation in temperature between seasons and possibly less stability in the axial tilt (more wobbling). Apparently Earth's tilt has been a lot more extreme in the distant past. There would be an ice belt around the equator. What else?
We don;t find out in Behind the Sun because the climate on Earth 2 is not what it seems (nothing is).

Parents of Deaf Children workshop

Yesterday I attended an all day workshop run by the POD group, to help (grand)parents of deaf children improve their parenting skills and handle difficult situations which are particularly important for deaf children.
What an inspiring day! Not only because of the range of topics and skills which we covered but also because of the other participants. I met parents from six families all of whom are facing challenges which seem overwhelming. All of them have kept their sense of humour, gratitude for the things which go well and acceptance of things which they cannot seem to change. Most of these parents had children with multiple handicaps/illnesses and it was an inspiration to watch them interacting with their children and listen to their stories. I was humbled and grateful for the experience. Check out the website at
http://www.deafchildrenaustralia.org.au/

Live forever?

As I write both the prequel and sequel to Behind the Sun, I am thinking hard about the pros and cons of immortality (the characters', not mine!!). What do you think? Would you like to live for ever (or as long as you wanted to)?

I've been fascinated by this topic ever since reading The Epic of Gilgamesh (check out Silverberg's version - Gilgamesh the King). There's a good summary on the wikipedia page.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immortality

Behind the Sun

Firstly, thanks again to everyone who purchased the book.

It has been very difficult to find out how many books were ordered on Tuesday the 27th of January, despite hitting #7 on an online shopping website. Whilst the number sold have not been worked out as of yet, I believe sales did go quite well.

I am disappointed about the cost of postage and shipping to Australia and apologise about the cost involved. I did not realise that postage would be so dear, and the decline of the Australian dollar has not helped either.

The next book is coming along well (15, 000 words and counting), so I hope that I can find a cheaper way to make and distribute the next book. Doing this within Australia would be ideal as the postage would be cheaper (or free) and the waiting times would not be as long as they have with Behind the Sun.

Please leave any feedback about the book or in regards to the above issues.

Anyone got a wristwatch mobile phone?

Watchers arise!
Just seen the first signs of the ‘watcher’ technology which features in Behind the Sun.
Has anyone bought or used one of these mobile wristwatch phones? What do you think of them?

Here are the websites.
http://www.current.com.au/2009/01/30/article/ZSCITWMVSP.html
http://www.nvmobile.com.au/

BTS hits # 7 for sci fi adventure on amazon

Tuesday was an exciting day. Been so busy - had no time to write about it till now.
Will started Prep - he looks unbelievably cute in his uniform. I will post a photo soon.

And BTS went up to #1089 (out of 3 million plus) on amazon and for a short while was #7 in the sci fi adventure category - just above a star wars novella. Thanks heaps to all who bought and supported it. Will let you know when I find out actual sales figures.

High tech exercise

So excited (again). Just ordered a Vibrating Fitness machine, just like the one in Behind the Sun (p.57). These were first developed to help prevent bone mass loss in astronuats. See the report at http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=9939 NASA status report August 2003.
"The vibrating platform uses low-magnitude, high-frequency signals to reintroduce this stress by tricking the body into thinking it is in something akin to normal gravity."
Also shown to help with balance, weight loss and flexibility. Just standing on the platform is good, but of course you can use it with specific exercises too (no excuses Sue)

Brendan Cowell in Behind the Sun

Middle of the night - can't sleep - daughter with a gastric bug. What to do? Keep searching for the best actor to play Alistair Stuart. Then it hit me - Russell Crowe is a bit too old and too famous (sorry Russ)
Brendan Cowell would be perfect. Perhaps rather too good looking but, hey, the guy can act any part he wants. Check out his website.
http://worldfilm.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=worldfilm&cdn=entertainment&tm=25&gps=79_167_1020_571&f=10&tt=14&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.geocities.com/sydneyactorwriter/

Getting to know Amazon!

Sales rankings, search inside, tags - things I had never thought about a few months ago. So much to learn, so may ways to promote your book on amazon.com. It's great fun watching your book creep up the list. I started at #11 and am now on #2 (if you search for Behind the Sun).

http://www.amazon.com/Behind-Sun-Sue-Nielsen/dp/1439213542/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231443876&sr=1-2

Also a little weird - I still feel like a mother watching her kid on the first day of school, running off into the noisy school yard. Will the other kids like him? Will he get lost in the crowd of 3 million?