I have a personal-literary essay, about a complex fantasy I experience when I'm deeply anxious, in the latest Island mag. This one was very hard to write – I had to tackle some unexpected feelings of shame – but I'm glad I pushed myself to go deep into it. The essay actually ties in fairly well with … Continue reading ‘Running Away’ in Island #153
anxiety
What I’m Reading, for the Meanjin blog
I lost [my enthusiasm] for a while, recently. Another part of me took over, a part that couldn’t make those connections, couldn’t really envision those pathways. Every now and then, a lamp flickered and I caught sight of a few stones. For the most part though, I lost my capacity. It was an effort to … Continue reading What I’m Reading, for the Meanjin blog
Interviews in The West Australian and Tincture
In the West Australian: 'I thought of (Captives) as a pillbox of stories,' Meyer says. 'There are different coloured pills - a pink one and a blue one and a yellow one—and they produce different effects and maybe you can't take too many at once. And they're a little dark and a little strange. But … Continue reading Interviews in The West Australian and Tincture
Vertigo
Yesterday I climbed the mountain Beinn Eighe, and it was breathtaking. I get a bit of vertigo; when there's a drop by the path I have to lean away from it and not look down or else my legs crumble and my head spins. As I laid in bed last night, my muscles humming with … Continue reading Vertigo
Fear, failure and fraudulence at the Wheeler Centre blog
I was very happy to be asked to springboard off my recent post Stella, and a digression on envy, work, inadequacy for the Wheeler Centre blog. Authors Krissy Kneen, Alan Baxter, Max Barry and Mel Campbell kindly and honestly responded to my probing questions about writerly anxieties and feelings of inadequacy, and some of their responses … Continue reading Fear, failure and fraudulence at the Wheeler Centre blog
Grey areas of madness: an interview with Jon Ronson, on The Psychopath Test
Picador, Australia, 9780330451369 (paperback) In The Psychopath Test Jon Ronson takes us on journey through the mad 'industry' of madness. And it's not all acid-tripping psychopaths. Ronson follows leads to high-security prisons, a mansion filled with predators... and to L Ron Hubbard’s coca cola stain. What results is an inevitably open-ended, sometimes frightening and often hilarious look … Continue reading Grey areas of madness: an interview with Jon Ronson, on The Psychopath Test
Some of my short stories available as ebooks
I decided to extend the life of some of my short stories that have been published in journals/magazines over the last few years, by publishing them digitally. It's a bit of a (fairly safe) experiment in self-publishing and the world of ebooks. I'm loving reading on my Kobo eReader, and I've made these stories available … Continue reading Some of my short stories available as ebooks
Turbulence
A conversation with the self: ‘Here we go.' 'Of course.' 'It’s normal, don’t worry’. 'But this swoop in my chest!' ‘It’s just anxiety, you’re dizzy, it’s nothing. It’s just a bit windy out.’ ‘But what of this pressure. I have no control. I can’t feel my face. Oh God.’ ‘When you think about it, it … Continue reading Turbulence
Express or Die? The Sensidictory Artist – an extract
Here is an extract from my piece in The Death Mook, being launched tomorrow night at Dante's in Fitzroy, Vic. Buy it here. In the full piece I discuss Sylvia Plath, Susanna Kaysen, and Elizabeth Wurtzel (in that order). As I'll be reading the Sylvia Plath section tomorrow night, I'm reproducing the introduction and the middle section … Continue reading Express or Die? The Sensidictory Artist – an extract
