Farewell, Gitte.

It is with great sadness I write this.

My friend and fellow writer, Gitte Christensen, passed away this morning after a long illness. A couple of weeks ago, surrounded by family members, her life-support was switched off.

Even then Gitte showed great courage, as she has done all along. I’ve been told she said that despite the machines being switched off, she would continue to fight.

Gitte was very private, and asked that I not share her situation with anyone until now.

Those who read Gitte’s blog will know that from time to time she mentioned her illnesses, her surgery and her pains. But you will also know she never dwelt on them, or complained about them. And she certainly never went into any details. She just wrote about how they were preventing her from writing.

I spoke to Gitte several times about her health. Gitte never described what was wrong with her, and I never asked. I believed it was cancer, and I’ve now had this confirmed. Gitte was a Danish warrior. Two years ago she was told she would not live to see that Christmas. It was only two months ago she went horse-riding, one of her great loves. 

Gitte was honest, humble and full of integrity. And optimistic – always optimistic. She was a prolific writer, a quiet achiever. Unknown by many in Australia, she had some great publishing credits. Andromeda Spaceways, Aurealis, Eric Guignard’s  ‘Dark Tales Of Lost Civilizations’, ‘The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror 2010’, and a whole bunch more. Last year one of her stories was selected by Alex Dally McPherson for inclusion in ‘Aliens: Recent Encounters.’

Gitte and I always wanted to share a TOC. This dream was realised only last week, as we both have stories in issue 59 of Andromeda Spaceways. I’m thrilled that in the past month Gitte has sold even more stories, including one only a few days ago. Her family will be maintaining her website, and details will be published there as those stories go to press.

I first met Gitte at a Sean Williams workshop. We said nice things about each other’s writing, and stayed in touch. From there we developed a mutual respect which became a friendship. Gitte and I encouraged, supported and congratulated each other. Every year we would meet up at a convention or writing event. I last saw her at a Jack Dann workshop. She was unable to finish that course due to her health.

Take a moment to wish her well on her travels into the great unknown, and if you are so inclined, donate money to a cancer research organization.

Farewell, Gitte.

Through The Storm.

I started teaching at my new school a couple of weeks ago, and I feel like I'm just starting to settle in. After nine years at my last school, it has been quite a change. Different methods, procedures, texts, classes, students, culture and so on.

My new colleagues have been fantastic - very encouraging, giving and supportive. I've been able to ask them for advice and help as I get up to speed with what's being taught. I came in to teach a couple of classes in the very last week before their assessment, which meant I not only had to read and comprehend the texts in a matter of days, but also had to look at what they'd been taught and what was expected from them.

But I feel like I'm (almost) on top of it all now.

In writing news, I don't have much to offer at the moment. The change of school has meant writing has taken a back seat for the past month, although I plan to get some new writing done shortly. I have a story due for publication in Outposts of Beyond next week and another story due for publication in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine anytime now.

I also had a story placed on hold for further consideration a couple of days ago, which is really exciting - or at least it will be if it is purchased.

All in all, life is pretty good. And although I fear change, I think I'm adapting to my new surroundings rather well.

Writer. Reader. Rider.

A few years ago, when I first started writing, I signed up for a Sean Williams' workshop. At the time I had no idea who he was. In fact, for some reason I thought he'd be an American.

I loved that weekend. I learned a great deal about the Spec Fic community, about writing and publishing opportunities, and came home enthused and energised. I also met a number of people - including a few with whom I've remained in regular contact.

The group read the submitted piece from a lady who sat on the opposite side of the room from me, and I really enjoyed it. It had a beautiful lyrical quality to the writing, a wonderful sense of measured pace and decadence in the created world that reminded me of one of Moorcock's Eternal Champion stories. I don't know if she ever finished that story - I'm still hoping to see the final product.

We chatted later - her name was Gitte Christensen - and over the years we've bumped into each other at conventions and the like, and stayed in touch.

Gitte is a quiet achiever. She's dedicated and focused, and a terrific writer to boot, and yet there are other writers with lesser bibliographies that I hear mentioned more frequently. Gitte has the credentials and continues to publish quality fiction. She's seen publication in Aurealis, Andromeda Spaceways, The Tangled Bank and Dark Tales of Lost Civilizations amongst a host of anthologies and other magazines. She's been a semi-finalist in Writers of The Future, and had a story included in the inaugural  The Year's Best Australian Fantasy and Horror collection from Ticonderoga. She was interviewed for Snapshot 2012, and maintains a fantastic blog. She has received terrific reviews for her work - for example, here, and here.

She's a writer I respect and admire. And beyond that, Gitte's just a friendly, humble writer. Keep an eye out for her and get to know her work.

Don't be one of those who asks "Gitte who?" 

Reading And Writing.

It's important to keep up to date.

I recently read an anthology of short stories from a (very) small press.  There was nothing startling about the collection. One story stood out as excellent, a couple I thought were merely OK, while the rest were, in my opinion, quite below standard.

It so happens that I've seen the author of one of those 'below standard' pieces online - bragging about the sale and obviously  very proud. And I have absolutely no problem with that. It's a little unfortunate that in their naivety they haven't recognised the level at which they have been published. I did, however, have a chuckle when the writer started suggesting the story was truly original, completely brilliant and was even talking about major awards.

It was simply obvious to me that the writer hadn't read much SF.

While the writing was fairly uninspired and flat, the real problem was the story was one that I've read many times before. And I picked the ending in the first paragraph or so.

It's important for a writer to know the history of their genre. And to keep up to date.

When I submitted one of my first stories (So Sad, The Lighthouse Keeper) to a well known small press, the editor told me that I'd obviously read a lot and all that reading had paid off. He told me that it showed in the confident and calm manner of the writing and the descriptive prose. He then advised me that the story wasn't done yet, rejected it and broke my heart.

And damn his eyes, he was right. It needed more work.

I try to keep my reading broad. I read a lot of non-fiction, not just science but historical, biographical, travel - anything that takes my interest. Fiction-wise, I read almost anything - stories of all genres and all lengths. I regularly read Asimov's, Andromeda, Analog, and a couple of others. I can even tell you the differences between the purchasing tastes of Sheila Williams, Gordon Van Gelder and Stanley Schmidt.

And don't forget local small press. I read what I can from the markets I sub to. I try to ensure I know what Ticonderoga, Fablecroft and Twelfth Planet are publishing.

After all, if I plan to sell to these markets, I must know what they're buying.