(no subject)

Dear Australia, I am sorry that half of you is on fire.

If there's anything I or the Cafe can do, lemme know. I can't seem to find any links to aid sites where people can donate, but if you know of some please link in comments. If you need to use the cafe as a messageboard, feel free.

(no subject)

Uh.

I think I just finished The Dead Isle.

(And am so blitzed I typed "The Dead Aisle". DEATH TO AISLES.)

Timestamp it, 4:15 pm. Wordcount, just a little over 200,000. One year, three months, eight days, lots of hesitation, even more typos, some serious quality time with Wikipedia and Google Maps, and steampunk websites beyond counting.

I need to take a nap or eat a meal or something. I'll post a little later this evening after I've gone over the last two chapters for egregious typos and stuff.

Wow.

In south Australia I was born, heave-away, haul-away...

(no subject)

Okay. The last two chapters are posted.

Chapter Forty-Four: Brilliant Birds
Chapter Forty-Five: Welcome to Australia

It's...really weird and feels kind of inappropriate to have been writing and posting the last of a book about Australian racial politics, especially one entitled The Dead Isle, while much of southern Australia is under threat of fire, much of northern Australia is flooded, and the death toll from the fires is already over a hundred. Many cafe readers have friends and family who are in danger, or who have lost their homes or are facing that reality in the near future. You are all in my thoughts, as I'm sure you are in all of the Cafe's.

futureperfect is running updates and news regarding the fires and glitterisblue has a very good "What you can do" resource post here. There is what appears to be updating news and links to updating news here.

It's hard to donate internationally, and the Australian Red Cross is hard to access right now, I suspect it's taking a lot of hits, but you can try it here and they will still need the money a few days from now if you can't get to it right now. Also, the International Response Fund at your local Red Cross website will probably be channeling a lot of money to Australia. I thought about offering matching donation as others have done, but I don't really think we'd have any trouble, given the size of the cafe, in reaching the paltry upper limit I could offer, so I've just gone ahead and donated my upper limit. If you are international and want to donate, karenhealey is taking paypal donations still though her matching limit has been reached, and minna as well. Even if it's just a few dollars, it helps.

I started Jack & Ellis as a steampunk adventure about two very different blokes, but it became a story about an Australian woman trying to help her country, and even though it's a fantasy country it is still very much Australia. I hope I've come to understand at least some of it: I've studied its history and geography, the real racial issues that have existed and still exist today, the stories of transportees and indigenous peoples, all kinds of art and architecture, and the legends and myths that make up the fabric of the country. I feel like it's mine a little bit, and it guts me to see what's happening there right now.