In Melbourne...

It has been an extremely busy month, with me flat out getting The Bunker all finished and beyootiful for my pitch to Cindy Hwang at the Romance Writers Conference in Melbourne. Where I happen to be right now, and, let me add, it is perishing cold and pouring rain. So instead of having a bracing walk along the Yarra I am holed up in my hotel room, eating chocolate and selecting which beauty treatment I shall spoil myself with. Yes, I am suffering for my art (again).

I arrived here at around 8am this morning, after spending last night on the sleeper train from Sydney to Melbourne. It was an extremely cool way to spend the night. I had my own little room, all to myself, and a tiny tiny bathroom, where you had to unhook the toilet from the wall, and the sink. Unusual is the only comment I shall make on the bathroom experiences. Very unusual. Being an extremely light sleeper who gets driven completely up the wall by external noise, meant that the fact my cabin was around eight metres behind a massive diesel engine and accompanying horn that had to be blown about every twenty minutes, was not conducive to a long and restful night. I did however lie on my bed and watch the moonlit nightscape fly past, drifting off, until the driver blew the sodding horn again. I'm doing it again on Sunday night, but think this time I'll involve alcohol.

Then had my first run in with a Melburnian taxi driver, he only managed to get us nearly killed four times in a five minute trip. He was amazed to discover that Sydney is so far away from Melbourne. Yes. Nuff said really.

Two hours spent over breakfast, then shopping, lunch, bumped into two famous comedians (think Chaser boys), gallons of tea, lots of chocolate and after I've had a manicure, I will be lying in bed and getting someone to Bring Me My Dinner. Given that dinner is generally eaten standing up, keeping the peace between the screamies, I'm rather looking forward to it. Oh, and I might pop down to the bar, just for a spot of networking you understand. Nothing more. Just networking.

I should of course be perfecting my pitch, and I may well get the relevant bits of paper out and scatter them around a bit - good grief, its hailing - but really I am carefully conserving my strength for tomorrow - an all day workshop with Margie Lawson on empowering characters emotions. Yes, I can't wait either.