Author Archives: Felicity Banks Books

101 Awesomenesses: Report

I have taken MANY liberties (mainly shortening and some retitling) with this list, but the original list is here. The pictures below are mine, except for the last one. There will be more awesome linked lists (top tens and suchlike) soon. 1. Pajama party In bed. Just you, something (or someone) to snuggle, a laptop, notebookContinue reading “101 Awesomenesses: Report”

Final Megalist for Year of Awesomeness

If you click on the “megalist of awesomeness” tag, you get a list of links to all the awesomenesses of the past twelve months – I’ll shortly be compiling a greatest hits list with proper links just for you (and of course revisiting the steffmetal list that started it all). As always, I’ve reposted some of theContinue reading “Final Megalist for Year of Awesomeness”

Last Day of Daily Awesomeness Year

Here’s the letter I wrote to myself exactly one year ago (in bold) and my responses. 25 March 2010 24 March 2011 Dear Future Louise, There’s just one question I have to ask right away: have you been accepted for publication yet? If you’ve gone yet another year without a major acceptance, I don’t know whatContinue reading “Last Day of Daily Awesomeness Year”

#308: Skyfire

Skyfire means two things: 1. Fireworks set to music. 2. Canberra’s annual rush hour – with drunkenness and Canberrans (unnaccustomed to serious traffic) in the mix. Oh, and jet fighters. People gather all around Lake Burley Griffin for hours before any kind of show begins. Around six o’clock, stuff starts happening. Jet fighters, helicopters, JessicaContinue reading “#308: Skyfire”

Guest blog on sailing and ballooning

Here it is, as promised – with more pics and writerly descriptions of what the experience is like. http://ripping-ozzie-reads.com/2011/03/21/tall-ships-and-balloon-travel-what-are-they-really-like/ Ripping Ozzie Reads is a blog I’ve been following for more than a year. It’s run by a group of well-known Aussie writers, and has lots of interviews and writing articles.

S#76: I am an aeronaut

I’ve written a shiny new guest blog (about ballooning and sailing a tall ship, from the perspective of a writer), all the details of which will be revealed very soon. Today, finally, is the triumphant blog of riding in a hot air balloon. Here’s how it went: The pilot released a large helium balloon with a lightContinue reading “S#76: I am an aeronaut”

#305: Leftovers

When I was a child, “leftovers” meant the unidentifiable frozen sludge freezer-burnt into the permanent ice shelf. One of the things CJ brought into our marriage was a habit of frequent leftovers, and I love it. Because as an adult, what “leftovers” means is super-fast preparation time and barely any dishes. So here’s CJ’s lasagnaContinue reading “#305: Leftovers”

#304: Fall asleep at work

The ability to fall asleep anywhere is the talent that bites back. Because you end up falling asleep everywhere. I used to work at Questacon (the National Science and Technology Centre, a popular tourist attraction) which gets extremely quiet in February each year as the school term starts. And by “extremely quiet” I mean “post-apocalypticallyContinue reading “#304: Fall asleep at work”

#303: Start a novel

As you know, I’ve been researching and planning a steampunk book for most of this year. Now, finally, it has begun, and I’m having a fabulous time. Here are some of my research notes, and plot and character planning (this scene occured after getting CJ’s permission to take over the kitchen and living room): TheContinue reading “#303: Start a novel”

#303: When he cooks

This is what it means when I cook: The food generally costs under $2.50 per serve, and takes less than half an hour to appear. Here’s what it means when CJ cooks: The focus is on one thing – deliciousness. Both of us are “good” cooks in our own way, but everything is more epic when CJ cooks*.Continue reading “#303: When he cooks”

S#86: Starry Night

My mission of awesomeness was to visit an observatory or planetarium. In an odd coincidence, both of Canberra’s star-gazing places (Stromlo and Dickson) have burnt down in unrelated incidents (presumably we’re getting invaded by an army of high-flying yaks who needed to ensure they aren’t seen). So CJ and I took a picnic rug andContinue reading “S#86: Starry Night”

#299: Steampunk Research

In January I decided to write a steampunk series. This was daunting, because I’m no historian. I decided to remedy my ignorance (to a very minor extent) by reading twenty nonfiction books (and of course spending time on wikipedia and elsewhere). I also took another look at the TV series “Worst Jobs in History”, visitedContinue reading “#299: Steampunk Research”