A very dear friend of mine with not much time left looked me in the eyes yesterday as said ‘You know, I think this is Fate.’ She was referring to the turn of events that led to me standing there rather than her dying. I think she’s probably right, after all, if a person in her condition, one of the brightest fires of humanity I’ve ever known reduced to nothing more than the spark can say that, then it might just be true.

I’m suppossed to be at the Woodford Festival for the next week or so, but instead I’m in Tasmania to be with my friend. The Fate she was referring to is that my current story is set in Tasmania, and that I’d been trying to get down there again this year. It’s another inspiration flash story, a lot like Swim the Moon (in the way the ideas and story were initially formed), and that flash happened last time I was here, as we were driving out to a peaceful protest against logging in the Florentine Valley. I told her about it then, and it was the first thing she asked me about when I arrived.

I’ve no idea how long I’ll be down here for. It could be weeks, but somehow I don’t think so. I’ve promised Helen I’ll start the story here, in her beautiful house, and I’ve already spoken to Alan (who took the amazing photo in the blog banner) and we’re heading out back to the Florentine for a bit of off-track rainforest exploring during the quiet times.

I don’t think I’ll be in the right headspace to get much writing done, but I made a promise to Helen, and I’ve started, and that’s the important thing.

Currently listening to: Another Empty Galaxy by Deepspace