Perth Words… exploring possibilities.

Another year, another film by David O. Russell that stars Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert de Niro.

Looking back on my reviews of Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle, I was probably too kind to them.

I recently rewatched both films and while the performances are strong, Russell’s narrative now seems unwieldy. American Hustle, in particular, indulges in all sorts of 1970s fetishism and wallows in the excess of the period. Did I really give it 5 out of 5?!?

I think I wrote that he encourages improvisation in his cast, and that can be a good thing, but maybe he needs to rein it in.

And cut back on the Scorcese-isms.

Oh, what’s this, a Rolling Stone song?

Joy tells the story of Joy Mangano, the woman who invented the Miracle Mop. A single mother of three, Mangano struggled to make it as an inventor before…

Today was what is traditionally described in Ireland as ‘a soft day.’ That’s a nice term for a misty, drizzly, warmish kind of a day when you think you’ll never see a blue sky again.

When I peeped out the front door in semi-despair this morning, the haunting look of our Monkey Puzzle tree carried me away from thoughts of blue and the blues:

Monkey Puzzle

Softness was playing in the prickly branches and the greens were greener than green.

All thoughts of staying in and waiting for the ‘day to rise’ left me and Stan and I headed to a deserted Garrarus Beach where the tide was fully out. It certainly wasn’t the stuff of picture postcards looking out to sea but the shoreline carried all sorts of soft promises:

Garrarus Beach, Co. Waterford

This was a day to focus on the gifts that the high tide…

If you’re looking at the heading of this post and wondering what the heck, these things have a place in a new story of mine that has just been published in Review of Australian Fiction.

RAF is a fabulous online publication dedicated to short works of fiction. It publishes two stories every two weeks, delivered in mobi (for Kindle) or ePub (for iPhone/iPad, Kobo, Nook, Readmill) format, and each issue pairs an established writer with an emerging writer.

The six-issue volume that has just begun is a special one featuring Western Australian writers—an innovative and generous gesture of support by the editors following the announcement a few months ago that funding for the Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards would, in effect, be halved. Commissioning editor for the volume is Laurie Steed, whose own stories have been widely published in literary journals and anthologies; his is one of…

Walls, and especially fragments of old walls, always draw me in. High up on the cliffs over Annestown Beach this sliver of wall  blends perfectly into its surroundings. It’s like nature is trying to make it its own but the human hand and heart still linger there and will until the last stone is gone.

There are no clues now about the builder or maybe more than one person was involved. Did they have the time or inclination to bask in the scenery of the Copper Coast? How far back was the wall from the now crumbling cliff? How far did the wall stretch? Was it a boundary wall to prevent animals from falling into the deep sea below? I always think of John B. Keane’s, The Field, when I’m there.

Over the years, did people sit on this wall chatting in the summer sunshine. Maybe it was a…

Interview by Nicole Melanson ~

Kate Forsyth wrote her first novel at seven, and is now the award-winning & internationally bestselling author of more than thirty books. Recently voted one of Australia’s Favourite 20 Novelists, Kate has a doctorate in fairy tale studies and is an accredited master storyteller. Her adult books include The Wild Girl, the story of the forbidden romance behind the Grimm Brothers’ famous fairy tales, and Bitter Greens, called “the best fairy tale retelling since Angela Carter”. It won the 2015 ALA Prize for Best Historical Fiction and came in at No 27 in Dymocks 2015 list of Australia’s Top 101 Books. Kate’s children’s novels include The Impossible Quest, The Puzzle Ring and the award-winning The Gypsy Crown. Kate is a direct descendant of Charlotte Waring, the author of the first book for children ever published in Australia.

Kate Forsyth’s website

Kate’s…

I have been uncharacteristically quiet over the numerous postings on social media about  the leopard attack which has received such outpourings of emotion.

Now that things are a tad quieter, let’s examine this event in detail, and let you all in on a few home-truths…..

First and foremost must be mention of totally irresponsible reporting. Reporting  that feeds emotions rather than the facts. One newspaper even went so far as to refer to the animal as a tiger.

Of course, people lap all this up, sitting back in their comfortable homes, looking at expensive computer equipment and making some of the most inane comments I have ever seen.

Look into the human aspect first.

The leopard was at the edge of the bush, fairly close to the road. The only unusual aspect to this is that leopard are secretive, cautious and very shy. Perhaps the driver should have realised something…