Hello to all my blog readers at the beginning of 2016, as the Year of the Goat (in Chinese Astrology) is coming to an end. And the Year of the Monkey is going to begin. I hope this year will be even better than the last one for you and yours. Here in the southern hemisphere, it’s summer, although it hasn’t been as hot nor as summery as it usually is by this time; the water temperature in the ocean is still less than 20 degrees, which is really unusual for  January. And we haven’t had any hot days here in Sydney yet. It’s a different story in other states, of course, where bushfires have raged. I hope to be able to keep writing interesting posts for this blog in 2016. I’d also like to finish a book or two, either by getting it edited and published, or uploading it as an e-book on Amazon. My memoir called River Girl is based on a bitter-sweet childhood  in a country area of NSW. The fictional novel I’ve nearly finished is Karrana loosely based on my parents’ story. One of the fears of fiction writers, including some of my friends, is that, if they self publish with Amazon, their book might just sit there and not be bought or read. Any ideas or experiences from writers who have tried indie? I’m still thinking about writing a how-to book for new writers. So any suggestions for tips or ideas on this will be warmly welcomed too. I imagine it’s cold or even snowing in your part of the world. It must be great to look out and see your world transformed into a magic faraway land under a blanket of never-ending white. I hope to experience that again one day. For the moment, the weather here is  good for staying inside and writing, writing, writing…