2012 is my turn to give some of that joy back. Starting on 9th January I’ll be facilitating QWC Year of the Novel. I figure by then we’ll have all worked out which New Year’s resolutions we’re going to keep so there’ll be no excuses!!

The Year of the Novel takes writers on a year-long journey exploring a course designed by Dr Kim Wilkins. I’ll be right beside you guiding, explaining and cheering you on with every achievement. You’ll make new friends  in the on-line writing community and maybe find a crit partner (if that works for you). You’ll learn new writing and editing techniques. You’ll polish the skills you’ve already acquired. It will be a year of hard work and great success.

If your resolution is to start and finish a  novel then this course is for you. Christmas 2012 you’ll be celebrating your success

So, are you with me?

Check out QWC and their Australian Writers Marketplace for registration details. QWC Online Learning

Instead, somewhere in the cosmos, a bright young thing with time on their hands invented some sort of programme that would infect my twitter account. Lucky me…  I received a DM on twitter from a trusted (and government) site which had my book on a short list for inclusion in a reading programme advising me I was the subject of a blog. Foolishly I clicked on it.

Shortly after my day went to hell. Emails, tweets, DMs and even FB messages alerted me to the fact my twitter account was Direct Messaging everyone on my contact list with a message that went something like ‘There is a rumor/blog going around about you 123xzc… might want to read it…”

I was just about to walk out the door to the dentist so I did what I could and left. The messages kept coming and I felt more sick with each one. The worst was from a colleague who was on holidays and thought it was real as she’d been the subject of a petty little blog earlier in the year. By now I was between dental hygenists and dentists, in damage control, snapping out messages.

By the end of the day I was drained and emotional, but I thought it was finished. Instead, overnight more emails came in from people overseas who’d been infected. Sure the twitter message didn’t physically harm anyone, but it clearly caused some people hurt and dismay. Anyone who tried to open my message would have found themselves also spamming their contact list. All you can do to stop it is change your twitter password.

I’d love to think this won’t happen again, but I’ve noticed an increase in emails offering me all sort of things I don’t need and people wanting to be my bestest buddy. I guess it’s something I have to live with and I have to be more vigilant.

I wish the talent that can write such powerful programmes was being put to better use… Can someone please explain how anyone gets their thrills out of spamming? All I can see is a crazy power trip that cost me a day I won’t be getting back…

Dave, congratulations on your recent win as well as your new release. You must be delighted on both counts. Being published in America is something of a coup for an Australian Bush Poet.

Yes, I like to think so. Many bush poets have had poems published in a few different American magazines especially the American Cowboy magazine, but I’m not sure how many other bush poets have had their books published in America.

Tell us about your latest book and what inspired it.

I met Steven at ASA Publishing Company in 2007 when I entered their poetry competition. We seemed to ‘hit it off’ together have since become very good friends. In mid 2008 he suggested I publish a compilation with ASA. It took me a while to ‘warm’ to the idea, but I’m glad I did. I’m so proud of ‘OUT OF AUSTRALIA’ – 200 plus pages, 100 of my poems, plus quite a number with ‘Aussie’ photos for the world to read and enjoy.

It looks beautiful, Dave. You should be very proud of it.

When did you start writing?

I didn’t put pen to paper until late 2007. I had some quiet ‘me’ time where I was working and my thoughts kept going back to the time when I was a long-distance truck-driver.  I particularly remembered a trip I did to western Queensland and thought I should jot it down. As I was writing the lines I subconsciously kept ending in rhyme. I had never written anything before except in primary school – the usual short essays. What makes my achievements more remarkable is the fact I had the schooling equivalent to about a 14 year old and when I did make it to grade 8, I stayed approximately 3 months then left to join the workforce. Because of that I do I have to ask someone to punctuate my writing for me  - I’m hopeless at it.  (Not bad for a bloke who only made it to Grade 8, Dave )

What made you choose Bush Poetry as your medium?

I believe bush poetry chose me. I have always enjoyed reading bush poetry, especially in my younger days. My Grandfather and Uncle had books and I would sneak away to read the likes of Banjo Paterson, Henry Lawson, Henry Kendall, Barcroft Henry Boake and many more great Aussie poets.

Some of my favourite Australian poets are on that list too! Tell us a bit about Australia Bush Poetry. What sets it apart from other forms of poetry? Are there rules that help define it?

I think Australian bush poetry has its own distinct way of weaving its way into Aussie hearts via the story behind the poem and the visions the poem creates. I don’t care how much someone says they don’t like bush poetry, I bet they could recite some lines from a famous bush poem. As far as rules go according to the Australian Bush Poetry Association -’Bush poems have consistent metre and are rhymed poetry about Australia, Australians and/or the Australian way of life.’

Are there particular topics that lend themselves to Bush Poetry?

Here is where some confusion lies. Some think bush poetry has to be about the bush or drovers and cattle or horses etc. But there are no particular topics. One can write about the Barrier reef or long white beaches, so long as it  is metred, rhyming poetry about Australia, Aussies or our great way of life.

That sounds easy, Dave but I suspect it’s not…

Have you ventured into other forms of poetry?

Oh yes, in my early days of writing I believed bush poetry was the ‘be all end all’ and other forms were not worth looking at but, since joining Tropical Writers in Cairns,  and with the assistance of Hazel Menehira, the poets at TW, and Poets Online, I have learnt to appreciate just what disciplines and structures are involved in other forms. I have now written award winning sonnets, free verse and traditional verse. I’ve also had wonderful compliments for my Haiku and Tanka poetry. Though in saying that, my first love will always be Australian bush poetry.

You’ve received a number of awards during your very busy 4 years of writing.

I have. Here’s the list.

Selected in the top ten award for ASA Publishing’s anthology 2007.

Primary short list/commended place, Tom Howard poetry competition 2008

2nd place in ASA Publishing poetry competition 2008.

Commended place in Scribligums ‘Gumblossoms’ competition 2008.

The ‘Double Tap’ award for war poetry presented by the International War Veterans Poetry Archives 22^nd November 2008.

Commended place in Scribligums ‘Gumblossoms’ competition 2010.

2nd place in Scribligums short story competition 2010.

Commended place in Scribligums short story competition 2010.

Commended place in the Cervantes bush poetry competition 2010.

1st place in the Reef Writers, Port Douglas Gazette poetry competition 2010.

Commended place in the Eastwood/Hills region of the Fellowship of Australian Writers

2011 literary competition, traditional section for my sonnet ‘Why’.

1st place in the Reef Writers, Port Douglas Gazette poetry competition 2011.

That’s very impressive!!

Do you have favourite topics to write about? If so, what are they?

No I don’t really have any particular favourite topics though obviously I do enjoy writing about the Aussie landscape and our war heroes.

How do you hope to differentiate yourself from other poets?

I’m not all that interested in distinguishing myself from other poets. I would rather be accepted by other poets, as a poet, and be known for what and how I write. I would also like to ignite the interests of school aged children and those not normally involved with poetry with my poems.

There are many readers who are not quite sure what poets are trying to say. I’m sure we all spent hours at school grappling with the hidden meaning in poems. Your writing is so clear. Did you deliberately set out to write poems that had no ambiguity, poems that say what they mean?

No..it was not my intention, it’s how I write. I think a lot of today’s poets and their poetry is too ‘sterile’ or ‘academic,’ using words, phrases or metaphors that average people do not understand. I believe this is one of the reasons poetry has lost some of its appeal. I try to keep my writing simple and clear so everyone can understand them.

You’ve succeeded there, Dave!

I know you also write short stories and have had many of those published.

Yes, I’m quite proud of my memoir/short story achievements, firstly there was the James Cook University where my ‘Tony the Wogs Mango tree’ was accepted by a panel of academics for publication in their journal LiNQ, I also had ‘Duffel bag of poetry receive 2nd place in Scribligums short story competition 2010 against submissions worldwide, as did ‘Encounter of a Different Kind’ receive a commended place in Scribligums short story competition 2010.

What’s next? What project are you working on at the moment?

I’m not actually working on any projects at the moment, though I am still writing the odd poem when the inspiration hits me, also I’m concentrating on promoting my new book and just ‘getting it out there’ and already thinking about my next book which will be a collection of new poems and short stories.

Dave, thanks for taking the time to visit us today. Your new book OUT OF AUSTRALIA is currently available from Amazon, Barnes Noble, online shops & soon will be available from Collins Bookseller Smithfield & the ABC shop in Cairns central.

You can contact Dave ata info@davidjdelaney.com for a signed copy.

Follow his blog  http://readeasypoetry.wordpress.com and find him on Face Book

David Delaney

I am a former Brisbane boy but now currently live and work in Cairns with my very patient, and darling wife, I sometimes wonder where I get the time to write but always seem to manage to pen something, also I am a member Tropical writers group Cairns, Arts nexus Cairns & Australian Bush Poets Association among other literary sites on the web.

Having had limited education including no formal education in writing and now in my late 50′s, I wanted to show that someone like myself without higher schooling could write and enjoy it. For me school, Rocklea State School, (when I was there) was a place to ‘hang out’ with my mates and I actually only completed 3 months of high school (Salisbury) before leaving at the age of 15.

After numerous jobs throughout my youth I eventually moved into Furniture Removals where I stayed for approximately 25 years. For 17 of these, my wife and I operated our own removal business, and was able to travel extensively throughout N.S.W and Queensland.

Since leaving the removal industry several years ago and having some ‘thinking’ time, my experiences, memories of driving the highways and tracks, the vast and beautiful outback, my wife, daughters, grand children and family, stories from mates, work colleagues and close war veterans have given me the inspiration for my writings.

Yet another study has been conducted on whether make-up wearing women receive a more positive response in the workplace. Here’s the full story Makeup: The Key to Success? The study was funded by Fortune 500 heavyweight Procter & Gamble (who’s big in the cosmetic world as well as consumer goods), but executed by researchers from three prestigious organisations – Harvard and Boston Universities, and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Unlike the numerous studies that have gone before this one asked the question ‘Are women who wear makeup perceived as being more capable and trustworthy.’ According to the 268 people used in the study the answer is a resounding yes… Bet you’re not surprised either. (GW reckons makeup makes you look younger, but a padded bra probably work even better – sad that he has no idea his attempts at humour are all too often true…)

Nancy Etcoff, author of Survival Of The Prettiest: The Science Of Beauty, says the two are inextricably linked.

“We can hypothesise that greater perceived attractiveness and competence go together, that they are both indicators of social power,” she added. “I have done brain imaging studies that suggest certain features of faces – symmetry, youthfulness and sexual dimorphism [the ways that female characteristics differ from those of males] – are considered attractive. The face is seen as an advertisement of health and fertility and a potential good mate or partner.”

Oh goodie! Approaching 50 means my health is questionable and any ‘mating’ has nothing to do with fertility, so does that mean I’m wasting my time with make-up? Or will my passengers be more comfortable having a make-up wearing captain on their flight?

The good folk at Procter & Gamble, including one of their scientists, Dr Sarah Vickery, stress that their findings don’t claim women have to wear makeup in order to appear capable, but rather that it’s a tool they can use to create impressions and, in part, control the way others see them.

Okaaay. I can kind of understand that spin because I watched my beautiful young niece positively glow when she had a lesson in applying make-up lightly and wisely. And I’m guilty of loving my mascara… I am also guilty of ensuring I’ve put my warpaint on prior to heading into a meeting with the blokes. I understand the rules even if I don’t like them.

But I want to see a study into whether men who’ve bothered to have a shave, straighten their eyebrows and trim their nasal hairs, are more trustworthy than their neanderthal brothers?

Where I work appearances for half the workforce as strictly enforced down to nail polish colour, jewellery, heel height, hair styles, and of course, make-up. The other half, sat up the pointy end in the flight deck (no cockpits on my aircraft), are required to refrain from facial piercings, keep their facial hair neatly trimmed (menopause might make that tricky…) and ensure their hair is not over their collar. The crew down the back are largely immaculate. The one’s up the front?

Frankly, some of the fellows I’ve flown with in 23 years could do with a lesson in wielding a clothes iron and the correct application of deodorant. But that aside, do we simply respond to someone who’s well presented, carrying themselves with authority and looks as though they’ve taken some care with their presentation?

Surely the gender bias in these sorts of studies is all about selling more make-up rather than true social commentary.

What do you think? Would you trust a scruffy man over a tidy one? Do you think a woman with make-up is more competent than her natural counterpart?

If you need a laugh in your day go and read the comments at the bottom of the on-line article – I hope they’re joking…

The full study can be found at http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0025656

Last Sunday Graham and I went for a bike ride and I snapped a couple of shots of my favourite places.

Hope you enjoy them as much as I do

Board walks at Palm Cove

Red Peak from the Old Barron River Bridge

Saddle Mountain under cloud

Queensland Writers Centre has an online department called Australian Writer’s Marketplace Online – AWM Online. It’s a wonderful resource for writers covering everything from advice to on-line courses, to forums. Every Tuesday night they have a guest author join them for a one hour writing sprint. I was fortunate enough to be invited to participate. I had a ball chatting to the guys and some of that discussion has been posted as a blog on their site. You can find it here at  http://blog.awmonline.com.au/.

So if your muscles could do with a tone up put aside an hour on a Tuesday night – QLD time 8 pm – and join in the fun!!

And meanwhile happy reading and writing to you all!

We spend a lot of time planning for that eventuality – completing emergency procedures training, and flying flight simulators where we deal with emergencies and abnormalities right through to landing with only one engine operating. The training has to be rigorous and exacting because there will be no second chance in real life.

Yesterday I had to put that training into action when a malfunction in one of our engines meant we were required to shut it down on descent to our destination. For any nervous flyers out there I can now personally reassure you not only does the training work but when the captain says in their PA ‘This aircraft can comfortably fly on one engine’ they aren’t lying. The aircraft does perform as the manufacturer claims (even better, I suspect!!) and some of our passengers didn’t even notice we’d shut one down until I made my PA and woke them up!

I had a fantastic team with me both in the air and on the ground. Thanks guys, you were exemplary.

While this particular incident isn’t going to end up in a story any time soon, the way my body felt, the adrenalin rush, the clarity of vision, the colour of the world around me, may do. It’s easy to forget that we are pre-programmed by genetics to react to threats by our ‘flight or fight’ response. The role of good training is to keep that response focused on the job at hand. All that makes great fodder for a writer’s devious mind

For me, it’s instantly evocative of that time when you leave school and people who are your best friends disappear never to touch your life again. In this case I’m lucky and many years later she’s still a good friend.

Good friends should be treasured.

The veiling grey of time

Is gently stirred and parted by the changing winds of thought.

The past is glimpsed as pictures,

Held within the limits of the mind.

The times of laughter and of loving all clearer than the rest.

But the shadowed grey of sorrow serves to heighten all the crests.

The freedom of two minds who in passing caught a glimpse,

And paused to spend a moment and view the other’s being.

Two minds grown in union, reflections of their times.

Innocence of youth seen through the eyes of man.

Like chrysalis emerging we shed the mantle of our youth.

We chose our paths and ventured on, each better for that glimpse.

I see you now and wonder, was my gift as great as yours?

Is it ever possible to repay a debt so large?

Child-woman journey on through life

But keep your memories pure,

And leave a corner of your mind for our time.

I thank you for the past you’ve left behind.

GW and I looked at each other and smiled politely. Services club in Port? If it was any good we’d have heard about it before now wouldn’t we?

Apparently not!

The Port Douglas and District Combined Services Club is another hidden treasure now added to my list.

Thanks, Pete

The Tin Shed!

The Tin Shed Deck

The View