The Editing Adventure Begins!

This morning I had my second meeting with Robert Stephenson, to go over the first chapter of my novel. What a mess!!!! There is so much pen all over it, so much work crossed out and shifted around. Robert was expecting me to scream but instead I grinned!

This is all so exciting. I expected my novel would need some pretty hefty work, and it is so good to get this feedback and to see a new direction for my story. It will always be my work, but Robert is helping me make it the best it can be.

I feel like a sculptor with a piece of roughly shaped stone, chiseling away with my hammer to create a piece of art. It is amazing! I feel so lucky to be represented by this somewhat crazy, but highly efficient and professional agent. He has made a big name for himself, and googling him yielded some interesting articles and biographies. Apparently he has been sighted standing in his garden naked with a rose between his teeth, for no given reason. Yes, he may be slightly mad (in the good way), he may be eccentric, but I also believe he will help me to achieve my best.

Below is some information directly copied from the Altair website, which you can see in context at http://www.altair-australia.com/altair/about.html I thought I'd put this in my blog for you to have a look at, and there is more information at the actual website.

About Altair Agency
Altair-Australia Literary Agency was established in 1997 to help support the writing of new and lesser-known writers in the field of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Later, after some success with the works of Tony Shillitoe and Kurt von Trojan, agent, Robert N Stephenson, expanded the agency to include all genres with SF and Fantasy being the speciality. Altair-Agency now represents writers in the field of Children's Literature, Main-stream Literature, Crime & Mystery and Action/Adventure fiction. Non-fiction is a new area Altair-Australia Agency is considering expanding into in the near future.

About Robert N Stephenson
Robert N Stephenson is a writer of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Literary Fiction. His published work has appeared in magazines around the world and can sometimes be found on the Internet. For the last four years he has edited the highly regarded Altair Magazine (ublishing work by Arthur C Clarke, David Brin, Stainslaw Lem, Joe Haldeman, Robert J Sawyer, Kelly Link and many, may more). Robert has operated as an agent for the last 11 years. His time has mainly been spent establishing a decent author list and himself as a reliable agent with high quality material for sale. Writers on his list have included Tony Shillitoe, Kurt von Troan, Sue Isle, Steven Cooper, J H Fletcher (International Rights), Bill Green, Gail Meritt. Robert has also edited many published fiction novels for sidHarta Publishers and independantly; two of these books, 'Leathers' by Donna Gardner and 'Indonesian Gold' by Kerry Collison have gone on to become best sellers in Australia. In an effort to help new writers achieve publishing results faster he tutors for Australia College and Cecage in Sydney, with close to 200 students the work can be a little overwhelming at times.

Murphy's Law

Well, I knew life has been going too well recently and that something bad had to happen sooner or later. It's just the way of life!

So, on Friday something in pizza gave me an allergic reaction. It was just like really bad cold symptoms had suddenly sprung up (all in half an hour) and I thought I was just pretty sick. But then I started coughing non-stop and found it difficult to breathe. So, urged on by Mum, Sarah and Alley took me to the after hours GP at the Health Center where I was put on a ventilator and given some anti-histamines. The allergic reaction had swollen my esophagus (as well as only my right ear) and had brought on an asthma attack that tightened my lungs.

But, after an hour or two I was better, sent home and all was well... until last night...

I went to a shack on the beach with some friends for Easter (about an hour and forty minutes away from home) and during the night I had another asthma attack. Except this time, it was worse. I was taken to a private hospital (as it was the closest) where they stuck me on the ventilator for half an hour this time and gave me more anti-histamines. But, I wasn't much better. So they rang the doctor at the nearest public hospital who urged me to go there to spend the night. My friends, the doctor and the nurses all agreed. I didn't want to stay the night in hospital and I'm pretty stubborn (must be that Dutch blood in me) but I eventually agreed, and they got me back in the wheelchair, and back out to the car.

After a little drive I was at the hospital, having half a dozen tests done to me, and being put to sleep. The next morning I saw the doctor, who checked me out and gave me some tablets to take for the next few days. My lungs are still tight, my throat is still swollen slightly shut, I feel very weak and drowsy, but I'm ok. I'm a lot better. I will have to see my doctor, but I shouldn't have to go to hospital any time in the near future... hopefully, lol :-P

But yeah! Don't worry, I'm fine, and I will keep the blog readers updated about my health when I find out what it actually was I'm allergic to. It was a scary experience, for my friends too, but it just shows just how great my friends all are.

For now I will rest (take the next couple of days off uni) and shake my fist at Murphy's Law.

All My Birthdays Have Come At Once!

Well, it's been a while and a lot has happened in that while, so allow me to fill you all in!

I went to the clipsal, very fun, lots of cool fast cars, motor bikes, and APCs. Plus, Powderfinger and Kisschasy, which made the day AWESOME!!!! It was an AMAZING concert! And, as per tradition, I'll put a couple of their music clips at the bottom of this blog.

Uni is back, I'm studying hard, already have a lot of work piled up which I hope to finally get to today (as I have a day off! HooraY!) Been working a lot this week because of Easter, but I'm thinking of the money! :-P

SO! Why have all my birthdays come at once??? First!!! I was invited to become a member of the Golden Key International Honours Society! Only the top 15% of 377 specially selected universities worldwide are invited to join, as a sign of their academic achievement. What does that mean? It means I can apply for really cool scholarships when i want to go on exchange overseas. It means I will look really nerdy and brainy on my resume. It means I have connections with thousands of other brainy people worldwide. And it means I can (if I want) go to fancy society gatherings. I was stoked! It is so good to be recognised for all my hard work. If you are really bored and want to check out more, you can go to their website: www.goldenkey.org/GKIHS

And secondly!!! You may remember my blog, Mr Stephenson. Well! Robert Stephenson rang me up a couple of days ago because he wants to represent me!!! He said he doesn't usually take on a book that needs as much work as mine, but he has a good feeling about it and "any excuse to work with a pretty girl." Lol, I hope that part was a joke! He hopes it will be ready for submission to publishers by mid February next year, and he is really understanding of my university study. I was so overwhelmed on the phone that I had tears coming to my eyes (and this is in the middle of the library at uni). I have wanted this my whole life, I've been telling stories since I could talk and writing them since I could write, and the one thing I've constantly dreamed of is becoming a published author. I've been writing novels for 8 years, and now my dream is finally coming into focus. It may be another 5 years until I'm published, but now I have an agent and now I have a chance.

I will keep you updated on my progress! Wish me luck in the editing process, it will be grueling!


This is Powderfinger, Lost and Running, from their new album. I love this song!


This is Kisschasy, Opinions Won't Keep You Warm At Night. I'm sure you'll all find the music video hilarious! :-P

A Taste of the Barossa for a Hong Kong Girl

The day after I got back from Tassie I took a friend from university, Stephanie Lo, to the Barossa Valley. She's on exchange from Hong Kong and her experience in wine before now was very very limitted. So I thought I'd help with her education. :-)
I started by taking her to the Barossa Reservoir Dam, better known as the Whispering Wall. If you stand on one end, and your friend stands on the other, you can whisper and still hear each other when the same distance over any other space it would be hard to hear them yelling at the top of their voice. Stephanie, I think, was a little skeptical but really impressed once she'd tried it.





Our next stop was Jacob's Creek, which is a must-see for anyone who's never been there. Not only is it one of Australia's most famous wines, if not the most famous, but it is a really nice winery. It was Stephanie's first time trying wine. She tried 3 here and by the end was feeling a little more relaxed... first time drinking wine's a bit like that. :-P



Our next stop was Peter Lehmans, which is my personal favourite. She tried one more wine here, which she really enjoyed. A suavignon blanc I think... And then we had lunch. The platters here are delicious, as Grandpa taught me on his last trip. But we both got VERY full and when we finished practically had to roll back to the car.





Now Stephanie had had enough of wine, which was a pity as there are so many nice wineries we didn't get to see. I took her to Maggie Beers next and after sampling some of the pastes and jams and sauces we saw the verjuice cooking demonstration. It was the mushrooms again, but they tasted a lot different to last time - different chef I guess. They were still very yummy.






After Maggie's it was already getting well into the afternoon. But we kept on going! I took her to a conservation park so that we could try and spot some kangaroos in the wild. We went on a half hour walk and the scenery was beautiful, very Australian, but we didn't see any kangaroos! Every other time I've been there there'd been kangaroos but I guess we were just very unlucky. The birdlife was still impressive.




Our last stop was Mengler's Hill, which we took the scenic drive to reach. It is very dry, especially in South Australia, but it was still pretty. Mengler's Hill has a great view over the Barossa Valley and of course it also has the sculpture garden. Stephanie took lots of photos and loved the Eagle sculpture.




Those who read my blog, and of course Grandpa, will think those last two photos look a little familiar. :-P

So that was our very long very tiring day at the Barossa Valley. Despite having sore feet the next day, Stephanie assured me that she had a very good time. Which is all that matters. :-)

Tasmania Trip 2008

Well, Sarah and I have recently come home from our holiday in Tasmania and I have to say it was one of the best trips so far! It was really relaxing and just great to catch up with Grandpa and the rest of the family... ... who weren't overseas, like Uncle Graham, Aunty Brenda, Nat, Karina, the entire Herbert family and Amy is, of course, in Melbourne... Anyway!
We arrived on Thursday, Grandpa picked us up from the airport and we had a relaxing afternoon talking and catching up... until Grandpa brought out the sjoelen board (I think that's how you spell it). A Dutch game where the aim is to get the discs from your end to the other, into the slots, getting points on how many discs you get in per slot.


Grandpa got the game going and taught us how to play... with a LOT of energy!


Sarah thought some of the faces I pulled were hilarious... I was just getting into the spirit of the game! So what if I'm a little competitive... I am a Petrusma after all :-P


Grandpa was ecstatic by his score of 108! I only managed to score over one hundred once, so did Sarah. It was fun but frustrating at time :-P

The next day we went to see Grandma's grave. I hadn't seen her stone yet, and it was Sarah's first time seeing where Grandma was buried. It is a very nice place, and important, but it is not the place where Grandma is most remembered. There is more of Grandma at Grandpa's house, or just in our memories, than where her body was put to rest. I was very glad to be able to visit her grave again.
After that we went to the Botanical Gardens, which are very pretty and Grandpa kept trying to convince us were the prettiest in Australia. He did a good job of convincing us, they were very beautiful. We've been there many many times before, of course, but nature is always changing. That's the great thing about the gardens.


Our first stop was the Japanese gardens. Probably my favourite section. This is a photo of Sarah and Grandpa enjoying the walk.


I thought this was a really pretty photo, and after I took it I had 2 or 3 butterflies flying round my head.


Sarah took this photo, and I have to admit, it is a pretty cool photo. :-)


After a light lunch, we went for a stroll around some of the garden paths and enjoyed the old trees.

We took a leisurely drive back through some of the older parts of Hobart, along the harbor and we also saw, for the first time, where our Great Grandparents (Grandpa's Mum and Dad) are buried. They also have a nice spot with a good view.
When we got home that afternoon Sarah, Gemma and I went for a walk on the beach. For those who don't know, this beach is not even 2min walk from Grandpa's house. We walked out to the rock that has affectionately been called Grandpa's prayer rock and enjoyed the break, even though it was WINDY and COLD!


Gemma and Sarah on the rock

The next day it was an early start. Grandpa had a meeting in Launceston and as Sarah and I have never been there, or at least were too young to remember going there, we were happy to come along and be dropped off at Cataract Gorge while Grandpa had his meeting.


Sarah and I enjoyed our sister time, which we don't get much of now days.


Sarah LOVED the views into the Gorge, and wished she could climb down there like some adventurous rock-climbers we spyed making their way to the Gorge wall.


The Cataract Gorge is famous for it's chairlift, which spans 457meters ands has a central span of 308meters, which is believed to be the greatest single span of any chairlift in the world. Sarah and I went on it twice, we found it pretty impressive :-)


Well, it was definately very long and it was also definately very high! I'm not scared of heights and I still felt a little light headed.


We had great views over the South Esk River. Photos don't really do it justice. William Collins of the Lady Nelson wrote in 1804 that "the beauty of the scene is probably not surpassed in the world."


And, a photo of Sarah and I in the chairlift... sort of... it's a cool photo.

After exploring a little bit of Launceston town, having tea on the riverside and checking out a bit of local scenery, we met up with Grandpa again. He seemed quite satisfied with his meeting. He took us up to Batman Bridge to have a look at some more scenery before we made our way slowly back to Lauderdale, stopping for icecream at Ross. :-) I LOVE icecream!


It was an impressive bridge :-)

That night we had a sleep over at our cousin, Gemma's, house. It was fun. We got nibblies, Gemma cooked a tasty bolagnase (however the Italian's spell it) and we watched a movie, Hitch. It was a pretty early night as we were all tired.

The last few days were a bit more relaxing. On Sunday we went to church with Grandpa, and then had lunch with the McKillops, my Aunty Heather and her family. It was good to catch up. And Grandpa did some catching up of his own - he caught up on his sleep.



Monday, our last day, was even more relaxing. Sarah spent the day going over some of Grandpa's footage from Papua New Guinea, I had a look through Grandma's music, we had a nice quiet lunch and read books. A quiet perfect day.
That night we went to Uncle Tim and Aunty Jacquie's for dinner. Very nice food, by the way, if you're reading this. It was good to catch up with cousins again because they're so young they grow so fast and forget who we are. Jo, whose 2 now I think, was so cute and reminded me of James when he was a baby. Really bad Deja vu. Luke and Eli pretended they remembered who we are, but they kept calling me Gemma. They're cute and the fact that they didn't remember who I was didn't stop them wanting to play non-stop. Eventually I had to pretend I'd fallen asleep. I don't know how Tim and Jacquie does it! One kid in each arm and the other demanding attention in front. Not to mention another baby now, Noah, who is cute but can pull the WEIRDEST facial expressions.

But I love em... when I can hand them back... :-P


Introducing Noah, my cousin Lauren's little boy. Already a few months old! Unbelievable :-P


Luke - as crazy and energetic as ever!


I can't believe Eli is at school already! Well... Kindi... she had to clarify that for me


You can see where Eli gets it from


I think the whole tongue thing was becoming a trend


I had to put a photo of Jo up too, just to show you how much he's changed!


Here's some perspective. Kids just grow so fast!

And on Tuesday we headed home again. Our plane was delayed, of course, and when we got to Adelaide I went straight to a phone store to try and get my phone fixed, which had died in Tassie. So didn't get home til evening. A long day :-P

So all in all, a fantastic trip. THANKS GRANDPA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Melbourne Pics

Well... the disc that had all my Melbourne photos on it was corrupted. :-( I can get another copy from my friend but it might take a little while.
So in the mean time here are the better photos I took using my mobile phone. The wonders of new technology, huh?

The first is the blue lake at Mt Gambier, and the next two are the Great Ocean Road. You should recognise London Bridge. Lastly, a fuzzy photo of me out the front of Phantom of the Opera.

Enjoy!









While I'm at it, have a look at this photo too. My ittle brother, James Siebrand Petrusma, who's now not so little... who does he remind you of? Is he a Siebrand or what?

BDO 2008!!!

Well, this year I went to the Big Day Out again and even though the line up wasn't as good as last year it was still an awesome day! For those of you who don't know what Big Day Out is, it's a music festival that's been going on for years now. Every year over fifty bands from around the world get together and go on tour starting at Aukland, going to the Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. It is tonnes of fun!
This year the main bands were Operator Please (It's Just a Song About Ping Pong), Anti-Flag, Gyroscope, Faker, Midnight Juggernauts, Regurgitator, Grinspoon, Silver Chair, Bjork, the Hilltop Hoods and (most importantly) Rage Against the Machine.
I didn't see most of the bands - for example I hate Operator Please and Bjork was so terrible it made me feel like pulling my ears off my head.
I started with Anti-Flag, which not only play great music like 'One Trillion Dollars' and 'This Is The End', but they have a great political stance as well. Then we saw Gyroscope, which is an Aussie rock band from Perth and one of my personal favourites. They played their new and their old songs and Daniel Sanders (lead singer) crowd surfed while playing his guitar... well... he tried to. We had a break after that, making sure we drank lots of water and put on lots of sunscreen (cos it was HOT!) I put sunscreen on four times and I still got burnt.
After our break we got into the mosh pit for Grinspoon and stayed there for the rest of the day. It was packed and we had to stay there to make sure we kept our spot. If we left there was no way we were getting back into the mosh pit. Grinspoon were pretty good and the crowd got into it. But Phil Jamieson (the lead singer) was definitely high on something, kept prancing around like a poofter, and was wearing girl's hair clips in his hair. Very strange and funny, but sort of sad at the same time.
After Grinspoon we sat around waiting for SilverChair while Arcade Fire played on the other stage. They were pretty weird. Silver Chair was really good live (I know that their new songs aren't as good as their old songs, but I still like them). But the crowd was terrible! They threw stuff at Daniel Johns (lead singer and guitarist) and didn't really get into the music. Daniel Johns was also sick, either high or drunk, and looked like he was going to throw up for half the concert.
After SilverChair we sat in the mosh pit waiting for Rage Against the Machine. But Bjork was playing on the other stage and it was TERRIBLE! Too much base, and her singing is so high-pitched and annoying. Just her voice was annoying. We were counting down until she finished and chanting for Rage to come on stage.
Rage Against the Machine are HUGE! This was their first concert out of the USA since they broke up 11 years ago and it was massive! The mosh pit was incredible. Let's just say it was one where you were jumping up and down, but you didn't have to make yourself jump up and down. Everyone was so pressed in together that the people on either side of you lifted you up. For the first song I was on a 45degree angle from the ground most of the time, only not falling over from how close together everyone was. It got a little less crazy after that but I got a dislocated finger (it REALLY hurt) and during the last song I got cracked in the head and was seeing stars. Someone also lit a fire half-way through. But it was so fun and Rage are AWESOME! That band alone was worth the price of the ticket, and I would see them again any day. It was an experience you can't describe and have to experience first hand to believe. If you've got stamina and are willing to put up with aching muscles for days afterwards.
So yes. I love music and I love rock and Big Day Out is just so much fun! I hope next year will be just as good.
Now here are some photos to put pictures to words :-) They were taken on my phone though, so sorry for the bad quality.


Anti-Flag. We couldn't get into the mosh pit for these guys, but it was still good.


Gyroscope. I think they're playing Fast Girl here...


Rob Nassif of Gyroscope jamming it up


Me and my friend Sophia, all smiles


Luke and Phil were also there. So were Andrew and Craig but they were both dehydrated so I didn't get good photos of them.


Me, Phil and Sophia waiting in the mosh pit for Grinspoon. You can sort of see the corner of Andrew's head too... :-P


Grinspoon, reveling in the applause they received just for walking on stage.


Phil Jamieson looking very gay.


An idea of the size of the crowd. I think there were 35,000 people? Or something??


SilverChair after they've just walked out on stage


A very small close-up of Daniel Johns. He bleached his hair blonde! I don't know WHAT he was thinking! It looked terrible!


The mosh pit was too crazy for me to take any pictures of Rage Against the Machine, but here's one Sophia took. You can just make out Zack De La Rocha's fist in the air (he's the lead singer). And Tom Morello is the one on the right. He is the most amazing guitarist EVER! Some of the tricks he can pull while playing pretty intricate chords is mind-blowing.

And finally, here are a couple of videos from you tube. The first is just a music video of Snakeskin by Gyroscope, one of my favourite bands on the day.


And second! Rage Against the Machine live at Aukland. Wrong country, but it's the same concert. It's not the best quality but it gives you an idea of what it was like. Grandpa... you probably won't like their music... :-P