Weaving magic with dialogue

“The old witch was knitting.” “Knitting? Just knitting? She’s an old witch, shouldn’t she be all hunched over, stirring her cauldron or something?” “Maybe she’s cold. She’s cold, alright? So, she’s knitting. The cold old witch was knitting.” “But how was she knitting?” “What do you mean?” “How was she knitting? Like, is she good […]

Fabergé Eggs

Empress of Russia I never expected this. When May and I dreamed of husbands when we were five, neither of us imagined rising to the height of Grandmama. But now—I am an Empress. I feel as though it should not be me, it should be Ella or Vicky. They have always been the most popular, […]

Bottom-heavy

I was the only one in my modelling class to be invited to an agency. I’d done it—someone finally thought I was special. Later I’d discover that my height and my ability to walk in a straight line were what got me the invitation, but as a 14-year-old girl I was just happy to be […]

Spirit of Japan

Festival It started as a distant echo. I paused my movie, straining my ears. Chanting and drums. I shrugged it off—just another Japanese festival that I wouldn’t understand. But the sound drew closer. The drums were beating their way towards me, until the sound filled my apartment. I stepped onto my balcony and spied red […]

How does love manifest on the page?

With scalpel in hand, she cut deeply across her chest. It didn’t hurt. Nothing hurt now. She reached in a trembling hand and shoved it under her ribcage, then tore out her still-beating heart. Blood dripped onto the pages, sinking crimson deep into the paper. There was only one place left for her heart. Vision […]

One fat swallow

Disclaimer: this little snippet of a story is from a writing exercise in Fiction called ‘Storyspine’. It began with a small sparrow whose siblings pushed it out of the nest, then it got fat eating all the worms before anyone else. **** In hindsight, it was my own hubris that caused my death. I revelled […]

Gaijin Magazine Issue 1

Gaijin Magazine Follow the link above to see the 6-page travel magazine I made for my Text and Image class. I was super happy with it, and it could be a really cool starting point for an ongoing zine if I had the time and resources! All articles written by me, and all images referenced […]

Fear and loathing in Australia

It’s magpie season, and the bastards are out in force – swooping, stalking and heckling us native Aussies. We Australians love our native fauna, drop-bears not included, but of all birds, be they laughing, swooping or flightless – the magpie is the worst, and the bane of every spring. On a balmy October morning, it […]

Cold (Edited)

The coldest I’ve ever been was atop Mount Kosciuszko in Canberra during high school. I was terribly ill-equipped for the snow – wearing only jeans, sneakers, a long-sleeved shirt and a thin down jacket. Everyone else had scarves, beanies, gloves and layers – oh so many layers. It didn’t help that we were on a […]

My First Memory

I was strapped into the backseat between my two older brothers. We’d all fought over the front seat, so of course none of us got it. It remained empty. Dad drove. He knew the way well by now. He’d been in and out of the hospital every day for the last week. I didn’t really […]