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There are new interviews up on Eneit Press's home page for Women in Horror month. I especially love Stephanie Gunn's. This might have something to do with what she said about my novel and the company she placed it in. Thank you, Stephanie!

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Purim is good this year. Very, very good.

A few friends came round (since a large party is not something I'm ready for yet) drank a Margaret River white and a Wolf Blass white and beer and a sweet cider and much daiquiri and tequila shots (with Himalayan salt) and peach liqueur and liqueur tokay (Pfeiffers) and when we were all lubricated I hauled out my little Purim story (the 1989 version, since it turned 21 tonight) and we made havoc for a bit. Everyone dressed up in costumes and old clothes from my stash of interesting stuff. The kids were all tax inspectors and Kaaron Warren's husband was the king. Kaaron herself was Vashti and Matthew Farrer was Mordechai. I was worried that some people were missing on roles until Donna pointed out that I'd already given her two but she'd do more if I wanted. Our audience was a half dozen Australian magpies who stood just next to the wall and looked down on us and chortled.

I don't often drink, but tonight I did. I was very disappointed to discover that - now I'm allowed wine again - I still don't get very tipsy very easily. So I'm not drunk, but I'm very relaxed. Also very happy.

If it had been a normal party I would have a ton of cleaning to do, but one of the reasons for just a few friends was to celebrate the fact that I'm still round, and on the mend. I've got to be rather careful for ages yet, but tonight was for being happy about the good things in life. Some friends came early and helped with the last of the cleaning and some stayed late and did all the heavy lifting and put the rubbish out. All that is left for me is a sinkful of dishes and a very happy memory.

If anyone would like to share the text of my 1989 Purim spiel (with songs), I'm happy to email it. I'm very proud to say that the jokes are dated, appalling and some are extraordinarily unPC. It's not that different from the more recent text I gave out last year. Older and marginally sillier. We had a ball hamming it up tonight, though, with pauses for action scenes of all sorts.