He was made in England out of terracotta.I asked Wayne how much he was and he named a low cash price amidst huge protests from his wife and business partner. I had, to the dollar, that amount of cash in my wallet and I took Pan home. He has driven around with me all day and its been making me smile.  I’m sure you can see why: that’s one infectious grin.  What a character. Plus, I love serendipity.

This was my horoscope for the week from Rob Breszney:

If you ask young men what experiences have afforded them the most adventurous fun of their lives, a majority will talk about indoor activities. Some will say video games and others their sexual escapades. Only a minority will describe far-flung events in the great outdoors or exotic locales. What about you, Cancerian? Under what circumstances have your most amazing forays into the unknown unfolded? Where have you been transformed in ways that helped you stretch to meet your destiny? I’d like to suggest that it’s time to go beyond those previous benchmarks. You’re ready to transcend your personal limits as you wander into the frontier.

It mirrors exactly how I feel. I am filling more and more and more of the black leather bound book that Jarrat and Evie gave me. I wonder at what point of their journey my characters will be when I have filled it. Daily, Somewhere Else is growing by 1300 words plus. At the moment the current chapter stands at about 8000 words I think; I’ll know once it is all typed up.

Shortly, I will be typing and revising this chapter and doing a little back up research. It is mostly around archery. With the help of Colin, who once represented New Zealand in a trans – Tasman archery team, I have been working out a new system of archery that will suit (a) the level of technology of my setting (b) available materials (c) the archers (d) their circumstances when using bow and arrows. We have developed a firing stance based around old Persian techniques. It’s really interesting and I have a small stack of archery books to chew my way through – thanks to Colin. Good geeky fun! 🙂

A while back I finished reading The Raging Quiet by Sheryl Jordan. It was on the IBBY honour list in 2002 and rightfully so. This book is powerful and deserves to be recognised as a classic New Zealand young adult’s book. The action is set in a fictionalised medieval village and revolves around the relationship of two outsiders (Marnie and Raver) with the rest of their village.  I found it intensely moving, poetic, and sad. I recommend it.