The always-interesting Guera (current location: Mexico) tagged me for the 6 Things Meme which I thought I could turn into a bit more background about me with a heavy fiction writing slant. (No, that doesn’t mean I’m going to just make stuff up, although that does sound like an attractive thought.)

Before I start, the rules, of course:

I have to answer 6 questions about myself. At the end of the post, I then tag 6 people and post their names, then go to their blogs and leave them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read my blog. Then, I must let the person who tagged me know when I’ve posted my answers.

#1: 6 places I have lived

1. Karrinyup, a northern suburb of Perth, Western Australia. This suburb had my childhood home (18 years!) and is somehow just a typical suburban spot. I’ve never written any fiction remotely related to this suburb – I think my life there was very stable and normal, which doesn’t give big inspiration for writing, I guess. Not that there’s anything wrong with a bit of stability and normality sometimes.
2. West Perth. In my early 20s I was dying to live in the inner city – part of my escape from the suburbs thinking, I guess. What I liked about this spot was I could (and did) walk down to Oxford Street in Leederville, where I could visit one of my favourite bookshops, Oxford Street Books. Long live independent bookstores! I still dream of being able to find my own novel on the shelves at Oxford Street Books.
3. Fuse, Osaka. I taught English in Japan here for two years and this was my first home, in a fairly ugly semi-industrial, semi-suburban corner of the city. I can imagine a few short stories I could set here, but it’s too grim for me to place a novel there.
4. Amagatsuji, Nara. My second home in Japan, and there was a rice paddy next door – although it was still close to civilisation. Although I didn’t set my first novel here exactly, this kind of area was in my mind. I still have really fond memories of Amagatsuji.
5. Bratislava, Slovakia. Now that I think about it, curiously the most inspiring city I’ve ever lived in. I think that mix of post-socialist spirit and being on the corner of half of Europe (I could see into Austria and Hungary from my balcony) is unbeatable. I’m drawing heavily on Bratislavan life for the setting for my second novel. That reminds me, I had a bunch of photos printed out from this time to put up in my study so I can get extra “sense of place” inspiration.
6. Heilbronn, Germany. This was the last place I lived in before returning to Australia, and I learnt a lot there. There will be Heilbronn-ish novels in my future, I’m sure.

#2: What I was doing 10 years ago?

1998 … that’s a good question, one that I’d have to consult my CV to be sure of. I must have been employed at Edith Cowan University, but I had so many different jobs there that I couldn’t tell you which one I was doing 10 years ago. The most relevant to writing, perhaps, was when I worked as an editor and instructional designer for distance education materials. I loved that my job involved reading all about different subjects.

Ten years ago, I wasn’t doing much writing. I didn’t feel like I had much to write about, although I did try sometimes, and as I got more involved online I wrote more – I guess it was probably around 1999 – 2001 that I started getting paid for online writing at places like Themestream and the original incarnation of Suite101.

#3: 5 things on my to-do list today

I can only pick five? My to-do list is (always) pretty long. I’m a list-lover. But today it includes:

1. Signing up for the next Writers Weekly 24-hour short story contest.
2. Looking into chapter two for my second novel (yeah, that’s a pretty vague goal, but …).
3. Planning some more posts for this blog so I can continue my NaBloPoMo attempt (to post every day for a month).
4. Getting a birthday present for our Colombian friend, who we’re having dinner with tonight. Not writing-related, but essential.
5. Tidying up my desk. I can still see patches of it but layers are beginning to pile up. I write much better when I can see the desk.

#4: Snacks I like to eat

• Wasabi peas
• Chocolate, of any kind, brand, nationality, flavour …
• Rice crackers
• Tim Tams (the ultimate Australian biscuit)
• Anzac biscuits, made by me

All of which seriously assist me to become a better writer. Right?

#5: If I was a billionaire

First off, I should say that I don’t want to be a billionaire, so I would quickly give most of it to a nice charity (don’t ask me which, that would be tricky). Two or three million would be enough for me. I’d pay off the house, and pay for my husband to study painting (and not work). I would extend the house a little so that my office was more like a library, with wall-to-wall book shelves on every wall, not just one. Other than that, I would keep going to teach a couple of days a week, and keep writing a few days a week. But I would write much more fiction and a lot fewer blogs for other people.

#6: 6 bloggers to go next:

Asia at the new Evolution of a Writer blog

Katrina, if she wants or needs inspiration

Inquisitive Isabel, because I’m inquisitive too, and she was born on the exact same day as me … we were penpals when we were children

Claire, so she remembers to write in her blog

Andrea, because she’s become a particularly excellent blogger since she moved to the USA, but she may “meme” in German, of course

Lou at The Loulogue because she has the best-looking blog I know and always makes me laugh