Can you believe it? At last, an update!

All right, all right, I apologise! What use is a home page if it isn’t updated? For months the so-called “hot” news in my Hot News Space hasn’t even been lukewarm—it’s been stone cold. It’s now mid-July 1998. The last entry was mid-May. Ridiculous. I did update it twice with great care and at great length only to find that my internet connection had died while I was writing so I lost everything. Devastating. And stupid! I’ve learnt how to avoid that problem so I promise there’ll be more news, more often from now on. And the Guest Book will be responded to more quickly as well. New responses will now be posted asap to all the messages I’ve received since May 12th.

As you probably know, I retired from teaching in 1996 in order to write more books for children. What a joke! I avoid writing as often as possible by racing around talking to schoolkids, child care workers, teachers and librarians in Australia, New Zealand and the USA— to anyone who’ll listen! I’m busier than I have ever been. Craziness. I admit I find writing so hard I do run away from it by rushing around the world like a mad thing but in 1999 I’ve actually blocked out months on end to focus on writing and writing and more writing. Blagggh. Expect more books!

In Australia my latest book is Tough Boris (Penguin) which came out at the beginning of July. It’s been out in the USA for a couple of years. I’m currently working on six or seven manuscripts and am really excited about some of them, as they begin to get better. Sometimes I even enjoy writing them. Wow. I get really depressed by bad drafts—as anyone would—but the more drafts I do the better the stories are so it’s case of drafting and drafting and drafting until they’re as as near to perfect as possible. And that can take years. Sigh.

The hottest news of the moment for me is that I’ve just spent two weeks in Africa, mostly in Zimbabwe, the country in which I grew up. I went with my husband and four friends. We visited to the Victoria Falls which I had seen many times before (much grander and longer and more simply breathtaking than Niagara) but then we went to neighbouring Botswana and had a very exciting time at Gunn’s Camp in the Okavango Delta. As we slept in our tents we heard lions roaring (I thought I’d have an asthma attack I was so scared) and by day we walked for hours in the wild which was terrifying. The animals are in their natural habitat and are dangerous, especialy the hippo, lion, buffalo and elephant. My heart almost stopped when we had to stand still, silent and breathless, in the vast quietness of Africa, hiding behind thorn trees as elephants walked past Or when we were unprotected in dug-out canoes, poling through the swamps right beside hippos and crocodiles. Gulp. It was an incredible experience. Brilliant. Now that it’s over!

I spent a week in Bulawayo, the city closest to Hope Fountain Mission, where I spent my entire childhood. On the Sunday at the mission, singing familiar Ndebele hymns and listening to the students sing, I felt like sobbing my heart out. In fact I was often in tears while I was in Zimbabwe: so much nostalgia; so many friends; so many memories; such a well of happiness. Altogether I found it profoundly moving to be in Africa again. My ties to Zimbabwe are much stronger than I had realised. I love the people. Of all the Africans I have met (in South Africa, Botswana, Uganda and Rwanda) Zimbabweans seem to me to be closest in character to Australians: totally confident and open hearted, sunny in nature and very funny. They’re always laughing. Such fun to be with. A blissful holiday. No work at all—hurrah!- although I did write 70 pages in my journal in 12 days.

In late June, just before I took off for Africa, I went to a conference in Christchurch, New Zealand. I don’t know why the NZ teachers thought I could teach them anything: we Aussies learnt much of what we know and teach from the New Zealanders. Everyone was extremely kind even when I made silly mistakes because I couldn’t understand the accent. I stayed in the city apartment of Margaret Mahy, New Zealand’s—and one of the world’s—most famous children’s writers. She and I had a fine time gossipping and laughing as we drove along the treacherously winding roads above Christchurch. Scary. Almost as scary as seeing elphants close by. Brilliant. Now that it’s over!

It was so cold in New Zealand (it’s not that far from the South Pole, after all) that I didn’t feel warm again until I was back home. But people’s warmth more than made up for the cold climate.

Next month (Aug.6th-10th, I think) I’ll be speaking twice at a major NCTE convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the USA. That should be really hot! What bliss to escape the winter, even for ten days. I’ll also be at conferences in Oneonta, NY and in portland, Oregon. Perhaps I’ll meet you in real space, not cyberspace.

I’ll update this after the USA trip. Until mid-August then, go well.
Love,
Mem Fox xxx