Half World has been awarded the 2009 Carl Brandon Parallax Award! Such a honour and such a heartening way to begin the New Year! It’s a book award for speculative fiction by a self-identified writer of colour. To learn more about the award and how it came to be developed check it out. The winner of the Carl Brandon Kindred Award is Justine Larbalestier’s Liar.

(Little tap dance of pleasure.)

Just returned home after the twelve hour drive from Calgary. Unlike the trip out, the roads were bare and dry, and the clear black skies were shattered with stars. I got to gaze up at them because a dear friend came back with us and took turns driving– what a blessing on multiple levels! Holidays was chock-full with family, friends, much food, drink and laughter. Particularly poignant moments: my daughter giving her grandmother a tutorial on how to use her digital camera, forcing people to play scrabble with me because it’s my birthday, seeing Pookie laugh.

Happy Year of the Rabbit!!! There are many stories of rabbits in Japanese legends and folk tales. Of particular note, while in European tradition, people speak of the man in the moon (usually a face of a man), in Japan people see a rabbit pounding rice cake in a mortar!

Rabbit blessings for all.

And plenty of mochi.