My writing week 2(46)

Hi all,

My left eye seems to have come through cataract surgery well, with 20/20 vision restored to it according to the ophthalmologist. I could read the bottom line of the eye chart with my left eye, but I still need glasses to read. Perhaps when my eyes are equal, after cataract surgery on the right eye next Monday, I might discard the glasses. As it is, I am now using an old pair, the first pair of glasses I got in fact, as I type up this post.

I have had a few concerns, like stinging eyes after eye drops due to dry eyes, and there is a tiny flutter of light in the middle of the eye, especially after I have been in bright light or have just woken up. I don't see it when reading or using a computer.

Much to my surprise, I was able to do some writing/editing in the afternoon of the surgery and have continued doing so since. Just 10 mins to half an hour, as I get a dullness just above the nose after a while, a thick head. So my run of writing every day since January 1st 2008 continues.

I am sort of happy to hear that Labour decided not to change the Parallel Importation laws. I read a lot of newspaper and web articles about it, but I am still unsure whether changing them would have been that bad as nearly all I read was written by people with vested interests. The most persuasive argument, to me, came from authors who detailed how their royalties would fall. I am totally unconvinced that fiction books would have been cheaper if the laws changed, non-fiction books would probably have, but not necessarily non-fiction by Australian authors only published in Australia. I also have doubts on how big an effect changing the laws would have had on the very low number of Australian authors receiving Australian publishing contracts.

Last week, the hopes of many unpublished writers of Young Adult novels would have turned into fantasies when they heard that Australian author Rebecca James will receive 1.2 million in advances for her first novel, Beautiful Malice, a thriller. It had better sell a few copies.

The countdown continues, only four more days to my second cataract operation.

Graham.