One Year later…
At least, that’s how they put it in books and movies, to show the passing of time. Of course, it has been much more than a year for me.
Maybe – actually, certainly – the biggest event for me during this time was the birth of my nephew, Arman Varzi on December 11th 2008. He is a complete joy, utterly adorable, and the darling of his Auntie. The only bitter drop is that my father never saw him. Of course, his other grandfather spends as much time with him as possible, and they have a great rapport.
Arman at his first birthday
The entire Varzi clan spent the
Persian New Year in Spring 2009 in mourning, since both my surviving aunt
Fakhri Varzi-Abbassi and my eldest uncle Mahmood Varzi passed away within a
month of each-other in Winter 2009. My condolences to their children and
grandchildren, and my uncle’s wife. They are both missed very much.
On a professional level, the SF&F meetings at our NGO, the Association of Writers for Children and Youth were attended enthusiastically and continued until this last Summer, when we went on hiatus for various reasons. But the meetings are starting up again with the help of the Fantasy Academy, and there is even talk about publishing the previous meetings together with new articles in book form.
Other than that, I’m busy writing the sequels for the previously mentioned Old Woman Bad Luck. A prominent publisher here in Tehran is interested in the entire series, and although nothing has been signed yet, their editor very kindly goes over each novel and points out the necessary corrections. (And he is always right, but still – My Babies!)
Hopefully there will be sooner updates with more good news.