My webhost‘s server packed a permanent sad two weekends ago.

In an ideal world, my webhost would have transferred all his files to a new server, flicked a switch, and I would barely have noticed.

Alas, in the real world, things like pouty former server providers, differing OSes, SQLs and other acronyms, and different providers’ ideas of default settings made life interesting for my webhost. For my own part, my admittedly conscientious offline backups were so much 1′s and 0′s as Restoring them was um, not as straightforward as one might expect. Hence the repeated use of this post’s title in and around Fortress Mamea for the last nine days.

Meantime I got some writing done, woot woot.

Normal transmissions have resumed.

And hey: it’s 2010 and it’s been over a week since my last confession.

I haven’t forsaken you, but. I’m on holiday with my Goddess, and I’ve only recently sorted out things like the six five remotes that our very kind host has for his entertainment system, and how to actually use his broadband connection.

Normal transmission will resume in the next few days. Hope the season has treated you well –

– and happy new year from lovely Melbourne.

Click and cruise at your leisure but beware roaming error messages as I huff and puff and move things around.

Meantime, try Phill Barron‘s blog on the scriptwriter’s life in the shallow end – ask him about his supercool new laptop.

Plug-time because it’s important to give credit where it’s due. All praise to:

• The Goddess who says nary a word when she catches me blogging instead of Writing;

• The Webmistresse, whose redoubtable webskills made the site a reality;

• the generous Dara McNaught at the New Zealand Writers Guild whose suggestion of a website was seized on by someone desperate to avoid Writing; and

• you Readers, all five of you, for making my visitor stats look good, and providing the occasional but welcome break from the email- and comment-spam.

Jesus loves you.

  -  the Scripts page was getting a bit long so some navigation links have been added for features, television and shorts;

  –   synopses are now available for the Break and Amateur scripts;

  –   and a wee bonus for ye: Kimbo, a faux-treatment written at short notice as a prop in some reality programme prank; a ludicrous piece of writing but nevertheless my paean to the heydays of Messrs. Stallone and Schwarzenegger.

Enjoy.

I should warn you that things like keeping the site content up-to-date and blogging have been taken over by yours truly. (Upon transition, the WebMistresse sternly advised, “don’t break it“, so I’m forging ahead with cautious enthusiasm.) This doesn’t mean she’s ridden into the sunset, pistols smoking on her hips, her job well done – I’m hoping she’ll provide technical support, and there are some newfangled things she wants to try out.

Quick update then:
  -  the contents of the Scripts and Projects pages have been sorted out as logically as possible;
  -  obviously, this blog is up and away, complete with Rants and Housekeeping categories;
  -  and there’s been some tweaking, like a postal address for those who prefer snail mail.

You should be seeing less of these Housekeeping entries. They were fun while the site was being put together.

But now it’s time for more Rants.

… Damn it looks thin. The plan has been – and still is – to write at least two scripts a year: one commission and one spec. So far, so good. But still… it looks damned thin.

(A little web-housekeeping voice in my head keeps wondering aloud about the possibility/eventuality of rationalising the various webpages of what I’ve written, what I’ve done, and what I’m working on. A focus group shall be called. Meantime, I like the idea of lots of pages on this site.)

Next episode’ll be 1 October. And apologies for the delayed update – the WebMistresse caught the lurgy going ’round.

Thanks again to the WebMistresse whose project-management skills and experience have ensured yours truly doesn’t get ahead of himself at the expense of his real work.

And all praise and appropriate animal sacrifices to The Goddess for her love, sharp-eyed copy-editing, and unwavering belief in this mortal.

For your entertainment this month:

  Scripts: I was going to start off easy with some short-film scripts I wrote once upon a time but then I thought, What the heck – and so, for the more masochistic readers, I’ve thrown in a feature script.

  Other Writing: I know I said last month that this’d have all the pre-pubescent scribbles and adolescent angst that you could wave a baton at but… either I didn’t write for pleasure as a young ‘un, or I’ve blanked it out. All you’ll find here are whatever articles that I’ve thrown together for publication.

That’s it – next update’ll be 1 September.

Besides singing my praises and touting for business, this site’s for people who want to check out my writing without me pacing and harrumphing in the room next door. (And should I find time for a blog, friends and family will tune in only to see when – not if – I commit industry- and/or career-harakiri with my attempts at wit.)

It’ll be coming on-line in stages over the next few months. One reason for this is that the very kind WebMistresse DeborahK has a fulltime job and is doing this voluntarily. Be nice to her. Another reason is that DeborahK will be waiting on me to provide copy and various files.

Coming soon to this space:

  Scripts: shorts, television and features;
  Projects: whatever’s in the works;
  Other Writing: all the poems, haiku, songs and one-man plays you can shake a stick at; and
  Rant: another bleeding blog… maybe… time permitting.

Until then, you’re stuck with this page (don’t forget the Links), my absolutely sizzling About page, and should you feel the need, my email address. Check back after 1 August for Stage Two.

… Hi. My name’s D F Mamea. I’m a screenwriter.