I don’t know, even when Slake didn’t appear in my inbox weekly, it never felt like you were absent. In the same way a seed buried under earth isn’t absent, only invisible potential—the potency from seasons past no doubt is carried forward. Weird, but true. You’ve made a lasting impression here so sorry, you simply can’t go missing!
I was picturing you and Jo playing hide and seek in the hedge maze. And I was so happy to think that, at least in Melbourne, some homes still have actual hedges-turned-mazes. And that you and Jo had managed to score one, which did not surprise me at all because if anyone would be clever enough to wait and find one, it would be Josephine! And then I read your footnote and thought: Well dang it all! He's done it again. There never was a hedge maze. Now, how do you always know The One Thing your reader desperately wishes were true??
This is your Secret Sauce.
Please come back and cook up some more for your most gullible reader! :-)
Still here! Present and accounted for ( I’m waving).
Congratulations are in order. Well, if you are anything like me, your new home will eventually reflect who you are, and what makes you and Jo, happy. To be able to gaze at the walls and find something to make you smile. My grandmother would have recited this in Hebrew, and since I have no clue , here is the English version , blessings for your new home;
“Let no sadness come through this gate. Let no trouble come to this dwelling. Let no fear come through this door. Let no conflict be in this place. Let this home be filled with the blessing of joy and peace”
( My version); May you find new , and old ,not yet discovered words within the walls of your new space. Bits and pieces of stories, waiting to be born, ‘Slake-like’ and beyond imaginative.
“To nurture the creativity” .To nurture love and happiness.
Seasonings Greetings and Cheers, to a Happy and Healthy New Year.
I don’t know how I missed this…happy new year and good riddance to the shitty year! A solenoid tattoo??! Wow. Amazing. I also owe you a reply, but lovely to see you here. 💙
Nothing to apologise for. I've got your latest open in my browser now that I'm about to read. ;) Trying to find a new morning routine to settle into now that things have calmed down.
Tattoo yet to exist, but I still want to do it. :)
We fly back in two days and I am also looking for some routine in my life that includes more writing and reading. Let me know how it goes and if you have tips!
Yay, there you are! I'm waving from my hill, it's hideous weather, I have a very lame sheep who refuses to be caught that I might administer my magic purple spray (sheep can be so tétu!) and both my daughter and I have slipped over countless times but you just made the day brighter, who cares about sleet and muddy bottoms when Slake picks up his pen again... Nathan just write, it is great to see you back!
You too, Susie. Wishing you a lovely, warm, and hopefully quiet/calm Christmas, although I can imagine you’ll still be just as busy and the animals and hill will need tending as on any other day! :)
I get the whole shitty year thing and the wanting to return here to this space of wonderful writers. I’ve needed to take a break lately - just too much pressing.
Anywho, if and when you’re back, I’ll be delighted.
I love this new saltier Mr. Slake. We’ve missed you. I’m glad you’ll be showing up in my inbox again and I hope you’re able to write with the reckless abandon you aspire to. I’ll be here for it!
Welcome back, Nathan and congratulations on the new house. If it’s got a wine cellar then that’s just asking for stories to be written about it. I remember Joanne Harris wrote a story called Blackberry Wine which I think is told from the perspective of a bottle of wine. I could wrong about that though. I read it a long time ago
I’m still enjoying King Sorrow but I’m still on Arthur’s bit. If it gets as rubbish as you say then I’ll be giving up. Too heavy a book to carry about if it’s no good 😁
Looking forward to seeing a photo of the tattoo 👍🏼
Don't give up! You can tell me how I'm wrong, haha. Arthur's part definitely the best, in my opinion.
If you approach it purely as a romp, the book is fine. But if you begin to actually think about it as a piece of literature or analyse it closely, I feel it crumbles.
Keep me posted.
That's an awesome concept for a story, purely the point of view of a bottle of wine!
You know what they say… the sooner you buy the longer you can enjoy it! Congrats on the house! It sounds like we’re having a house warming party??? :) Have a great holiday season and may 2026 kick 2025’s shitty butt!
Happy holidays and all that back! Your ‘welcome to my brain’ note made me laugh - I had to read that aloud to my husband, who was equally amused! Congrats on your new home though - I wish you & your family many happy times! Hope the atmosphere is conducive to your writing (and arm flotations too!) 😂
Missing us is a good sign 😁. I’ve been in a limbo for about five months after I finished serializing my novel here. Finding the groove again takes time.
I don’t know, even when Slake didn’t appear in my inbox weekly, it never felt like you were absent. In the same way a seed buried under earth isn’t absent, only invisible potential—the potency from seasons past no doubt is carried forward. Weird, but true. You’ve made a lasting impression here so sorry, you simply can’t go missing!
Ahh, so lovely Kimberly, thank you. I love the notion of the seed.
Hope you're well. I have lots to catch up on!
I was picturing you and Jo playing hide and seek in the hedge maze. And I was so happy to think that, at least in Melbourne, some homes still have actual hedges-turned-mazes. And that you and Jo had managed to score one, which did not surprise me at all because if anyone would be clever enough to wait and find one, it would be Josephine! And then I read your footnote and thought: Well dang it all! He's done it again. There never was a hedge maze. Now, how do you always know The One Thing your reader desperately wishes were true??
This is your Secret Sauce.
Please come back and cook up some more for your most gullible reader! :-)
Teehee, sorry to have deceived. ;)
At some point, perhaps there will be a hedge maze, even if just a miniature one!
We would only need about $23m more to make that a reality
Oh! I’m rooting for the hedge maze!
Still here! Present and accounted for ( I’m waving).
Congratulations are in order. Well, if you are anything like me, your new home will eventually reflect who you are, and what makes you and Jo, happy. To be able to gaze at the walls and find something to make you smile. My grandmother would have recited this in Hebrew, and since I have no clue , here is the English version , blessings for your new home;
“Let no sadness come through this gate. Let no trouble come to this dwelling. Let no fear come through this door. Let no conflict be in this place. Let this home be filled with the blessing of joy and peace”
( My version); May you find new , and old ,not yet discovered words within the walls of your new space. Bits and pieces of stories, waiting to be born, ‘Slake-like’ and beyond imaginative.
“To nurture the creativity” .To nurture love and happiness.
Seasonings Greetings and Cheers, to a Happy and Healthy New Year.
*Waves*
Hi Lor, thank you. Lovely, lovely words and sentiment. I shall read it aloud to the house and enjoy the many boons of these welcoming words.
Seasons greetings to you and your family, and for a prosperous and fulfilling 2026.
I don’t know how I missed this…happy new year and good riddance to the shitty year! A solenoid tattoo??! Wow. Amazing. I also owe you a reply, but lovely to see you here. 💙
Nothing to apologise for. I've got your latest open in my browser now that I'm about to read. ;) Trying to find a new morning routine to settle into now that things have calmed down.
Tattoo yet to exist, but I still want to do it. :)
We fly back in two days and I am also looking for some routine in my life that includes more writing and reading. Let me know how it goes and if you have tips!
Safe travels!
PS I see Substack still hasn't fixed the "click Like but Like isn't registered sometimes" bug.
Yay, there you are! I'm waving from my hill, it's hideous weather, I have a very lame sheep who refuses to be caught that I might administer my magic purple spray (sheep can be so tétu!) and both my daughter and I have slipped over countless times but you just made the day brighter, who cares about sleet and muddy bottoms when Slake picks up his pen again... Nathan just write, it is great to see you back!
And huge congratulations on the house purchase!
Aw, thanks Susie. That's lovely.
Sorry to hear the weather is so hideous! I hope it improves. Wishing you and your family a lovely Christmas and a very happy and fulfilling 2026!
It was great to see you last night Nathan. Have a fabulous first Christmas in your new home 🏡
You too, Susie. Wishing you a lovely, warm, and hopefully quiet/calm Christmas, although I can imagine you’ll still be just as busy and the animals and hill will need tending as on any other day! :)
Yes, Nathan, come back and write for yourself. Best wishes for the New Year.
Thanks, K.C. Best wishes to you, too.
I get the whole shitty year thing and the wanting to return here to this space of wonderful writers. I’ve needed to take a break lately - just too much pressing.
Anywho, if and when you’re back, I’ll be delighted.
Thanks so much, Holly. Hope you're doing OK. Wishing you all the best for 2026!
I love this new saltier Mr. Slake. We’ve missed you. I’m glad you’ll be showing up in my inbox again and I hope you’re able to write with the reckless abandon you aspire to. I’ll be here for it!
Thanks Ben. Good to be back. Hope I can maintain it.
Looking forward to that catch-up next week.
Yes, please adopt that non-careless abandon. Happy to see this notification, today : )
Happy new home, too
Thanks Chris!
We're with you, Nathan!!!! Congratulations on the new house!
Thanks Troy! Hope all is great with you.
Yes, all good over here ;)
Congratulations on your new house! We’ll be in Melbourne next August. Maybe a meet-up in the hedge maze?
Ooo, yay. Definitely let's organise a meet-up. Can't guarantee my own hedge maze unfortunately, but perhaps there's one somewhere in the city...
Welcome back, Nathan and congratulations on the new house. If it’s got a wine cellar then that’s just asking for stories to be written about it. I remember Joanne Harris wrote a story called Blackberry Wine which I think is told from the perspective of a bottle of wine. I could wrong about that though. I read it a long time ago
I’m still enjoying King Sorrow but I’m still on Arthur’s bit. If it gets as rubbish as you say then I’ll be giving up. Too heavy a book to carry about if it’s no good 😁
Looking forward to seeing a photo of the tattoo 👍🏼
Don't give up! You can tell me how I'm wrong, haha. Arthur's part definitely the best, in my opinion.
If you approach it purely as a romp, the book is fine. But if you begin to actually think about it as a piece of literature or analyse it closely, I feel it crumbles.
Keep me posted.
That's an awesome concept for a story, purely the point of view of a bottle of wine!
You know what they say… the sooner you buy the longer you can enjoy it! Congrats on the house! It sounds like we’re having a house warming party??? :) Have a great holiday season and may 2026 kick 2025’s shitty butt!
Thanks my friend. Here's to a prosperous 2026!
Congrats, old bean. So what were you living in before? Loved the "awful" book review. Welcome back.
Thanks, Terry. Hope you're well!
Happy holidays and all that back! Your ‘welcome to my brain’ note made me laugh - I had to read that aloud to my husband, who was equally amused! Congrats on your new home though - I wish you & your family many happy times! Hope the atmosphere is conducive to your writing (and arm flotations too!) 😂
Hehe, glad you could relate/were amused by that comment. 😆
Thanks Rose, wishing you all the best too.
Congratulations on buying your first home, Nathan, and an Art Deco at that... I love this. Also, welcome back, you were missed.
Thanks, Claudia. I miss it and all of you. Just got to find the groove again.
Missing us is a good sign 😁. I’ve been in a limbo for about five months after I finished serializing my novel here. Finding the groove again takes time.