Had a really pleasant Xmas day with good friends, marred only by the fact that my middle son was still away in France. The monsoonal weather really weighed heavily though, making me feel like I was carrying an extra few kilos through each day (or maybe that was the fruit mince pies!). I gave my eyes a bit of rest from the computer, and my brain some much needed time out. Not long though, as Angel Arias is due in February. I’m 7k short of my target for December 31st but still have a couple of days to reduce that to 5k.

I’m looking forward to 2011 a lot. Burn Bright will be released in March and I’m hopeful it will be well received. There should be a fair few events during the years, so I need to make sure I get better at writing when I’m travelling.

I also have a side project that I’ve been working on that I’m aiming to bring to fruition during the year. Should be able to tell you more about it once I know the outcome of my Peacemaker submission. I’m also still waiting to hear on the next Tara Sharp contracts, so 2011 is full of question marks and surprises.

Looking back over my website stats the Super Creatives series has been very successful, scoring by far the highest amounts of hits. Anne Bishop’s post about the Black Jewels series was also extremely popular. Many thanks to everyone who participated as a guest on my site, I really appreciate the time and energy you put in to either answering my questions, or writing a blog post.

The Apollo Awards launch also garnered a lot of interest. Good luck to the team for next year. I’ll be casting my vote for sure.

Many of you have been asking what I’m currently writing, so here is the list. We’ll check back again at the end of next year and see how far I got.

Angel Arias (bk 2 Night Creatures)

Peacemaker (bk 1 new series)

Too Sharp (book3 TS – planning stage)

Parrish prequel novelette

Secret project

Stalking Daylight (collab – aimed to be finished first draft by Feb)

short story for antho

I hate starting things and not finishing them, so lets have a reconciliation around 12/2011. See if I hit my target.

Be talking to you all soon. Feel free to share you writing plans with me!

Clayton Watson grew up in the Australian outback, and began acting at the age of 12. Three years at The Australian Film & TV Academy saw him land numerous roles in film, TV, and stage – his first lead role was in “High Flyers”. After winning an AFI for his portrayal of army brat Mickey Steele in Always Greener, Clayton landed the prestigious role of “The Kid” in the Matrix trilogy – this earned him a nomination again for Best Newcomer in a Sci-Fi. Clayton has since written six feature length scripts, a TV pilot, and continues to take on projects that are both challenging and very character driven. A great character actor, more focused on the product than the commercial viability – a lead actor in the making.

1. You’ve written a number of screenplays. Would you like to share a little about them? Do you see your foremost as an actor or a writer?

I have 8 feature length screenplays which I am currently pitching in the US, the stories are under lock and key, but they range in genre from Sci-Fi to an 1800’s true story adaptation! I always started acting in front of the camera to learn how to direct, finding that writing was a very strong forte of mine lends itself perfectly to this direction in my career.

2. What has been the highlight of your acting career to date and why?

Two years on Matrix 2 and 3 is unbeatable, the experience, the scale, and the friendships forged has opened a world to me that I read in Sci-Fi books! Also the tour of the world with the premieres was amazing, from LA to London to Cannes, I look forward to doing that again soon!

3. Has been an Australian made it harder in Hollywood or is it an advantage?

It’s an equal playing field, right time, right place, right face, with the right talent is all it comes down to – it’s a circus, and you got to be a damn good clown!

4. What would you like to be doing in five years time?

The same as the last twenty, acting, writing, and making the move to directing and producing – there’s a whole lot of things that I keep discovering in this business, and to me, that’s a pinnacle of my life.

Clayton Watson on IMBD

Clayton Watson wikipedia

Below is the link to the MDP Worlds Xmas Newsletter. Read and enjoy!

Newsletter_FINAL 20 12 2010 (2)