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Sunday, May 1, 2011

The Magic Pudding turns 93!


One of Australia's best-loved children's books - The Magic Pudding: Being The Adventures of Bunyip Bluegum and his friends Bill Barnacle and Sam Sawnoff by Norman Lindsay - turns 93 this year.

It's a book close to my heart, as it formed a part of my childhood library and captured my imagination in a way few other books did.

Talking koalas, a self-replenishing cheeky pudding, a pants-wearing penguin and a salty old sailor hit the road to see the world, but when Albert, the pudding, is taken by 'pudding thieves' - a wily wombat and possum - his friends Bunyip Bluegum, Bill Barnacle and Sam Sawnoff are forced to launch a rescue mission.

A special 90th anniversary edition of the book has been released with a special afterword by his granddaughter Helen Glad. The original black-and-white artwork has also been rescanned.

The book has inspired an animated movie, a stamp, and a play, but most importantly it has fired many a young imagination.

By RR with 1 comment

Friday, April 1, 2011

Sydney Writers' Festival 2011


The program for the Sydney Writers' Festival has been made available via its website www.swf.org.au, and there are some not-to-be-missed opportunities for writers and readers alike.

Would-be authors will love the When Preparation Meets Opportunity session with writer Phillipa Fioretti, which will give writers plenty of tips on how to get noticed by publishers.

And then there's the unmissable So You Think You Can Write international session, where audience members have three minutes to pitch their work to a panel of agents and publishers.

Readers will love any number of talks, organised by genre, featured on the website.

My picks include a session with Australian crime author Garry Disher, Tightening the Screws: Creating Tension and Suspense in Crime Fiction, and Lawyers, Guns and Money with bestselling US crime writer Michael Connolly.

From Harry Potter to Tim Winton: How to Write for Young Adults with Belinda Jeffrey sounds promising, as does Reporting from the Inside with journalists Elisabeth Wynhausen and Anna Krien.

Of course there are many, many more talks and workshops of interest - some free, some for a fee - so get in quick and book your tickets!

By RR with No comments

Monday, March 28, 2011

Stieg Larson's 4th book to be printed?

A close friend of the Swedish crime writer has revealed the plot for what he says is the fourth book in the Millennium Series - and it'll have protagonist Lisbeth Salander's estranged sister Camilla in a key role.

Larsson, 50, died suddenly in 2004 before his books The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest were published.

The crime trilogy - about anti-heroine, punk computer hacker Salander - has sold more than 45 million copies worldwide and were made into films.

But Larsson's friend Kurdo Baksi, who wrote My friend Stieg Larsson last year, said the author had more books in the pipeline, the Swedish newspaper Expressen reported.

Baksi told the Expressen the fourth book in the series was set on Banks Island, a remote island off the west coast of Canada, and features Camilla, who was last seen briefly in the second novel The Girl Who Played With Fire . The deepening relationship between Salander and investigative journalist Mikael Blomqvist would also be explored.

Baksi said Larsson had completed the introduction and finale to the fourth, untitled, book - rumoured to be part of a planned six-book series.

By RR with No comments

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Consumers chase ebook titles


Apparently interest in e-readers (Kindles, iPads and the like) has jumped measurably since Borders and Angus & Robertson slipped into administration.

Is this signaling a new chapter (pardon the pun) in publishing?

Data from web traffic tracking company Experian Hitwise backs up claims of a recent rise in e-book interest.

The share of searches on e-books rose nearly 5 percentage points for Amazon from mid-January to March 19, and 29 per cent since Borders and Angus & Robertson fell into voluntary administration.

For Kobo, in the No. 2 spot after Amazon, the share of web traffic searching on the term e-book rose about 3 percentage points, or as much as 46 per cent.

University of Melbourne publishing and communications lecturer Emmett Stinson said e-books were likely to generate around 7 to 8 per cent of all book sales by the end of the year, but might even come close to 10 per cent.

Mr Stinson said his guess was "based on Australia's adoption of other new media: ... slow at first, but quick to catch up".

By RR with No comments

Friday, March 25, 2011

Self-Published author gets contract

St Martin's Press, an imprint of Pan Macmillan, has secured a four-book deal with US author Amanda Hocking, who shot to fame by selling more than a million copies of her self-published books.

Amanda's best-selling works include the Trylle trilogy and the My Blood Approves series.

St. Martin’s Press will publish Ms. Hocking’s 'Watersong' series, four books in the young-adult paranormal genre, after paying a rumoured seven-figure sum for the deal, announced this week.

Exciting news for Amanda, and further proof that self-publishing can be a great springboard for writers keen to get their work published. We look forward to seeing the new series!

By RR with No comments

Friday, March 18, 2011

JJ Cooper's back with Deadly Trust

I don't know how this one slipped under the radar, but JJ Cooper has a new book out!

Deadly Trust is the second book in the jay Ryan series, Australia's newest action hero. I wrote about JJ Cooper's thrilling debut with The Interrogator, and immediately knew the former soldier was a name to watch in the action genre.

This time around former army interrogator Jay Ryan is enjoying the quiet life after leaving the military far behind - or so he thinks. Because old habits die hard and he's quickly thrust back into the thick of things when a disgruntled scientist, backed by the Australian security industry, develops a weapon of mass destruction - a hybrid strain of Anthrax - to be used to create panic in a population apathetic to crime prevention.

Only one batch of Anthrax inoculations can resist the deadly new strain, and it was given to five military interrogators. One of them was Jay Ryan. When the other four disappear, Ryan is the last interrogator left with the antibodies to defeat the deadly Anthrax strain.

Racing against time and hunted by rogue soldiers, mad scientists and an organisation that operates beyond the law, Ryan digs deep into his past for a chance at a future.

In this heartstopping thriller, Jay Ryan wages a one-man war against enemies both known and unseen. There's only person he can trust - or can he? Winning the war may have devastating consequences for the last interrogator.

Check out JJ Cooper's website - http://www.jjcooperauthor.com

By RR with No comments

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Psychic self-publishes a sure hit


How could you not self-publish your book if you knew it was going to be a big hit? If only all potential publishers and self-publishers had that sort of precognition we'd know if it was worth taking the plunge!

In this week's Daily Telegraph psychic Paul Fenton-Smith talks about his forthcoming book (that the paper forgets to name!), which he is dead-certain will be a smash hit, and why he has taken the self-publishing plunge.

We'll be reviewing Paul's book shortly. Stay tuned!

By RR with No comments

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Liz Byrski's Last Chance Cafe

Australian author and journalist Liz Byrski has penned a new novel, Last Chance Cafe, which follows the lives of several women as they wrestle with the challenges of ageing in a culture that celebrates youth and sex appeal.

Margot, Dot and Phyllida each face their own challenges in getting older - Margot is looking her disappointments in the eye and wonderinf if it's too late to change; serial campaigner Dot's angry and still looking for a cause; and faithful Phyllida's 50-year marriage is rocked by secrets come to light after her husband is rushed to hospital.

Byrski says she wrote the book to highlight the pervasive 'new sexism' rife in society today, and asks if the spirit of the '70s and '80s can be revived by women to once more challenge the status quo.

"More than three decades have passed since women fought to outlaw the sort of sexism that defined them by their appearance and sexuality. It was a battle that seemed to have been won, but in the first decade of the 21st century it's back," Byrski said.

"This new sexism is more pernicious than ever and it's infecting women's lives from childhood to old age."

Liz writes for a growing and still under-recognised audience of 50+ women looking for books that speak to them about their lives, and it looks like she has once again delivered a riveting read.

And in great news for Liz fans, she'll be touring Australia in April 2011 visiting all the capital cities - keep your eyes peeled for events via her website http://www.lizbyrski.com.au/

By RR with No comments

Monday, March 14, 2011

Mondrian's real life mystery

By RR with No comments

Malla's criminal intent

By RR with No comments

Enchanting Angel Creek

I've just finished reading Victorian author Sally Rippin's enchanting Angel Creek.

It was such a fresh, original idea I found myself doing a double-take as I walked past the rain-swollen creek near my home recently, eyes searching the waters for any errant angels that might be stuck in the swirling waters, wings waterlogged and wedged between rocks.

Angel Creek is the story of Jelly (short for Angelica) and her cousins Gino and Pik, who happen upon a half-drowned baby angel in the Merri Creek near her home one Christmas.

But this angel is no chubby cherub with a harp, but a gangly, bird-like creature that clings to Jelly with a fierceness and favouritism that inspires jealously and rivalry among the children.

It's a mystery, certainly, about where and how the angel came to be in the creek, but it's also a story about growing up, about family and, above all, about change.

The children save the angel from drowning in the creek, but in doing so they're faced with the even greater responsibility of caring for it, nursing it back to health and hiding it from the neighbourhood bullies.

Rippin does a wonderful job of jumping into the shoes of a young tween on the cusp of womanhood and high school, uprooted from friends and her old school, and experiencing all the self-doubt and dawning realisations that come with puberty.

For me Angel Creek also recalled summers past when Australian children really could play down at the creek without fear and make all kinds of wondrous discoveries - but I never ever found an angel. Maybe I should start looking a little harder...

By RR with No comments

Get thee to Stonewylde!

UK author Kit Berry had a dream, and it involved getting published at some stage, so what a joy that dream has come true not once but twice - as a self-publisher and soon, as a mainstream published author.

As a long-time fan of Ms Berry's work, I can enthusiastically recommend her Stonewylde trilogy - well, actually there will be five books in the series, but the first three are floating around and about to be re-released with spiffy new jackets, to be swiftly followed by the long-awaited fourth book in the series.

By RR with No comments

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Lion Whisperer champions big cats

Zoologist Kevin Richardson became a Youtube sensation when footage of him swimming and frolicking with lions in his native South Africa went viral.

Now the ‘Lion Whisperer’, as he has been christened by South African media, has written a book about his life and work with lions and other African wildlife, in conjunction with Sydney writer Tony Park.

Part of the Pride is an eye-opening account of how Kevin learned - often the hard way - how to interact with big cats without the safety net of fences, whips, sticks, chains or guns.

And his secret?

“Lions are social animals,” he said during a recent trip to Sydney. “They love grooming each other and being on top of each other, they’re clan animals.

“And I’ve taken 11 years to get to know them (at my park). When you’re truly integrated with a pride of lions there’s no need for scars. Lions don’t injure each other within a pride.
My theory was if I’m truly accepted by a pride why should I be injured?

“If you just look at how lions live in the wild they don’t have any time for other lions except for their own pride…they seem them as competitors. If they wander into each other’s territories there are warnings and then fights. I find it bizarre that people want to put themselves in those situations (where they don’t know the animals).”

That’s not to say Kevin has had a pain-free time of it.

He once went toe-to-toe with a lion he didn’t know so well - a foolish act, he will readily admit - and it was only the fact that the animal had been de-clawed, and a colleague intervened, that he is alive today to talk about it. But he doesn’t hold a grudge. If anything, he vigorously champions their cause.

“People need to realise we really need to think about how we treat and keep animals in captivity,” Kevin said.

“Humans are the problem – there are too many humans, unfortunately. We can bang on about diseases and poaching, but animal numbers will continue to dwindle if we encroach on their habitats.”

Kevin was in Australia last month to find a distributor for his movie White Lion - Home is a Journey. I sincerely hope he did, because if it’s even half as good as this wonderfully engaging book it will be well worth your time.

Part of the Pride - My life among the big cats of Africa by Kevin Richardson with Tony Park, RRP$34.99, Pan Macmillan.

By RR with No comments

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Bad Behaviour - and life after 50

I had a chance to speak to the amazing Liz Byrski the other day, author of the new novel ‘Bad Behaviour’.

A former journalist and now successful author, Liz is currently touring Australia promoting her work, which deals with women at the ‘richer’ end of the age spectrum.

Her characters are mostly 50+ and her stories are reflections of issues facing that age bracket, possibly influenced by the fact Liz wrote her first novel just before her 60th birthday.

But don’t you dare to call it chick-lit – you won’t find any flighty young things chasing the ultimate handbag, dress or man within the pages of Liz’s books.

“I was very lucky to have a new career taking off,” she says. “It’s not chick-lit because that pushes women towards finding a man to complete themselves. My books don’t push that.

“Sometimes they find the right man, or woman, but they’re very much about independence and personal growth.”

With age comes more wisdom and less pressure, Liz says, something that she tries to convey through her stories.

“I think one’s older life is interesting and full of challenges and more interesting than when you’re young.”

“But popular culture is all about youth and how everything great happens to you when you’re young.

“Ageing is wonderful and life is so much richer - you feel more at ease with yourself, you’re more prepared to take risks in many ways.

“It’s an incredibly rich time of life but it really isn’t portrayed that way.”

Liz offers her readers stories that are alternately meaty, thoughtful and inspiring, and judging by her fan mail, her writing has motivated many of her audience to embark on all kinds of life-changing behaviour - from new careers and love affairs to travel and university degrees. The ‘Byrski Effect’, as it’s becoming known, embodies a welcome dose of enthusiasm and optimism about life after 50.

Bad Behaviour deals with the lives of Zoe and Julia, and the year that changed their lives - 1968 - a time of heady politics, protest and sexual liberation. The decisions they made have shaped their lives and, 40 years on, Zoe and Julia are brought together by the consequences of their own behaviour.

Bad Behaviour by Liz Byrski, Pan Macmillan (RRP$32.99).

http://www.lizbyrski.com.au/

By RR with No comments

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Real life interrogator's debut

At last Australia has an action hero we can proudly call our own – Jay Ryan.

Ryan is the protagonist of JJ Cooper’s The Interrogator, an accomplished debut thriller about an Australian soldier whose life is turned upside down by a betrayal from within.

A solid page-turner, it’s a Godsend for commuters looking for the ideal travelling companion. In fact it’s so ideal I almost missed my train stop a couple of times while I was reading it.

Cooper draws heavily on his 17 years’ worth of Australian Army experience as a real-life interrogator to flesh out Ryan’s character.

When we meet Jay, he’s having a bad day. Sadly for him, it’s about to get much, much worse. He’s kidnapped, beaten up, blackmailed, threatened, and tortured – and that’s just in the first few pages.

It’s occasionally hard to separate the good guys from the bad in this racy read that’s full of surprises – to say more is to give too much away – and Cooper does an excellent job of keeping the reader riveted to the page.

The Interrogator sets the scene for an inspired series that would translate well to the small screen, if not the big one.

I’m looking forward to more Jay Ryan adventures.

The Interrogator by JJ Cooper, Bantam Australia, RRP$32.95.

~~~~

Hi Rebecca,

That's such a great review. I'm very humbled by it. Certainly glad you enjoyed the read and my next book may just have you missing your train stop.

Thanks again - much appreciated.

Cheers,

JJ

By RR with No comments

Monday, January 24, 2011

Confessions of a female PI

Reading Tiffany Bond’s racy self-published read Confessions of a Female Private Investigator could very well make you paranoid.

She does, after all, spend much of her time following cheating spouses, and her case files are bulging with accounts of unfaithful partners and their flimsy cover stories.

These stories have helped to form the basis of her memoir, the chapters of which alternate between her time working for Detection Group clients (the names of whom have been changed to protect those who have been conned and cheated), and her former days (many of them hair-raising) as a beat cop in Brisbane.

There are plenty of con men, battered wives, a housewife with a surprising second job, and a cyber stalker among the parade of targets that make this an entertaining if sobering read.

Suffice to say Tiffany, who handed in her badge to run her own private detective agency in Queensland, has led a pretty colourful life in and out of uniform.

Confessions of a Female Private Investigator by Tiffany Bond, RRP$34.95, Kiss Publications.

You can buy a copy via her website at www.kisspublications.com.au

By RR with No comments

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Anything but normal

Julie Catt’s refreshingly honest memoir ‘Normal’ is of course anything but, with a storyline more suited to a wacky soap opera.

Adopted at an early age, the Sydney psychologist and ex-pat American was a self-described wild child who revelled in the attention she attracted from the opposite sex.

After a stream on sexual shenanigans, she ‘settles’ down with Will in what appears to be married bliss and quickly has two children – but something is still amiss.

She buries herself in feminist literature and, on a whim, attends a women-only festival where she leaves her inhibitions at the gate and samples life as a bisexual.

It’s on her second outing to the same festival that Cupid strikes, and she falls in love with an Australian lesbian, which spells the end of her relationship with Will – and seemingly draws a line under her sexuality.

She swaps marriage in America for de facto disharmony in Australia, and finds living with a militant feminist is not all it’s cracked up to be when you have a young son in tow. It’s heartbreaking stuff to read of how she ships off her child to live with his father when her partner makes it clear he’s not welcome to live in what she believes should be a women-only household.

In a brief moment of domestic bliss, Julie becomes pregnant with her third child via artificial insemination - but her tortured relationship disintegrates as the birth approaches.

The reader hardly has time to catch a breath when a rebound fling six months down the track sees another baby in the making – but how and with whom? The answers are surprising, but then this book is one long surprise.

There’s more, much more, but somehow not enough in this colourful memoir about a woman who has lived her life with such passion and pizzazz. The reader is left wanting to know more about Julie’s world, one in which she seems to have re-written the rules of relationships and parenting.

Issues of family, love, sexual attraction and parenting are all explored as Julie, who admits her fair share of mistakes, seeks to discover what drove her decisions and governed her relationships with those closest to her.

The wild ride seemed to be over far too quickly, but what a ride it was – and love had quite a bit to do with it.

Normal – The true story of a complicated family by Julie Catt, Text Publishing, (RRP$34.95).

By RR with No comments

Monday, January 3, 2011

AC/DC - the deluxe edition

As Acca Dacca fans geared up for Australia's Black Ice tour in 2010 – the first time rockers AC/DC had toured Australia in eight years – they entertained themselves reading the band’s re-released in-depth biography, AC/DC Maximum Rock & Roll.

Unlike tickets to the Australian concerts - which reportedly sold out in a record three hours – the good folk at HarperCollins ensured the attractive black AC/DC Maximum Rock & Roll Deluxe Edition was in plentiful supply as Christmas approached.

And there’s lots to recommend this new edition, authored by respected rock journalists Murray Engleheart and Arnaud Durieux. The book, originally released in 2006, chronicles the band’s fortunes across a lifetime of memorable songs and the overwhelming tragedy of lead singer Bon Scott’s death that could have destroyed the band.

Brothers Angus and Malcolm Young started the pioneering metal band in 1973 while brother George found fame with ‘60s poppers The Easybeats (of ‘Friday on the mind’ fame). Bon joined in 1974 and the band took off, finally achieving international success in the late 1970s just before his death.

After Bon died, as a result of a heavy drinking session in 1980, Brian Johnson stepped up as lead singer, and has remained with the band ever since. Bon still has many fans, and his grave in Western Australia is considered a mandatory destination for those on the AC/DC pilgrimage trail.

However I digress – despite all the fascinating detail in the book, it’s the pictures that keep grabbing your eye.

Little gems abound, like the photos of the band with Angry Anderson – with hair!;  Bon in bib and brace overalls when they were trendy (we’re sure they haven’t been back in circulation since); and Angus wearing a Zorro costume (he went through quite a few, even dressing as a gorilla, before eventually settling on the iconic schoolboy uniform).

And to think many of the photographs were taken 200 million albums ago. Wow!

Even if you’re not a fan of the band, there’s still plenty to keep readers occupied in this highly detailed account of AC/DC’s highs and lows, and the band’s incredible staying power.

AC/DC Maximum Rock & Roll by Murray Engleheart and Arnaud Durieux (HarperCollins, RRP$49.99) is available from all good bookstores.

By RR with No comments

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Wounded Guardian's exciting debut

Redemption looms large in Duncan Lay’s debut novel The Wounded Guardian, in which an orphan and a desperate queen thwart the retirement plans of a traumatised war veteran.

Martil is a soldier who in company with his fellow Ralloran countrymen has committed a host of atrocities, including killing women and children, all in the name of war, earning the soldiers the title ‘the Butchers of Bellic’.

He leaves his country to try and forget his past, and escape his double-edged reputation, but finds the old habits of a warrior die hard.

After an attack by bandits, which he successfully fends off by killing all of his attackers, he finds himself in charge of the chief bandit’s daughter, six-year-old Karia.

It is this unlikely relationship that adds another dimension to Martil’s character, as he gradually undergoes a transformation, rediscovering his purpose and pride.

Lay’s descriptive passages will engage fantasy fans with weaponry, clothing and lodgings all described in minute detail.

And the story itself is dense with twists and turns as assassins, archbishops, greedy nobles and scheming soldiers are thrown into the mix.

When Martil discovers the famed Dragon Sword, a magical weapon that only the Queen’s champion can wield, and later rescues Queen Merren, who is being held prisoner by her cousin Duke Gello, the story really takes off.

Military buffs will appreciate the fighting tactics, and perhaps even the violent and bloody battles that move the story along.

Heroism, romance, heartache, sex, violence, death and disappointment - The Wounded Guardian has it all in spades.

But a magic sword, especially one that can drain the life of its wielder for making poor decisions, is no guarantee of victory.

And even if he succeeds, will he ever be able to lay the ghosts that haunt him?

But of course Martil’s story is bigger than one book – it’s the first of a trilogy that, once you read the first, will have you hooked as you wait to discover the fate of war-ravaged Norstalos, its Queen, her champion and his young charge, who has a secret all her own.

The Wounded Guardian (Harper Voyager, RRP$20.99).

By RR with No comments

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