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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

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