Kathryn's Inbox

I'm certain that I will surprise no one by confessing that I read a lot. Obsessively. On my way to and from work. At lunchtime. Before bed. More or less any time that hasn't been dedicated to my work, social life, housework or writing. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean that every book I read is good. And seeing as I usually blog about the books I have read and loved, today I thought that I would do something different and blog about the books I have read since I started this site and either did not enjoy or did not finish. And so, in no particular order, here are some of the books that didn't end up being reviewed. Article 5 - Kirsten Simmons ( Never finished ) This book gets top billing, simply because it was the one that inspired this post. It's difficult to say what I didn't like about this dystopian tale of post war America, apart from the fact that it failed to draw me in. Maybe it's just the fact that I'm part of the generation who gre...

As some of you may be aware, I am currently in the process of self-publishing a novella. The project is now in the late stages, meaning that I am busy designing potential covers and blurbs, checking the copy frantically for errors and perhaps the most heartbreaking element of all for this particular work--changing the title. The problem with that last one is this. Outside in the Rain  and I have a great history. We date all the way back to 2010. It has a great story behind it--the novella was inspired by a question on Yahoo! Answers.  And as much as I might like the title, I'm not sure that its the best one to market my novel. For one, rain is fairly incidental to the story, sure its raining when my heroine meets her beloved outside a pub one autumn night, but there are greater themes that really drive the story. Like the fact that my heroine may have murdered her nasty ex-boyfriend (she cannot remember the actual act, all she knows is that she panicked at the sight of his b...

Big shout out and thanks to Tarran the team at  Collins Booksellers Edwardstown  for this signed copy of Isobelle Carmody's latest release Metro Winds . For those of you who don't know, Isobelle Carmody is the author of brilliant novels such as The Gathering and also the The Obernewtyn Chronicles. She's the kind of author that you read growing up and never really grow out of.  When I learned that Isobelle Carmody would be having a signing at the store last Thursday evening, I was quite eager to attend. Unfortunately, the signing was rescheduled for Friday afternoon. As I work during the day, I was unable to attend. Fortunately, the store was kind enough to ask Isobelle to sign a copy for me and put it aside for me to collect over the weekend. Thanks. Oh, and for those of you who are wondering ... Metro Winds  is a collection of stories set in the real world but with fantasy elements. Visit Isobelle Carmody's official site  here .

Greetings all. Kathryn's Inbox is proud to present this Fifty Shades Fanfiction, which has been written by a certain struggling author who would really rather remain anonymous.  Fifty Shades Sillier, by Anonymou s Holy Cow! My inner Goddess begins to do somersaults as Christian takes a large, vibrating object in his hands. "Do you know what I am going to do with this Miss Steele?" He asks, whilst offering me a sexy smile. Wow, that smile is just so ... hot.  "Miss Steele." Christian sounds quite annoyed, as he adjusts the overhead light. "Would you please behave yourself?" "Really Christian?" I stare at him and bite my lip. "What would you do if I don't want to behave?" "Nurse?" Christian sighs. Wow, he looks angry. That is so ... hot.  "Yes Doctor Grey?" Nurse Elena appears in the doorway. She takes the electric toothbrush from Christian's hands. Her smile is sympathetic, the co...

Yay! It's Friday once again, and we all know what that means. No, I'm not talking about my usual Friday night jaunt to the markets, but Feature and Follow Friday,  a weekly meme hosted by  Alison Can Read  and  Parajunkie's View  designed to help book bloggers meet and connect. This week's all important question is: Q: Summer Break is upon us! What would be the perfect vacation spot for you to catch up on your reading & relax? You do know that it's almost winter in Adelaide right? But at this time of year, I'd love to head up north to the Gold Coast.

About six months or so ago, a regular customer at my workplace and I got talking about Judy Blume. He  confessed that as a preteen one of his favourite novels was Are You There God? It's Me Margaret and that he had been somewhat fascinated by reading an account of puberty from the perspective of a girl. Unsurprisingly, he laughed quite a bit when I told him that when I was thirteen one of my favourite novels was Then Again, Maybe I Wont, another Judy Blume novel which is an account of puberty through the eyes of a boy. I wonder if this was, perhaps, deliberate on behalf of the author. Or if we both just simply have a morbid curiosity about the other gender. (I'm leaning toward the former.) Speculation aside, Are You There God? It's Me Margaret  tells the story of a girl, eleven, going on twelve, who wants desperately to grow up (or at least wear a bra and get her first period,) be accepted by her peers and work out what her religious beliefs and affilia...

This next post is devoted to one of my all time favourite authors of books for children and young adults, Judy Blume. Like many kids of my generation, I more or less grew up reading Judy Blume. When I was nine, I giggled at Fudge and felt sorry for his poor, suffering older brother Peter. When I was eleven, I understood only too well the world of female bullying that was so accurately and honestly depicted in Blubber . When I was thirteen, I read  Then Again Maybe I Won't from cover to cover several times and took comfort in the fact that boys had to go through puberty as well. When I was fifteen  Forever offered me a far more honest and accurate account of teenage relationships than what sex education classes or the pages of Dolly magazine ever could. And that's not even mentioning the personal impact many of her other wonderful novels had on me-- Iggy's House , Starring Sally J. Freeman as Herself , Are You There God? It's Me Margaret ,  It's Not the End of th...

Every now and again, a wonderful book comes out and, somehow, I manage to miss it. When Room was released in 2010, I put it on my long-list of books to read and promptly forgot about it. Lucky for me, Picador rereleased this one a month or so ago as part of their 40th anniversary editions and a few copies happened to be very prominently displayed at the Dymocks store in Rundle Mall. (Speaking of, my brother visited the big Dymocks in Sydney on the weekend. I'm so jealous.) Anyway, when I purchased a copy of Room the sales staff could not praise the book highly enough. And when I read the book, it was not difficult to see why. Room is narrated by Jack, a five-year-old whose entire world is a small confined space that he calls Room, which contains a bed, wardrobe, kitchen and television. The only people he knows is his mother, who he affectionately calls Ma and an white haired man he calls Old Nick. Old Nick comes and goes from Room, bringing Ma and Jack various supplies and ...

Just for fun today, I thought I would share a small extract from one of my favourite novels, Pride and Prejudice. I first read this novel one warm evening when I was eighteen and unable to sleep. At that time, it was the only book on my bookshelf that I had not read. Once I picked it up, I could not put it down ...   Chapter 1   It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.   "My dear Mr. Bennet," said his lady to him one day, "have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?"   Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.   "But it is," returned she; "for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she...

Well, well, look what I've got. JLT was kind enough to nominate me for the Versatile Blogger Award, which you can see more about  here . Part of the deal is that I'm supposed to nominate fifteen blogs, but I'm going to bend the rules a little on that one. I know that a lot of bloggers are busy and don't always have time to accept the award, so instead of nominating anyone, I'm going to strongly encourage you to check out my list of favourite blogs, which appears on the sidebar. I will, however participate in the other part of the exercise and tell you seven things about me: 1. I live in Adelaide, Australia. But you probably knew that. An addiction to Frog Cakes and Haigh's chocolate is always a dead giveaway. For those of you who don't know, a frog cake looks like this: 2. I have just completed a novella titled Outside in the Rain . It was inspired by a question on Yahoo! Answers. 3. I have some hearing loss in my left ear and some scarri...

Wow, how fast has this week gone by? I've been a bit too busy formatting files and creating book covers to do much blogging this week, (plus you know, there are the usual dramas surrounding my life, a complete lack of sleep, extra hours at work ...) Anyway, the good news is I'm online now and it's time for Feature and Follow Friday, a weekly meme hosted by  Alison Can Read  and  Parajunkie's View  designed to help book bloggers meet and connect. This week's all important question is: Q: This Sunday in the U.S. is Mother's Day. In celebration, what are some of your favorite books with strong mother/child relationships? Strangely enough, I was thinking about Little Women  by Louisa May Alcott while I was on my way home from work this evening and the relationship that Marmee March has with her daughters. I like the way that she treats all four of her daughters as individuals and allows them to grow and blossom. In Australia, Little Women is ...

Phew! I've been hard at work this week. First of all, I sent the first three chapters of my manuscript, Behind the Scenes to a literary agent for consideration. After working on this manuscript for so long, it feels strange to be sending it away. In other news, I have been busy working on another indie publishing project. Outside in the Rain is a strange little novella, which is narrated by a very introverted young woman who may or may not have murdered her ex-boyfriend. At the moment, I'm at that tedious stage of formatting the text and creating the front cover on photoshop. In reading news, I've just finished Room wonderful novel by Emma Donaghue. I hope to have a review up very soon ...

Seeing as Doctor Who is a bit of a hot topic on my blog at the moment, I thought that I would talk about what is (in my opinion,) one of the finest episodes since Matt Smith stepped in to the role of the Eleventh Doctor and Steven Moffat became Executive Producer. In Vincent and the Doctor  the Doctor and Amy travel back to 1890, where they meet Vincent Van Gogh. There is some fantastic interpretation and retelling of the life of the troubled artist (apparently his mind was the only one powerful enough to see the alien that was tormenting the town,) and followed by a wonderful ending. Amy and the Doctor take the poor and struggling artist for a ride in the Tardis to 2010, where they show him the impact that his art had on future generations. The concept is an incredible one. Showing a troubled artist, who lived in poverty and took his own life, just how great he truly was and how his work would live on. And naturally, after the episode went to air, YouTube was flooded with fan ...

Before I start this next post, it's only fair that I should thank my brother for supplying the source material, which I probably never would have found if left to my own devices. So thanks, Damien. It seems that my favourite comic, Garfield, has now joined the ranks of Peanuts and is getting the KaBOOM! comics treatment. This is to be a monthly comic series, in which the lazy lasagne eating tabby, takes a starring role with his pals Odie, Nermal, Arlene and Squeak. And the poor, long-suffering Jon Arbuckle is along for the ride as well.  I rather enjoyed the comic, which is fairly short and contains two stories. In Collectors Classic, Nermal discovers a rare first edition comic. (There are some very awesome and very clever jokes about first edition comics in this one.) In Big Mouse Meal  a friend of Squeak tries to convince Garfield to eat him, with no success. Given that the comic book is aimed at kids its unsurprising that the humour and characters are in keeping...

It's Follow & Feature Friday once again, that awesome time of week where like-minded bloggers can meet and connect.  Hosted by  Parajunkie's View  and  Alison Can Read , Feature & Follow Friday is a weekly blog hop. This week's all important question is: Q: What is one thing you wish you could tell your favorite author? Hmm. You know, there is an episode of Doctor Who titled the Unquiet Dead where the Ninth Doctor and Rose go back in time and meet Charles Dickens. Being a Dickens fan myself, I rather enjoyed the episode and also the conversation that the Doctor told Dickens what he thought of his books. The look on Dickens' face when the Doctor told him what he thought of The Old Curiosity Shop, (arguably, Dickens' worst book,) was one of horror and disgust. I think if I were to meet the (real) Dickens', I'd probably end up accidentally doing the same thing, and just cause a whole lot of annoyance. So maybe its best if I didn'...