Kathryn's Inbox

The difficulty of literature is not to write, but to write what you mean; not to affect your reader, but to affect him precisely as you wish. Robert Louis Stevenson

Just thought it was time I gave a shout out to one of my favourite pages on facebook, Australian Writers Rock!  The page is affiliated with the website of the same name. Regular contributors include up and coming Australian talent such as RB Clague (whose novel Daisy is currently on my to-review list,) Kristy Berridge , Karen Tyrrell , Nicole Suzanne Brown , Aishah Macgill , literary agent Kelly McLean and half a dozen other awesome people who I have probably forgotten to mention in this post. Anyway, it's a great spot for up and coming writers (especially us indie authors,) to visit and exchange thoughts and ideas about the writing and publishing process. Be sure to check it out.

Okay, I'll be truthful. I have a tiny bit of a crush on Mr Darcy. I'm not quite sure why, but suspect it has something to do with the fact that over the course of a novel he goes from being a stuck up, miserable git to a wholly likable, albiet occasionally grumpy gentleman who has a heart of gold and a genuine affection for the leading lady in the novel, the intelligent and occasionally outspoken, Elizabeth Bennett. Anyway, today I'm devoting a post to Mr Darcy. Mr Darcy is the kind of man who is disliked by strangers, but loved and respected by those who know him well. Twenty-eight years old, unmarried and the owner of a palatial estate named Pemberley, Mrs Bennett initially thinks that he may be a good match for one of her five daughters, but the idea is soon dismissed when the Bennetts first encounter Mr Darcy at a party. He makes a poor impression on all, particularly the second daughter, Elizabeth. Mr Darcy and Elizabeth are forced to be in one another's co...

After weeks of dithering, holding off and damn well waiting for that agent to get back to me about the manuscript for Behind the Scenes , I took a monumental step. In other words, I just said stuff it and have decided to submit it direct to a publisher instead. Have I just taken decisive action that puts me back in control of my career, or have I just completely ruined my chances of convincing that agent to take on my work. Who knows? As a rule, agents aren't terribly fond of taking on books that have already been submitted, and rejected, from a publisher. It is far more likely that the publisher will reject my work than my manuscript being one of the lucky one or two out of three thousand that actually makes its way into print.  But what I have learned through publishing three novels as an indie author, is this. Sometimes you have to take risks. Publishing Being Abigail was a huge risk. How many people were going to want to read a book that was based on a website that they...

Just found these cool Daria cast interviews and thought that I'd share ...

And so, it begins. Just as Twilight inspired a spate of paranormal romance novels, Fifty Shades of Grey looks set to go the same way, inspiring a range of similar titles to be published, or at least to enjoy mainstream success rather than being shot straight off to the corner of the bookstore where all the kinky novels are kept. Launching on July 1 Destined to Play  by Indigo Bloome is the next supposedly erotic novel aimed at mainstream audiences, and is the first in a series of three novels. Published by HarperCollins, this ebook-only novel tells the story of Dr Alexandra Blake who recieves a surprising proposition from her former lover Jeremy. He wants to play a game where she will be totally at his will for forty eight hours ... The cover looks remarkably similar to the Fifty Shades trilogy. (But wait, that's not a tie it's a scarf. And it's red!) No doubt these books will be lapped up for a little while, until the target readership grows bored and moves on. ( The ...

Hooray! It's time once again for Feature and Follow Friday, an awesome weekly meme hosted by  Parajunkee's View  and Alison Can Read , which is designed to help like-minded bloggers connect. This weeks all important question is: Q: If you could "unread" a book, which one would it be? Is it because you want to start over and experience it again for the first time? Or because it was THAT bad? One book that I would definitely like to unread, because it was that awful, is the second book in the Twilight series, New Moon . And then it would follow that I would never have read the other two books in the series, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn . In my opinion the whole thing was a great idea for a teen romance but executed poorly and the series got progressively worse as it went on, in what I suspect was an attempt to churn out novels while the franchise was still popular. (Sorry fans of Bella and Edward.) At the same time, I'm glad that I read the first boo...

Imagine this: Three hundred people rule the world by virtue of a pact that dates all the way back to the eighteen century. These three literally control everything--politics, religion, the military. And only one man can stand up to them. That is the premise of Conspiracy of Wolves , the second novel by indie author Ernie Hasler. This thriller tells the story of Douglas, a young man who knows the truth about the group of three hundred and is determined to stand up to them. Set in the United Kingdom in 1997, the book plays out against the backdrop of actual political events--such as the election of Tony Blair and the New Labour government. In many ways, the story reads like a morality tale--the narrative is reminiscent of a member of the older generation educating the younger about the wrongs of the past and the need to be like Douglas and his wife, Kelly by many sacrifices in order to do what is right. There were a couple of problems with the book--the dialogue, particu...

Develop an interest in life as you see it; the people, things, literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself. Henry Miller

Here is a sneak preview at my latest novella which can be purchased from Amazon or  Smashwords . Best Forgotten  tells the story of Kellie-Sue Smith, a young woman with a dark secret. Only she knows how the body of Morgan Stone came to be bloodied and bruised on the kitchen floor and she would like to keep it that way ... Part 1 The Killer     Purse. Car keys. Textbook. Mobile. Okay, I can do this. Act cool. Pretend everything is normal. I slip on my sunglasses and dump my satchel on the front passenger seat of the Hyundai. I take a deep breath. So far, so good. It is amazing, really, just how ordinary everything seems today. Here I am, going about my morning routine like nothing strange or out of the ordinary happened last night. Like I’m still the same innocent, untainted girl who stood in this same place, at exactly this time yesterday. I wonder if anyone knows that I killed a man between now and then? I cast my eyes across the car park, just ...

Feature and Follow Friday is 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: Happy Father's Day! Who is your favorite dad character in a book and why? Hmm, decisions. My favourite Dad character is the tough but always fair Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird . Not only does this man live by his principles, regardless of what others may think of him, but this middle aged lawyer had quite a difficult job at home, raising two spirited children.

Every now and again, I like to ponder the tough questions. Like what would happen if the teenage trolls who repeatedly go to Yahoo! Answers and ask whether libraries keep the bible in the fiction or non-fiction section  bothered to educate themselves about the dewey decimal system. But that would never happen. Anyway, another all-important question I've been pondering since I started writing this blog and revisiting a number of children's books is this. Did R.L. Stine use ghostwriters for his Goosebumps and Fear Street series? A little research (thanks, google) has brought up some mixed results. This article suggests that Stine did indeed write all 100+ novels on his own, with his wife acting as editor. See:  http://www.viterbo.edu/perspgs/faculty/GSmith/RLStine.html Meanwhile, other articles suggest that Stine used ghostwriters for his Goosebumps series, at least. See: http://www.flavorwire.com/274052/whodunit-10-famous-ghostwriting-collaborations?all=1 http://...

Just sharing one of my favourite Garfield comics. Enjoy.

There are very few things that are certain in life. The cynic might say that death and taxes are the only two certainties, but I think that is probably only because they have yet to learn that no matter how bitter and twisted one might be feeling on a particular day, a vegemite foldy over sandwich really can make it all better. Anyway, apart from death, taxes and vegemite foldy over sandwiches making things all better, there is one other certainty in life. And it is this. If you read a copy of The Day of the Triffids  while sitting in any public place, you can be guaranteed that at least one person will come up to you and start chatting about how they read The Day of the Triffids back when they were at school. Note: It matters not whether this other person knows you personally or not. And ... now that I think of it, I must be the only person who didn't read The Day of the Triffids when I was at school. I remember reading Z for Zachariah , Picnic at Hanging Rock , To Kill a Mo...

Just offering you all a little teaser--the front cover for the novella I am releasing later this month.  Best Forgotten is the story of an introverted young woman who may or may not have murdered her former boyfriend. Most of the action revolves around the protagonists mental state and her perception of the world, making her quite an interesting character to write about. 

It feels like a long time has passed since I've written a decent review of an adult novel on here, so what better book to write about than the lovely Fair Stood the Wind for France by H.E. Bates. I discovered this fantastic Penguin Modern Classic on the shelves at Dymocks a few months ago. At that point, I had never heard of the novel, though I was aware of the author through his novel The Darling Buds of May  and the subsequent television series of the same name that starred a young Catherine Zeta Jones. Anyway, this is a book that isn't to be confused with the delightful Larkin family. Rather it is a tale of a British Air Force pilot who finds himself injured and relying on the kindness of locals (many of them risking their own lives,) when his plane crashes in Occupied France during World War Two. John Franklin's arm is badly injured. After an amputation, he is nursed back to health by Françoise, the strong willed daughter of a farmer. Slowly, the pair fall in love ...

Just wanted to share one of my all-time favourite Calvin and Hobbes comic. This simple comic ended the series, but has a wonderful message about life going on and being full of new possibilities. I need that today. Thank you, Bill Watterson.

Hi all! I've missed the past two Feature and Follow Fridays due to having a lot of weird shit going on in my personal life  due to being rather busy coming up with an idea for a novel about a young woman who has a lot of weird shit going on in her personal life. Anyway, on a brighter note, Feature and Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by  Alison Can Read  and  Parajunkie's View  designed to help book bloggers meet and connect. Most weeks there is a question to answer, but because Feature and Follow Friday is celebrating its 100th meme, the hosts have decided to do things a little differently this time. This week, everyone participating in the meme will feature one of their favourite blogs. So ... drumroll please ... One of my favourite stops in the blogosphere is Write Now. Hosted by JLT (who I've know for some time from various writing forums,) this blog puts together some of the most useful and practical advice for writers. Regardless of ...

It's difficult to find a word that accurately describes this children's book. Although in many ways the words nice or sweet would be fitting, both words are often used to describe books in a way that is condescending, as if to say that it was a good story, but something was lacking. And there is nothing lacking about Iggie's House. This is a great book, about the lessons eleven year old Winnie learns when a new family moves into her neighbourhood.  The novel opens with Winnie eagerly awaiting the arrival of her new neighbours. She is sad and lonely. It is the beginning of summer. Her brother is away at camp and worse still, Iggie, her best friend in the whole world has moved away. Iggie and her parents have promised that Winnie will get a surprise when she discovers who has bought their house. And sure enough, Winnie is very excited to learn that three new kids will be moving into the house, including two boys who are both close to her own age. The only catch is thi...

In which Ana returns to Christian and resumes their abusive relationship because she is an idiot. I really do not understand why this whole series is so popular. If  Fifty Shades of Grey  a book which basically depicted an abusive control freak and his successful attempt at seducing an innocent virgin into a kinky, semi-sadomasochistic arrangement, is supposedly liberating then how come Christian Grey shows all the signs of being an abusive partner. Seriously. The guy controls every aspect of Ana's life, from what she eats to what she wears. He even hires people to sit outside her workplace all day and watch her and seems to object to the idea of her undertaking any type of paid employment at all. He justifies his behaviour with pathetic statements that go somewhere along the lines of, "This is who I am," and "This is the only way I know how to be." And if you've read the series and don't believe me that the relationship is abusive, I suggest you...

Okay, I confess. When I found this one down at my local Savers I was just a teeny-tiny bit excited. Along with RL Stine's The Babysitter , The Fever was one of my favourite novels from the Scholastic's Point Horror series. In fact, I remember borrowing a copy from the library at my school and reading it all in one day. It was that good. I loved the creepy setting of a run down and underfunded hospital. The protagonist, Duffy (love that name) is confined to her bed whilst suffering a mysterious illness. One night, while in the midst of a fever, she witnesses a murder. And the murderer will go to any length to make sure that Duffy does not remember the crime or tell anyone what happened ... It is surprising how much I remembered of this novel. Along with the setting, some parts of this story are damn creepy. Such as Duffy's mysterious illness (which is never quite explained,) or how her attempts to escape from the hospital are foiled by a mysterious person that she c...

Just wanted to share one of my favourite clips from one of my all-time favourite television series Daria . For those of you who missed it, Daria was an animated series that emerged from in the late 1990s and used to air in Australia on the ABC in an obscure time slot and was pretty much ignored by anyone who didn't like other cool stuff from that era like Recovery or Recovery's awesome host Dylan Lewis. Anyway, this clip really sums up the misunderstood Daria. Her family and classmates assume that she's miserable, simply because she is a realist and possesses the ability to think for herself. Here, Daria proves once and for all that isn't true. Or something like it.