Kathryn's Inbox

Welcome back to Writers on Wednesday. This week Australian non-fiction writer Kelly Hart will be answering my questions and giving a little advice for writers. Welcome Kelly ... Tell me a bit about yourself … I was writing before I left high school, but finding out that I was passionate about writing came as a surprise. There we were, a bunch of teenage girls bored in our lunch hour. We were all avid readers of horror and somehow we came up with the idea of writing our own horror novel. Unfortunately the novel we had decided to write as a group never got past the planning stage, but it ignited a need in me to write.    Tell us about your most recently published book? Better Critiquing for Better Writing is a book designed to help new writers with the critiquing process. Getting feedback can be scary, but a new writer faces more challenges than just being scared. I have seen problems occur because a new writer hasn’t been fully prepared before jumping straight

Coloured benches, Victoria Square This one was taken in November 2012 in the southern end of Victoria Square/Tandanyangga. I cannot quite recall what the chairs, or the inflatable pool in the background were meant to represent or if they formed part of a greater festival but they were certainly striking. The square was closed for most of 2013 due to the Tour Down Under and upgrades.

Ever wished that you could be the heroine from your favourite Australian Romance novel? Keep reading, as today, I am going to share some tips with you on how to live like an Australian Romance Heroine ... Looks Australian Romance Heroines are generally an attractive bunch, but they must never, ever be vain about their looks. Mirrors and cosmetics are entirely optional, but keep in mind that to The Guy You Will End Up With At the End of the Book will not care how well you scrub up in a designer frock--he thinks you're just as lovely in those Elmo pyjama pants that have a hole near the bum. However, it is vital that you be depicted on the front cover wearing a hat and a skimpy outfit that would be entirely unsuitable to wear whilst working outdoors--even if this does not accurately depict your character and preferred attire. Love Interests Your love interests can be wide and varied. They will, however, fall into a number of categories, some of which may not nece

Okay. Lets talk book reviews. Writing book reviews is generally a lot of fun and that is precisely why I write them. There is something lovely about being able to share my thoughts on a book with the general public. And, obviously, I appreciate it when people take the time to review my books. But I have also noticed that reviewers and authors can come under a lot of scrutiny. Here's why ... Legitimacy Here is one that some sectors of the online community get hung up about and it's not difficult to see and understand why. Some reviews are fake. I am confident that this is not news to anyone. It would be easy enough, I imagine, for anyone to create a fake account on goodreads or amazon and to write that glowing review that lavishes praise on a particular book. Or, conversely, to write two or three paragraphs damning a book by a rival author to hell. I'm sure it happens. And yes, I think it is wrong, unethical and a whole load of other things. But that does n

Woo-hoo! Time for another Feature and Follow Friday. As you all know, this is a very awesome meme, hosting by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read  designed to help like-minded book bloggers meet and connect. For me, it has been an absolutely huge week, with the release of my fifth novel Cats, Scarves and Liars . ( Feel free to enter the giveaway here .) And maybe I'm just horribly, horribly, biased, but I think it's a great novel and that you should all read it. Anyway, this weeks all-important question for Feature and Follow Friday is: Have you any pets? Tell us or show us? It absolutely breaks my heart to say this, but the question is no. Toffee White, my beloved Abyssinian crossed with a ginger tabby (who looked almost exactly like a ginger tabby, and sounded almost exactly like an Abyssinian,) passed away in July last year.  You can read a small dedication to him at the start of Cats, Scarves and Liars . Here is a picture of him, looking delightfully cute ...

WW1 Memorial, North Terrace Lest We Forget.

First and Foremost, a big shout out to The Reading Room and Penguin Books Australia for my free review copy. Thanks folks, you did not disappoint. Only the Animals is, perhaps, one of the most unusual collections of short stories that I have read in quite some time. Each story is told from the perspective of a different animal and tells a little bit about their lives (and their deaths,) and unique relationships with humans, using various points in modern history as a backdrop. The opening story is told from the perspective of a camel who is travelling through outback Australia in the company of none other than Henry Lawson. Another story (my personal favourite,) is set in France and told from the perspective of a cat that once belonged to French author, Colette. And then there is a dolphin who writes a letter to Sylvia Plath ... (Does anyone else sense a bit of a theme here?) More than that, Only the Animals also offers a unique insight into human nature and, sadly, the shee

Welcome back to Writers on Wednesday. This week I put my questions to Aussie author Dale Lorna Jacobsen ... Tell me a bit about yourself … I am a freelance writer (the best kind) and write out of my little hut in the bush outside Maleny, South-east Queensland. I divide my time between feature writing for The Sunshine Coast Hinterland Times (a high-quality magazine, even if I do say so myself) and creative writing (ie, books). I used to do research and writing for Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, until we had a change of government. I was one of those contract workers who missed out. The undoubted highlight of my life happened in 2013 when I fulfilled a life-long dream to visit Antarctica. I took part in a 32-day expedition to the Ross Sea, with the wonderful Greg Mortimer – Australian mountaineer, adventurer and geologist. Tell us about your most recently published book? Yenohan’s Legacy ISBN 9781921369414 Horizon Publishing Group (2013) Yenohan&#

Tip of the Tongue is the fifth in a year long series of eBooks released by Puffin in 2013 as a part of the 50th anniversary of  Doctor Who  celebrations. Each story was to feature a different incarnation of the Doctor, written by a different and well-established author of books for children and young adults. And despite catching this one rather late, I have to admit, this and the other stories prove to be one hell of a nostalgia trip for an old Whovian like myself. Consequently, I have decided to feature them all on my blog.  The Doctor: The Fifth Doctor The Companion: Nyssa The Author: Patrick Ness, author of the Chaos Walking Trilogy My Reivew: Tip of the Tonuge takes us to the United States during World War 2 where the local kids have discovered a new fad. Truth Tellers are a small product that, when placed on one's mouth, will begin to tell a series of harsh home truths about the people surrounding them. Unsurprisingly, a group of rich and spoiled mean gi

Today is April 21 and that means one thing ... It's Easter Monday. Nah, seriously, today is the official launch day for my latest novel, Cats, Scarves and Liars (you know, that one I've been going on and on about on the blog lately) and it is now available for sale in Kindle format and paperback from Amazon . Anyway, just in case you missed it, here is the cover and blurb: Meet Peppa Grove. Peppa is just your average Australian young woman, really. 23 years old, widowed and owner of a cat who can speak perfect English. (But no one will believe her about the cat.) Why is she being stalked by one of the customers from her job at the City South Post Office? What secrets does the mysterious Ivory Black know about Peppa and her past? What does he know about the strange murders that are happening all over Adelaide? And was it really necessary of him to steal her boyfriend's scarf? Cats, Scarves and Liars is a quirky, offbeat thriller from a unique Australian writer

Wishing you all a happy and safe Easter ~ Kathryn

A Hopeless Romantic is a truthful tale about love and the myth of finding 'The One.'  Laura is something of a love junkie. Or, she is a hopeless romantic, as the title suggests. Beyond all reason or common sense, she throws her heart and soul into every relationship, believing whatever man she is with at the time to be her soul mate or 'The One.' This leads to an number of heartbreaking situations, as Laura finds herself in an ill advised relationship that simply does not work. Eventually heartbroken, she swears off love and makes some important life discoveries.  I read this one as it, and a number of titles by the same author, were loaned to me by a dear friend. I'm grateful of that, as it may not have been something that I would have discovered if I had been left to my own devices. While Laura was a little silly at times, I found her very easy to identify with. It was as pleasing as it was heartbreaking to watch her grow and gain new understandings ab

A few weeks ago, I read and reviewed Rainbow Rowell's brilliant novel, Fangirl . To recap, the novel tells the story of a young woman who is utterly immersed in the fandom of a series of books. Cath loves the hero of the series, Simon Snow to the point where she owns a massive range of merchandise associated with the series and spends her evenings at home writing massively popular fan fiction about the character. Fangirl left me thinking about the relationship that YA readers often have with their characters. There is no denying that YA is a huge genre. And within that genre what is hot right now is Dystopian, with publishers and authors favouring trilogies or series, for example The Hunger Games or more recently, Divergent . There is also no denying that the novels leave the reader with a fascinating alternative realm to escape to. At the beginning the world is well, quite frankly, shithouse. The heroine has little or no control over her life and choices--in Allie Condie'

Welcome back to Writers On Wednesday. This week I put my questions to A.L. Butcher, author of the fabulous The Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles ... Tell me a bit about yourself … Thanks, I am a British author of fantasy/fantasy romance, with two novels, and five anthology pieces to date. I also like to read – fantasy, classics, historical fiction, history, mystery, true crime, all sorts really. I like animals, especially monkeys, the theatre and watching movies. Tell us about your most recently published book? The latest is an anthology called Nine Heroes, it is a collection of heroic fantasy stories. My story is Just One Mistake – which follows a bard, and rather reluctant hero in his quest to please a shadowy employer and thwart a slaver. These are all original stories by some of the best new and established fantasy authors around. I am really proud to be part of that collection. The other authors include Janet and Chris Morris, Walter Rhein, R.A McCandl