Kathryn's Inbox

True is the first novel in New York Times best selling author Erin McCarthy's NA True Believers series, which has been available in Australia for a little while now. It is also a book that stayed on my to-read pile for a very long time and was almost culled without being read. The cull would have been for a good reason--the blurb simply did not appeal and I believe that life is too short to waste reading and reviewing books that I cannot feel some level of enthusiasm for.  A book where a naive young woman's best friends feel the urge to rescue her socially by paying a bad boy to take her virginity did not appeal to me and think the world will survive without hearing an emotional response from me on the topic, thinly disguised as an online book review.  But for one reason or another, while I was recovering from a severe bout of the flu, I decided to pick my copy of the novel up. And, honestly, it really was not that bad. The novel itself is a sweet romance about a socia...

Only the Beatles ...

Sonya Harnett's latest release is a quietly menacing tale, telling the story of a group of working class kids and one very charismatic, but not-quite-nice adult. Set in an unnamed Australian suburb during the 1970s, we meet the Kiley's, a large, working class Catholic family and the Jenson's--a new family in town with a dad who comes across as slippery, but quite charismatic. Rounding out the Kiley and Jenson kids--Freya, Declan and Syd Kiley (and their younger siblings,) and Colt and Bastin Jenson is Garrick and Avery. Garrick is the bully among the kids, while Avery is a bit of a victim. A neglected child who has been sent to live with his grandparents, no one seems to look out for him. Until he is befriended by Rex Jenson. Colt and Bastin 'Bas' Jenson are spoiled, 'golden boys' who are lavished with every kind of toy and trinket imaginable from their father, including a BMX bike. The novels opening, with Colt and Bas being presented with the next ...

Welcome back to Writers on Wednesday. This week I am chatting with Australian romance writer, Ann Grech ... Tell us a bit about yourself … Well, I’m an early-30’s (ok, ok let’s just pretend I’m in my early 30’s), a former solicitor (I know, don’t hold it against me!), a teacher, a mum of two beautiful, if slightly rambunctious, boys, a wife, an avid erotic romance reader and a new writer.   I’ve lived on the Gold Coast for over half my life and love it.    Tell us about your most recently published book? I have most recently self-published a box set of my trilogy, Adversaries’ Lust, Adversaries’ Pain and Adversaries’ Love.   The story is based on a slightly neurotic, beautiful and damaged but brilliant solicitor, Emma Wilson.   She has had her heart broken in the past so shied away from any relationships for years.   When she meets Nicholas Daniels, her opponent in a court case that she’s travelled to Brisbane, Queensland for, she thinks...

The debut novel in Chelsea Cain's Kick Lannigan series is a face-paced, arse-kicking tale of a young woman who wants to avenge her dark past. Kathleen "Kick" Lannigan was abducted as a six year old, subjected to a horrific ring of paedophiles and was routinely exploited in a number of videos that are still circling the internet. Rescued by FBI agent Frank at age twelve, she has struggled to adjust to the real world and suffers a difficult family life--her father left, her mother used Kick's abduction as a means of becoming a media star and her sister hates her. She considers her real family to be James, a fellow abductee who she bailed from a mental institution. Together, Kick and James follow the investigations of missing children carefully and they make for a great team--she's a kick arse fighter, good with a gun, he's a reclusive software developer who can create all kinds of programmes to follow people. When two children go missing in circumstances clo...

I snapped this one at Christies Beach. I'm not an expert on graffiti, though I like the fact that the fence makes it pretty obvious that what is depicted is art and a means of creative expression--which is what I feel good street art should be.

No Safe House is a page-turning crime novel about an ordinary American family caught up in a web of dangerous people and dangerous situations. Several years ago, Terry Archer, his wife Cynthia and their daughter found themselves caught in a terrible situation, which is depicted in Barclay's previous novel, No Time For Goodbye . The trio were rescued by criminal mastermind Vince. And now, it seems that the family may need Vince's help again, after rebellious daughter Grace and her delinquent boyfriend Stuart find themselves in the wrong place at exactly the wrong time.  A big part of the story hinges on why Vince, and his stepdaughter Jane, are so willing to help the family and what they may possibly want in exchange. And do either know anything about a spate of robberies and murders that are occurring in the town? Barclay's novel is a satisfying, face-paced page turner. Some parts of the story are a little gory (or perhaps just not for the feint-hearted,) there...

I have to admit, I had not thought of this play for a long time--not since early university in fact--and I was pleasantly surprised when I found a copy available for sale in the modern classic section at QBD. I snatched the copy up, brought it home and read it within a couple of hours. As an adult reading this for the second time around, I was quite charmed about the story of working class hairdresser Susan (who prefers to be called Rita,) and her initially reluctantly open university tutor, Frank. Over the course of the year, it becomes obvious that Susan/Rita's life and career prospects are improving, while Frank's own life and career is on the decline. The play examines what it means to be educated and the ending looks at what it means to have a choice--we know that Frank is on his way to Australia, but we do not know what will happen to Rita/Susan. Will she return to her husband, will she remain on her own and continue her education or (the least probably of all her cho...

Welcome back to Writers on Wednesday. This week, I'm chatting with the amazeballs Nicole Suzanne Brown, author of Pride and Passing Through Time and publisher of Spiritual Wisdom Magazine ... Tell me a bit about yourself … I lived in sunny Queensland all my life until moving to a very small cold country town of New South Wales, and I’m still confused by the choice to this day. Small in stature but big in personality, I have lived in New York, the United Kingdom, spent time in an Indian Ashram and get itchy feet every time I glance at my Passport.I am the publisher and editor of Spiritual Wisdom Magazine an online publishing resource for spiritual authors and bloggers and Spiritual Wisdom Publishing, my own publishing company.I am the Author of 5 novels: including the non-fiction novel Passing through Time – conversations with the other side, and ebooks The Creativity Workbook, The Wee Little Book of The Awesome,...

I was lucky enough to meet Alan Baxter a couple of weeks ago when he appeared at   Collins Booksellers Edwardstown   and he was kind enough to sign a copy of   Bound   for me and chat for a moment or two. I was absolutely intrigued by the fact that he added a notation   Beware a dangerous book  to my copy and these words proved to be rather fitting.   Bound   is an action packed ride, telling the story of Alex, a martial arts cage fighter who finds himself caught up in a strange new world after a visit from a mysterious man. Alex, it seems, has some terrific magical abilities that he has never put to use--but thanks to Englishman Patrick Welby that it all about to change. Alex finds himself bonded to a very dangerous creature who has hidden himself within a book and solving the problem--even with the very knowledgable, well-connected and mysterious Silhouette by his side--is not easy. Rather, Alex's adventures are viole...

Festival Coffee, anyone? Not so much street art this week, but a picture of a coffee cup that I found well, impressive enough to photograph a few months ago. It seems that Adelaide based coffee chain CIBO was enjoying their position as an official sponsor of the Adelaide Festival enough to advertise it on the sides of their takeaway coffee cups. It's a novel, though ultimately disposable, way to advertise an event ...

I had never heard of this particular literary YA novel until a shopping trip at my local Big W. Idly, I picked a copy up from the shelves. And then, I found myself utterly intrigued. What was this book, with an endorsement from John Green on the front and a short blurb that ends with the haunting notation,  If anyone asks you how it ends, just lie. I just had to read this one. We Were Liars is a brilliant novel of grief, adolescence, family and the trappings of wealth. It is difficult to say too much about the novel without giving the ending away--something that truly deserves to be savoured by the reader at exactly the right time. The novel itself opens with Cady, a girl who is almost eighteen and hails from a wealthy family. We learn that she was in an accident a few years ago, while staying on an island owned by her Grandfather. She also has selective amnesia and details important life-changing events using a dramatic style and often speaks in metaphors--such as describi...

Much like the island in which the novel is set, St Barts moves at a gentle, leisurely pace to tell the story of a pair of unlikely lovers. Sunny is a young woman who though in her early twenties is a virgin and is unaccustomed to male company. She is also grieving the loss of her father and has returned to the island to sort out her family affairs. Sven is a Hollywood level actor who is never short of female admirers who finds himself on the island working on a film. Through chance, the pair meet Sven begins to act as a kind of mentor to the innocent Sunny and well ... The end result may be predicable enough, but it is the journey that makes this one a whole lot of fun and worth reading. My only real complaint is that the print job is a bit shoddy on the paperback version and had I have known this, I probably would have opted for the eBook instead.  Overall  St Barts is an entertaining afternoon read. 

Clever, isn't it?

Mira Jacob's debut novel is a beautiful tale that spans continents and a timeframe of twenty years to tell a story of culture, family, grieving and loss. The novel opens with the Eapen family--father Thomas, mother Kamala, brother Akhil and the novel's protagonist Amina returning to India for a visit after an absence of some years. Their absence has been acutely felt by the somewhat frightening members of the India-based branch of the Eapen family and ends on a frightening note. Soon afterward, Thomas gains the ability to talk to ghosts and a terrible prophecy made by his brother comes true. Mixing magic realism with themes of family, duty and immigration, the novel tells of the Eapen family's new life in America and the effect that the death of various family members--both in the United States and India--has on this fragile family unit. Although the novel is quite long, I found myself utterly absorbed by the story and keen to know more about what would become of th...

Welcome back to Writers on Wednesday. This week I am chatting with debut author Carol Vorvain, about her delightful novel When Dreams are Calling ... Tell me a bit about yourself … I believe if you really want to know someone you should not look at what they have or who are surrounded by. You should find out what their dreams are.   So, I will answer this question by telling you about my dreams, all wrapped up in a poem I wrote for the last chapter of my book, When Dreams are Calling: I dream of flowers yellow and blue Surrounding a red house and a canoe, With parrots that squawk be it sunny or rain, With books in my hands picking my brain, Making a soup from my own veggie patch, Writing a tale about match and mismatch, Travel the seas and the world in between, Touching Antarctica and a croc’s skin. Growing older with him by my side, Laughing at my first Wonderland ride, Listening to his jokes always funny and true, While we keep philoso...

Little Cuts is a delicious eBook only serving of four short horror stories--each one distinct from the others--told with a unique Australian voice. The stories are somewhat reminiscent of Paul Jennings and Roald Dahl, but with a little more horror and gore and pitched firmly at the YA market. Hilary's Shadow introduces us to an imaginative young women and the potential horror in the mundane; Ring Around the Rosie looks at the psychological effects of a traumatic event on the protagonist; Tech Death 2040 examines technology gone wrong (and gives us some great insight on why it isn't such a good idea to follow fads; and Catalina ends the series on a heartbreaking note. Also included is the first chapter of the author's upcoming YA novel, The Water Seer. Short, scary and a whole lot of fun, I recommend this one to anyone who is looking for something to read that is genuinely a bit different to the usual YA romances and mortality tales that are currently saturating...

Lion, Chinatown For the past ten years, this lion has proudly stood guard, along with its companion at the Gouger Street entrance to Chinatown and has become something of an Adelaide icon, or at least a popular meeting spot for those wanting to catch up with friends or relatives in the popular precinct. A second pair of lions keep guard at the Grote Street end of Chinatown.

A brochure from the Heart Foundation like the one Mr Hoarse found in his letter box ... ADELAIDE AUSTRALIA--A female employee at a local bank was cleared of stalking charges this week, after a complaint from one of the bank's regular customers was ruled to be a misunderstanding. Ms Bree Tanner, 25, an employee at the Rich Bastards Bank, was accused of stalking by a Mr Henry Hoarse, 57. "I don't quite know how it happened," Ms Tanner told our reporters. "In fact, I barely know the man and I have never even spoken to him outside of my workplace." The misunderstanding began, after one day when Ms Tanner served Mr Hoarse at the bank. "As part of my duties, I am instructed to offer every customer a friendly verbal greeting, so that they may feel welcome at the bank," Ms Tanner explains. "It seems that Mr Hoarse took my greeting of, 'Good morning,' a little bit too literally and thought that I was genuinely excited by the prospec...