Kathryn's Inbox

ADELAIDE AUSTRALIA--A book club for parents interested in sharing politically correct reading material with their children has disbanded after one meeting as the members could not agree on which children's books were politically correct. "Obviously it's disappointing," a spokesperson for the group, who wished only to be known as Willow, told one of our reporters. "I started this group with the best of intentions." The group was formed after Willow developed concerns that the stories that were being read to her five-year-old son at child care were inappropriate. "I found the whole concept of this ... Green Eggs and Ham to be quite disturbing. I don't think it's appropriate that children should be reading books where the main character is being offered food by a complete stranger. That's sending a bad message to children if you ask me. Also, in our family, we eat a vegan diet." Initially, Willow intended to have Green Eggs and...

Welcome back to Writers on Wednesday. This week I'm chatting with British-Australian author Alan Baxter, whose brilliant series Bound was released back in August ... Tell us a bit about yourself … I’m a British-Australian author who writes dark fantasy, horror and sci-fi, rides a motorcycle and loves his dog. I also teach Kung Fu. I’m the author of the dark urban fantasy trilogy, Bound , Obsidian and Abduction ( The Alex Caine Series ) published by HarperVoyager Australia, and the dark urban fantasy duology, RealmShift and MageSign ( The Balance 1 and 2 ) from Gryphonwood Press. I co-authored the short horror novel, Dark Rite , with David Wood. I also write short fiction with more than 50 stories published in a variety of journals and anthologies in Australia, the US, the UK and France. My short fiction has appeared in Fantasy & Science Fiction (forthcoming), Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Daily Science Fiction, Postscripts, and Midnight Echo , among many oth...

Breaking Butterflies is an intelligent and thought provoking novel, written when the author was just eighteen. Although the premise may be a little far-fetched, the insight into abusive relationships and the way that people can become bound to those who frighten them is brilliant. Our heroine, Sphinx, believes that she and Cadence are bound to one another due to a childish promise that their mothers made many years ago at age seven that if they were to have a boy and a girl, the pair would grow up to marry one another. As a child, Sphinx simply accepts this as inevitable and perhaps just a little romantic. Cadence seems to want her around--but it must be on his terms. The relationship comes to a head when the psychologically disturbed Cadence discovers that he has a terminal illness and just a few months to live. He wants Sphinx to die with him, but will she? As previously stated, the premise is a little far-fetched and the insight into abusive relationships is brilliant. Sph...

Year of the Horse ... this simple painting sits at the Grote Street entrance to China Town/Moonta Street and is there to celebrate the Chinese Year of the Horse.

Shuz was a story about a multicultural group of kids who lived in Adelaide who were a bit obsessed with sneakers. They won an overseas trip to the factory where their favourite brand of shoes were made and while there managed to outwit a group of criminals. I remember this one mostly because of the local setting and because it was used as a class text in my year eight English class, under the watchful eye of our teacher, Miss Fitt. (Yes, that really was her name.) When I started researching this one, I was not surprised to discover that Shuz has been out of print for some time. It would seem very dated and perhaps a bit irrelevant to kids today. What surprised me more was that no one else seems to have even heard of it. From what little biographical information I can find, it was published in 1993 by Omnibus books and the ISBN is  9781862911611. There is no entry on goodreads (I do not have librarian status on goodreads, so I cannot add it.) Nor can I find a picture of the bo...

How far would you go to help your family? Would you be willing to make a deal with a longstanding enemy? That is the premise of Devoured , a sexy New Adult romance that is the first in a series by Emily Snow.  Devoured is short and fairly light reading--I managed to read the book in one sitting. The heroine is Sienna, a young and outspoken redhead who had her heart broken by rock star Lucas Wolfe two years earlier. Now, the bank has foreclosed on the log cabin that belongs to Sienna's grandmother. Lucas has bought the home and promised Sienna that she and her grandmother can have it back--provided that Sienna is willing to work with him as his PA for ten days straight. From there, the novel flips back and forth between Fifty Shades style shenanigans where Lucas holds all the power and a sweet, Mills and Boon style romance. As previously stated, the novel is short and is over before it really starts.  A good read for fans of new adult romance. 

What would cartoonland do without those damn, meddling kids?

Adelaide author Rowena Holloway's debut crime novel is a tale that comes with a very macabre twist ... a twist that is best not read while one is alone in semi-darkness. Mina Everton is a young woman who has suffered some tough blows in her short life--first she was deserted by her criminal father and then her beloved mother died after a long illness. An outcast in her home town, she gets by collecting and selling antiques, a job that eventually brings her to into contact with the criminal underworld and Detective Lincoln Drummond, a man with troubles of his own ... I thoroughly enjoyed reading Pieces of a Lie . Although some parts of the story early on felt a little slow, the story soon gained momentum and the last hundred pages were a real roller coaster ride with lost of surprising twists and turns, including one very macabre discovery that I was not expecting.  It is difficult to go into detail with this one without giving too much away, though I will say that Mina is a...

Girl on a Slide was created in 1977 and donated to the people of Adelaide by John Martins department store to celebrate the opening of Rundle Mall. While John Martins sadly closed its doors in 1998, this sculpture still stands proudly, having survived numerous upgrades within the mall. Its creator, South Australia John Dowie was also responsible for the fountain in Victoria Square. 

Australian author Peter Carey's latest novel is an interesting take on personal freedom, Australian history and the sometimes uneasy diplomatic relationship that Australia has with America, all written in the authors trademark smart-arsed style, the kind that makes readers either love or loathe this particular author. At the opening of Amnesia young woman from Melbourne, Gaby Baillieux has unleashed a worm into the computerised control system of a number of prisons in Australia, the United States and in other parts of the world. Meanwhile, in Sydney, left wing journalist Felix Moore is being sued for libel for reporting on a rumour. The pair soon come together in the most surprising and perhaps ironic of ways--after Felix is more or less kidnapped and held to ransom until he agrees to write a biography of Gaby Bailliex that will help her win the sympathy of the Australian public (thus decreasing her chances of being extradited to the United States.)  Throughout the narrativ...

Today is my stop on the Reluctantly Charmed blog tour and to celebrate, I'm chatting with author Ellie O'Neill about her debut novel, Irish Folklore and a few other things besides ... Congratulations on the publication of your debut novel, Reluctantly Charmed . Can you tell me a bit about your journey toward publication? Is writing a novel something that you have always wanted to do? Yes, definitely.   I had that unscratchable itch that people talk about. I tried hard to develop my voice over the years by writing a lot of short stories and studying and dissecting books that I’d read and loved.   When I got the idea for Reluctantly Charmed I did something that I probably wouldn’t recommend to other aspiring writers, but at the time I felt like I’d nothing to lose, I was single, free and it was pre-recession.   I quit my job in London where I was working in advertising, and moved back home with my parents in Dublin.   I worked part time in a newsagent...

Shopaholic to the Stars is the seventh novel in Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series. By now, fans of the warm-hearted Becky Brandon (nee Bloomwood) know what to expect and author Kinsella delivers on the laughs and unlikely situations as she pokes gentle fun at modern life and first world problems. This time around, Becky finds herself in Hollywood while her husband Luke works with a new client, actress Sage Seymour. Soon, Becky finds herself bitten by the celebrity bug and has her sights set on a new career as a celebrity stylist. But things in Hollywood are not always as lovely as they seem ... As previously stated, this one is the seventh novel in a series. The Shopaholic series has been around a long time--in fact I was in my teens when I read the original,  The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic and have even written a nostalgia post on the book on my blog. The novel was so successful it spawned several sequels that chronicled Becky's life of the course of about fi...

Love it!

Meg Wolitzer's first Young Adult novel is a bittersweet tale of depression, memory and self deception, combined with a little bit of magical realism and some fitting references to Sylvia Plath. The novel opens with Jamicia 'Jam' Gallahue, a teenager who has shut herself down emotionally after the death of her boyfriend, being sent to a boarding school for kids with special needs. At the school, Jam is chosen for a special and exclusive English class along with four other students, where they will be studying Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar . The choice of The Bell Jar is totally appropriate as all students in this class have closed themselves off emotionally. However, when their teacher asks the students to keep a journal, it becomes clear that this truly is an extraordinary class. Through their journals, the students are each taken back to the moments directly before their lives took a strange turn. Together the students meet to talk of their experiences and a strange...

Welcome back to Writers on Wednesday. This week, I am chatting with the very talented romantic suspense author, Rachel Amphlett ... Tell us a bit about yourself … I’m originally from the UK, and we moved over here in 2005 to the northern suburbs of Brisbane. We got our citizenship in 2010, and we’re currently renovating a house in our spare (!) time. In the past, I’ve helped run a pub, dabbled in radio, been a TV/film extra (including a James Bond film!) and worked in the UK publishing industry as a sub-editor. Tell us about your most recently published book? Before Nightfall is a story about a woman, Kate Foster, who takes on a new job for an international electronics organisation with defence connections, only to be kidnapped and held for ransom six months into her new role. She has to try and recall everything she was taught during a pre-deployment hostage training course – one which she almost failed. Finn Scott, her instructor six months ago, is tasked wi...

Bicycle park, anyone? I've noticed these awesome little bicycle parks popping up around Adelaide and Glenelg in recent times. Taking up one single car parking bay, these racks can fit several bikes and are undoubtedly there to encourage commuters to cycle around the city and suburbs.

When I was offered the chance to review this awesome unauthorised glimpse into the Harry Potter universe, I simply could not resist. Harry Potter and the Art of Spying examines the examples of real-life spying techniques that are used within J.K. Rowling's hugely popular Harry Potter series. The volume was put together by spy novelist Lynn Boughey and CIA veteran Peter Earnest and most of the commentary is authentic. (There is also a note of the copyright pages saying that it has been cleared for release by the US Department of Defence.) Concentrating mainly on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix , (where, of course, most of the covert spying action takes place,) the book examines in detail several key scenes and uses of spy techniques, as well as looking at several codes that Rowling cleverly hid within the Harry Potter novels. The writing is simple and easy to read, making this a great resource for teenagers who are interested in the Harry Potter universe and a possi...

I have to be honest and admit, before I found this book for sale at my local Big W, I was more familiar with Tristan Bancks for his portrayal of larrikin teenager Tug on TVs Home and Away during the early to mid 1990s. Of course, that was some time ago and it turns out that Bancks can write a bloody good story.  Two Wolves is one of those rare books for children that can be read and enjoyed by adults. It tells the story of Ben, a boy on the cusp of adolescence whose life is thrown into chaos when two police officers arrive at his home, looking for his parents. Later, his parents arrive at the house and take Ben and his sister Olive away, 'for a holiday.' But Ben knows that something is not quite right and carefully, he tries to put the details together to work out what his parents may have done. Running through the narrative is the idea of choices--that we have both good and bad inside of us--and the question of what side Ben will choose. Good, or bad? The writing ...

I think this one is pretty explanatory. Have a great Friday, all. 

I really do not understand why this one was shelved in the New Adult Romance section of my local QBD, because filing this sweet, coming of age story sent against the backdrop of Paris beside other, more salacious titles really does not do this book justice. A little bit slow in places, full of cultural references and a little bit emotional, Anna and the French Kiss is probably one of the nicer YA novels that I have read in recent times. It tells the story of a young woman who, at the insistence of her father--a best selling author--travels to Paris to study for her final year of schooling.  Initially our heroine, Anna, struggles with homesickness, but soon learns to love her new city and makes some new friends, particularly St Clair a cute, likeable and very taken boy from her grade. Over the course of the year, Anna and St Clair share several experiences that draw them closer to one another and that make them ask serious questions about the future, loyal and personal happi...

Welcome back to Writers on Wednesday. This week I am chatting with the brilliant Juliet Madison, an Australian author of a number of genres. Tell us about the first time you were published? My first novel to be published was FAST FORWARD in February 2013 with Escape Publishing. I’ll always remember the moment I got the offer in my inbox, it was such an amazing feeling! Seeing my first cover, and then the day the book was released was also an amazing feeling, so that book will always be special to me. Escape since bought seven more of my books, five are currently available and two more are scheduled for release in the coming months so it’s been a busy but exciting journey from that first milestone. As writer, what has been your proudest achievement so far? It’s hard to choose just one, but I really think when a reader writes a review or sends you a message telling you that your book inspired them, or helped them feel better when they were sick, or got them thro...