Kathryn's Inbox

It's no surprise that Helene Young is one of the most popular Australian romantic suspense authors of our time when her books tick all the right boxes--likeable, but mysterious characters? Tick. Romance? Tick. Nail biting situations? Tick. A unique Australian setting? Tick. Northern Heat  ticks every right box for its genre. Although it can be read and enjoyed as a stand-alone novel, Northern Heat opens with Conor, the former accountant and amnesiac who played an important role in Young's previous novel Safe Harbour . This time around Conor takes centre stage. Using an assumed name, he has found safety and quiet in Cooktown, a small town in northern Queensland, where he spends his days working as a deckhand and volunteering at the local youth centre. He also feels, well, some affection for the lovely-but-mysterious single mother, Dr Kristy Dark who has some past secrets of her own. As a storm closes in on the small community, both Kristy and Conor are forced to confron...

Lorraine Elgar is the co-creator and Admin for the Attic Secrets group on facebook, and the author of the fascinating Attic Secrets blog  which delves deeper into the original novels by (the real) V.C. Andrews. Today she has written a guest post for us about her love of V.C. Andrews and the creation of Attic secrets ... Revealing the Attic Secrets  by Lorraine Elgar Everyone has a story of how they discovered V C Andrews, my own is pretty standard – a bored nine year old digging through a cupboard and discovering a tattered book with the most amazing cover I’d ever seen. A dark house with a bright red roof and a beautiful, if haunted, looking girl peeking out. The font, bright white called out to me Flowers in the Attic, Virginia Andrews. The back was a mixture of bright red text – It was a game of happy families – It was a game of hide and seek – It was a case of tender, loving murder – with the black font of synopsis. Ok I was sold, completely intrigued and...

Contemporary romance author Colleen Hoover just can't leave her characters alone, especially if it means that she has the chance to tell another cracking love story. Maybe Not is a short prequel of sorts to her 2014 novel Maybe Someday and tells the story of Ridge and Sydney's obnoxious housemates, Warren and Bridget and how their quirks mean that they are perfect for each other. There are a few sizzling scenes, some touching moments and a whole lot of arguments on this couple's path to true love, though the story is interesting enough. This one is what it is, and doesn't quite have the impact or depth of a full blown novel, and is probably more of interest to fans than what it is for anyone contemplating reading one of Hoover's novels for the first time. Still, Hoover knows her target audience well and this one is sure to please. Recommended to fans. 

This competition has now closed and all winners have been contacted. Thanks for stopping by! The Australia Day Book Giveaway Blog Hop, which is hosted by Book'd Out , is on once again, and I'm thrilled to be taking part for the third year running. This year, I'm feeling rather generous so I am handing out a few prizes: 1 x signed copy of Being Abigail 1 x signed copy of Cats, Scarves and Liars 1 x signed copy of Everybody Hates Abigail 1 x signed copy of Poison Ivy (Let me know if you have any preferences for a particular book and I'll add your name twice to that particular draw. Entry is open internationally.) Winners will be chosen via Pick At Random To enter:  Comment below and let me know what you're planning to read this Australia Day. And just as a bonus, everyone who visits and comments this year up until midnight 28 January 2016 will receive a free eBook copy of Cats, Scarves and Liars, just let me know which format ...

A zillion points to anyone who gets the joke.

Only Ever Yours the debut novel by Irish author Louise O'Neill is a chilling dystopian feminist tale about a future world where women are considered useful only as wives to bare sons, or concubines to satisfy the sexual desires of men. Women are few and far between and are genetically manufactured to be "perfect" and raised in a type of school where they are taught nothing but how to look beautiful. At the end of their sixteenth year, each of the top ranked girls, or eves as they have become known, will be chosen by a prospective husband, while those who are not chosen will become concubines and the occasional one will become a chastity--basically the equivalent of a nun. But this year, something is going horribly wrong and frieda's future is anything but certain ... This one was quite a disturbing read, set in a world were women are powerless and only a few are bred each year with the specific purpose of pleasing men. The conditions at the "school"...

It's time once again for Writers on Wednesday. This week I am chatting with Marie Tuhart, author of Bound and Teased ... Tell me a bit about yourself … I was born and raised in San Francisco, California, and moved to the Pacific Northwest in Washington State several years ago.   I played at writing when I was a teenager and finished my first novel length book at 19. Tell us about your most recently published book? Bound & Teased is a committed menage book.   Here’s a blurb: Eight years ago, a naive Katie Crane ran from Ry and Jed, warned their brand of love would ruin her life. Now she's all grown up and returning home with a better understanding of the BDSM lifestyle. After the betrayal she's faced at her father's hands, she worries she won't be strong enough to submit to the men she gave her heart and virginity to at eighteen.  Jed Malloy and Ry McCade are surprised and thrilled by Katie's return to Felton's Creek. They...

Australian author Sara Foster is back. All That is Lost Between Us is a tale that is one part psychological suspense and one part a heartbreaking family drama. Anya, Callum, Georgia and Zac all make up a nice, normal middle class family unit but their current situation is anything but normal. Each family member has their own life, and their own secret that is separate from the others--daughter Georgia has experienced an ill-fated affair with an older man; father and husband Callum has been cheating on his wife with a younger woman; son Zac has feelings for his step-cousin Maddie and he knows a terrible secret about Georgia; and wife and mother Anya is struggling as she watches her family drift away from her. Add to the mix a crazy stalker, some bullies and a tragic hit and run, and the story takes some surprising twists and turns. Reading All That is Lost Between Us was a little bit like peeling back the layers of an onion, as the inner lives of each of the main characters was...

Not really street art this week, but rather some pictures from the recent Miss Fishers Murder Mysteries Costume exhibition that was held at the Ayres House Museum on North Terrace. It was a wonderful chance to see some of the beautiful costumes from the series (nearly all of which were custom made for the show, and yes, they did have Dot's wedding dress on display,) but it was a great chance to walk through Ayres House, which, of course, has been beautifully maintained. The ambiance was quite lovely and it was a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon. 

Speaking to Miranda is a haunting tale of a young woman's search to learn more about her dead mother. Published in 1990 (and later short-listed as a CBBA book for older readers,) the novel is set in 1986 and touches on topics that were relevant for the era that the novel was set, in particular what life is like for those who were born in the 1960s as the children of hippies. Ruby is an intelligent young woman, who has lived in many parts of Australia, and has no close friends, apart from her adoptive father, Rob. She does, however, have an imaginary friend called Miranda who will speak to her on occasions and often, Miranda isn't very nice. Apparently, Miranda gained her name when Ruby was just small and people would see her talking to herself whilst sitting inside pram that was decorated with wildflowers. Ruby's mother, Emma would explain to people that Ruby was "Speaking to Miranda." Ruby's mother, Emma, was a mysterious hippie-like young woman who ...

I found this one recently. It look me a little while to "get" it but after a second reading I found that it had a certain charm ...

There has been a lot of talk about Australian author Charlotte Wood's latest novel, The Natural Way of Things , since it was released in October and it is not difficult to see why. This story is a great many things--shocking, well written and utterly addictive. It also focuses on what is one of the great taboo subjects of western culture, that of the wild woman.  The novel opens with two women who have found themselves drugged and imprisoned inside desolate outback lodgings. Along with several other women, they have their heads shaved and are forced to spend their days doing hard labour, under the cruel and watchful eyes of two men and one completely inept nurse. Soon it becomes clear that each woman has been involved in a high profile sexual scandal, and they have been sent to this place, run by the mysterious Hardings for "re-education." As supplies begin to run out, the balance of power slowly begins to shift and deadly games of power and politics begin.  A...

Welcome back to another great Writers on Wednesday post. This week I am chatting with Terry Lancaster, author of Better ... Tell me a bit about yourself … I'm an an author, speaker, and entrepreneur. I write and speak on the power of habit and focus, helping people build better lives, one better decision at a time.  I've spoken at TedX, and my articles have appeared in multiple forums, including The Good Men Project. I am the co-founder and VP of Making Sh!t Happen at Instant Events Automotive Advertising. For the last 20 years I've been producing the biggest, loudest car dealer commercials in the history of big, loud car dealer commercials, most of that time working from home in my underwear.  Born and raised in Nashville, TN, I hold a degree in English/Journalism from Tennessee Technological University, where I learned how to program ginormous room-sized computers using a deck of cards and a rubber band, and how to edit newspaper and radio ads...

In 1902 a Melbourne schoolteacher, Jeannie Gunn, followed her new husband to work on a cattle station in a remote part of the Northern Territory. We of the Never-Never is an autobiographical account of the short time that the author spent there.  Told with a little bit of humour and with some of the details changed and names altered, the article captures the spirit of the times--when European settlement was still essentially in its early days--and the diversity of the Australian landscape and people. The plot, apart from the authors careful account of how initially the men who worked on the station were suspicious of having a woman living in what they considered to be "their" part of the Australian outback, is a bit thin, instead detailing the many quirks of the era and of the place. Although parts of the book would be considered racist by contemporary standards, it is one of the few surviving works from the era that takes a genuine interest in Indigenous Australian ...

Alice is a firm favourite on this blog (and on my iPhone). I just couldn't resist sharing this snap, which has her surrounded by a ring of yellow flowers. 

I found this utterly haunting clip on YouTube earlier this week, which is a tribute to the V.C. Andrews novel, My Sweet Audrina . The haunting, poetic lyrics retell this haunting gothic tale of a girl who cannot properly remember her past, but knows that something very bad happened to another little girl who shares her name. The clip and lyrics are frightening, but they capture this gothic tale perfectly.

Like most kids who grew up in Australia in the late 1980s/1990s, some small part of my childhood was spent watching reruns of Degrassi Junior High and it's sequel series Degrassi High  which used to air on The Afternoon Show on the ABC. For those of you who don't know, Degrassi Junior High was a Canadian television series made for teens that didn't shy away from discussing some gritty real life issues--such as the time that Wheels ran away from home, went hitchhiking and was groped by some creep who picked him up. (I remember my eleven-year-old self watching this, shocked.) A next generation series of this started production several years ago and has gone on to be quite successful, and like its predecessor gets repeated all the time on ABC3.  Anyway, my own fandom/interest in the show was fairly limited, I probably wouldn't have watched it or sought it out had my older brothers not been watching it and it was more or less forgotten after they both grew out of ...

Just thought that I would start the year off with a bit of honesty. Here's looking forward to some silliness next Friday ...

Although I have been aware of author Paige Toon for some time, and had been intending to read some of her books 'at some stage' I was not aware of her connection to my home city, Adelaide, until recently. And when I discovered (thanks to some promotional material,) that her most recent book was set almost entirely in Adelaide, I knew that I just had to ask her publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. Luckily, Simon and Schuster Australia were kind enough to provide me with a copy, and I'm pleased to report that I rather enjoyed this fun and sometimes sad tale of a woman who is forced to return home to Australia after her father suffers a stroke.  Amber's life in London is not going so well--she has just lost her job, and her marriage is going through a rough patch. Returning to Australia to her ailing father--and his partner who she has never gotten along with--is tough, but some surprising comfort comes in the form of being reacquainted with ...

Welcome to the first Writers on Wednesday of 2016. This week I am chatting with Violetta Armour, author of I Will Always be With You ... Tell us about your self and your book... I’m a first generation American. My parents immigrated from Bulgaria and Macedonia in the 20’s and I was born in Gary, Indiana, a steel town that attracted many immigrant families because work was available. There was every ethnic neighborhood you could imagine. I did not appreciate the rich culture I grew up in until I moved away from home and realized all communities were not so diverse. What or who inspired you to write your book? In 1999 I wanted to write a book with a pay-it-forward sort of theme.   It was strictly a young adult book with a 16 year old hero, Teddy. I secured an agent but she couldn’t find a home for it. I think it was too sweet for the teen audience of the day. I put it in a drawer for 13 years and re-wrote it in 2013 adding adult characters. Ironically now wh...

The Blackboard Jungle is a novel that is best remembered for its film adaption (starring Glen Ford and Sidney Poitier in his breakout role,) that started riots in various parts of the world were it was shown, while author Evan Hunter would later find fame writing crime novels under the alias Ed McBain. (Evan Hunter was the novelists name after he changed it legally from Salvatore Albert Lombino. Throughout his long career he would also use several other aliases.) But what is surprising about this book, first published in the early 1950s, is just how relevant some of the themes of teenage delinquency are today and what little has changed. The novel tells the story of Richard Dadier, a World War Two Veteran who has recently qualified as a secondary school teacher and now must spend a year teaching at a vocational school in New York. The boys at the school are rough, tough and basically illiterate and most of the teachers are just trying to survive their day job. Initially Dadi...

Why have an ordinary historical road map, when you can have one put on toughened glass? This one is located on Nile Street at Glenelg, at the Wigley Reserve end. 

Warning, contains possible spoilers. Twenty-five years after Letters From the Inside was first published this YA novel still makes a huge impact with its haunting cliffhanger ending. Set in an unnamed part of Australia back in the days before email, it opens with fifteen year old Mandy answering an ad that she saw in a magazine from Tracey, asking for a pen pal. The pair start corresponding, but soon it becomes obvious that Tracey is not being entirely truthful about her idyllic life. Eventually, it is revealed that Tracey is in the a maximum security area of juvenile detention centre and that she will be behind bars for a very long time. Cleverly, Marsden does not reveal the specifics of Tracey's crime, leaving readers to put the pieces together and to guess what actually happened. Meanwhile, Mandy, whom Tracey comes to rely on heavily (often referring to her as Manna, which is interesting given the biblical connotations of Manna,) has terrible family problems of her own, ...