Kathryn's Inbox

Congratulations. You've self-published your book. Now all you have to do is sit back and wait for those royalties to come flooding in while you have a good laugh to yourself at all those fools who have just bought your poorly edited work with the crappy cover that makes every single person on the planet want to vomit all over their keyboard. Or how about not? One thing that never ceases to amaze me is how much stigma is attached to something that I do as a hobby. I write because I enjoy it and because I have something to say. For me, publishing (and this website,) is a by-product of that. It's fun to create a cover, have print copies of my work that I can keep on my shelves and give to family and friends as gifts. As for the eBooks, they're inexpensive (some are free,) and it's nice to be able to make a little bit of money from my hobby, though their is rarely much left over once I have covered all of the usual costs that come up with self-publishing. In fact,

The humour in the Garfield comics has always been a bit uneven--some days are definitely funnier than others in the Garfield universe--and this comic is certainly one of the moments that feels more twisted than funny. I think my reaction was about the same as that of Garfield in the final pane. It's more startling than funny. And it also reveals something odd about the comic--none of the male human characters are portrayed as being well-adjusted adults. Jon Arbuckle, for example, is extremely childish and would appear to have a relatively low IQ, and his brother Doc Boy is more or less tarred with the same brush. The women, however, are usually portrayed as fairly capable--Liz the Vet for example, or Jon's mother. The only possible exception to this rule is Lyman, and even he has not been seen in the strip since 1984, which is the same year that Jon went from being a cartoonist with an average IQ to an unemployed idiot whose only role was to look after Garfield and Odie

Every now and again it happens. A book comes out and everyone is raving about it. Everyone loves, love, absolutely loves it. The book gets loads praise from prominent public figures, and lots of lovely, lovely glittering four and five star reviews and bloggers. Finally, a copy falls into my hands and ... well, I just don't get it. Sadly, Summer Skin , which was so well-received by readers in early 2016 was one of those books. I gave the book three chances, over the space of about a year, before, finally pushing my way through, and wondering what it was that everyone else had seen in it that I had missed ... Summer Skin tells the story of Jess, an outspoken feminist, set against a back drop of Brisbane Universities and hook up culture. Presumably, Jess is in her late teens. She lives in a co-ed dorm of Unity College a fairly modern and liberal residential college, and her enemy is the all-boys dorm from a Knights College. She meets one of the boys from Knights College in st

Quicksand had me hooked. Completely and utterly. It's a book that ticked many of the right boxes for me. An interesting premise, check. Well written, check. An impossible situation, check. An unreliable narrator, check. And a blurb that promises what it delivers? Check, check, check. Maja Norberg has been in jail for the past nine months, awaiting trial for a shooting at her school in Sweden. Her best friend Amanda, and her boyfriend Sebastian are among the dead. So are many of her classmates. But from the outset, as Maja begins to describe the moments following the shooting, I got the feeling that something wasn't quite right. Was she guilty of what she had been accused of, innocent, or have the lines of right and wrong blurred so much that she is something in between? Is she a spoiled rich girl, a victim of an abusive boyfriend, or a bystander too weak, or perhaps complacent, to speak up when she should--not matter what the cost.  And, come to think of it, what on

This memorial in North Terrace pays respect to the brave Australians who served in the 8th Division during World War Two--such as my grandfather, Jack White. These soldiers were involved in the fall of Singapore, found themselves in Changi and some worked on the Burmese Railway. Many died, along the way, but a few made it back to Australia. Although my grandfather was lucky enough to make it back to Australia, where he became engaged twice, married once and fathered five sons, he was plagued with health problems and died when he was still relatively young. He never met his youngest son, my uncle, or any of his grandchildren. 

Well, this was certainly a surprise ... I am a fan of Donald Duck comics (particularly the ones by comic genius Carl Barks,) and I had no idea until I walked inside Dymocks recently that US based publisher fantagraphics has been republishing some of the classic Donald Duck comics in a beautiful, keepsake edition. This particular volume reprinted The Golden Helmet, a Donald Duck adventure penned by Barks where Donald, accompanied by his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie, travels by boat to Norway to find the Golden Helmet, thus preventing it from falling into criminal hands. This one is all good fun, with plenty of adventure, along with a bit of wordplay and comic humour (look close at some of the museum exhibits in the background.) This one was quite pricey (possibly because it was an import,) but I enjoyed it and also the shorter comics that filled the final third of the book. (And damn I hate that Gladstone Gander!) Highly recommended.

"Exactly. She does not shine as a wife even in her own account of what occurred. I am not a whole-souled admirer of womankind, as you are aware, Watson, but my experience of life has taught me that there are few wives having any regard for their husbands who would let any man's spoken word stand between them and that husband's dead body. Should I ever marry, Watson, I should hope to inspire my wife with some feeling which would prevent her from being walked off by a housekeeper when my corpse was lying within a few yards of her." The Valley of Fear  by  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

It is Ron ... right?

I purchased  Maus a long time ago, back when I had grand plans to do a series of reviews on Pulitzer Prize winning novels that, sadly, never really got off the ground. It seemed like an important inclusion--after all, it is the only graphic novel to have ever won the prestigious and coveted award. Anyway, I re-read Maus recently and decided that it is certainly worth talking about. In the 1980s Art Spiegelman, an American comic book artist, came up with the idea of interviewing his father about his experiences of the Holocaust. What transpired was a deeply personal story about a Jewish man living in Poland who suffered persecution at every turn, the loss of friends and immediate family members (including his oldest son,) and who managed to survive both by intelligence and a lot of luck. The story was then made into a graphic novel, Maus , featuring Jews as Mice, Nazis as Cats, Poles as Pigs and Americans as Dogs. This novel was eventually followed by a sequel Maus Volume II. 

Well, it's only April and this year has probably been one of my best yet for the Aussie Author Challenge. I am two thirds of the way there, toward my goal, which is: To read twelve titles by Australian authors, fiction or non-fiction. At least four of these titles must be by authors who are new to me. At least four of these authors must be female.  At least four of these authors must be male. There must be at least three genres. So lets see how I'm doing so far ... I have read nine titles: Hot or What by Margaret Clarke (Fiction, YA.) An Isolated Incident by Emily Maguire (Literary Fiction, Author is new to me.) Magpie by Peter Goldsworthy and Brian Matthews (Literary Fiction.) In Two Minds by Gordon Parker (Literary Fiction, Author is new to me.) Lochie Leonard: Human Torpedo by Tim Winton ( Fiction, YA .) Marge and the Pirate Baby by Isla Fisher (Fiction, children's.) Paris Lights by CJ Duggan (Fiction, New Adult Rom

While author Kate Grenville (best known for her novel The Secret River*, ) was on a book tour, she became dogged by ill health. Her headaches seemed to have one common element--they happened every time that she was exposed to any kind of fragrance, whether it be from perfume, an air freshener or something else. She decided to investigate what was in fragrance. The result is The Case Against Fragrance a short, non-fiction work that examines what is in fragrance, how is it regulated in Australia and why are we all so hung up on something that might be bad for us? The possibility that fragrance might pose a threat to some individuals is something that I have been aware of since I was in my teens. What I was unaware of is just how widespread that threat may be. Certainly, in The Case Against Fragrance Grenville points out some unpleasant realities--that what we find in the chemicals that are used to create fragrance are many, many times more potent than anything that we find in n

Love this. It's autumn in Australia, and this Peanuts comic, where Snoopy sees such joy in a falling leaf seemed appropriate.

Eleanor is a lonely young Australian woman who is keen to escape the demons of her past. Living with her Uncle and his family in London, she has found a position at a prestigious publishing house. Then Arabella, a glamourous and charismatic employee is found dead in the River Thames after the work Christmas party. No one knows how she died, but Eleanor may have the answers ... if only she could remember what happened that night. The Hidden Hours is certainly an intriguing novel. In some respects, Arabella reminded me of the title character from Daphne Du Marier's Rebecca (a novel I love,) but this is a very different story, with different outcomes. Eleanor is an interesting protagonist whose life is weighed down by some fairly traumatic events. The author weaves between the past and the present to offer readers a sympathetic portrait of a young woman whose life has been shaped by a tragic event, and her portrayal of Eleanor is commendable. That said, much like London weathe

If books were food, Paris Lights would be one of those frivolous dessert items that some may call a guilty pleasure. Or to put it another way, much like the macaroons that the heroine consumes, this is light and fluffy with some gooey sweetness in the middle. Clair Shorten is a twenty-five year old Australian living in London, who has always dreamed of travelling to Paris. Then things start to go wrong when her more-than-just-a-little-bit-insensitive boyfriend dumps her under the Eiffel Tower. (Yep, while other men are proposing, Claire's boyfriend is such a dud that he is dumping her. What a bastard, eh?) Anyway, a surprise turn of events leads Claire to a swanky apartment and a job as a Maitre d at a hotel. Then something catches the attention of nasty celebrity chef Louis Delarue ... and it may not just be the hotel that has Louis' eye. This is light reading, with lots of melodramatic twists, plenty of Australian vernacular and an easy narrative that allows read

Some books just take you by surprise. When I picked up the copy of Margherita's Recipes For Love that I had received in the post, I intended just to have a quick look at the blurb, and maybe the first chapter. I ended up reading the first half of the book in one sitting. Cheerful, romantic and loveably over the top, this is a love story set in rural Italy, Margherita is a spirited and principled woman whose marriage has come to an abrupt end. Returning home to the country, she puts her greatest talent--cooking--to good use and soon finds herself working for a wealthy businessman who has just swept into town. Nicola is ruthless in all things related to his business, but through her cooking--and her spirit--Margherita may be the one to teach him a thing or two about good business and perhaps even love ... There is a lot of warmth to this story, and it is an excellent choice for lovers of great cuisine and light reading. Parts of it are a bit over-the-top, but not in an offens

A post shared by Kathryn White (@kathrynsinbox) on Apr 8, 2017 at 8:58pm PDT Meet Avant Garde Dog! I snapped this artistic little pooch a few weeks ago. He is located on the side wall of a dog grooming salon in the southern suburbs.

Well, I think this one describes the whole film vs the book debate quite accurately. A film has about two hours to tell the same story as a book of around 400 pages. Often details are missed for reasons of timing, affordability and the fact that some things just don't translate easily or well on the screen. 

Roald Dahl's only full length adult novel reads like an old man telling an extended dirty joke to a captive audience of young men. It's crude, it's sexist, it's completely over the top and it never takes itself too seriously. The novel is made up from a memoir written by Uncle Oswald, and published by his unnamed nephew some many years after his death. The novel details two thoroughly debauched money making schemes that Uncle Oswald came up with as a young man. The first was the creation of a pill that had extreme aphrodisiac qualities, and the second was to ahem, steal the semen of various rich, famous and influential men and then sell it on to any woman who fancied the idea of having a child by one of these men.  My Uncle Oswald is not a novel for the faint of heart. It's about as politically incorrect as you can get, quite deliberately in some places, but also full of the kind of unconscious racism and sexism that perpetuated the upper middle classes in

"Oh! do not attack me with your watch. A watch is always too fast or too slow. I cannot be dictated to by a watch." Mansfield Park  by  Jane Austen

From the moment that I picked up my copy of Charisma , I knew that this book and I were going to get along very, if not extremely, well. The heroine Aislyn is an exceptionally smart and sensitive sixteen year old. She also suffers from a devastating, crippling shyness--something that had plagued me throughout my teens. I could understand only too well the problem that she faced in the opening chapter, trying to get her point across only to be let down by her fears and then watching as the prize went to another student, whose ideas may not have been as advanced as her own, but who had the ability to communicate their ideas more effectively. Then the novel takes a sinister twist ... Dr Sternfield, Aislyn's mentor, is a brilliant scientist. She's also been developing a new drug, Charisma, which alters the DNA of users, to make them well ... charismatic. When Aislyn gets the chance to test the drug, she takes it, despite the fact that the tests are not strictly legal. T

A post shared by Kathryn White (@kathrynsinbox) on Feb 23, 2017 at 5:20am PST This week's picture is of a mural on the side of the Onkaparinga City Council Chambers at Noarlunga Centre. The artists were just putting the finishing touches on this fantastic, double storey building sized painting when I snapped the picture back in February.