Isobel Blackthorn's Blog, page 40
August 10, 2015
Asylum receives another 5 star review!!!
“Asylum by Isobel Blackthorn was a book I really enjoyed and look forward to reading more by this author. I am getting around to finally reviewing this book even though I finished this book over a month ago, due to being sick.
Yvette Grimm, a 29 year old woman has decided to go to Australia to visit on a visa and try to get a citizenship there even though she knows it is practically impossible unless she gets married. So she goes to stay with her mother Isobel and they get along just fine although her mentioning Yvette’s sister and comparing the two of them really bothers Yvette.
Yvette had a somewhat tragic childhood living with a violent Father and then a broken home after he leaves, and she mainly came to Australia to get away from her boyfriend, Carlos, a likeable man but also a criminal, so she has a lot of issues to deal with, all caused by her own bad choices and being Yvette she rather escape the problems than deal with them, so she takes off to Australia, leaving Malta behind along with Carlos.
On top of this she has a tendency to be quite judgmental even though she has so many if not a lot of the same problems as her friends do. Yvette is having a hard time finding her niche in life as she is used to having a man, and functioning without one is quite challenging to Yvette and quite comical at times as well!
In this book we see Yvette slowly transforming into a person with a lot more empathy towards others than at the beginning of the book, and she also begins to realize the shallowness her everyday life has been and her problems are ones she created for herself! There may be hope for her yet!
I liked the way this author wrote this book and I like how the plot weaves along and things change as the story goes along. I also liked that there were a great cast of characters all well developed that had their place in this book as well. In the end Yvette is more likeable than at the beginning and although her metamorphosis is slow, it is steady and headed in a much better direction than at any other time in her life.
I gave this book 5 stars and would like to read more by this author!”
Cheers Loraine
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: antony loewenstein, asylum, asylum seekers, boat people, contemporary fiction, Goodreads, illegals, literary fiction, novel, Odyssey Books, profits of doom, refugees, women's fiction 
August 2, 2015
Where’s my book? – Part 2
If ever there was a model of how the corporate world has an industry stitched up, book publishing is it.
A book publicist mentioned to me in a Facebook comment words to the effect that the Penguins and the Random Houses supply bookstores with reading copies of their new releases at least four months in advance. Four months!! Let’s not be naive about this. That’s a lot of $$ outlay, working on long lead times.
The large publishing houses have whole publicity teams working on promoting new releases. Terrific for those authors propelled along the conveyor belt towards celebrity and bucket loads of prestige. I call them ‘the in crowd’ as there’s no better way to describe it.
Nepotism abounds in book publishing as does elitism. What matters to the corporate publishing houses is in large part who the author is and how she and her book might be marketed, not the quality of her written word.
That is not to say that vast numbers of Editors and staff working for such corporations are not dedicated to the discovery and the promotion of quality material. I fully acknowledge and respect their efforts. My grump is not with them.
The world’s major publishing houses are oligarchs. They are in the business of swallowing smaller imprints and dominating the market. They have become so huge it’s breathtaking. They’re up there with Murdoch and Monsanto.
As I said in yesterday’s post, the large publishing houses overwhelm bookstores with their presence.
The big houses fund literary prizes, help select judging panels and therefore influence which book (one of their own perchance) will win.
They can afford or have already bought copy space in literary review sections of major newspapers and the like.
In other words, the Penguins and the Random Houses are in the business of dictating to the public what to read.
I’ve heard it said that only cookery books are making money in Australia, that numbers of readers are dwindling making it hard to sell fiction.
I disagree with the logic of this view as it omits the fact that marketing and advertising shapes public taste. When will SBS, for example, advertise some works of fiction?
Fortunately for the switched on reader, there’s an alternative, a way to opt out of the factory-style book industry, a way to make a statement of protest against the oligarchs, or simply a way to show support for those struggling to survive alongside it – by buying a small press title.
Such an act is no new thing. I recall buying Virago (now owned by Little Brown) and Women’s Press books back in the 80s based on the imprint as much as the author. I saw it as a political act.
At many small presses, publishers are dedicated to discovering fresh quality writing. They take risks on unknown authors. They keep the whole book industry alive with innovative, imaginative, passionate works.
And they cannot compete with the big guys.
Which is why it is my belief that small presses and their authors need to link arms to help make their presence felt more strongly in the book reading community.
In my view small press authors especially need to come together and take a stand. Many already are. I wouldn’t be writing this if I hadn’t already seen much evidence of the alternative model in action.
More and more I’m seeing my own literary career in political terms – the politics of globalisation that is.
Globalisation has always equalled centralisation (mergers, corporate empires and so on), and the emergence of alternatives out on the rim. I’ve already pitched my tent.
Cheers
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: contemporary fiction, corporate globalisation, Corporate power, fiction, globalisation, literary fiction, Penguin, publishing, Random House, small presses, women's fiction
August 1, 2015
Where’s my book?
Some may wonder why they are not seeing Asylum in their bookstore.
That’s partly because bookstores are caught up with having to stock the Penguins and the Random House books (if they want to stock a bestseller, they are compelled to also stock x y and z)
Often bookstores don’t have the time to pay attention to the title lists of small presses. They are flat out choosing from the big corporate’s catalogues.
Then there’s the matter of returns. Bookstores return unsold stock to the publisher at a cost per book. The big publishers can absorb the $$ loss. They do large print runs, and often pulp that returned stock. Bugger the planet.
Thankfully print on demand services have provided a different and more ethical business model. Only those books purchased are printed so generally there’s no pulping.
But the problem of returns remains and is prohibitive for an emerging small press, who cannot afford to take the risk of having to buy back stock. If suddenly a whole bunch of titles were returned en masse the small press would go under.
So how do small presses sell their titles? – Online, at book expos, and in any other way they can think of.
Of course, much of the selling of a book comes down to the author. We can’t kick back and let the royalties roll in. Unless our name is Rowling we have to get out there and spruik.
Many bookstores demand from authors that they carry their books on consignment. So the author ends up wearing the costs of delivery, collection of unsold stock and chasing the proceeds from sales. It’s often a thankless process.
Authors have come up with all sorts of other book-selling strategies, from book giveaways to market stalls. It’s all time-consuming and tiring work and detracts from the task of writing but there’s little choice for most of us.
Well, that’s the demystification over. It is what it is and I for one am very happy with my small press.
So, where’s my book? Asylum is available in ebook and paperback formats in all online outlets, and, better still, can be ordered direct from Odyssey Books, or from me, if you want a signed copy. Just send me a message.
You can order Asylum from any bookstore too, worldwide.
Cheers
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: asylum, booksellers, bookstores, contemporary fiction, fiction, Isobel Blackthorn, literary fiction, novel, Odyssey Books, Penguin, publishing, Random House, small presses
July 29, 2015
Don’t stop the boats, stop the injustice
Appearing in my newsfeed a little later was an article in the Sydney Morning Herald about how the free trade agreement would push up the price of medicines in Australia, posing a threat to our pharmaceutical benefits scheme (PBS).
What have refugees got to do with the PBS and the free trade agreements (TPPs)? Everything.
In my view, the TPP is a global campaign designed to challenge sovereignty, designed to worsen the wellbeing of all, designed to benefit only the huge corporations. That the Australian government is currently footing a $50 million bill for court costs defending a case brought about by Phillip Morris over plain cigarette packaging should raise the alarm.
Another campaign designed to worsen wellbeing is the cultivated destabilisation of the Middle East. Cultivated through arms supplies, favouring sides, funding, training and general politicking, the result, a series of failed states. It seems a new twist on the Cold War proxy war strategy rolled out the world over wherever a chance presented itself, one that left and continues to leave unimaginable devastation in its wake.
Refugees are expendable. Just as we are expendable.
The global elite really doesn’t care. To the elite, we are less than scum in a bathtub. It’s always been this way.
For my doctoral thesis I studied the works of Theosophist (esotericist) Alice Bailey. 100,000 words and I’m the world’s leading academic authority on her work, for what it’s worth.
I woke this morning thinking about what she has to say about consciousness and how it expands and transforms. Thousands and thousands of words that can be summed up in two – Wake Up!
What she says about Power is more striking. She talks about the way power focuses to a single point. Power centralises itself and thus self-perpetuates, gaining in strength as it advances. Power is the arrow, the finger of an outstretched hand, a gun. Power has no regard for anything except power.
Thus power in human form needs an expanding evolving consciousness that embraces ideas with an open heart. Power in human form needs compassion.
Alice Bailey witnessed both World Wars. She decried the bickering and the squabbles and the infighting and divisions amongst all those who are waking up. She saw the necessity of unity in diversity (her phrase) and she knew that unless we achieve unity, we will never address the problem of power on our planet, power that has always been fundamentally evil (anti-life) – selfish, greedy, corrupt, abusive, destructive and so on.
As the veil lifts and one by one we see this power for what it is, then we must also realise the other sort of power and help it manifest – the power of unity in diversity.
That’s why the sight of refugees in border camps makes me cry.
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Alice Bailey, asylum, asylum seekers, boat people, consciousness, corporate globalisation, corporate greed, Corporate power, Corruption, dystopia, globalisation, illegals, nature of humanity, neoliberalism, novel, Power, refugees, war
July 19, 2015
On air with Ann Creber
I’m on Ann Creber’s The Good Life 3MDR 97.2-1 FM (live streaming via website), today just after 3pm. I’ll be talking about current and future projects and how I make my characters behave as they should!! Hope you can tune in :)
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Ann Creber, asylum, contemporary fiction, fiction, literary fiction, The Drago Tree, The Good Life, women's fiction
July 12, 2015
More Asylum reviews!
Here are three more reviews this time posted on Amazon UK
“Asylum is an interesting novel, the writing is intelligent and the plot well thought out. Although this book started off a little slow, it built the pace and eventually became a keeper. I loved Yvette, she was such an interesting character to read about . An enjoyable and easy to read book, I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who fancies a good read.” – adamant_wigan
“Another Isobel Blackthorn page-turner.” – philcrit
“This book had me gripped. It was very hard to put it down!” – mash
If you’d like a copy, go to Odyssey Books or any online bookseller.
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: asylum, asylum seekers, boat people, book reviews, contemporary fiction, illegals, Isobel Blackthorn, literary fiction, novel, Odyssey Books, profits of doom, refugees, women's fiction
July 10, 2015
Asylum book launch review!
I’m reposting this fabulous review featured in the July 2015 edition of The Triangle community newspaper.
“Saturday, 20 June saw a wonderful gathering at the Well Thumbed Bookshop, Cobargo NSW, for the launch of Isobel Blackthorn’s latest book, Asylum. Starting the proceedings, Dr Heather O’Connor talked about our most wonderful and recently departed local, Neilma Ganter, found of Four Winds, Mumbulla Foundation and hundreds of other local organisations, who had learned from her father that money was meant to be spent on community, establishing a path of philanthropy in his family.
Dr Rosemary Beaumont then talked about the duality of meaning for the word asylum: a sanctuary, and a prison for the unwanted, along with the fact that 90% of Australians have come from migrant families, from poverty, or have come here to escape unbearable political situations. The movement of people has increased substantially, making the issue of refugees a worldwide issue.
Dr Beaumont discussed the fact that we live in a country that has taken a most inflexible approach to refugees, allowing shameful displays of cruelty, barbarity and inhumanity toward these people, before introducing Isobel, “a spirited individual, doing everything at 100%”.
She said that reading Asylum, she was struck by the author’s word-smithing, and her keen observation and crystalline intelligence, which come through the story.
The launch, hosted by the Well Thumbed team, was a wonderful gathering, with standing room only for those who didn’t arrive early. Asylum has been reviewed to be “the sort of book you want to savour”. It has enjoyed five star reviews and great feedback regarding its engagement. The intention of the book is to get people who don’t usually think about the plight of refugees to think and question the status of these people around the world and in particular in Australia, with her narrow perspectives and inhumane treatment of people in genuine need.” by Elizabeth Andalis
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: asylum, asylum seekers, boat people, fiction, refugees, women's fiction
June 25, 2015
Colonisation in Reverse
Louise Bennett (1919-2006)I’m sharing a poem I first came across in the 80s when I was studying a course with the Open University, UK, called, ‘Third World Studies.’ It was a brilliant multidisciplinary introduction to the North South divide. Hats off to the OU for that seminal moment in my life.
The 80s seem a distant memory but so much of what we see happening and complain about today has its roots in that time of transition, from widespread social democracy in the North, with Keynesian influenced economies holding Capital in check, to Neoliberalised economies in Northern nations, whose citizenry find themselves going through the same sorts of austerity strictures imposed decades earlier by the IMF on the South. The South could have told us what would happen and how it would feel.
Savvy Southerners have devised all sorts of strategies to survive. Colonisation in reverse is one of them. The logic of it goes something like this: “Since you invaded our lands, took us over, came in your thousands and squeezed yourselves in, stole our resources and rendered us destitute, we will do the same to you.”
http://www.MintPressNews.comI’ve reposted the poem from where it appeared in New Black Magazine, May 6, 2007. It is written in Patois. It’s hilarious, and I think we could do with a little laughter right now.
Colonisation in Reverse
Wat a joyful news, Miss Mattie,
I feel like me heart gwine burs
Jamaica people colonizin
Englan in Reverse
Be the hundred, be de tousan
Fro country and from town,
By de ship-load, be the plane load
Jamaica is Englan boun.
Dem pour out a Jamaica,
Everybody future plan
Is fe get a big-time job
An settle in de mother lan.
What an islan! What a people!
Man an woman, old an young
Jus a pack dem bag an baggage
An turn history upside dung!
Some people doan like travel,
But fe show dem loyalty
Dem all a open up cheap-fare-
To-England agency.
An week by week dem shipping off
Dem countryman like fire,
Fe immigrate an populate
De seat a de Empire.
Oonoo see how life is funny,
Oonoo see da turnabout?
Jamaica live fe box bread
Out a English people mout’.
For wen dem ketch a Englan,
An start play dem different role,
Some will settle down to work
An some will settle fe de dole.
Jane says de dole is not too bad
Because dey paying she
Two pounds a week fe seek a job
dat suit her dignity
me say Jane will never fine work
At de rate how she dah look,
For all day she stay popn Aunt Fan couch
An read love-story book.
Wat a devilment a Englan!
Dem face war an brave de worse,
But me wondering how dem gwine stan
Colonizin in reverse.
——————————–
Isobel’s first novel Asylum
is available in paperback at Odyssey Books, Angus and Robertson, Amazon and the Book Depository. Ebook available through all major outlets.Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: American empire, asylum, asylum seekers, boat people, colonisation, Colonisation in Reverse, empire, globalisation, Louise Bennett, nature of humanity, neoliberalism, refugees, social democracy
June 23, 2015
Silencing the lambs: Asylum seekers are a metaphor for our times
On Line Opinion have just published my latest piece on asylum seekers, for which I am very grateful. The photo here sums up my belief in what Australians are capable of. If this many can gather behind a banner in a tiny village in the middle of a wilderness, then we can only imagine the swell of people standing up, standing for, standing behind this one banner, a banner that represents solidarity with those at the pinnacle of all that is wrong with the world today – asylum seekers.
Here’s the article –
Silencing the lambs: Asylum seekers are a metaphor for our times
Isobel’s first novel Asylum
is available in paperback at Odyssey Books, Angus and Robertson, Amazon and the Book Depository. Ebook available through all major outlets.Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: antony loewenstein, asylum, asylum seekers, Australian media, boat people, globalisation, illegals, neoliberalism, profits of doom, refugees, Tony Abbott
June 19, 2015
Launching Asylum on World Refugee Day
Just got home from the launch of my novel, Asylum, at Well Thumbed Books, Cobargo NSW, as part of local activities for World Refugee Day. We raised $1,000!!! Big thank you to all who came and made it happen. I’m so proud to live in this warm-hearted and generous community. We showed the world that refugees matter!
Standing room only!!! What a turnout!
Asylum is a rewarding read, rather like a meal when you savour every mouthful instead of gulping it down because there are better things to be done!” – book critic Ann Creber.
Asylum is available in paperback at Odyssey Books, Angus and Robertson, Amazon and the Book Depository. Ebook available through all major outlets.
For an author signed copy, contact me here.
For reviews, an excerpt and more, please visit the Asylum page.
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: asylum, asylum seekers, boat people, contemporary fiction, fiction, illegals, novel, refugees, women's fiction, women's writing, World Refugee Day
