Ellie Marney's Blog, page 7

#LoveOzYAbookclub August 2022 title announcement – SOCIAL QUEUE

Hi everyone! We are super excited to announce the #LoveOzYAbookclub book for August 2022 will be
SOCIAL QUEUE by Kay Kerr. We all loved Please Don’t Hug Me, Kay Kerr’s first book, so we thought it would be great to feature her second book here on bookclub!

I thought I was nobody’s teen crush, but turns out I was just missing the signs.

Zoe Kelly is starting a new phase of her life. High school was a mess of bullying and autistic masking that left her burnt out and shut down. Now, with an internship at an online media company—the first step on the road to her dream writing career—she is ready to reinvent herself. But she didn’t count on returning to her awkward and all-too-recent high-school experiences for her first writing assignment.

When her piece, about her non-existent dating life, goes viral, eighteen-year-old Zoe is overwhelmed and more than a little surprised by the response. But, with a deadline and a list of romantic contenders from the past to reconnect with for her piece on dating, she is hoping one of her old sparks will turn into a new flame.

Social Queue is a funny and heart-warming autistic story about deciphering the confusing signals of attraction and navigating a path to love.

Kay Kerr is an autistic author and journalist from the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. Her debut novel Please Don’t Hug Me (2020) was shortlisted for Book of the Year for Older Children at the Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) in 2021, and listed as a ‘Notable Book’ by the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA). Her second novel, Social Queue, was released with Text Publishing in October 2021. New York Times best-selling novelist Helen Hoang called it “A perceptive, honest, and warmly captivating romantic comedy that touched my heart.”
Kay’s freelance writing has appeared in The Guardian, SBS Voices, Daily Life, Broadsheet, and Peppermint Magazine, amongst others. She writes about autistic representation, disability, parenting, pop culture, gardening, and feelings.
Prior to receiving her adult autism diagnosis, Kay worked as a community newspaper reporter and editor in Brisbane.

You can order your copy of SOCIAL QUEUE from Boomerang Books and use the code ‘loveoz’ to receive free shipping, or find the ebook here. I hope you enjoy this read for August and I look forward to discussing it with you all later in the month on the FB group thread.

Emm xx

#LoveOzYAbookclub July 2022 author interview – Kate Murray (We Who Hunt the Hollow)

It’s lovely to have Kate Murray, author of this month’s title WE WHO HUNT THE HOLLOW, here to visit on the bookclub blog! I hope you enjoy the chance we had to pick Kate’s brain about female superheroes, Umbrella Academy, and why she prefers editing over writing – read on…

Hi Kate! Can you tell us a bit about the backstory for your book WE WHO HUNT THE HOLLOW, and how the idea came to you?

I never intended to write this story – I was writing something else at the time – when I saw a call for novella submissions for a local publisher, and thought it might be fun to write a novella … and then this idea flew out of the universe into my brain. All of a sudden I had this big, chaotic family of female superheroes in my head. The idea was so much fun, I felt compelled to write it. That original novella eventually turned into a YA novel, which I then submitted to the 2020 Ampersand Prize with Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing. It was shortlisted, and then they ultimately published it as well! (PS: the 2022 Ampersand Prize is open right now – submissions close 31st July – I encourage unpublished writers out there to give it a shot!)

Did you have a playlist for this book? Do you have a playlist for writing? Can you tell us about it?

Yes! The playlist for We Who Hunt The Hollow can be found here on Spotify or here on Youtube Music. It’s loosely themed, with songs I enjoy listening to that also helped me get in the mood of the story while writing and editing. I love making playlists for my stories. Sometimes, when writing, I can’t listen to anything at all – I find it too distracting – other times, I love having the music to help me get in the right headspace.

There’s writing and there’s editing – which do you prefer and why?

I’m pretty sure … I prefer editing. Writing the start of any story is great, right – a new idea is always exciting! – but once I hit the middle, I get bogged down and find filling the blank page quite difficult. However, once I have a whole story drafted, I get re-inspired. I have something to work with, that I can see as a whole. I love thinking about the story structure, and character journeys, and character wants versus needs, etc. I’ve tried planning before – figuring all that stuff out first – but it sucks a lot of the joy out of the story for me. So I pants my way, with difficulty, to the end, and then dive into the fun of editing to shape and refine the story. It’s very satisfying.

This is one that so many YA authors are asked… Why write for teenagers?

First of all, I love YA fiction for its fast pace, its action, its high drama and emotion. But also teens are such a great audience to write for – they’re so honest, so demanding, and so passionate! I love writing in this category.

And off topic: What TV show/movie is getting you through right now and why?

Umbrella Academy! I do love stories about big, messy, superhero families… I also love time travel. I really enjoy the irreverence of this show, the complicated relationship dynamics, and how the characters aren’t good or bad but very much grey (I love Klaus). And how well they wrote Elliot Page’s transition in with this most recent season!

Thank you for visiting with us, Kate!

And once you’ve had a chance to read this month’s title, keep an eye out for August – I promise it’s going to be a doozy

xxEllie

#LoveOzYAbookclub title announcement July 2022 – WE WHO HUNT THE HOLLOW

It’s halfway through the year already! And here in the chilly depths of Australian winter, it’s good to know there’s a warm fireside tale coming our way this month…

WE WHO HUNT THE HOLLOW is the debut YA novel by Kate Murray, a New Zealander transplanted to Melbourne who is a full-time parent and writer. Shortlisted for the Ampersand Prize, WE WHO HUNT THE HOLLOW looks good enough to keep off the winter blues – check out the blurb here:

Seventeen-year-old Priscilla Daalman’s entire family are Hollow Warriors – legendary monster hunters charged with killing evil beasts from beyond our universe. She’s desperate to live up to that legacy, but she’s convinced neither she, nor her superpower – the ability to sense Hollow energy – is up to the task.

But when Priscilla attempts a desperate ritual to enhance her abilities, she accidentally triggers a frightening new power: the power to summon monsters from the Hollow itself. Now, Priscilla must protect her loved ones – her heartbroken ex-girlfriend, her mysterious new boyfriend, even her fierce warrior family – from supernatural monsters, and also from herself. Because if her power gets out, all hell will break loose … and Priscilla will risk losing everything.

You can order this month’s title through Boomerang Books and get free shipping by using the ‘loveoz’ code. Or if digital is more your thing, find the ebook here.

I hope you enjoy this one to mark the mid-year point! Happy reading and see you on the group page later in the month for an author Q&A and title discussion

xxEllie

#LoveOzYAbookclub June 2022 title announcement – THE MUSEUM OF BROKEN THINGS

Hi everyone! We are super excited to announce the #LoveOzYAbookclub book for June 2022 will be THE MUSEUM OF BROKEN THINGS by Lauren Draper.

I didn’t always live here. Not so long ago I was living in a thriving metropolis with more than one coffee shop on each block and four full bars of reception. I went to Heathmont High School, home to one thousand students, two best friends, a deeply average orchestra, and one cursed statue. Well, allegedly.

Reece still isn’t used to living in the small beachside town of Hamilton: she misses her old school, her old friends, and her old life. She can’t go back, and she can’t move forward: nothing feels right anymore. Not that she’s trying very hard—she hasn’t even unpacked yet, and the only new friend she’s made is a middle-aged barista.

But when Reece inherits a strange artefact that belonged to her beloved grandmother, she begins to unravel a mystery that might change the way she feels about everything around her, including her charismatic classmate Gideon…

A lively, witty novel about letting go of the past and finding your place in the world, The Museum of Broken Things introduces a dazzling new voice in contemporary fiction. 

Lauren is a writer and marketing professional from Melbourne, Australia. Her debut young adult novel, THE MUSEUM OF BROKEN THINGS, is released by Text Publishing. Her work has appeared in Kill Your Darlings, Dumbo Feather and various publications from Hardie Grant Media. Her contemporary fiction manuscript was long-listed in the 2019 Richell Prize from Hachette.

You can order your copy of THE MUSEUM OF BROKEN THINGS from Boomerang Books and use the code ‘loveoz’ to receive free shipping. If you’d prefer to read digitally, you can find the ebook here.

I hope you enjoy this read for June and I look forward to discussing it with you all later in the month.

Emm xx

#LoveOzYAbookclub – May 2022 author Interview: JODI MCALISTER (Libby Lawrence Is Good At Pretending)

Hey Jodi! Tell us a bit about the backstory for Libby Lawrence, and how the idea came to you

This is a book about theatre kids with too many emotions, and I wrote the first draft of it many, many years ago, when I was a theatre kid with too many emotions. In the book, Libby is nineteen and a second-year undergrad. I was twenty and a third-year undergrad when I wrote the first draft. I’ve since rewritten it from the ground up four times, but every so often, a sentence that baby writer Jodi wrote in that very first draft will pop up, and it warms my heart.

This book isn’t about theatre kid me, but the theatre kid world that it’s set in was one I lived in for a long time. I grew up on community theatre stages, and that persisted well into my young adulthood. It’s a real pressure cooker world, where emotions are intensified and you can play and experiment with all kinds of things – because, hey, it’s just pretend, right? Sometimes it can make you brave. Sometimes it can terrify you. Sometimes it means people push boundaries that really shouldn’t be pushed. Sometimes it helps you find the words to articulate what you really want or you really feel.

…or, basically, I got the idea to write a community theatre book because that’s what I spent a lot of my time doing.

Jodi McAlister

Do you have a personal connection to the story you chose to tell in your book?

Are you prepared for me to write a novel in response to this question? Because you might well get one.

I will never write another book as close to my heart as this one. Although the Valentine series has been out for several years now and Valentine is the first book I ever had published, Libby Lawrence is really the book that taught me how to write. I’d written it and rewritten it twice before Valentine was even a glint in my eye. After I wrote the first draft of Valentine, I went back and rewrote this one again – and then again after I’d written Ironheart and Misrule.

This book is very personal to me because the world it’s set in is very personal to me. Community theatre was technically just a hobby of mine – I never had aspirations to become a serious actor – but it shaped me in some very fundamental ways. I don’t think this book would have existed if I hadn’t written that first draft when I was still so deeply immersed in that world. However, in some ways, I wasn’t ready to write it yet. I had to grow into my writing powers before I could really tell this story the way that I wanted to on the page.

As many of you will know, I’m an academic as well as an author, and a lot of the research I did during the many years of rewriting this book ultimately played into it, even though I didn’t necessarily intend it to at the time. I’ve talked a lot before about how my research into romance shaped the way I wrote Pearl and Finn and their romance in the Valentine series. The same is true for Libby and Will here (although their romance is very different to Pearl and Finn’s!). Similarly, between/during rewrites 3 and 4 of this book, I did a whole PhD on depictions of female virginity loss, and you can bet that figured deeply into the way I wrote Libby (in a way I don’t think I had the skill to handle when I was baby Jodi setting about writing her first book).

Community theatre taught me how to write longform. I used to write for the stage, mostly adaptations of classic novels (incidentally, the first writing I was ever paid for). Writing about community theatre in Libby Lawrence Is Good At Pretending taught me how to write a novel. Rewriting it over and over again was integral to my development as an author. I can’t tell you how much it means to me that this book, which is so close to my heart, is now out in the world.

Okay, let’s talk comfort reads – which books do you turn to when you need a break from it all?

Romance! Always!

I’ve got a long list of recs on my website, and I also do recs every Sunday on Instagram (#DrJodisSundayRomanceRecs). One author I return to over and over again is Lucy Parker… who, coincidentally, also writes about theatre, although all her actors are pros!

So Libby Lawrence Is Good At Pretending is your book’s title, and it’s an awesome title. But what might it have been called, if it wasn’t called what it is now?

If it wasn’t called LIBBY LAWRENCE IS GOOD AT PRETENDING, this book would be called AMATEUR. Libby and co are doing amateur theatre, but Libby also feels like an amateur at many things in her life – not least talking about her feelings.

I’m very happy with the direction we went, though. While I like the thematic tie in of AMATEUR, it’s also a bit vague. The title we’ve got is, I think, much more specific.

And your fave first line from any book is…

“I write this sitting in the kitchen sink”, from I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith. I’ve never been so immediately grabbed in my life.

Thank you, Jodi, for getting your sillies on with #LoveOzYAbookclub J

xxEllie

#LoveOzYAbookclub May 2022 title announcement – LIBBY LAWRENCE IS GOOD AT PRETENDING

Hello, friends, and happy May! While the weather outside might be…variable, we’re all snugged up warm and cozy with our books this month, right?

And I’m sure you’re going to get all the warm and cozy feelings with this month’s title, LIBBY LAWRENCE IS GOOD AT PRETENDING, by wonderful author Jodi McAlister (author of the Valentine series).

Here’s the blurb:

Nineteen-year-old Libby Lawrence is good at pretending. Problem is, she’s not entirely sure how to stop. Which is good for her role in the campus production of Much Ado About Nothing … but poses problems in her personal life. Especially when the list of things she can’t admit to, even to her best friend Ella, starts to build.

Losing her virginity to the too-charming director of her uni theatre group (just before he ran off with the group’s money) is only the start. There’s also an uncomfortable encounter with her broody on-stage love interest Roarke, and her crackling offstage chemistry with nerdy-but-sweet new director Will.

And while Libby is thrilled to finally be on the inside of the uni theatre group she reveres, there’s a downside to being in on all the group chats, drama and backstage gossip. She must discover who she wants to be, who she wants to be with … and how to stop pretending.

Jodi McAlister’s sparkling campus novel is a rom-com about friendship, authenticity, and all the ways we perform ourselves … and the preciousness of those moments when all artifice falls away. Dramatic and wise, it combines the arch wit and sharp banter of Ten Things I Hate About You and Clueless with a knowing heart.

You can join in with our read of LIBBY LAWRENCE anytime this month, and get free-shipping on a copy of the book right here at Boomerang Books, using the code ‘loveoz’. You can also find the ebook copy of LIBBY here, if you prefer to read digitally.

I hope you enjoy this fantastic May read. Find us on the bookclub FB page, and catch you later in the month for a Q&A with Jodi herself – stay tuned!

xxEllie

#LoveOzYAbookclub April 2022 author interview: ASTRID SCHOLTE – (League of Liars)

Hello everyone. We are super excited to bring you an #LoveOZYAbookclub interview with Astrid Scholte author of LEAGUE OF LIARS.

League of Liars is set in an interesting world, where did you get the inspiration from?

Thank you! The world of League of Liars was really fun to write. I knew I wanted a magic that was easily accessible and alluring but the consequences were so dangerous that it was illegal. The prison of Vardean was the first element that I had a clear image of in my mind with it towering over the ocean. The inspiration came from the idea of what kind of prison could hold the villain from Four Dead Queens (no spoilers!). I went through a few revisions before I decided on the magic being accessible through shadows and from there I built the world that had to protect/guard society from shadows themselves. I wanted the world to feel similar to the Victorian era with elements of more modern tech.

Writing in a time of covid, has your writing life changed these days? Can you tell us a bit about it?

I had already written the first draft of League of Liars before covid hit and revised during the first lockdown and also wrote another manuscript. Writing was my escape and brought me joy over the long months of lockdown. Unfortunately, due to covid, there have been less events and I was unable to launch my second book, The Vanishing Deep, in person. I now do more virtual events and try to connect with readers that way. I certainly miss festivals and events and I’m happy to see them coming back in person this year!

What tv show/movie is getting you through right now?

I’m loving Moon Knight on Disney+. It reminds me of The Mummy (1999) which is one of my all time favourite movies and the show is so fun, mysterious and twisty. I also love that I have no idea where it’s going!

What is a curious or unusual thing about you most people don’t know?

Most people might not know that I work in film and TV production. Years ago, I worked at Weta Digital where my hair was used as a reference for a digital model on the King Kong ride at Universal Studios in LA. So if you’re ever on the ride, keep an eye out for my hair!

Thank you so much Astrid for answering all our questions and for taking part in our book of the month!

Look out for our discussion post on LEAGUE OF LIARS on the #LoveOzYAbookclub Facebook Page in the coming days and to find out about our May book of the month

Emm xx

#LoveOzYAbookclub April 2022 title announcement – LEAGUE OF LIARS

Hi everyone! We are super excited to announce the #LoveOzYAbookclub book for April 2022 will be LEAGUE OF LIARS by Astrid Scholte.

Ever since his mother was killed, seventeen-year-old Cayder Broduck has had one goal—to see illegal users of magic brought to justice. People who carelessly use extradimensional magic for their own self-interest, without a care to the damage it does to society or those around them, deserve to be punished as far as Cayder is concerned. Because magic always has a price. So when Cayder lands a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to apprentice under a premier public defender, he takes it. If he can learn all the tricks of public defense, the better he’ll be able to dismantle defense arguments when he’s a prosecutor. Then he’ll finally be able to make sure justice is served.

But when he meets the three criminals he’s supposed to defend, it no longer seems so black and white. They’re teenagers, like him, and their stories are . . . complicated, like his. Vardean, the prison where Cayder’s new clients are incarcerated, also happens to be at the very heart of the horrible tear in the veil between their world and another dimension—where all magic comes from.

League of Liars is a dark and twisty mystery set in a richly-drawn world where nothing is as it seems, rife with magic, villains and danger.

Astrid Scholte was raised on a diet of Spielberg, Lucas and Disney, and knew she wanted to be surrounded by all things fantastical from a young age. She’s spent the last fifteen years working in film, animation and television as both an artist and manager. Career highlights include working on James Cameron’s Avatar, Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin and Disney’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her fiancé and two cats, Lilo and Mickey. Her debut YA novel, Four Dead Queens, was an international bestseller and award winner. Her second novel, The Vanishing Deep, was released on the 3rd of March 2020. League of Liars is her third book.

You can order your copy of LEAGUE OF LIARS from Boomerang Books and use the code ‘loveoz’ to receive free shipping. I hope you enjoy this read for April and I look forward to discussing it with you all on the group page later in the month.

Emm xx

#LoveOzYAbookclub March 2022 author Interview – VANESSa LEN (Only a Monster)

Good morning, friends! (or if you’re reading this later, good day to you!)

Today we have a lovely interview from the amazing Vanessa Len, debut author of the smashing bestseller ONLY A MONSTER, our March 2022 title.

Read on to find a link to Vanessa’s writing playlist for the book, her favourite fictional tropes, and more!

* Tell us a bit about the backstory for your book, and how the idea came to you

The story was inspired by that feeling when the hero of a story isn’t necessarily the hero of your story. I thought it would be interesting to write about a really good, decent, upright hero fighting against you, rather than for you. 

* Did you have a playlist for this book? Do you have a playlist for writing? Can you tell us about it?

Yes, I have a playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7aajsz9bsPpesWTBCCgqKu – I think of it as a soundtrack for the book! When I’m writing, though, I don’t listen to music (or anything else); I like a quiet headspace.

* Comfort reads – which books do you turn to when you need a break from it all?

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones and Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (specifically, the audiobook because the narrator has such a fun reading style.) They both have the escapist worlds and happy endings I want when I’m craving a comfort read. 

* Your favourite fictional tropes are:

– Heists

– Worlds with magic

– Time travel

– Enemies to lovers

– When a character seems innocuous and is revealed to be epic!

* What TV show/movie is getting you through right now and why?

Umbrella Academy – I’m really looking forward to the next season! I love how idiosyncratic it is – it’s full of things that shouldn’t go together (a guy on the moon; assassins, a robot Mum; a monkey butler), and yet it all works!

*

Thanks for joining in, Vanessa! And bookclubbers, keep an eye out for the discussion post for this title happening soon on bookclub – and happy reading, everyone!

xxEllie

#LoveOzYAbookclub March 2022 title announcement – ONLY A MONSTER

Hey there, and welcome to March! It’s the end of the summer season – our skys are becoming cloudy (and in some places, the rain is coming down in an apocalyptic way) and we’ve started thinking about breaking out long-sleeved shirts and cardigans. While I love the summer for the long days and outdoor fun, the approaching autumn fills me with joy – I love cool-weather clothes, and it’s the perfect time to snuggle up in bed or on the couch with a great book. And we have a great book for you this month – ONLY A MONSTER, the fantastic fantasy debut by Vanessa Len.

Here’s the blurb:

It should have been the perfect summer. Sent to stay with her late mother’s eccentric family in London, sixteen-year-old Joan is determined to enjoy herself. She loves her nerdy job at the historic Holland House, and when her super cute co-worker Nick asks her on a date, it feels like everything is falling into place.

But she soon learns the truth. Her family aren’t just eccentric: they’re monsters, with terrifying, hidden powers. And Nick isn’t just a cute boy: he’s a legendary monster slayer, who will do anything to bring them down.

As she battles Nick, Joan is forced to work with the beautiful and ruthless Aaron Oliver, heir to a monster family that hates her own. She’ll have to embrace her own monstrousness if she is to save herself, and her family. Because in this story . . .

. . . she is not the hero. 

I have been dying to read this one since I first heard about it, and this is a good opportunity to dive in. If you’d like to order ONLY A MONSTER through Boomerang Books using the ‘loveoz’ promotion code, you’ll get free shipping. You can also find the ebook here, and the audiobook here.

Happy reading, and see you on the FB group page!

xxEllie