Ellie Marney's Blog, page 9

#LoveOzYAbookclub June 2021 title announcement – CAN’T SAY IT WENT TO PLAN

Welcome to Winterand our June book club book announcement!

We are so happy to have CAN’T SAY IT WENT TO PLAN by Gabrielle Tozer as the June 2021 title for bookclub.

Here’s the blurb:

School’s out.

Forget study, exams and mapping out the future.

For the next seven days, the only homework is partying with friends, making new ones and living in the moment.

There are no parents or curfews – and no rules.

Zoë, Samira and Dahlia are strangers, but they have something in common: their plans for a dream holiday after their final year of school are flipped upside-down before they even arrive at the beach.

From hooking up and heartache, to growing apart, testing friendships and falling in love, anything can go down this week.

Gabrielle Tozer is an internationally published author and freelance journalist, editor, social media specialist and copywriter. Gabrielle has published three YA novels: The Intern, which won the State Library of Victoria’s 2015 Gold Inky Award, Faking It and Remind Me How This Ends. Her first picture book, Peas and Quiet (illustrated by Sue deGennaro), was published in June 2017, and a YA contemporary short story ‘The Feeling From Over Here’ is featured in Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology. Her debut children’s novel, Melody Trumpet, came out in 2019.

Youcan order your copy of CAN’T SAY IT WENT TO PLAN from BoomerangBooks and use the code ‘loveoz’ to receive free shipping. I hope you enjoythis read for June, and I look forward to discussing it with you all later inthe month.

Emmxx

#LoveOzYAbookclub May 2021 author interview – KATHRYN BARKER (Waking Romeo)

Hello again, it’s raining where I am and I hope where youare, you’re staying warm and dry.

This month’s author interview is with the very lovely Kathryn Barker, who has explained some things about the genesis of this month’s read, WAKING ROMEO, and about her favourite line of poetry – and how she has her very own Trash TV Night!

Read on…

Kathryn, can you tell us abit about the backstory for your book?

Years ago, I startedwondering what would happen if someone invented time-travel, but you could onlygo forwards. That’s where the idea for the ‘world’ in Waking Romeo camefrom.

After a while I wondered whoyou could recruit to try and save that broken world, without impacting thetimeline. That’s where the idea of the Deadenders came from.

Much later, I startedwondering about the epic love stories that we’d studied in school. Inparticular, Romeo & Juliet and Wuthering Heights. I decidedthey weren’t especially healthy examples. I started wondering how I might tweakthem to create something new and more in keeping with my own ideas around love.

Then, one fateful afternoon,I decided to try and combine all of those separate ideas into one story. Theresult was Waking Romeo. 

Are you a plotter or apantser? Or something in between? Do you even believe in that ‘plotter Vspantser’ stuff?

A panster … given that I’vejust written an intricately plotted time-travel novel, I think that also makesme a masochist. When I grow up, I want to be a planner. I love the idea ofknowing where I’m going with a story, rather than just stepping out into thedarkness, fingers crossed. Having said that, I think that the ‘not knowing’ –and me stubbornly wanting to find the answers – is (unfortunately) part of howmy creative process works…

Now for the#LoveOzYAbookclubTrash Media Challenge – which fave trash movie/show would youcheerily inflict on your friends?

Actually, I used to host aweekly trash TV night! I’d make some simple food that was easy to share,usually in the slow cooker. After work, friends would descend on my place andwe’d eat while watching Project Runway or Next Top Model. Wecalled it ‘Trash TV Night’, and I hosted it every week for years, back in theBC days (before children).

My current favourite guiltypleasure is Bridgerton, not that it’s trashy. I told my mum about it andshe immediately binge-watched the whole season. Perhaps that means I‘inflicted’ it on my dad?

Your book has a title, andit’s an awesome title. But what mightit have been called, if it wasn’t called what it is now?

You know, there was never anotherworking title for this book – it was always Waking Romeo. Everythingworked back from the idea of waking that one boy, including the plot and thethemes … so it’s really hard for me to imagine another title. But if I had tore-name it, I think I’d call it Deadenders, because the metaphor behindthat word fits with the characters and the story.

Can you share your faveline of poetry with us?

“Anythingor anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you” by DavidWhyte. Not just beautiful poetry, but words to live by. Whether or notsomething (or someone) brings me alive is my ultimate benchmark.

KathrynBarker, thank you!

And thank you all for reading this month’s author interview – see you soon for the discussion post on FB for WAKING ROMEO.

xxEllie

#LoveOzYAbookclub May 2021 title announcement – WAKING ROMEO

Hi bookclubbers! This month’s title WAKING ROMEOis the sophomore novel from Kathryn Barker,following her Aurealis-winning, CBCA Notable IN THE SKIN OF A MONSTER, and Ican’t wait to dive in!

Here’s the blurb:

YEAR: 2083. LOCATION: LONDON. MISSION: WAKE ROMEO.

It’s the end of the world. Literally. Time travel is possible, but only forwards. And only a handful of families choose to remain in the ‘now’, living off the scraps that were left behind. Among these are eighteen-year-old Juliet and the love of her life, Romeo. But things are far from rosy for Jules. Romeo is in a coma and she’s estranged from her friends and family, dealing with the very real fallout of their wild romance. Then a handsome time traveller, Ellis, arrives with an important mission that makes Jules question everything she knows about life and love. Can Jules wake Romeo and rewrite her future?

A highly original mashupthat delights as it disorients … and asks what would have happened if two great literary love stories were somehow intertwined.

I’m looking forward to this mashup of Romeo and Juliet and Wuthering Heights, with a time-travelling twist, and I hope you’re as keen to read as I am

You can find a copy of WAKING ROMEO at BoomerangBooks, and use the ‘loveoz’ code to get free shipping. Alternatively, youcan find the ebook righthere.

I’m looking forward to hearing everyone’s thoughts about this one at the end of the month! Until then, have a good week and happy reading

xxEllie

#LoveOZYAbookclub April 2021 author interview: LYNETTE NONI (The Prison Healer)

Hello everyone. We are super excited to bring you an #LoveOZYAbookclub interview with Lynette Noni author of The Prison Healer.

Where did the inspiration for The Prison Healer comefrom?

At the beginning of 2019 I met a youngwoman who had grown up in a war-torn impoverished country. When she was ateenager, her father had been seen shaking hands with a member of an opposingreligious faction, and because of that, her entire family had been sent toprison—for five years.

The injustice of her tale remained with melong after our brief meeting, as did her survival mentality during the mosthorrific years of her life. She inspired me, reminding me of how little I knowof the world outside of my own safe, comfortable bubble.

A few months later, I visited FremantlePrison in Western Australia, which is now a heritage site and open for tours.This prison has an entire underground tunnelling network where the inmates wereforced to labour for hours on end, digging the passageways in order to supplywater for the nearest township. I walked through those tunnels and, in somecases, paddled a canoe through the ones that are still partially submerged. Itwas an unforgettable experience, enough that when I left, a story began to takeroot in my mind: a story of injustice, of facing the odds time and time againand doing whatever was required to survive—at any cost.

And so, The Prison Healer was born.

Writing in a time of covid – has your writing lifechanged these days? Can you tell us a bit about it?

My day-to-day writing life hasn’t changed much at all,but like most people, there are times when it’s been really tough to channel mycreativity, especially with so many horrors happening in the world. I’ve justhad to try to remain as focused as possible and surround myself with as muchpositivity as I can. I’m fortunate to live near the beach, so I try to visitevery day as an act of self-care. Little things like that help.

Are you a plotter or a pantser? Or something inbetween? Do you even believe in that ‘plotter Vs pantser’ stuff?

I can be both. In my Medoran Chronicles series,I was very much a pantser, even if I tried really hard to be a plotter.Any time I planned something, my characters would decide to go off and do theirown thing, so I just had to learn to trust them (as strange as that sounds).With my Whisper series, it was a little of both—there was definitelysome pantsing, but I also plotted out the larger twists so that I could sneakin some subtle foreshadowing early on. As for The Prison Healer series,that was more on the side of plotting—the story arc of the first book came tome pretty fully formed, even if there were definitely some things that caughtme by surprise as I was drafting. I think that’s my preferred way to write: tohave an idea of what’s happening and where things are heading, but to allowmyself creative space for things to adapt and change as I go along. The littlesurprises make all the difference.

What other media inspired you during the writing ofthis book? Songs, TV, movies, other books…

When I’m drafting a book, I have to give it 100% of myfocus, so I don’t read any other books during that time, and if I watchanything, it’ll usually be something I’ve watched before just to give myself ashort break away from the manuscript. I write really fast (The Prison Healerwas written in just 26 days), so it helps when I don’t have any distractionsduring that time.

What is a curious or unusual thing about you that mostpeople don’t know?

I don’t drink coffee, which makes me perhaps the most un-author-like author in the world.

Thankyou so much Lynette for answering all our questions and for taking part in our bookof the month!

Look out for our discussion post on THE PRISON HEALER on the #LoveOzYAbookclub Facebook Page in the coming days and to find out about our May book of the Month

Emmxx

#LoveOzYAbookclub April 2021 title announcement – THE PRISON HEALER

Hello to everyone! I hope everyone is doing well this year so far. I’m still not sure what month it is, but I think that is our new normal isn’t it! We are so happy to announce the April 2021 book for #LoveOzYAbookclub is THE PRISON HEALER by Lynette Noni.

Seventeen-year-old Kiva Meridan has spent the last ten years fighting for survival in the notorious death prison, Zalindov, working as the prison healer.

When the Rebel Queen is captured, Kiva is charged with keeping the terminally ill woman alive long enough for her to undergo the Trial by Ordeal: a series of elemental challenges against the torments of air, fire, water, and earth, assigned to only the most dangerous of criminals.

Then a coded message from Kiva’s family arrives, containing a single order: “Don’t let her die. We are coming.” Aware that the Trials will kill the sickly queen, Kiva risks her own life to volunteer in her place. If she succeeds, both she and the queen will be granted their freedom.

But no one has ever survived.

With an incurable plague sweeping Zalindov, a mysterious new inmate fighting for Kiva’s heart, and a prison rebellion brewing, Kiva can’t escape the terrible feeling that her trials have only just begun.

Lynette Noni is Australia’s #1 YA fictionauthor. After studying journalism, academic writing and human behaviour atuniversity, she finally ventured into the world of fiction. She is now a full-timewriter and the bestselling author of the six-book young adult fantasyseries, The Medoran Chronicles, as well as a second bestselling andaward-winning series called Whisper.

Lynette won the 2019 ABIA Award for Small Publishers’ Children’s Book of the Year, along with the 2019 Gold Inky Award (Australia’s only teen choice book award). She is currently collaborating on a project with #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas

THE PRISON HEALER is the first book in a new trilogy by Lynette Noni and was just released. Book Two The Gilded Cage is out in October 2021. You can use the code ‘loveoz’ at Boomerang Books to get free shipping when you order your copy.

Ihope you enjoy this read for April and I look forward to discussing it with youall later in the month.

Emmxx

#LoveOzYAbookclub – Author Interview: Leanne Hall (THE GAPS)

Leanne Hall is a bit amazing, I reckon. She’s been working with books – as a writer, a reader, a bookseller – for a long time, and she is currently a children’s and YA specialist for Readings Books online. But it was through her writing that I first got to know her: when I read This Is Shyness (Text, 2010), it completely blew me away. Her latest novel, THE GAPS, is this month’s title, and I asked Leanne if she would share a little bit about her process for tackling what seemed like a pretty tough book to write – read on…

Are you a plotter or a pantser? Or something in between? Do you even believe in that ‘plotter Vs pantser’ stuff?

I am a natural pantser, who has been trying to move moretowards plotting – not fully, but trying to strike a happy medium. Mainlybecause the amount of restructuring I usually have to do with my work is truly shocking– every books I think, why am I in this place again? Recently though, I’ve beenfocussing more on character development and the protagonist’s journey. I’mstarting to suspect that’s more my cup of tea.

Could you share something about your personal connection to the story you chose to tell in your book?

I wrote this book because of the backdrop of violent crimes against women that persisted throughout my youth, and even now. A crime similar to the one in THE GAPS occurred at my high school, and ever since then I’m greatly affected by the regular and heart-breaking attacks and assaults on women that happen in my city. I didn’t expect it, but THE GAPS also allowed me to explore a lot of things around race, inequity and prejudice in a very personal way.

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

2020 was a time of extreme lack of creativity and imagination!I was so anxious and worried the whole year that the last thing I could do wasdream up people and situations and revel in language. I edited THE GAPS duringMelbourne’s Stage 4 lockdown though, and for some reason my brain loved thatkind of focus. But generating new material has been off the cards until veryrecently. The pandemic helped me with some things I have been struggling with:taking time to rest, valuing social connections, not driving myself to burnout,giving up control and letting projects unfold at their own pace…rememberingthat writing is just one part of life, and there are many other importantthings to parcel out energy for (and to be grateful for).

What are the key themes (or maybe just the key feels!) that you hope readers take away from your book?

I wanted to try and write the experience of being a youngwoman in an unsafe world. How you can feel powerful and strong, and vulnerableand weak at the same time. I also wanted to show how fiercely people work atsurvival and thriving, how smart, funny and capable teenagers are, even indifficult circumstances.

Your fave line of poetry is…

If you don’t know the kind of person I am

and I don’t know the kind of person you are

a pattern that others made may prevail in the world

and following the wrong god home we may miss our star.

This is just the opening stanza of A Ritual to Read to Each Other by William E. Stafford, but the whole poem is brilliant, and a real source of solace to me. Please go read the full thing!

Leanne, thanks so much for visiting us on #LoveOzYAbookclub, and congratulations on the release of THE GAPS! And thank you all for reading – I hope you’re enjoying this month’s title, our discussion post will go up in a few days

xxEllie

#LoveOzYAbookclub March 2021 title announcement – THE GAPS by Leanne Hall

Helloooo again and welcome to our second book of the newyear!

This month of March, we’re going to be reading THEGAPS by amazing author Leanne Hall.I’ve been a huge fan of Leanne’s work from 2010, with the release of her debut THIS ISSHYNESS (if you haven’t checked out this surreal-specfic-adventure-romanceset in a could-be-RL-Melbourne-but-not-quite world, I suggest you stop readingthis and go grab a copy of it like *now*).

THE GAPS looks to be dark and deep, and as it’s based on atrue crime story, I’m very keen to read it – we haven’t read that many heavy-themesbooks in bookclub lately (covid being a thing and all, I figured we needed abit of lightness last year), but I’m excited and curious about this one.

Here’s the blurb:

What does it mean to be the one left behind?

When sixteen-year-old Yin Mitchell is abducted, the news reverberates through the whole Year Ten class at Balmoral Ladies College. As the hours tick by, the girls know the chance of Yin being found alive is becoming smaller and smaller.

Police suspect the abduction is the work of a serial offender, with none in the community safe from suspicion. Everyone is affected by Yin’s disappearance—even scholarship student Chloe, who usually stays out of Balmoral drama, is drawn into the maelstrom. And when she begins to form an uneasy alliance with the queen of Year Ten, Natalia, things get even more complicated.

Looking over their shoulders at every turn, Chloe and Natalia must come together to cope with their fear and grief as best they can. A tribute to friendship in all its guises, The Gaps is a moving examination of vulnerability and strength, safety and danger, and the particular uncertainty of being a young woman in the world.

If you’d like to jump aboard this reading train, you canfind physical copies of THE GAPS hereat Boomerang Books – use the ‘loveoz’ code to get free shipping.Alternatively, if you’d like to grab the ebook, you can go here or here.

Have a great week, join us on the Facebook group page anytime, and happy reading!

xxEllie

PS: Just a quick note on digital version of the books wesupport:

Here at #LoveOzYAbookclub, we like to give readers as many options as possible to buy the books they’d like to read in the formats they prefer (also this helps support authors!). But some people find it hard to support Amazon due to their business practices, so we now have a policy that if we can offer an alternative digital option, we do so – and that option is currently coming through the publisher’s website, which provides multiple ebook links.

#LoveOZYAbookclub February 2021 author interview: GARY LONESBOROUGH (The Boy From The Mish)

Hi and welcome to our author interview with Gary Lonesborough, author of this month’s title The Boy From The Mish.

Where did the inspiration for “The Boy FromThe Mish” come from?

I’d just finished reading ‘Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda’, by Becky Albertalli, when I realised, I hadn’t come across a book featuring a queer Aboriginal protagonist. I had also written a short film script some time before, which was centred on this secret relationship between two Aboriginal boys. While those characters were different, I took a lot of inspiration from them when I wrote Jackson and Tomas. So I guess the inspiration was that I hadn’t read a book like it when I was a teen, so I was writing what I wanted to read. 

Why do you write for teenagers?

The stories I most enjoy reading are about growingup, coming of age, taking the step into adulthood etc, and it just so happensthose stories are mostly about teens and for teens. I love writing about thattime in life where you’re figuring out who you are and what your place in theworld is. It’s also an important time to be reading because you can learn somuch from books about compassion, empathy, the lives of others. I think for me,I’m also writing stories for Aboriginal teens, because when I was a teen, I wasonly pointed towards stories where Indigenous characters were secondary. It’simportant for everyone to be able to pick up a book and see themselvesreflected on the pages authentically. 

Your book has an awesome title. But what might ithave been called, if it wasn’t called what it is now?

‘The Boy from the Mish’ was always the title, right from the first draft! The only other title I had considered was simply: ‘Jackson’.

What are your perfect writing conditions? 

When drafting, I prefer to write at night. Itneeds to be a cool temperature, or the fan must be on. I like to have somemusic playing – usually Kylie Minogue, Elton John, Archie Roach or Bob Dylan –and the music needs to be loud enough that I can’t hear anything happeningoutside my room. No social commitments for that night. My phone needs to beaway from me and on silent or off. Lastly, I can’t be even slightlyhungover! 

What is a curious or unusual thing about you that mostpeople don’t know?

I’m a SingStar enthusiast and my brother and I almost got a perfect score doing a duet of ‘Karma Chameleon’.

Thankyou so much Gary for answering all our questions and for taking part in ourbook of the month!

Lookout for our discussion post on THE BOY FROM THE MISH on the #LoveOzYAbookclubFacebook page in the coming days and to find out about our March book ofthe Month

Emmxx

#LoveOzYAbookclub February 2021 title announcement – THE BOY FROM THE MISH

Hello to everyone, and welcome to the new year of #LoveOzYAbookclub!!! We are so excited to announce our February 2021 title will be THE BOY FROM THE MISH by Gary Lonesborough.

A funny and heart-warming queer Indigenous YA novel, set in a rural Australian community, about seventeen-year-old Jackson finding the courage to explore who he is, even if it scares him.

‘I don’t paint so much anymore,’ I say, looking to my feet.
‘Oh. Well, I got a boy who needs to do some art. You can help him out,’ Aunty Pam says, like I have no say in the matter, like she didn’t hear what I just said about not painting so much anymore. ‘Jackson, this is Tomas. He’s living with me for a little while.’ 

It’s a hot summer, and life’s going all right for Jackson and his family on the Mish. It’s almost Christmas, school’s out, and he’s hanging with his mates, teasing the visiting tourists, avoiding the racist boys in town. Just like every year, Jackson’s Aunty and annoying little cousins visit from the city – but this time a mysterious boy with a troubled past comes with them… As their friendship evolves, Jackson must confront the changing shapes of his relationships with his friends, family and community. And he must face his darkest secret – a secret he thought he’d locked away for good.

GaryLonesborough is a Yuin writer, who grew up on the Far South Coast of NSW aspart of a large and proud Aboriginal family. Growing up a massive Kylie Minogueand North Queensland Cowboys fan, Gary was always writing as a child, andcontinued his creative journey when he moved to Sydney to study at film school.THE BOY FROM THE MISH is Gary’s Debut YA Novel

THE BOY FROM THE MISH is out 2nd Feb and you can usethe code ‘loveoz’ at BoomerangBooks to order your copy and get free shipping.

I hope you enjoy this read for February and I look forward todiscussing it with you all later in the month.

Emm xx

#LoveOzYAbookclub Jan 2021 author interview – GARTH NIX (The Left-Handed Booksellers of London)

Garth Nix is a bit of an Australian literary legend. I knowthis because when I mentioned I was conducting this interview, my kids – who readGarth’s Keys to the Kingdom series when they were young – all said, ‘OMGyou’re interviewing Garth Nix?? He’s a total legend!’

And it’s true that Garth is a legend – but that makes himsound a bit intimidating, when he’s really very nice. He responded to thesequestions just after New Year, when he should have rightfully been on holidayswith his family, which was very sporting. He’s also an incredibly cleverplotter, and writes some of the most elaborate and gorgeous world-building inthe business.

He’s speaking to us today about his latest release THELEFT-HANDED BOOKSELLERS OF LONDON and a few other things (like This Is SpinalTap and the menu at a pub in Bath)…

Garth, areyou a plotter or a pantser? Or something in between? Do you even believe inthat ‘plotter Vs pantser’ stuff?

Like mostthings in writing (and publishing) it is rarely an either/or situation, thoughthese kind of simplistic divisions are appealing in the same way “silverbullet” approaches to writing a novel are attractive, everyone hopes there isone simple secret to it. I am a bit of both and it varies depending on what Iam writing. For most short stories I am a pantser, but not always. For novels,there is always an element of planning, but I often don’t follow the plan.However, I find it useful to do the planning even when I don’t follow it.

Your bookhas been the basis for the development of a themed dinner.  What’s on the menu?

Because thisis a very English book, set in London in a somewhat alternate 1983, I think itprobably would need to be English food. Though I’d prefer it to be from thecurrent era rather than the 80s, so perhaps something like this from thecurrent menu of The Pig near Bath, where I had a very fine lunch in2019:

Ham Hock andparcel terrine with homemade piccalilli

West EndFarm Pork Chop with Garden Greens and Somerset Cider Brandy Sauce

Apple andBlackberry Crumble with Bird’s Custard

Thatsounds delicious! Now, what are your perfect writing conditions?

I try not toget too hung up on achieving perfect writing conditions, because often this canbe used as an excuse not to write. But somewhere quiet is always good, with abit of space. So not inside a cupboard in a house next to a highway. Though Iwould still try to write there as well.

 Trash Media Challenge – which fave trash movie/showwould you cheerily inflict on your friends?

I have overthe years quite often inflicted The CourtJester and Spinal Tap on friends,usually accompanied by alcohol. I would never call them trash, though!

Your faveline of poetry is…

“Qinquiremeof Ninevah from distant Ophir…” the first line from “cargoes” by JohnMasefield, though it is a tie with “Busy old fool, unruly sun,” the first line of“the Sun Rising” by John Dunne.

Garth, thank you for participating in #LoveOzYAbookclub!

I hope youenjoyed this interview and THE LEFT-HANDED BOOKSELLERS OF LONDON for this month– keep an eye out for a discussion post about the novel very soon.

xxEllie