Theresa Smith's Blog, page 133
June 9, 2018
TV Series in Review: The Collection – Historical Drama
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[image error]Earlier this year, I read The Paris Seamstress by Natasha Lester, an absolutely gorgeous novel that I loved to bits. I went into a fair bit of detail in that review about my love for fashion, specifically:
I will happily admit up front that I love fashion. My grandmother was a dressmaker, professionally in Europe before she married and then just piece work after that. She made the most amazing outfits, for herself as well as us, and also made a lot of bulk items for markets. Her sewing room was located in what most families use as a rumpus room nowadays, quite large, but she needed it to be to accommodate the huge table, multiple sewing machines, dressmaker dummies, and shelves upon shelves of patterns and fabrics and tools and threads—the list goes on. I learnt to sew from her and while I didn’t mind it, I preferred drawing designs and playing around with the fabric, leaving the actual sewing to Grandma, who was a natural and far better at it. I don’t sew at all now, barely even mend, and all of my clothes are off the rack. But the love is still there and I remember the feel of fabric, taut beneath your scissors, that crisp sound as you cut out the pieces ready for a new outfit.
So, when The Collection came up on my radar, as you would expect, I immediately marked it as a show to watch. All of the elements for me were there: fashion; history – WWII and the years either side are my area of interest within modern history; and Paris – I love French drama, preferably in French with subtitles rather than in English, but I’ll take a French setting with any language in the end. Having only 8 episodes, each with a running time of 50 minutes, sealed the deal for me because I don’t like to watch a TV series that is going to take too much of my time away from reading. I tend to get caught up in these historical dramas and find it difficult to stop watching and after losing six months of my life to The Tudors, I hesitate when it comes to a long established series now.
Anyway, onto the show. The Collection focuses on brothers Paul (played by Richard Coyle) and Claude (played by Tom Riley) Sabine and their family’s couture fashion house in Paris, which, not so incidentally, is called Paul Sabine Couture – you can see right now where this might be heading. Set in 1947, Paris is emerging from Nazi occupation, so there’s a heavy atmosphere of uneasiness and paranoia, and the hunt for former Nazi collaborators is an ever present threat. People want to move on, but there are challenges as memories are still fresh, wounds still run deep, and hardship still prevails for so many.
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Paul oozes charm and has the business savvy of the two brothers. Claude is the artistic talent, he does the actual designs, but they are passed off as Paul’s work, an arrangement that has been in place for many years, partly on account of Claude’s introverted nature, but also because Claude is extremely misanthropic and makes no effort to hide his disdain for almost every person he encounters. In short, he is bad for business, but insanely talented. He’s also a homosexual, which in 1947 was far from acceptable and meant living a life very much in the shadows. These brothers have a distinctly polarising relationship. Each covets what the other has and each feels their mother loves the other more. It’s often toxic and the loyalty gets blurred regularly, but there are moments when you see the bond between them and just how deep it runs. They have opposing philosophies though, and basically, Paul is stealing Claude’s talent, in an obscenely obvious manner, so it was always going to eventuate that Claude would get sick of being used and demand a sense of ownership over his own designs. The relationship between these brothers forms a clever parallel to the state of Paris itself within the era.
Paul has set his sights on staking a claim in the top tiers of the Paris fashion scene as the city poises itself to reclaim the title of fashion capital of the world. It’s very clear though that Paul has a murky war story. He did good things for certain people that led to lives being saved, but basically, he had his hand in both jars and he really doesn’t want the details to surface. Unfortunately for him, there is no shortage of people who are intent on digging up the past and exposing Nazi collaborators. As the show progresses, Paul becomes quite weighted down with his secrets and situations of his own making. It places a lot of strain on his marriage and eventually on his relationship with some of his employees. He also has mother issues. Big mother issues in the form of a mother who is not going to let anything get in the way of this family business prevailing, even if she has to sabotage, murder, and lie her way to securing the future. Frances de la Tour was the actor playing Yvette Sabine, the matriarch of this family, and she was out of this world sensational. She has such a vivid presence herself, and she was playing a character with such strength and dominance; this was excellent casting and I enjoyed watching her each time she took command of a scene.
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The Collection is also Nina’s story, a young woman who is initially a seamstress for Paul Sabine Couture. She turns to modelling, fairly early on, and becomes the face of the new collection. Nina (played by French actor Jenna Thiam) has a close bond with Claude. She is his muse, and you can see the obvious love he has for her, despite his homosexuality. Their bond is forged from friendship, but hovers around desire, although, for both of them, I think it was more of a desire for an ordinary love and an ordinary life than anything truly romantic. At the time we meet them, they’ve already been there and done that and Nina is returning from a Belgian convent after having a baby in secret (Claude only finds out about this much later). Claude veers from embracing his sexuality to being repelled by it, or more specifically, repelled by those he encounters, who are often shallow and insubstantial, a contradiction to the connection that Claude is constantly seeking, a connection he already has with Nina, but constantly seeks within his relationships with other men. This confusion within him has complicated his relationship with Nina in a permanent way, but the depth of their affection for each other and the fact that they share a child leads me to believe that this is a relationship that could result in a good life together, for the most part, if you consider the alternatives within the context of the era. Tom Riley brings a lot of angst to his portrayal of Claude and was incredibly convincing within the role.
Into this mix walks Billy Novak (played by Max Deacon), an idealistic young American photographer who has come to Paris to photograph fashion for Life magazine. He is rapidly hired by the Sabine family as an in-house photographer, a job he initially relishes. He becomes inspired by Nina and quickly falls in love with her, a doomed infatuation given that she will never leave Paris without her baby and she can’t her get her baby back without Claude, but he knows nothing about any of this. Billy finds himself increasingly embroiled in conspiracy theories about his boss, Paul Sabine. He then becomes a person of interest to a group of communists which rattles him a fair bit. When he is asked by Paul Sabine to alter a photo in order to distort truth within a crime investigation, Billy feels his integrity is being compromised to a degree he is no longer comfortable with, and he makes plans to leave Paris and return to New York. He proposes to Nina, but we all know how that was going to go, poor Billy!
On a whole, the casting was well done and the acting was of a high standard. I had a bit of an issue with the accents though. Most of the actors were French, so they were speaking English with a French accent, but the actors playing the Sabine brothers were not French and were speaking English with a British accent despite playing characters that were French, which was odd and jarring at first and challenged the authenticity of the series that had been so carefully created. The American characters were fairly authentic, although a couple of the accents were very 1920s gangsterish. One of the American characters, Paul’s wife Helen, was particularly noteworthy. Played by Mamie Gummer, Helen was a complex character who added a lot of weight to all of her scenes. She was so elegant and poised, playing the underappreciated and overlooked wife of an important man to perfection. I couldn’t put my finger on why she was so familiar until I read in an article about the series after I’d finished watching, that she is Merryl Streep’s daughter. I could see it instantly then, particularly in her smile!
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I really enjoyed The Collection. The fashion was just stunning, so beautiful, and Billy’s photography was equally so. His images featured heavily in the show and added to that aura of 1940s couture glamour. The show has received mixed reviews, some indicating that despite the strong cast and beautiful costumes, the story failed to grab. I didn’t find it so, I thought the story held its own quite well. It reminded me of a Penny Vincenzi historical drama: all of the glamour and historical atmosphere providing the backdrop for a family full of secrets. There was a credible element of mystery interwoven throughout the drama and the tensions ran high, along with the emotions. This cocktail mix had all the right ingredients for me and nothing was too weak or too overpowering. I did feel that there could have been an extra scene at the end of the finale though. There are loose hints online of a second season, and certainly, things were left open for Paul, Claude and Nina to accommodate this, but if I’m entirely honest, I don’t know if there is enough left out there in the wind for another complete season. Realistically, another five minutes added onto the finale would have done the trick and wrapped things up conclusively. I’ll be surprised if the second season eventuates, but if it does, I will certainly watch it. Most of the TV series I watch are based on novels, but this was an original production, and for that, I give the producers a lot of credit. The Collection is atmospheric, visually stunning, and highly engaging. It kept me away from my reading pile for several evenings in a row, and that doesn’t happen very often! Highly recommended to history enthusiasts and fashion lovers as well as those who love all things Paris.
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Watch the trailer for The Collection here
June 7, 2018
New Release Book Review: Retribution by Diane Demetre
About the Book:
A gripping romantic suspense of betrayal, hope and love.
Jessie Hilton is tough. Since the age of fifteen, she has dreamed of being a principal dancer with the Australia Ballet Company. Now at twenty-four, she stands on the brink of fulfilling her dream unaware of a secret buried deep within her.
Ex-military officer, Brad Jordan is rebuilding his life with the help of his boisterous Border collie, Whiskey. After helping Jessie out of a tight spot, he discovers a kindred spirit in the ambitious ballerina.
But with the sudden attention of an unwanted admirer, Jessie’s life begins to spin out of control. Called back to her family home in country New South Wales due to her father’s unforeseen illness, she is torn between career and family. As her dream of being principal dancer fades, her stalker edges ever closer. But there is more to overcome than a lurking psychopath. Can Jessie and Brad confront their own past demons and finally be free?
My Thoughts:
Retribution is a romantic suspense and not my usual type of reading. Those who follow this blog will note that I don’t read a lot of romance titles, romantic elements yes, but not romance as such. Still, it’s nice to occasionally break with the program and Retribution was a great title to choose for this. I was fairly captivated from the start, intending for this to be my work lunch break book for this week, however, I got so into it that I kept reading at home and now I’ll need to pick another lunch break book because Retribution only lasted for one day.
The things that worked for me with this novel:
The ballet dancing – loved all of this! Jessie’s dedication and drive to fulfill her ultimate goal was admirable. Despite being so single focused, she still came across as someone you would want to hang out with.
The hero – there wasn’t much to not love about BJ. He really was a dream personified, and such a gentleman! He was perfectly suited to Jessie and they complimented each other well.
The atmosphere – Diane’s prose is a delight, her settings were infused with atmosphere, be it in the city or the country. She brought Melbourne to life so well and the Yass countryside just sang from the pages.
Whiskey the dog – I can’t go past a great dog character and Whiskey was such a beautiful, obedient, loyal dog. Plus, I used to have a Border Collie so I have a particular soft spot for that breed. I kept picturing my old dog as Whiskey, so she was always going to be a winner for me.
The things that didn’t work for me with this novel:
The stalker – I don’t feel that adding the POV of the stalker enhanced the story. In my view, it pre-empted the suspense and if I’m completely honest, some of the content in his chapters, particularly towards the end of the novel, made me intensely uncomfortable, but not in a good ‘this book challenged me and I’m enriched by the experience’ kind of way. Even knowing his backstory, I had no sympathy for him, just an unpleasant feeling that made me wish I’d skipped all of his chapters from the beginning of the book.
The deal making between Jessie and her Uncle Frank – I just don’t like the inference that you can pay your way out of crime. And as to his wife’s reaction to his predicament, forgiveness only stretches so far, in my opinion, and there’s a very fine line between forgiveness and condoning.
All the beautiful people – I just don’t like all the good people being beautiful and all the bad, weird or ordinary working folk being ugly. It’s cliché and one of the reasons I don’t read romance much. It was very present in Retribution, particularly with BJ’s circle of friends.
All in all, the things I liked about Retribution more than balanced out those few things that I didn’t, but in the spirit of reviewing honestly, I felt the need to discuss those points above. For those who read a lot of romance and romantic suspense, this is a novel that will appeal to you immensely. There’s plenty of romantic tension and sizzling scenes of anticipation. The issues explored were done so with sensitivity and were clearly well researched. The suspense aspect of the story was well drawn out with a few unexpected twists. There’s plenty going on in Retribution and you’ll find it to be one of those stories that you’re hard pressed to put down.
June 6, 2018
Page by Page Bookclub Titles for June
The Page by Page Bookclub with Theresa Smith Writes is an online bookclub with an emphasis on books written by Australian Women, chatting in a setting that is above all else, friendly and inclusive. Flexible reading timelines and multiple titles to pick from each month. And lots of chatter…
Each month’s books will be posted here on the blog, and if you’re not on Facebook but would still like to read along, please feel free to let me know in the comments on the monthly book post. The chatter will be in the group but I’d still love to hear your thoughts on the titles read.
For the month of June, we have one new release and two released last year to choose from. Read one, two or all! Head over to Page by Page Bookclub with Theresa Smith Writes on Facebook to join in with the discussion.
Book 1 for June:
The Trip of a Lifetime by Monica McInerney
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The wilful and eccentric Lola Quinlan is off on the trip of a lifetime, taking her beloved granddaughter and great-granddaughter with her. More than sixty years after emigrating to Australia, she’s keeping a secret promise to return to her Irish homeland.
Lola has always been her family’s port in a storm, but she’s hiding the hurtful reason she left Ireland as a young woman. Lola’s walk down memory lane will force her to confront her bittersweet past – and discover that the truth can indeed set you free . . .
Book 2 for June:
Home is Nearby by Magdalena McGuire
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1980: The beginning of the polish crisis. Brought up in a small village, country-girl Ania arrives in the university city of Wroclaw to pursue her career as a sculptor. Here she falls in love with Dominik, an enigmatic write at the center of a group of bohemians and avant-garde artists who throw wild parties. When martial law is declared, their lives change overnight: military tanks appear on the street, curfews are introduced and the artists are driven underground. Together, Ania and Dominik fight back, pushing against the boundaries imposed by the authoritarian communist government. But at what cost?
Book 3 for June:
True Blue by Sasha Wasley
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Love is random. Accidental. You just live your life and then one day it’ll hit you with the right person.
Wandering soul Freya ‘Free’ Paterson has finally come back home. Idealistic and trusting, she’s landed the job of her dreams working on an art project with the local school, but she hadn’t planned on meeting the man of her dreams as well.
With his irresistible Irish accent, Constable Finn Kelly is everything Free wants – genuine, kind . . . and handsome as hell. He’s also everything Free isn’t – stable and dependable. Yet despite the passion simmering between them, he just wants to be friends. What is he trying to hide?
As Free throws herself into the challenges of her new job, fending off the unwelcome advances of a colleague and helping to save her beloved Herne River, Finn won’t stay out of her way, or out of her heart.
But just when she needs him the most, will Finn reveal his true colours?
To join the Page by Page Bookclub with Theresa Smith Writes, head over to the Facebook group and request to join. Look forward to seeing you over there!
June 5, 2018
Behind the Pen with Diane Demetre
A warm Behind the Pen welcome is extended to today’s guest, Diane Demetre, here to talk about her latest release, Retribution. Over to you Diane…
What inspired your most recent novel?
This book is my way of paying tribute to the people who have endured more than most. Those who have lived hellish childhoods, those who have fought for our freedom, those who have experienced unimaginable trauma and those who may never recover from their suffering. With the overarching theme of forgiveness and redemption, Retribution pays homage to the human condition in all its glory and misery.
[image error]What did you do when you finished this novel?
After celebrating with some French fizz, I started my next book which is a sweeping, multi-generational love story, Island of Secrets.
How would you best describe this novel to a new reader?
Retribution is a gripping romantic suspense about a talented ballerina, a damaged soldier and the dog that saved them both. Although it includes the usual conventions for this genre, there is an unexpected twist toward the end.
How much research do you do? How do you balance the demands of getting the facts right and telling a good story?
Having trained in ballet and worked as a professional dancer, choreographer and director, I knew my protagonist had to be a ballerina, as they possess the qualities I needed for my story. Tough, disciplined and ambitious, she had to be driven to achieve her dreams, even against the worst odds. Retribution delves deeper into the human psyche and explores how people deal with their emotional past. As such, I wanted to set Jessie’s past in the context of a real location. I needed a small rural town within a six to seven hour driving distance from Melbourne, where the Australian Ballet Company is based. I also needed this town to be quintessentially Australian, with an historical bed & breakfast on its outskirts and a believable lair nearby for the antagonist. My husband, who has travelled by road throughout most of Australia suggested a little town called Yass. A place I’d never heard of. Bingo! Not only did Yass look like the town I imagined when I began plotting Retribution, it had a nearby homestead, perfect for Jessie’s childhood—Coodravale Homestead. So, my husband and I set off on a fourteen-hour[image error] drive from our home on the Gold Coast to the gateway of the Yass Valley. When we finally arrived, I hung out the window taking photos while he drove up and down the streets. We visited the hospital, police station, RSL Club, coffees shops, the cemetery and a variety of other places that feature in the book. We stayed at Coodravale Homestead for three nights and my thanks go to its owners John and Rosemary Robinson for all their help during my research. https://www.coodravalehomestead.com/
I always do as much research as I can for my stories. I believe adding the smaller details which come from actual experience adds flesh to the bones of the story.
How much planning do you do? Do you plan/plot the entire story from beginning to end, or let it evolve naturally as the writing progresses? In terms of characters, are they already a firm picture in your mind before you start writing or do they develop a personality of their own as the story progresses?
The plot and characters beam in virtually formed. I know who my characters look like and I set about finding images to match those in my head. Then I begin my character folder which is a comprehensive record of the main characters and in a lesser degree, the secondary characters. This exercise gives me a deeper insight into who they are and how they think. Michael Hague’s Six Stage Plot Structure is the template I use to nail the main turning points. Once I have all this and know my timeline, I begin. I’m a highly intuitive yet organised writer, willing to go where the story leads and at the same time, supported by a strong foundation of structure.
[image error]Where do you normally write? Is it in the same place every day or are you an all over the place writer?
In my new office. It’s an airy, inspiring space in which I spend most of my life. I love it.
What other genre would you like to try your hand at writing and why?
My next books are a series of murder mysteries with an amateur female sleuth as my protagonist. As a child, I loved Enid Blyton’s stories and then as I grew older, Agatha Christie. I think those books have inspired me to write my upcoming murder mysteries.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
I endeavour to mediate every day and go to the gym at least 5 times a week. These two activities are critical to my well-being and health. I live by the adage…use it or lose it.
[image error]What is your favourite childhood book? Did reading as a child have any bearing on your decision to become a writer? My favourite book was Alice in Wonderland. I used to read it every year for decades. It has a wonderful mystical element to it.
If you could sit down for an afternoon with an iconic person from history, who would you choose to spend that time with?
Jesus. I would love to hear his side of the ‘greatest story ever told’… Straight from the horse’s mouth.
Retribution
[image error]Who would you kill to escape your past?
Jessie Hilton is tough. Since the age of fifteen, she has dreamed of being a principal dancer with the Australia Ballet Company. Now at twenty-four, she stands on the brink of fulfilling her dream unaware of a secret buried deep within her.
Ex-military officer, Brad Jordan is rebuilding his life with the help of his boisterous Border collie, Whiskey. After helping Jessie out of a tight spot, he discovers a kindred spirit in the ambitious ballerina.
But with the sudden attention of an unwanted admirer, Jessie’s life begins to spin out of control. Called back to her family home in country New South Wales due to her father’s unforeseen illness, she is torn between career and family. As her dream of being principal dancer fades, her stalker edges ever closer. But there is more to overcome than a lurking psychopath. Can Jessie and Brad confront their own past demons and finally be free?
June 4, 2018
New Release Book Review: If Kisses Cured Cancer by T.S. Hawken
About the Book:
Matt Pearce is depressed, working an uninspiring job and lacking any prospect of dragging his life out of mediocrity. That is until he meets Joy: a cancer survivor who lives beyond the rules of normal people.
As the pair go on a series of unusual dates – from hijacking fish n chip orders, to ‘extreme people watching’ at the airport – their love for each other grows. But Joy’s past is about to catch up with her, and a hidden secret could tear the two apart forever.
If Kisses Cured Cancer is a quirky look at finding love in unlikely places. It is about the importance of connecting with those around you, enjoying every moment and not being afraid to go skinny dipping in the forest. It will have you in tears of joy, tears of sorrow and tears of laughter.
My Thoughts:
Matt Pearce is depressed, but he is not depressing, a rather important distinction to note. In fact, I think he might just be one of the loveliest men in literature that I’ve ever met on the page. If Kisses Cured Cancer is Matt’s story, and despite being in his mid-twenties, it’s very much his coming of age story. See, Matt has been drifting a bit since he finished high school, still living in his hometown even though his parents have moved on, stuck in a customer service job he loathes, feeling a bit like he’s missed the relationship boat entirely, and he’s short on mates. But he’s so kind, with such a generous spirit and a great sense of humour. One day, Matt’s job gets the better of him and being fired sparks of a chain of events that sees Matt’s life change radically in a very short amount of time. His Centrelink case manager becomes his new best friend – actually, his best friend, I am not being sarcastic here! – a former co-worker becomes another good friend, and he meets an interesting woman who agrees to go on a date with him. Despite being unemployed and without a clue on what he wants to do with the rest of his life, things begin to look up for Matt.
Enter cancer. Women who get breast cancer in their twenties do not generally have a good prognosis. So it goes without saying, based on this fact and the title of the novel, that Joy, Matt’s new girlfriend, is going to develop secondary cancer. I don’t think this really qualifies as being a spoiler, but even if it is, I can’t possibly write this review the way I want to without mentioning the cancer. Because this novel is largely about loving someone who is dying of cancer and seeing the world through their eyes. See what I mean about Matt being the loveliest man in literature? And Joy, she is simply stunning. Having stared death in the face already, she’s changed her life and is living it exactly the way she wants. And I don’t mean the usual cliché responses such as travelling the world and ticking off your bucket list. I mean she is living each day to the fullest and she’s playing by her own rules, even if they are a little unconventional at times. She’s amazing, yet still vulnerable, because despite knowing that it’s unlikely she’ll live a long life, she falls in love with Matt and opens her heart and consequently exposes her fears to him. And Matt? Well, we’ve already established that he is the loveliest man in literature.
But this is not a desperately sad novel about losing your greatest love. It’s so not that. It’s incredibly uplifting, and I know that must seem odd, given one of the characters has cancer, but so much of this novel is about embracing life. Living, really, actually living inside your life, and not just going through the motions. It’s about having meaningful conversations with people that go beyond the usual how are you and have a nice day greetings we all automatically seem to say before moving right along. It’s about doing things for others for no return other than the satisfaction of knowing that you have helped someone out. It’s about connection, to each other, to your own life, to what you really want to do. Reordering your priorities so you’re living a life that you want to wake up to each morning. As Joy points out:
“People should be able to find magic in the everyday if they want lasting happiness.”
If Kisses Cured Cancer is sad, yes, in some places I was reading it with one eye while I dabbed the other with my t-shirt before swapping eyes and repeating, over and over. Joy has cancer, it’s bound to be sad. But Joy is not a sad person, just like Matt is not a depressing person. These are two young people who love each other and know there is an end date but refuse to be shut down by it. In knowing Joy, and in loving Joy, Matt’s life is forever changed. He comes of age.
If Kisses Cured Cancer is life affirming fiction. I was smiling all the time while I read it, even through my tears. It’s a remarkable novel, and my mind has just been going over the story ever since I finished reading it. We only have so much life to live, so why do some of us waste so much of it? I want to share this following extract with you because it really showcases what sort of person Joy is and the effect she has on Matt’s life. This is a scene that takes place when Joy attends Uni for the day with Matt:
“So, I can get all the knowledge I want here for free. You’re doing it all wrong. I don’t even know why you’re paying for this, or why you enrolled at all. You should be getting a guerrilla education. You should be taking advantage and just sliding in wherever you like.”
“A guerrilla education?” Matt asks, puzzled. “I think maybe you’ve lost it.”
“No. Don’t you see?” Joy slaps Matt on the chest. “You’re not coming here to get a qualification. An Arts degree doesn’t qualify you for anything anyway! You’re coming here to be a writer. All the best writers know something about everything. You need to be going to every class you can, even if it’s just for people watching.”
“But what would the point be?” Matt screws up his nose.
Joy throws her hands up in the air in exasperation, like she’s speaking to a child.
“The point is that you learn. Who cares about passing tests, as long as you have the knowledge at the end, right? As long as you can figure out the necessary tools to become a writer, then you’ve achieved your goal.”
The dynamics between these two reminded me a little of Tiffany and Pat in Silver Linings Playbook (a long time favourite of mine), different issues but that same embracing of life and love, despite the odds against them, and a similar snappy dynamic between the two. Matt and Joy had a terrific connection that spoke of kindred spirits and it was so gratifying to see Matt’s self-worth improve over the course of the novel, for him to accept that he was a man who was not only worthy of living, but of being loved. I adored his besties Gerard and Z and the way Matt paired these two up; just further evidence of Matt’s status as the loveliest man in literature. These were two characters that really rounded out the novel well, and the way they adopted Joy towards the end was very special. If the last cancer book you read was The Fault In Our Stars and you swore you’d never do it to yourself again, fear not! If Kisses Cured Cancer is not going to rob you of breath because you are sobbing so hard. You will shed tears, definitely, but the life affirming and uplifting feeling you will also become possessed with will more than make the tears worth it. And you will laugh a lot because Matt has a uniquely matter of fact way of looking at life and Z is just gold. I always get a certain feeling when I listen to a Vance Joy song, any of his songs, and I got this same feeling while reading If Kisses Cured Cancer. The low, the high, low again, and then a big soar. I am definitely going to read this novel again and I am rather chuffed to be in possession of a signed copy.
If Kisses Cured Cancer is the second Up Lit novel I’ve read in the last week and in terms of contemporary fiction, it’s fast becoming my go to category. I really can’t recommend this novel highly enough, it’s utterly gorgeous and the small town setting will make you feel right at home. In his author notes at the end of the book, Tim says that his work is done if you can’t ever look at a lone trolley full of groceries the same way again after reading this novel. Definitely! And I probably won’t ever be able to walk past a lovely garden without thinking about the person who nurtures it every day either. So many little impressions have been left upon me by this novel and I can assure you that this is a guaranteed good read that will stay with you long after you finish the last page.
Thanks is extended to the author for providing me with a copy of If Kisses Cured Cancer for review.
About the Author:
[image error]Tim Hawken’s creative writing not only entertains, it probes the deepest questions to life. His wit and humour often disguise the serious nature of his work. Tim holds a Bachelor Degree in Arts and Commerce from Deakin University, with honours in Philosophy and majors in Literature, Journalism and Marketing. His first novel was born while on the road, written on aeroplanes and hotel rooms. Titled Hellbound, the book was discovered on an online writer’s forum by Dangerous Little Books author CJ Werleman (God Hates You, Hate Him Back), who immediately recommended it to his publisher. Hellbound has since been followed by sequel, I Am Satan and Deicide. Tim also writes literary fiction as T.S. Hawken. His novel If Kisses Cured Cancer will be available May 2018. Tim currently lives with his laptop in Western Australia.
[image error]Connect with Tim at his website.
Buy your copy of If Kisses Cured Cancer here.
June 3, 2018
In Conversation with Emily O’Grady
Congratulations Emily on winning the 2018 Australian/Vogel Literary Award. It’s a significant achievement and after reading The Yellow House, I can firmly attest to it being well deserved. I imagine it’s quite a whirlwind, winning and then seeing your manuscript as a book all in what seems to us, a matter of days. How has it been for you, becoming an award winning published author in one swoop?
Thank you! It’s been so fast paced that it’s only now (a month after The Yellow House was published) that I’ve been able to stop and have a moment to catch my breath. I knew I’d won for six months before the announcement was made, but wasn’t able to tell anyone I had won. It’s really lovely and such a relief to be able to talk about the book.
All stories begin somewhere and inspiration can stem from so many sources. Where did The Yellow House come from?
I’ve been interested in true crime and serial killers for as long as I can remember. It’s a fascinating genre that intrigues people for so many reasons, and I have always been drawn to the extreme nature of abject violence. The idea for The Yellow House stemmed from a real-life murder that I became obsessed with. In 2010 Ivan Milat’s grandnephew Matthew Milat murdered his childhood friend David Auchterlonie in the Belangalo State Forest—the same area where Ivan Milat committed the backpacker murders. He recorded the murder on a mobile phone and was arrested almost immediately afterwards. Obviously this is a terrible crime and Milat doesn’t deserve our sympathies, but what struck me about this particular murder was how Milat viewed what he’d done to be inevitable. He’s a Milat; it’s his birthright to emulate the crimes his family member committed in the past. I found that to be such a disturbing attitude to have, and it made me wonder what mythologies had been told to Milat when he was growing up. He’d been led to believe that he came from bad blood, which ultimately led to a violent and unnecessary death of a child.
Though The Yellow House is not a fictionalisation of this case, it sparked the question for me about what happens to the descendants of perpetrators. A number of other high-profile Australian cases occurred while I was writing The Yellow House, and which inspired it, if indirectly. What strikes me about these types of abject crimes—and serial crime in particular—is how ordinary they are. They are not committed by monsters, but by regular people who, for whatever reason, are compelled to commit crimes that are so unnatural and incomprehensible. Rather than the often gratuitous or sensationalised depictions we often see of serial murder, I wanted to interrogate the idea that these crimes exist in the realm of the mundane and are committed by otherwise unexceptional people.
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There are many heavy themes running through The Yellow House. In terms of setting these up and weaving them into the narrative, did you plan the entire story from beginning to end, or let it evolve naturally throughout the writing process? In terms of characters, were they already a firm picture in your mind before you started writing or did they develop a personality of their own as the story progressed?Though I knew the book would be about the family of a deceased serial killer, I’m not much of a planner, so beyond the overall premise, I didn’t have a clear direction of the narrative. Because serial murder automatically sparks interesting and challenging questions about human nature and morality, I felt I had rich subject matter, which really propelled the narrative forward. As for the characters, Cub came to me fairly immediately and well formed. Her voice was strong right away, and I had a strong sense of her world-view and personality. Because it’s Cub’s lens that the reader sees the world through, then she dictated the direction of the story, as well as the other characters. I wanted Cub to have a twin brother who doesn’t like her that much, and an older brother who she idolises, and these characters really developed through their interactions with Cub, and how they fit into her story.
How far has your writing career evolved from when you first began to write to what it is today? Is this in line with your initial expectations? Are you balancing a different career with your writing? How do go about making time for your writing within limited hours?
It’s only after publishing a book that I’ve began to really consider myself as a writer. At the moment, I’m working as a sessional academic in Brisbane while I finish my PhD in creative writing. Currently, I don’t have a strict writing schedule, and try and fit a few hours in here and there whenever I can find the time. With The Yellow House, I made more of an effort to dedicate a concentrated period to writing it each day, and hope to manage the same with my second book.
What is on the horizon for Emily O’Grady?
I’m slowly nutting out an idea for my second novel. It’s early days, but it’s nice—and a little daunting—to begin to focus intensely on something new after working on The Yellow House for so long. I also have a couple of short stories in the works.
The Yellow House
Even before I knew anything about Granddad Les, Wally and me sometimes dared each other to see how close to the knackery we could get. It was way out in the bottom paddock, and Dad had banned us from going further than the dam. Wally said it was because the whole paddock was haunted. He said he could see ghosts wisping in the grass like sheets blown from the washing line. But even then I knew for sure that was a lie.
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Ten-year-old Cub lives with her parents, older brother Cassie, and twin brother Wally on a lonely property bordering an abandoned cattle farm and knackery. Their lives are shadowed by the infamous actions of her Granddad Les in his yellow weatherboard house, just over the fence. Although Les died twelve years ago, his notoriety has grown in Cub’s lifetime and the local community have ostracised the whole family. When Cub’s estranged aunt Helena and cousin Tilly move next door into the yellow house, the secrets the family want to keep buried begin to bubble to the surface. And having been kept in the dark about her grandfather’s crimes, Cub is now forced to come to terms with her family’s murky history. The Yellow House is a powerful novel about loyalty and betrayal; about the legacies of violence and the possibilities of redemption.
The 2018 winner of the prestigious literary award for an unpublished manuscript to an author under the age of 35 – the Australian/Vogel’s Literary award.
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Emily O’Grady was born in 1991 in Brisbane. Her fiction and poetry have appeared in, or are forthcoming in Review of Australian Fiction, Westerly, Australian Poetry Journal, The Lifted Brow, Kill Your Darlings, The Big Issue Fiction Edition and Award Winning Australian Writing. In 2012 she won the QUT Undergraduate Writing Prize, and in 2013 she won the QUT Postgraduate Writing Prize. In 2017 she placed second in the Rachel Funari Prize for Fiction, was shortlisted for the Queensland Premiers Young Publishers and Writers Award, and was longlisted for the Elizabeth Jolley Prize for Fiction. She co-edits Stilts Journal, and is currently completing a PhD in Creative Writing at Queensland University of Technology, where she also works as a Sessional Academic.
June 1, 2018
Bingo! The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse
It’s bingo Saturday once again – that rolled around fast! The square I’ve filled for this entry is:
A book more than 500 pages
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The Burning Chambers is quite lengthy, coming in at 585 pages, but wow! This novel is so enthralling I hardly even registered the pages flying by. I don’t mind a novel being long if it’s well paced and not drawn out.
The drama is high, the suspense even more so. There’s romance, crime, mystery, war, gothic themes, and history. The pages that head each part are adorned with photos that compliment the setting of the next section, a nice touch that firmly gives the reader a sense of time and place. The Burning Chambers is a novel that will appeal to a wide range of readers and it really is Kate Mosse at her very best.
This year I’m playing book bingo with Mrs B’s Book Reviews. On the first and third Saturday of each month, we’ll post our latest entry. We’re not telling each other in advance what we’re currently reading or what square we’ll be filling next; any coincidences are exactly that – and just add to the fun!
Follow our card below if you’d like to join in, and please let us know if you do so we can check out what you’re reading.
Now I’m off to check out what square Mrs B has marked off for this round. See you over there!
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May 31, 2018
New Release Book Review: The Favourite Sister by Jessica Knoll
About the Book:
From the author of the bestselling debut novel of 2015 Luckiest Girl Alive comes Jessica Knoll’s new thriller, featuring a pair of competitive and uber-successful sisters whose secrets and lies result in murder.
Brett and Kelly Courtney are the shining jewels in a New York-based reality TV show called Goal Diggers. One of the most popular shows on American national television, its fiercely competitive cast of five self-made women are defined by their success, beauty and ruthless drive to reach the top by whatever means necessary.
The Courtney sisters’ rivalry goes skin deep despite the blossoming business they have built together that helps disadvantaged women in Morocco. Harbouring bitter jealousies and dark secrets about their manufactured screen lives they’re joined by three other hyper-competitive women who all have their own agendas. And the latest season promises sparks to fly in the quest for even higher ratings.
Vicious backstabbing, scathing social media attacks and finely-tuned scripting draw in the viewing public every week, all orchestrated by the show’s omnipotent producers. But even they don’t know that season 4 will end in murder…
My Thoughts:
I tried my hardest with this novel, I really did. I made all sorts of deals with myself in exchange for reading one more chapter, but once I hit 100 pages, I just couldn’t push on. I skipped to the last chapter and then sighed with relief. It’s rare for me to not finish a book but the older I get, the less inclined I am to spend time on something that isn’t giving me joy. And this novel was savage. Brutal and about as far from life affirming as you could get.
What I’m not going to do in this review is pick the novel apart and eviserate the author, but I will make a few points that might help you decide whether or not you want to read The Favourite Sister.
I am the wrong demographic for this novel. I am too old for all of the carry on between the women, I’m too Australian to buy into all of that superficial bullshit that seemed to drive the women in this story, and I don’t watch reality TV. Ever. I hate it. It’s mind rotting junk and it’s taken over free to air TV leaving nothing at all to watch 90% of the time. It stands to reason that I wouldn’t enjoy a novel about a reality TV show, no matter the type.
There is a very clever message within this story and if you like reality TV you may appreciate the irony of a feminist reality TV show with an agenda geared towards women hating on each other as a means of improving ratings.
Jessica Knoll is a very good writer. Her narrative drips with sarcasm and her dialogue is punchy and fast paced. But you do have to pay attention because there is always a lot happening and there are quite a few characters to get your head around.
I don’t understand who I was meant to care about in this novel. And herein lies the problem. If everyone is awful, why bother? Who cares which one died? Who cares who did it? After 100 pages, I didn’t care, or empathise, with a single character. That’s almost a third of the book. I could feel my mood dipping each time I picked it up to read and that’s a complete contradiction to why I like to read in the first place. I felt strangled by the nastiness, the never ending judgement, the spiteful scheming, the superficiality of their lives. I fear this isn’t a healthy book for young women to read. The last chapter offered no redemption for any of the characters, just more of the same.
I haven’t rated this novel on Goodreads and I won’t. I don’t think it’s fair to rate a novel that I didn’t finish, particularly because this is very much a case of, “it’s not you, it’s me”. Scrolling through the many reviews already up for this novel, it’s one of those polarising reads, with people who seem to either love it or hate it, with nothing in between. There are a lot of readers who didn’t get past the 10% mark. I am sorry that I didn’t enjoy this enough to even finish it. But not every book is for every person. See how you go if you’re game and judge for yourself. I’d love to hear your thoughts on The Favourite Sister.
Thanks is extended to Pan Macmillan Australia for providing me with a copy of The Favourite Sister for review.
About the Author:
Jessica Knoll has been a senior editor at Cosmopolitan and the articles editor at SELF. She grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and graduated from The Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York. She lives in New York City with her husband. Her first book, Luckiest Girl Alive, was a bestselling novel.
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Paperback: ISBN 9781509839964
May 30, 2018
New Release Book Review: Grace After Henry by Eithne Shortall
About the Book:
Grace sees her boyfriend Henry everywhere. In the supermarket, on the street, at the graveyard.
Only Henry is dead. He died two months earlier, leaving a huge hole in Grace’s life and in her heart. But then Henry turns up to fix the boiler one evening, and Grace can’t decide if she’s hallucinating or has suddenly developed psychic powers. Grace isn’t going mad – the man in front of her is not Henry at all, but someone else who looks uncannily like him. The hole in Grace’s heart grows ever larger.
Grace becomes captivated by this stranger, Andy – to her, he is Henry, and yet he is not. Reminded of everything she once had, can Grace recreate that lost love with Andy, resurrecting Henry in the process, or does loving Andy mean letting go of Henry?
My Thoughts:
I’m going to state right up front that this novel is nothing like what the blurb indicates. It’s so much more and then some, making it a really tricky one to review because I don’t want to give even a hint of a spoiler. I didn’t have one, so you can’t either! This is one of those novels that you want to go into fairly blind.
Irish fiction has long been a favourite of mine, harking back to my twenties when I used to devour Maeve Binchy, Cathy Kelly, and Sheila O’Flannagan like they were my main nourishment. I still love these authors and a few more have been added to my auto-buy list over the years and after reading Grace After Henry, Eithne Shortall has earned her place there as well. Gosh she’s a good author, striking an impeccable balance between Irish humour and the desperately heartbreaking reality of grieving for a loved one as well as coming to terms with a lost future. Her prose is like a string and she knows just when to pull it taut and when to slacken it off.
Grace After Henry is such a strong novel, both in characterisation and story – it really has it all. I laughed, I cried, and then I did both at the same time. Aoife, Grace’s best friend is an absolute crack, as is Betty, her eighty year old neighbour. I loved Grace’s parents, I loved her boss and co-workers, I loved her handyman Larry, I loved The Three Wisemen, and I loved Grace herself. And I especially loved Andy. There was such a vibrant dynamic to the character interactions, a natural flow that was immersive and incredibly atmospheric. I finished this novel quite late at night but I found myself missing these characters while settling down to sleep.
Alongside themes of grief, past practices of forced adoption are examined in detail. I have to say, as outraged as I have been about forced adoption in Australia’s history, it’s not even a patch on Ireland. What a sad and traumatic history. So many young women and so many babies that have grown into adulthood having to come to terms with such a devastating legacy. I really appreciated such sensitive insight into this issue.
Grace After Henry is utterly brilliant. So much so, I sent a friend of mine a picture of it partway through reading, recommending it to her, knowing that she would love it just as much as me. Grace After Henry is a perfect example of UpLit – uplifting literature. Despite its heartbreakingly tragic beginning, it’s such a life affirming read, so uplifting, a series of sparkling serendipitous moments strung together yet grounded in reality, and so uniquely Irish. It was a beautiful reading experience from beginning to end.
May 29, 2018
Behind the Pen with P.J. Roscoe
Today I warmly welcome UK multi-genre author, P.J. Roscoe, to Behind the Pen. Over to you Paula…
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How many novels have you written and published?
I have written five novels. ‘Echoes’, ‘Freya’s Child’, ‘Between Worlds’, ‘Diary of Margery Blake’ are all available now. ‘Where Rivers Meet’ is in the queue at the publishers and I hope it will be out very soon. I have also written three books for children. ‘Adventures of Faerie Folk’ books, one and two are out now; the third is due out May/June this year.
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I am working on my sixth novel titled, ‘Realms’ and at least three more faerie books are scheduled for the coming year.
My novels are paranormal, historical fiction, except Diary of Margery Blake which is purely historical. The faerie series teaches morals and how to live in harmony with nature to young children.
I have also had a couple of short stories accepted within Anthologies – ‘Crimson Timeline’s, ‘Love Alters’ and ‘Steps in Time’. All available on Amazon and Crimson Cloak Publishing.
What is your favourite character from one of your novels and why?
Very difficult to answer as I love all of my characters. Each book has a strong woman character but if push comes to shove, it must be, Bronwen Mortimer, my very first character I wrote in Echoes.
Bronwen has lived within me for the last twenty-one years, since I first conjured her. She is a young fighter, a warrior woman who has survived years of abuse and still fights to be her true self even in extremely difficult circumstances. She will not give up living the life she knows she deserves and nobody can tell her she isn’t worth it – and they have tried to break her spirit but thankfully, they did not succeed. Bronwen knows her own mind and will not steer away from that. She is feisty, even though everything terrifies her, she will face her fear and do it anyway. Gotta’ love her!
Do you have any particular qualifications that relate to the subject matter covered in this novel?
Echoes began following the death of my son. There are many strands that finally come together, but one is following the grief and devastation of a mother whose children continue to die at birth and how it finally affects her – I wrote this to help me with my own grief as I could relate to her pain. Thankfully, I do not go as far as Lady Anne does!
Echoes is about past lives and what we do in one life echoes down through time which can affect this lifetime. It’s also about what we do in life ripples outwards and influences all those around us. I remember some of my past lives.
Echoes has a supernatural, ghostly element to it – I have seen spirit and ghosts from a very early age and continue to help them now, working with angels and spirit guides to counsel those in need and move on if necessary. I also offer medium ship readings, connecting with loved ones – so this is also a huge part of my life.
I am a qualified counsellor, holistic therapist, drumming therapist, chakra dance facilitator and Angelic voice healing facilitator, trainer and supervisor for Cruse Bereavement Care for eight years, training people to become counsellors and workshop facilitator. Mum, wife, author, survivor of abuse – not necessarily in that order, but I use my skills and experiences to enhance my novels.
How far has your writing career evolved from when you first began to write to what it is today? Is this in line with your initial expectations?
When I first began twenty-one years ago, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, who to talk to, or how to get anything published – it was a complete minefield. Back then, it was all about ‘traditionally published’ and finding agents to represent you and if you weren’t ‘Jackie Collins’ forget it!! The chances of being accepted were minimal.
I took a two year writing course after my second child was born and did this at home as and when I could. It gave me opportunities to try my hand at different writing, but it became clear that short historical stories and my novel, were my strengths. I wrote freelance for a Welsh magazine and was pushed to continue when every article was published – and I got paid!
My tutor asked to see Echoes which was all typed out (No computers back then!) He encouraged me to keep going and eventually I sent chapters to the ‘big publishing houses’ – nothing. I left it for years in a cupboard as my daughter needed my full attention. She has autism and dyspraxia and life revolved around hospitals and therapies, until by 2008 LULU appeared and self publishing became accepted – so I self published and held a book launch – without any books – too embarrassed!! Fifteen people bought a book online – I redid it on Create space in 2012 and Echoes began winning awards and getting through to semi-finals.
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I have made many many mistakes due to lack of patience and believing the wrong people. Echoes was taken on by a con artist for two years and I lost money, before it was accepted by Doce Blant publishing and relaunched in 2017. The rest of my books are with Crimson Cloak Publishing. My books are slowly becoming audio books and I have just signed my faerie books and Diary of Margery Blake with ‘Storymore’ a company who makes films for your years – enhancing audio books to the next level – exciting times ahead me thinks!
I had no expectations. I merely wanted to write, but now I want to make enough money to live on and be a best-seller and at least one of my books made into a film – preferably, Echoes, so I’m hoping my career evolves into such a wonderful life.
How much research do you do? How do you balance the demands of getting the facts right and telling a good story?
I do lots of research. As my novels are historical, it is imperative the facts are correct. I tend to use actual people within my novels. Echoes moves between present day and 15th century England, when Henry Tudor claimed the throne, so I had to learn a lot about the battle of Bosworth as it has a bearing on the story. I had to delve into meanings of 15th century names so it worked with the storyline, how they dressed, places, everything – I have to immerse myself in their world, so my readers can. Nothing worse than enjoying a story to find something that doesn’t ring true.
I find balancing facts and creating a good story very easy. Facts are helpful, interesting and finding a small snippet of something that can be added to a story, makes it feel so much more real to the readers as they can check out the facts – education!!
Some things have to be my imagination because we just don’t know, but I make it plausible. Such as, Between Worlds is set during the dark ages – we don’t know much about this period so I have a lot of scope to provide my own interpretation but keeping it as real as I possibly can. One of the characters is Artorius who historians believe may have been ‘King Arthur’ – again, nobody really knows about him except small pieces of information written years after his death, so I have scope to portray him how I wish.
I also need to make sure facts in the present day are correct – at least have enough background information to work with. For Between Worlds I worked with a hypnotist who answered my many questions – even daft ones – to make sure I had a good understanding. Same for psychology and how psychiatric hospitals work. I’ve interviewed police, doctors, nurses, therapists, archaeologists. I try to visit the area the book is set in too and gain familiarity – all to make sure I have a good knowledge for my books.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
I write every day my daughter is out of the house – she is now in college so for about four days a week I get time to write, but sometimes emails, interviews!!!!!! Networking can take up so much time.
When not writing I walk in nature every day – usually before I begin my day with my dog, Sidney. I love watching a good film. Recently watched, Thor, Ragnorok – not bad – good fun! I appreciate fine real ale and thankfully we have a brilliant, tiny pub a mile away who really knows his ale. I love a glass or bottle of red wine and dance whenever I can and I love music. I read, though I am slow as most of the time I am exhausted by bedtime and might manage half an hour. My favourite thing to relax is jigsaws – they have to have a spiritual element or pre-Raphaelite and I glue them and have them framed when I can afford it. I lose myself within the picture, music on, large coffee – a peaceful hour. We go to festivals and gigs around the country and just enjoy life as best we can.
What attributes do you think you need to remain sane as a writer? Are there any particular things you routinely do for yourself to maintain your own headspace?
An author must be able to motivate themselves and be resilient. To sit at home and make yourself write can be difficult – for some – not me, I can’t write fast enough! I have so many stories buzzing around my head!!
Resilience helps when we come across, trolls – people who will be mean about you and your work, regardless of whether they have actually read it – just to be mean and spiteful – it can knock a lot of writers. I’ve had a couple who have given my books one star and NOT even read it – purely for spite. Being able to take feedback is crucial and can be hard. There are always people out there who have an opinion and feel the need to share theirs with you and they have never even attempted to write anything! People seem to think it is ‘easy’, an easy life, doing nothing except putting words on a screen – you do it then!!
I believe in meditation and looking after myself using therapy to relax, keeping in contact with nature every day to ground myself and surrounding myself with loving people. I do lots of healing and working with angels, so I feel much loved all the time. Keeping happy and well is crucial. The day I stop enjoying this, I’ll find something else to do.
If you could trade places for a week with any other person, living or dead, real or fiction, who would it be and why?
I LOVE my husband of 25 years – let’s just get that out in the open – however!!!! IF I did not have him and I could trade places with a fictional character, it would have to be Clare from the ‘Outlander’ series. It is my favourite book as it has Scotland (Favourite place) men in kilts (Favourite type of men!!) Standing stone circle (I love archaeology and travel around the country finding and connecting with the energy) Time travel (A big believer in this phenomenon) and James Fraser (Favourite fictional man) To have this man fighting for me, yearning for me and well, let’s stop there, getting too hot under the collar in here!!!
If you could sit down for an afternoon with an iconic person from history, who would you choose to spend that time with?
Probably Anne Boleyn. I was fascinated from a young age regarding her ghost that is seen wandering all over Britain and I’d love to talk with her, preferably before her evil husband cut off her head because his eye wandered towards a younger model.
I’d like to drink tea, eat fresh cream cakes, and have a giggle and a walk around one of her lovely gardens and talk to her, woman to woman. If I could turn back time, I’d warn her to stay away from that evil tyrant, Henry!
If you wish to sign up for my monthly newsletter and receive free gifts – follow the links P.J Newsletter and free gifts on my website: www.pjroscoe.co.uk
For further info on P.J. Roscoe:
Crimson Cloak Publishing – P.J. Roscoe
Doce Blant Publishing – P.J. Roscoe
Purchase Links:
Adventures of Faerie Folk:
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Clare has to learn how to share her apples and a Bad troll must learn to show kindness before it is forever too late.
The third in the series, Adventures of Faerie folk teaches young children morals and how to live in harmony with nature and each other – or there will be consequences!
‘This world would be a happier place, if we could only remember our childhood wonder.’ P.J. Roscoe.
