Theresa Smith's Blog, page 145
January 28, 2018
New Release Book Review: Redemption Point by Candice Fox
About the book:
#1 New York Times bestselling author Candice Fox delivers a compulsive new crime thriller, which sees Ted Conkaffey once again teaming up with an unlikely partner – this time the father of the girl he was accused of abducting . . .
When former police detective Ted Conkaffey was wrongly accused of abducting thirteen-year-old Claire Bingley, he hoped the Queensland rainforest town of Crimson Lake would be a good place to disappear. But nowhere is safe from Claire’s devastated father.
Dale Bingley has a brutal revenge plan all worked out – and if Ted doesn’t help find the real abductor, he’ll be its first casualty.
Meanwhile, in a dark roadside hovel called the Barking Frog Inn, the bodies of two young bartenders lie on the beer-sodden floor. It’s Detective Inspector Pip Sweeney’s first homicide investigation – complicated by the arrival of private detective Amanda Pharrell to ‘assist’ on the case. Amanda’s conviction for murder a decade ago has left her with some odd behavioural traits, top-to-toe tatts – and a keen eye for killers.
For Ted and Amanda, the hunt for the truth will draw them into a violent dance with evil. Redemption is certainly on the cards – but it may well cost them their lives . . .
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My Thoughts:
I thoroughly enjoyed the private detective duo of Ted Conkaffey and Amanda Pharrell last year in Crimson Lake, and this next instalment in the series, Redemption Point, proves that when it comes to writing crime thrillers, Candice Fox is quite simply, untouchable.
I am by no means a prolific crime fiction reader, but I do enjoy a good thriller and return to the genre regularly. I’ve read enough of them to know what makes a good plot and what falls flat, although I’ll freely admit that I almost never guess the outcome of a good plot twist, which no doubt enhances my enjoyment immensely. In Redemption Point, the plot is as twisted as a gnarled tree, but in hindsight, once all is revealed, you realise that Candice left plenty of clues along the way – but they were woven so neatly into the narrative that I never picked up on their significance at the time. Candice is good like that, leading you here and there and back around again. It makes for a fast paced and engaging read right the way through with plenty of shocked face moments.
Where this series really excels though, is in its character development and the relationships between these characters. Amanda Pharrell has quickly become a favourite of mine. So inappropriately honest and cheerful come hell or high water, she lifts every scene she’s in, along with the ones in which she’s only mentioned. The rhymes she makes up are hilarious, her quirks and habits endearing, if not inexplicable. Ted’s simple acceptance of her exactly as she is forms the basis of a strong connection between the two, a friendship that they both depend on in equal measure. Amanda has a way of forcing herself into the lives of those around her, even when they are resistant; a bit like a mouse squeezing into a house through a tiny crack. You give her an inch and she’ll take a mile. In Crimson Lake, she did this with Ted; in Redemption Point, she does it with Detective Inspector Pip Sweeney. I liked the connection developed between these two women. Amanda has many layers and more empathy than she is given credit for. And she’s wicked smart too!
Ted is a character who pushes the boundary of normal endurance. Entirely innocent of everything except being in the wrong place at the wrong time, his situation is a stunning example of trial by media in a never ending cycle. I really like Ted and feel deeply sorry for him. Candice has shaped his character well, and I’m keen to see where she takes him as the series progresses. Redemption Point sees Ted forced into a collaboration with the father of his alleged victim. This was so well done, razor sharp tension and a thick veil of mistrust on both sides made for some interesting interactions between the two. We also get to know Ted in his old home ground in this novel, which allowed for character growth opportunities only hinted at in the first instalment. Connections with old work colleagues, mobsters, his wife, and even his daughter – which made me cry! We got to know Ted a whole lot better in Redemption Point, and I loved every moment of it.
And then there’s the creepy side to this novel, the journal of Claire Bingley’s actual attacker, a paedophile named Kevin. His descriptions of his thoughts and actions gave me goosebumps, and not in a good way. But it was certainly convincing, that’s for sure.
I’m well and truly hooked on these characters now and hope for a series with many more instalments to come. Candice Fox is in a class of her own and I can’t stop raving about this series. If you haven’t read Crimson Lake, you could still read Redemption Point and know what’s going on, but of course the experience will be enhanced if you read them both in order.
Redemption Point is a great pick for book clubs!
Thanks is extended to Penguin Random House Australia for providing me with a copy of Redemption Point for review.
About the Author:
[image error]Hades, Candice Fox’s first novel, won the Ned Kelly Award for best debut in 2014 from the Australian Crime Writers Association. The sequel, Eden, won the Ned Kelly Award for best crime novel in 2015, making Candice only the second author to win these accolades back-to-back. Her third novel, Fall, was shortlisted for the 2016 Ned Kelly and Davitt awards. She is also the author of the bestselling Crimson Lake, which introduces a new series character, Ted Conkaffey.
In 2015 Candice began collaborating with James Patterson. Their first novel together, Never Never, set in the vast Australian outback, was a huge bestseller in Australia and went straight to number 1 on the New York Times bestseller list in the US and also to the top of the charts in the UK. The sequel, Fifty Fifty, will be released in August 2017. They have also co-written a prequel novella, Black & Blue, as part of the James Patterson BookShots series.
January 27, 2018
Sunday Spotlight with Kali Napier author of The Secrets at Ocean’s Edge
I’m so thrilled to be able to pay it forward to steadfast Australian Women Writers Challenge supporter Kali Napier. Her debut novel, The Secrets at Ocean’s Edge, is releasing on Tuesday so here’s an interview I did with her for AWW to pique your interest. I loved this novel so finding out more from Kali was a real treat. Enjoy!
Today we welcome Kali Napier to Sunday Spotlight. Her debut novel, The Secrets at Ocean’s Edge, is releasing this week on the 30th January, 2018. Author Kali Napier When did you start writing and what was the catalyst? I started writing this novel in October 2015, when I was selected to participate in…
via Sunday Spotlight: Kali Napier — Australian Women Writers Challenge Blog
January 25, 2018
New Release Book Review: White Gum Creek by Nicole Hurley-Moore
About the Book:
A romantic and uplifting tale about two people haunted by their pasts, played out against an authentically vivid rural backdrop.
Nick Langtree has lived reclusively on his farm, Winters Hill, ever since the tragic death of his wife. On the occasional trip into nearby White Gum Creek he keeps to himself and that’s the way he likes it. And though over the last six years the townsfolk have tried to reach out to Nick, he’s pushed them all away.
Whenever Nick comes into the Gumnut Bakery, Natasha Duroz tries to engage him in conversation when she serves him. There’s something about him that intrigues Tash, but she’s not sure if it’s because she feels sorry for him or there’s something more.
At last encouraged by the warmth of a few old and new friends, Nick gradually begins to re-engage with the outside world. Then, suddenly some minor vandalism on his farm escalates and odd things begin to happen on Winters Hill. Is someone out to hurt Nick or have his years of solitude been playing tricks on his mind?
This entrancing novel is about overcoming heartache and loss through the power of friendship and love.
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My Thoughts:
White Gum Creek, the latest rural fiction offering from Nicole Hurley-Moore, is such a delightful novel to read. The miniature of life in a small town provides a lively background for this story about moving on from pain and beginning afresh.
The two main characters, Nick and Tash, both appealed to me greatly. Nick is on the cusp of re-entering society after a long period of mourning for his wife, who tragically died in a fire six years previously. Tash is co-running a successful family bakery with her brother, building on the solid success of her grandmother to turn the Gumnut Bakery into a truly thriving regional business. Nick and Tash are both really nice people who deserve to have really nice things happen for them – and yes, right from the start, I was hoping for some really nice things to happen between them too! With a great mix of supporting characters, there are plenty of great conversations and engaging interactions taking place in White Gum Creek, making this a novel where the pages just effortlessly slip by. Plus, there’s the added bonus of drooling over all of Tash’s gorgeous bakery treats that are mentioned throughout the story. Just divine!
Nicole Hurley-Moore has a talent for delivering a perfectly balanced rural fiction novel: drama, intrigue, a bit of heartache, plenty of good times, great relationships; and then there’s that mystery, quietly unfolding until it explodes into a tense couple of scenes before arriving at a satisfying resolution. The perfect novel for a relaxing weekend read.
Thanks is extended to Allen & Unwin for providing me with a copy of White Gum Creek for review.
About the Author:
Nicole Hurley-Moore grew up in Melbourne and has travelled extensively, whilst living her life through the romance of books. Her first passion in life has always been her family, but since doing her BA Honours in Medieval Literature, she has devoted her time to writing historical romance. Nicole is a full time writer who lives in the Central Highlands of Victoria with her family, where they live in the peaceful surrounds of a semi-rural town. She is the author of the immensely popular novels McKellan’s Run, Hartley’s Grange and Country Roads.
January 24, 2018
New Release Book Review: The Last Train by Sue Lawrence
About the Book:
Sue Lawrence serves up a brilliant historical mystery, meticulously researched and densely plotted, with plenty of twists and a gripping climax.
At 7 p.m. on 28 December 1879, a violent storm batters the newly built rail bridge across the River Tay, close to the city of Dundee. Ann Craig is waiting for her husband, the owner of a large local jute mill, to return home. From her window Ann sees a shocking sight as the bridge collapses, and the lights of the train in which he is travelling plough down into the freezing river waters.
As Ann manages the grief and expectations of family and friends amid a town mourning its loved ones, doubt is cast on whether Robert was on the train after all. If not, where is he? And who is the mysterious woman who is first to be washed ashore?
In 2015, Fiona Craig wakes to find that her partner Pete, an Australian restaurateur, has cleared the couple’s bank account before abandoning his car at the local airport and disappearing. When the police discover his car is stolen, Fiona conducts her own investigation into Pete’s background, slowly uncovering dark secrets and strange parallels with the events of 1879.
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My Thoughts:
The Last Train is a fast paced mystery with a loosely linked contemporary and historical timeline. My thoughts are so divided over this novel. On the one hand, I couldn’t put it down. It’s structured in a way that just keeps you hooked: short chapters with cliff-hanger endings; well developed characters; a layered plot – in both 1879/1880 and 2015 – that was absorbing yet not overly complicated; an even distribution of story time between both of these eras; and a fascinating historical incident providing the catalyst for the events portrayed. However, I didn’t like the resolution in either era for either character.
In the contemporary era, the ending was rushed and unconvincing, consequently portraying the main character Fiona as naive and a little bit stupid, which she wasn’t. Betrayed by her partner, lied to and stolen from, it didn’t wash with me that she would believe his explanations and take him back so readily, risking the emotional well-being of herself and her young son. Her actions towards the end of the story did not measure up to my expectations that had been nurtured throughout. Up until this last part, I had enjoyed the contemporary side of this story immensely, although I will point out that the connection to the historical story was so loose, that this novel really read as though it were two separate stories in one.
The historical part of this novel, Ann Craig’s story, was particularly engrossing and moving. But again, the ending was rushed and the resolution for Ann was quite disappointing. It just didn’t pan out the way I had hoped. The incident of the Tay Bridge disaster was truly fascinating, and what a horrid tragedy. And avoidable too, as evidenced from later inquiries. All of the historical sections were a great deal more atmospheric than the contemporary, adding to the overall element of mystery greatly. Ann was not an easy protagonist to like. She was vain, aloof, judgemental, and snobbish. Yet as her own personal history unfolded, I developed quite a liking for her and could view her with empathy. She loved her children fiercely, nothing was going to get in the way of their well-being, and if I didn’t always like what she did along the way, I could certainly respect her motivations and the drive that fear had unleashed in her.
I hated Ann’s husband Robert. Despised him. He seemed to me to be an opportunist, a man who viewed himself as a saviour of women from the lower classes, moving from one to the other dispassionately. He had little to do with his children and was unaffectionate, yet he still intended on taking them from their mother, who loved them immensely and was solely devoted to their care and happiness. On two occasions, he exerted his patriarchal rights over Ann:
“I am their father, you have no rights to them.”
And:
“By law they are my children, not yours.”
Her fears were rightly justified. Robert deserved what he got, but to my mind, Ann did not. But within the era, she didn’t have a leg to stand on. It seems incredible that a woman can grow a child within her own body, nurse it into existence, yet it not be considered hers. It’s appalling. Her fate devastated me, I had been nurturing a secret hope that the universe would be kinder to Ann, to women in her situation, but it was not to be.
I think I really just wanted this novel to be longer. An extra 100 pages, 50 for each era, would have allowed for these issues I had with the endings to be less rushed. I do recommend The Last Train, particularly to those who are fans of novels that are based on historical incidents. It will hook you from the outset and keep you turning the pages late into the night.
Thank is extended to Allen & Unwin for providing me with a copy of The Last Train for review.
About the Author:
Sue Lawrence is a journalist who took up writing again after winning BBC Masterchef in 1991. She was the cookery columnist for the Sunday Times then for Scotland on Sunday and also wrote for several magazines and appeared regularly on TV and radio.
Sue won a Glenfiddich Food and Drink Award in 2003 and two Guild of Food Writers Awards, in 1998 and 2001. She was President of the Guild of Food Writers from 2004-08.
She is author of 15 cookbooks and The Last Train, which was published in the UK as The Night He Left, is her second novel.
January 23, 2018
Behind the Pen with Loretta Hill
What a treat it is to welcome Loretta Hill to Behind the Pen today. I recently read her latest release, The Secret Vineyard, and absolutely adored it, so I’m thrilled to be able to showcase it again. Over to you Loretta…
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When did you start writing?
I wrote my first “novel” at age 9. It was about twenty pages in an exercise book, complete with illustrations. It was about a kid who had two parents who were dragons. So “Game of Thrones” in reverse! Lol! If only I’d polished it. I might have made a killing.
How many novels have you written and published?
7 novels, 2 novellas
How long on average does it take you to write a novel?
About a year, crammed into 8 months.
What is your favourite character from “The Secret Vineyard” and why?
My heroine Grace, is of course, my favourite character, which is why the book is all about her and is in her point of view. However, I did love writing her middle child, Alfie. He’s a five year old speeding bullet with a danger fetish and a desire to die fighting a shark but not until he’s ten. Getting into his mindset and writing his dialogue was heaps of fun. I liked writing all the children actually. I find that in a lot of novels, children are more part of the scenery than real characters. For “The Secret Vineyard,” I really wanted to give them their own personalities and make them an integral part of the plot. A lot of the humour in this novel comes from them and they really show who Grace is as a mother.
What is your favourite scene from “The Secret Vineyard” and why?
It’s so hard to pick just one because I work hard to make every scene really count. There are some I have to write and re-write and re-write again to make work and others that just roll out perfect in the first draft. One of those, one-revision dream scenes that didn’t need much rework was Grace and Mitch’s first scene alone together. I loved this scene because it’s the first time they really start to connect – the cool thing about it is that Mitch can’t say anything at all.
Do you have any particular qualifications that relate to the subject matter covered in this novel?
I had to laugh out loud when I read this question. I have four precocious brats. Three of them boys. So yes, I think I’m qualified to write a book with a strong motherhood theme. I had heaps of material to draw on.
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Loretta and her four kids at Canal Rocks on the coast of Yallingup (the setting of The Secret Vineyard)
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?
With seven books and two novellas under my belt, I love writing more than ever. It truly is my dream career and always will be. I have realized though that there’s still room to learn and expand. Try new things. Push myself further. When I put out a new novel I always think, yep this is the best story I’ll ever write. And then I put out the next book and think, no, this is the best story I’ll ever write. The truth is, I think my best novel will be the one that’s published just before I die because every new book always teaches me something new about my art and what makes me a better writer.
What did you do when you finished this novel?
Lol! I went to bed and slept for two days. Well, no not really but I could have. I was so exhausted. In the lead up to deadline, I wrote day and night for about 7 days straight, pausing only to eat, shower and catch a few hours sleep. (I had babysitters to help out) It was the only way I could get the book finished on time.
How would you best describe this novel to a new reader?
Full of humour and heart. I have a very healthy sense of the ridiculous, so there’s heaps of laughs in there but also plenty of romance for my heroine. She has to pick between two gorgeous guys who are both hiding something from her. There’s also a mystery thread and other family relationships are explored. It’s got quite a lot packed into it.
Have you ever had to deal with a situation where someone feels they recognise traits of themselves in one of your characters?
Yes! I had a lady email once and ask how I knew her husband because he was clearly one of the characters in my book. Of course, I had never met her husband and told her so but I do love it when people really identify with my characters and see them as real people. It means I’m doing a good job.
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The Secret Vineyard
By Loretta Hill
A sparkling romantic comedy about trust after betrayal, hope after regret, and falling in love after vowing never ever to do it again . . .
Single mum Grace has no plans – and no spare time – to fall in love again. Until she moves to her ex-husband’s secret vineyard . . .
Grace Middleton knew that her ex-husband Jake was a lying, cheating, wife-abandoning bastard.
What she didn’t know – until his untimely death – was that he was also the owner of a secret vineyard in the heart of the Margaret River wine region. And, much to the chagrin of his new wife, he’s left the property to Grace’s three young sons.
With the intention of putting it up for sale, Grace takes the boys to view Gum Leaf Grove. And immediately finds herself embroiled in mysteries from Jake’s past and the accidental target of the resident ‘ghost’.
Nowadays Grace believes in love even less than she believes in ghosts. So no one is more surprised than her when she finds herself caught between two very different men – with secrets of their own . . .
January 22, 2018
Audio Book Review: Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Narrated by Diana Steele, Nick Podehl, Kate Rudd
Produced by Brilliance Audio
About the Book:
August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school – until now. He’s about to enter fifth grade at Beecher Prep, and if you’ve ever been the new kid, then you know how hard that can be. The thing is, Auggie’s just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he’s just like them, despite appearances?
R. J. Palacio has crafted an uplifting novel full of wonderfully realistic family interactions, lively school scenes, and writing that shines with spare emotional power.
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My Thoughts:
This is officially the very first audio book I have listened to from start to finish. I’ve never been a fan of audio; being a fast reader, I tire quickly with the slow pace and before too long, I’ve tuned out and lost track of the story. Not so with this one. For a start, I was able to speed up the narration, which resolved my main gripe about audio books. Previously, I had only ever tried them on CD, but by listening through an app, I had more flexibility with this. What hooked me though, was the narration of Wonder. It’s outstanding. With three narrators, there was a lot of scope for different voices for each of the characters and their conversations with each other. It was so entertaining, so moving at times, and often funny. I actually own a paperback copy of Wonder as well, but I wasn’t at all tempted to read it instead of listening. As far as first experiences go, this one gets two thumbs up. I’m certain I enjoyed this story all the more as an audio than I would have if I’d just read it, and that’s all due to the stellar performance by the three narrators.
Now, onto the actual story. Wonder is amazing. It truly is. All three of my children have read this novel as a class in their final year of primary school, and now that I’ve read it as well, I am so glad for this! Universal messages about kindness, tolerance, empathy, and friendship abound. And the story is structured so well, told not only from Augie’s point of view, but from his sister, his new friends, his sister’s boyfriend, and even his sister’s ‘ex-best friend’. This varied offering of perspectives teaches a very important lesson in itself: that there is always more than one side to every story. People rarely see things the same way. And people quite often aren’t thinking what you think they’re thinking.
For me, the greatest message to come out of Wonder is this:
“If every single person in this room made it a rule that wherever you are, whenever you can, you will try to act a little kinder than is necessary – the world really would be a better place.”
I firmly believe this. I’ve always, in every corner of my life, endeavoured to be kind, and I truly believe the universe returns this kindness. Kindness leads to all sorts of other avenues of goodness, and it makes you happy. It makes the people around you happy. It’s so easy to be kind. And the more you do it, the more natural it will become. I love these thoughts from Justin, Olivia’s boyfriend:
“The universe doesn’t abandon us…it takes care of its most fragile creations in ways we can’t see. Like with parents who adore you blindly. And a big sister who feels guilty for being human over you. And even a pink haired girl who carries your picture in her wallet. Maybe it is a lottery, but the universe makes it all even out in the end. The universe takes care of all its birds.”
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#ChooseKind
5 Stars for the story and another 5 stars for the narration.
January 19, 2018
Book Review: Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah – Bingo!
About:
Can a woman ever really know herself if she doesn’t know her mother?
From the author of the smash-hit bestseller Firefly Lane and True Colours comes a powerful, heartbreaking novel that illuminates the intricate mother-daughter bond and explores the enduring links between the present and the past.
Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard; the other followed a dream and travelled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. As children, the only connection between them was the Russian fairy tale Anya sometimes told the girls at night. On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise from the women in his life: the fairy tale will be told one last time—and all the way to the end. Thus begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya’s life in war-torn Leningrad, more than five decades ago. Alternating between the past and present, Meredith and Nina will finally hear the singular, harrowing story of their mother’s life, and what they learn is a secret so terrible and terrifying that it will shake the very foundation of their family and change who they believe they are.
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My Thoughts:
I first came to Kristin Hannah’s work with The Nightingale and over the last eighteen months, I’ve collected her backlist and been slowly making my way through it, loving her more with each novel. She’s an author though who seems to have only two types of readers: those who really hate her (yet still keep reading her books if only for the fact that they then seem to get great enjoyment out of picking them apart on Goodreads) and those who really love her. After four novels, I am definitely in the ‘really love her’ camp. She has an ability to take an event or an issue and present it with a clarity of purpose that focuses largely on human connection. I am always moved by her stories and Winter Garden is no exception. I read this on the verge of tears for most of the second half of the novel, so full of emotion, and as so often happens to me when I read fiction inspired by historical fact, I reached a point where I just had to put the book down so that I could have a good cry. Because it hurt. This story hurts you to contemplate, yet it’s value in terms of remembrance cannot be overstated.
When I think of Russia in terms of WWII, I think of the winter that pushed the ill equipped German troops back, consequently turning the tide of the war. And that’s it. Yet, there is a whole history that was repressed and hidden for decades; a history where an estimated one million people died of starvation in Leningrad, a city that was cut off from the rest of the world, where temperatures in winter sat at around 20 degrees below zero; a city filled with women, children and the elderly, slowly starving and freezing to death, bombed nightly by the Germans. That history was not in any WWII textbooks when I was at school.
In Winter Garden, Kristin presents us with a fractured family. Two sisters with no relationship at all with their mother, who treats them, even as adults, with inexplicable coldness. Upon the death of their father, their mother falls apart at the seams and begins to behave erratically. It isn’t until she reluctantly begins to tell her daughters the story of her life in Leningrad during the war, under the guise of a fairy tale, that the lives of these three women begin to turn a corner.
There are so many reasons why I loved this novel and the presentation of the past as a fairy tale was one of them. It was such an excellent way for Anya to expose herself to her daughters, plus the element of de-coding for Meredith and Nina added an aspect of intrigue to their lives that was a welcome distraction from their grief and personal troubles. I really enjoyed the contemporary story as much as the historical one. Meredith was a character I could completely relate to and there were times when I just wanted to shake Nina for her carelessness and inability to see things from Meredith’s perspective. Kristin Hannah does sisters well, she really does. I have a younger sister, and every time I read a novel by Kristin with sisters in it, I can relate to so many things! But as frustrated as I was by Nina, I also admired her tenacity and passion for not letting something go. Meredith might have been my favourite, but the story needed Nina equally as much.
Of course, the real backbone of this story is the history it brings out into the light. My edition of Winter Garden is a reading group one, so it’s filled with a whole lot of extra material in the back: a Q&A with Kristin on the writing of Winter Garden, an essay by Kristin on the inspiration, some reading group discussion leads, and recipes from the story. It’s in the essay that Kristin states:
‘I wanted to give you all this story of survival and loss, horror and heartache in a way that would allow you to experience it with some measure of emotion. I am not a historian, nor a nonfiction writer. My hope is that you leave this novel informed, but not merely with the facts and figures; rather, I want you to be able to actually imagine it, to ask yourself how you would have fared in such terrible times.’
There is suffering on a scale within this novel that is almost impossible to imagine enduring: watching your children die a little more each day from starvation; the horror of being trapped in a frozen wasteland with war raging around and above you, people dying where they fall and being left there; knowing that if you lie down or sit for a rest, your body will shut down from the cold and lack of sustenance, and you will die and then your children will die. Many of us are so lucky, that the closest we come to this is through reading about it. That an entire generation was able to move on and live out their lives after enduring such horror never ceases to amaze me. WWII affected so many people in so many places around the world; to document the horror in any way, shape, or form, is a service of remembrance, a homage to those who survived as much as those who didn’t. I admire any author who writes the stories of this time; the research alone would be shattering. I can see how this novel paved the way perhaps for Kristin to write The Nightingale. Her unflinching narrative doesn’t hold back; she is like a journalist in some ways, presenting the truth, in all its desperate ugliness.
Winter Garden shows both the human capacity for survival and for self-recrimination. It’s a deeply moving story, particularly if you are a mother, and it has the most beautifully bittersweet ending.
The Author:
[image error]Kristin Hannah is the award-winning and bestselling author of more than 20 novels including the international blockbuster, The Nightingale. Kristin’s highly anticipated new release, The Great Alone, will be published on February 6, 2018 (St. Martin’s Press). The novel, an epic love story and intimate family drama set in Alaska in the turbulent 1970’s is a daring, stay-up-all-night story about love and loss, the fight for survival and the wildness that lives in both nature and man. The Nightingale is currently in production at Tri Star, with award-winning director Michelle MacLaren set to direct. Home Front was optioned for film by 1492 Films (produced the Oscar-nominated The Help) with Chris Columbus attached to write, produce, and direct.
Bingo! Winter Garden is my ‘book based on a true story’ -the Siege of Leningrad during WWII. This year I’m playing book bingo with Mrs B’s Book Reviews. Head over there to see what square and book Mrs B has scored for bingo today.
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January 18, 2018
My Reading Life: What’s on the #tbr at the moment?
It’s a little quiet around here at the moment but there’s a very good reason why!
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The post has been slow out here this month and as a result, I’ve had all of these January/February releases arrive all at once — very close to release. So I’m busy reading, reading, and then reading some more, in an effort to have plenty of reviews for you in the coming weeks.
I won’t give the blurbs for each book here today, that’ll come soon enough with the reviews, but I just wanted to check in and tell you what I was up to!
Enjoy your weekend reading!
January 16, 2018
Behind the Pen with Hazel Edwards
I’m rather excited to introduce Hazel Edwards as my guest for today’s Behind the Pen. It’s not often I have the opportunity to interview an author whose books have been amoung my favourites as a child as well as my own children’s favourites. You may recognise her name from the much beloved Hippopotamus children’s series, but Hazel writes for a range of audiences, and she’s here today to talk about her newest release for adults, Celebrant Sleuth.
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Describe what your book ‘Celebrant Sleuth’ is about.
‘I buried my father, married my sister and sorted the missing will.’
Quinn, a celebrant with style and a few obsessions but a good heart, solves quirky problems, mysteries and the occasional murder at weddings, funerals and naming ceremonies in her country town. Ex-actor with a great voice who writes eulogies to die for! Not forgetting a few quotable ‘Quinn’s Laws of Relativity’. A romantic, but asexual, Quinn lives with her long term partner Art who runs community Channel Zero. The workstyle of a celebrant is never routine. Fake I.D. Fraud. Fights, even to the death, over wills and inheritance … Mislaid rings. Lost bride. Food poisoning. Clients of varied ages and cultures are well looked after. Even vintage millionairess Flora with the much younger lover who might be a con-artist.
Quinn solves most problems but not always in the expected way.
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When did you start writing the adult murder mystery ‘Celebrant Sleuth’ and what was the catalyst?
The Same Sex Marriage bill has focused attention on celebrants, engagements and weddings, but I was interested much earlier in a celebrant character as an adaptable sleuth.
Like many others, my family is spread across generations and cultures. And friends are re-committing, divorcing or blending. So I’d seen celebrants in action at weddings, name-days and funerals. The role seemed versatile enough to move into different settings and cultures to solve mysteries. Plus most celebrants are very personable. They can talk well, but also listen.
The catalyst was when I met an extremely articulate and thoughtful asexual in her early thirties, who challenged me to write about her gender circumstances. She was NOT a celebrant. She was a park ranger. But the idea of juxtaposing a romantic personality in a longterm relationship within a celebrant who had a job involving romance interested me.
‘I prefer icecream to sex’ was one of her very quotable comments to me, as she explained the differences between being asexual (feeling no sexual attraction to any gender) and being a ‘romantic’ desiring and giving affection which is different from being aromantic.
She became one of my ‘expert’ readers. Along with the 25 plus celebrants I interviewed. And the multiple florists. The only problem was fictional time. Everything needed to happen in under an hour, just like in a wedding or funeral.
Topical? Extremely.
But It’s taken about 2 years to write in ‘real time’, mainly between 6 am and 8 am daily. My brain was clear then and could cope with plotting clues. The mysteries are episodic, with celebrant Quinn solving problems in settings including the football hall of fame, retirement village chapel and a few inter-relationships of florist, caterer and media in the country township during an economic downturn. Millionaire retirement village owner, eighty-something Flora is feisty and falls for a younger, suspected con-man. I had to create a whole township of intersecting roles.
How many books have you written and published?
Over 200. I have written in diverse genres but probably best known for the picture book series ‘There’s a Hippopotamus on our Roof Eating Cake’ which is now performing nationally as a musical.
I’ve been traditionally published since I was 27. ‘Hippo’ was my third book but I write adult non-fiction, junior and YA fiction as well as scripts. Most readers don’t realise that and only know me as ‘the hippo lady’.
I’ve also co-written non-fiction with various experts like psychologist Dr Helen Mc Grath. Our ‘Difficult Personalities’ has gone into six languages including Chinese, Russian, audio and ‘American’. The strategies in that have been helpful plotting motives for my mysteries.
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How long on average does it take you to write a book?
About a year.
I tend to have two major works in progress. Because I have a big backlist, time is needed for the business side of rights and legal issues etc. I call that administrivia whereas the other work is creating original stuff.
I’m also a hybrid now which means I have author -published a few titles which my usual traditional publishers considered controversial or for a niche market. ‘Hijabi Girl’ was author- published and is now in a fifth reprint.
How has being Australian and a woman impacted on your writing/ your writing career?
Being a woman, with a home office and a family has meant initially it was difficult to be taken seriously as a professional.
‘Do you write for the little kiddiwinks?’ was the comment from one casual acquaintance. (No. I will not murder a character with her name in my next mystery.)
But I’ve been grateful for the flexibility of being able to work outside 9-5 limitations and to avoid peak hour traffic. Children’s authors’ workstyles are mistakenly seen as ‘easy’, but since there is a new readership every six years, and rights may sell internationally or be adapted for new mediums, they are more viable financially than some other genres. Until you earn from your writing, others tend to see it as ‘a hobby’.
Gender and nationality are less important in today’s international publishing. Other variables such as genre and being businesslike matter. To survive as a longterm author, you need to write for international as well as the local readers. And you need adaptations into other mediums like animation, theatre, audio or TV.
What authors and types of books do you enjoy most?
Biographies. Well constructed mysteries in settings like Scandi Noir from which I learn something new.
How much research do you do? How do you balance the demands of getting the facts right and telling a good story?
My research is often participant observation, I go and do, knowing I’ll write my character into that world later. That’s why I went, as writer, on the 2001 expedition with the Australian Antarctic Division. I did consider doing the celebrants’ course, but then decided I’d gain more ‘anecdotes’ by interviewing. ‘Anecdotal’ research about what might go wrong or humorous incidents are my goal so I can dramatically condense realistic details of a setting or job.
I use faction. Realistic detail but condensed for dramatic impact.
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Do you read your book reviews? Do you appreciate reader feedback and take it on board, even if it is negative?
Good reviews are sustaining but the most helpful are the seriously considered comments supported by examples.
Inevitably some readers will not like what you have written.
If an author ventures into sensitive subjects, there will be reactions to the subject rather than the way you have written about it. E.g. ‘f2m:the boy within’ a co-written YA about trans youth or ‘Hijabi Girl’. I tend to co-write if in cultures different from my own, so details and viewpoint will be authentic.
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In recent years I have tackled more culturally sensitive settings or dilemmas for characters. Coping successfully with being different has always been a theme which interested me. But now, any writing about gender has become very political.
How much planning do you do?
I research. I create character dossiers. Then I write a 1 page synopsis which I pitch to a publisher. If contracted, I write the chapters. Inbetween I check with my expert readers.
Can you tell us something about yourself that not many people would know?
After 17 years, I’m still doing Belly Dancing 101 on Monday nights.
‘Celebrant Sleuth’ Available on Amazon:
‘Celebrant Sleuth’ Available on Booktopia:
https://www.booktopia.com.au/celebrant-sleuth-hazel-edwards/prod9781925457711.html
For more details on ‘Celebrant Sleuth’ book links and reviews visit:
https://hazeledwards.com/authpreneurship.html
Hazel is also speaking at Dymocks Camberwell’s First Tuesday Book Club in February. For further details visit:
https://hazeledwards.com/calendar-of-events.html
More About Hazel:
Longterm Sisters-in-Crime member & cultural risk-taker, Hazel Edwards has diverse genres amongst her 200 published books. She is best known for ‘There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake’ now touring as a musical. ‘f2m:the boy within’ her co-written YA coming of age novel about trans youth was a first. In 2013, Hazel was awarded an OAM for Literature. www.hazeledwards.com
‘Ho Ho Ho There’s a Hippopotamus on My Roof eating Christmas Cake’ (PenguinRandom House) will be out in October 2018.
January 15, 2018
Book Review: Child of Africa by T.M. Clark
About the Book:
After returning from Afghanistan, ex-British marine Joss Brennan embraces living as a double amputee, but he finds life at his safari lodge near Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe, not quite as idyllic as when he left.
Peta de Longe is a big game veterinarian and no stranger to hard decisions. Working in the messy political society of Zimbabwe, she’s engaged in a constant struggle to save the national parks. When she nearly drives over Joss, the reunion isn’t joyous – Joss let down her dying sister eighteen months before, after all. But once she uncovers the terrible ordeal that Joss has gone through, can she learn to forgive and move forward?
When a corrupt and dangerous businessman with close ties to government threatens all he holds dear, Joss realises he doesn’t need to save strangers in a faraway land. But will he fight to save his own country and the people he considers his family?
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My Thoughts:
Child of Africa is the novel about Africa I have been waiting for. With vivid clarity, T.M. Clark has woven together a story about modern Africa, Zimbabwe in particular, that shows its desperate plight: a nation where everything is considered a commodity, no one is safe, and nothing remains sacred. Ethnic cleansing has left much of the population transient and in poverty. Land reclamation through force and subsequent abandonment of reclaimed properties has led to a decline in farming and food supplies, as well as banishment for white Africans. Poaching is prevalent and corruption ensures its continuation. Yet against this bleak backdrop, there is hope in the form of those who love Africa and want to preserve its wild animals before they are all gone forever. It’s these people who are the inspiration for the characters in Child of Africa.
“More than 140,000 of Africa’s savannah elephants were killed between 2007 and 2014, one-third of the total population. On average, one elephant is being poached every fifteen minutes. It is estimated wild elephants will be extinct within twenty-five years.”
“Rhinos are a critically endangered species. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, there were approximately one million rhinos. In 1970, there were only 70,000. Today, there are around 28,000 rhinos surviving in the wild.”
(Author notes from Child of Africa)
My knowledge of Africa is rather sketchy in terms of specifics, but after reading Child of Africa, I feel I now have a much more solid grasp on the situation, in Zimbabwe at least. T.M. Clark is a superb writer. Her passion for Africa and her first hand knowledge of living there makes for an excellent basis upon which to bring Africa alive on the page. Through both narrative and dialogue, she imparts essential history as well as current conditions with precision. The facts and fiction section at the back of the book highlights just how much truth there is in everything she writes and I appreciated her taking the time to include this section – fiction inspired by fact is always my favourite and I admire authors who write with a clear agenda that aligns with altruistic motivations.
As you might expect, when writing truthfully about ethnic cleansing and wildlife poaching, there are some confronting scenes, both implied and described, yet I never felt that any of them were gratuitous or over the top. Everything included simply added to that sense of realism in terms of time and place. There were characters to loathe as well as plenty of them to love, but one character in particular made my heart sing: Ndhlovy, the elephant. I absolutely adored the relationship between Ndholvy and her ‘human’, particularly the parts that were told from her perspective. It reminded me of Gorillas in the Mist, just in the sense of that bond of trust being formed between a human and an animal so wild and great. It gave me goose bumps – in the best way!
I’d like to think that there really are people like Joss, Peta, Mitch and Bongani in Africa, doing exactly what T.M. Clark has written them as doing: working to save the animals from extinction and the people from the effects civil war and corruption. I think it’s very unlikely I’ll ever visit Africa, but it’s wonderful to know that I can rely on T.M. Clark to take me there in spirit. You’ll feel immersed while reading this novel. The searing temperatures, the relieving rain, the wildlife on the savannah, the bond between people who have lived in the same place and faced the same challenges. I loved every page of Child of Africa and look forward to reading T.M. Clark’s other titles as soon as I can.
About the Author:
[image error]Born in Zimbabwe, T.M. Clark completed her primary school years at boarding school in Bulawayo, but on weekends and holidays she explored their family ranch in Nyamandhlovu, normally on the back of her horse. Her teenage years were totally different to her idyllic childhood. After her father died, the family of five women moved to Kokstad, a rural town at the foot of the Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa, and the boarding school hostel became her home.
She began writing fiction in the UK while a stay-at-home mum to her two sons and she hasn’t looked back.
Now living on a small island near Brisbane in Queensland, Australia, T.M. Clark combines her passion for storytelling with her love for Africa.
Her first novel, My Brother-But-One, was shortlisted for the Queensland Literary Award 2014. She is also the author of novels Shooting Butterflies and Tears of the Cheetah, as well as a novella, The Avoidable Orphan, and a children’s picture book, Slowly! Slowly!, which are companion books to Child Of Africa.
Readers can find T.M. Clark on Facebook (tmclarkauthor), Twitter (@tmclark_author) or visit her website at tmclark.com.au.
