Narrelle M. Harris's Blog, page 14
March 30, 2020
Quintette of Questions: PJ Blakey-Novis
Today I’m asking PJ Blakey-Novis 5 questions about his latest book!
1. What’s the name of your latest book – and how hard was it to pick a title?
My latest book is Four, a horror novella. The title came about as there are four key characters who take a camping trip into the English countryside, then telling four stories around the fire which they hope will scare the others. Only not all is as it seems, and each member of the group has something to hide. The story contains four shorts interwoven within a longer story.
2. If you could choose anyone from any time period, who would you cast as the leads in your latest book?
If the book was to be made into a film (I can dream, right?), I could see Taron Egerton and Keira Knightly playing the parts of Noah and Martha, with perhaps Daniel Radcliffe as Daniel in the book. Casting Stephen is more difficult as he’s a quieter character, more of an outcast.
3. What five words best describe your story?
Campfire, anthology, ghosts, killers, and (most importantly, I think) revenge.
4. Who is your favourite fictional team/couple ?
Probably Natasha and Sebastian, from my debut novel The Broken Doll. A lot of our friends think the characters are based on myself and my wife, but if that’s true then it was subconsciously. I just like the way they act around one another, and how they cope with the horrific turns they have to deal with as the story progresses.
5. What song reflects a theme, character, relationship or scene in your book?
The first thing to comes to mind is Firestarter by The Prodigy. Of course, fire features heavily in the novella, and there is an atmosphere of anger and vengeance as we reach the climax.
About Four
From the author of Embrace the Darkness, Tunnels, and The Artist comes Four. Four friends spend a night away camping in the English countryside, each taking a turn to tell a horror story that will terrify the others. But the group soon discover that there is more to be afraid of than just some campfire tales, and that no one is as innocent as they seem.
Buy Four
Red Cape Publishing (signed copies available!)Barnes and NobleBooks2ReadFour: A Novella Amazon US
About PJ Blakey-Novis
P.J. Blakey-Novis is a British writer living on the south coast of England. He is the author of four collections of short horror stories to date, a horror novella, two psychological thriller novels, and a children’s book. P.J. has also had stories included in a number of anthologies.
Social Media
Red Cape PublishingFacebookTwitterInstagramAmazon Author
So many book launches and author talks have had to be cancelled, I’ve decided to run as many Quintettes as I can to share some great upcoming work – and let you stock up on things to read while we’re all self-isolating.
March 29, 2020
Quintette of Questions: Angela Savage
Today I’m asking Angela Savage 5 questions about her latest book!
1. What’s the name of your latest book – and how hard was it to pick a title?
I found the title for my novel Mother of Pearl fairly early on in the course of writing it. I don’t want to give too much away for readers–there’s a moment late in the novel when you realise the significance of the title–but part of the inspiration came from something a friend once said about a pearl being the perfect metaphor for a baby: an irritant inside of you that emerges as a thing of beauty.
While writing the novel, I also saw an exhibition called Lustre: Pearling & Australia when it visited Melbourne from the Western Australian Museum, where I was struck by this quote from Marilynne Paspaley: ‘The pearl is the only gem that is made by a living creature…it represents life, as every other gem is made by the passing of time and decay.’ Pearls, both literal and metaphorical, ended up permeating the novel.
2. If you could choose anyone from any time period, who would you cast as the leads in your latest book?
I’d have Claudia Karvan play Anna and Asher Keddie play Meg (bringing the Love My Way cast members back together again!). Yayaying Rhatha Phongnam, who did great work in the Thai-Swedish noir Farang, could play Mukda. And I’d have David Wenham circa 1998 play Nate.
3. What five words best describe your story?
Nuanced, thoughtful, transporting, luminous, curious.
4. Who is your favourite fictional team/couple ?
I’m going with the first couple that sprang to mind: Hana and Kip in The English Patient (and only partly because of the scenes between Juliette Binoche and Naveen Andrews in the film version!).
5. What song reflects a theme, character, relationship or scene in your book?
There’s actually quite a lot of music referenced in Mother of Pearl; I even made a playlist on Spotify. My favourite of these is ‘Midnight Lullaby’ by Tom Waits; I actually wrote a scene in the book for the song.
About Mother of Pearl
A luminous and courageous story about the hopes and dreams we all have for our lives and relationships, and the often fraught and unexpected ways they may be realised.
Angela Savage draws us masterfully into the lives of Anna, an aid worker trying to settle back into life in Australia after more than a decade in Southeast Asia; Meg, Anna’s sister, who holds out hope for a child despite seven fruitless years of IVF; Meg’s husband Nate, and Mukda, a single mother in provincial Thailand who wants to do the right thing by her son and parents.
The women and their families’ lives become intimately intertwined in the unsettling and extraordinary process of trying to bring a child into the world across borders of class, culture and nationality. Rich in characterisation and feeling, Mother of Pearl and the timely issues it raises will generate discussion among readers everywhere.
Buy Mother of Pearl
Transit LoungeAmazon AustraliaMother of Pearl (Amazon US)
About Angela Savage
Angela Savage is an award winning Melbourne writer, who has lived and travelled extensively in Asia. Her latest novel, Mother of Pearl, is published by Transit Lounge. Her debut, Behind the Night Bazaar, won the 2004 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript, and all three of her Jayne Keeney PI novels were shortlisted for Ned Kelly Awards. Angela also won the 2011 Scarlett Stiletto Award for short crime fiction.
Her short stories have appeared in the anthologies Deadlier: 100 of the Best Crime Stories Written By Women, Crime Scenes, Review of Australian Fiction, and Hard Labour. She has published non-fiction in Smith Journal, Sunday Life, The Big Issue and AsiaLIFE among others.
Angela has appeared as at major writers festivals and events across Australia and in the USA. She holds a PhD in Creative Writing, giving her the Bond villain-like name of Doctor Savage. Angela currently works as director of Writers Victoria.
Social Media
Website: www.angelasavage.wordpress.com FacebookTwitter: @angsavage Instagram: @angela_savage_author
So many book launches and author talks have had to be cancelled, I’ve decided to run as many Quintettes as I can to share some great upcoming work – and let you stock up on things to read while we’re all self-isolating.
March 26, 2020
Quintette of Questions: Stephen Johnson
Today I’m asking Stephen Johnson 5 questions about his latest book!
1. What’s the name of your latest book – and how hard was it to pick a title?
Tugga’s Mob was adopted as the title by Chapter 10. They were the wild, Kiwi party animals who turned Judy Williams’ European adventure into a nightmare. The Mob’s leader, Tugga Tancred, was her nemesis.
2. If you could choose anyone from any time period, who would you cast as the leads in your latest book?
New Zealand actress Anna Hutchison would be
ideal in the lead role of Judy Williams. She can portray that girl-next-door
quality which is the essence of the Waikato farm girl.
If I could stretch Russell Crowe by 20 cm,
slap an extra 40 kilos on his frame, but trim 30 years, he has the sinister acting
range to make an impressive Tugga Tancred.
But if Hollywood wants to cast Tom Cruise
as Tugga Tancred, I would resist. Until the money became too ridiculous to
ignore!
3. What five words best describe your story?
A bloody good page turner.
4. Who is your favourite fictional team/couple?
How can a crime writer go past Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson?
5. What song reflects a theme, character, relationship or scene in your book?
Cliff Richard at the wheel of a double decker bus is so apt for my diarist Judy Williams in Tugga’s Mob. Judy set off with the same dreams for summer adventures in Europe. It’s incredibly cheesy, but I still love the spirit that song evokes. Driving a double decker bus full of young travellers through Europe was the coolest gig in the world.
About Tugga’s Mob
Tugga’s Mob is a story about a crime that wouldn’t stay buried. New Zealander Judy Williams worked hard for her Big OE: London, Paris, Rome, Gallipoli. All the adventures were hand-written in in her diary, which also recorded how an obsessive Tugga Tancred and his Kiwi mates turned Judy’s dream trip into a nightmare. The sexual harassment goes unnoticed; or was ignored by other passengers. Tugga’s fixation ultimately leads to murder; a crime that went unpunished for 30 years. Few things remain hidden forever. The rediscovery of Judy’s diary sparks a trail of revenge that the original perpetrators never see coming. It creates a bloody trail that might have gone unnoticed if not for curious journalists at a Melbourne TV station.
Buy Tugga’s Mob
Clan Destine Press Tugga’s Mob (Amazon US)BooktopiaKobo
About Stephen Johnson
Stephen Johnson is an Australian-born television news and sports producer who has swapped the TV studio for a writer’s garret overlooking the Tamaki River in Auckland. He calls himself an “accidental author,” returning from a long-awaited empty nest tour of Europe with a thousand photos and a debut novel.
Tugga’s Mob was crafted in a seven-metre motorhome nicknamed Kwozzimoto for the Kiwi navigator and Australian pilot. The story was pounded out on a battered laptop over33,000 kilometres through a dozen countries and almost 150 campsites. The plot’s inspiration came from Stephen’s three years working as a tour guide and driver on double-decker buses in the ‘80s. Those adventures with Top Deck Travel, and 40 years as a journalist, provided rich-pickings for novel locations, events and characters.
Social Media links
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So many book launches and author talks have had to be cancelled, I’ve decided to run as many Quintettes as I can to share some great upcoming work – and let you stock up on things to read while we’re all self-isolating.
March 25, 2020
Award Nomination for Scar Tissue and Other Stories
Not long after I posted that Scar Tissue and Other Stories is currently free to download at Clan Destine Press, I received some lovely news:
I’m delighted that it’s in such wonderful company and I urge you all to check out the nominees and support Australian authors and publishers in these difficult times by picking up a book or two!
Quintette of Questions: Antoinette Corvo
Today I’m asking Antoinette Corvo 5 questions about her latest book!
1. What’s the name of your latest book – and how hard was it to pick a title?
My latest book is a novella titled, Dirges In The Dark. I listened to the song, American Pie and googled what exactly a “dirge” was and the rest is history.
2. If you could choose anyone from any time period, who would you cast as the leads in your latest book?
I see Thandie Newton as a superb Hellen Grimaldi from Dirges.
3. What five words best describe your story?
Tragic. Opera. Betrayal. Revenge. Resurrection.
4. Who is your favourite fictional team/couple?
The Cenobites of Clive Barker’s Hellraiser (Hellbound Heart).
5. What song reflects a theme, character, relationship or scene in your book?
It’s an obscure song. I had it on repeat while I was brainstorming the latest version of Dirges In The Dark. It’s titled, The Black Dahlia by Courtney Leigh Hynes. Show business can destroy you. And Hellen’s pitiful mental life blends with the vibe of the song.
About Dirges in the Dark
When actress Cassidy May lands the lead in the story of Hellen Grimaldi’s life, she believes it could be the boost her career needs. However, the more she looks into the past of Hellen and the shocking events which led to her death, the more fearful Cassidy becomes about taking the role. Did Hellen truly summon demons during that fateful performance? Was Cassidy about to unleash the same hell that Hellen had? What dark forces were really at play behind the curtain?
Buy Dirges in the Dark
Dirges in the Dark (Amazon US)
About Antoinette Corvo
Antoinette Corvo is a Brooklyn, NY native and remains there today. She has been writing since 1999 and will confuse to – refusing to ever retire. Antoinette writes horror with substance. There is a meaning behind every story and a statement to be made.
She writes a bit cutting edge, crosses some lines and dabbles into disturbing.
Antoinette Corvo loves to share her voice. For decades she was crippled with depression, anxiety and fear. She knows and understands fear. She knows dysfunction.
There is a psychological aspect to every story and character – an expression of the human condition. She found her voice in literature and storytelling.
Antoinette vastly improved. She is a survivor and sees all silver linings. Perhaps she would never have been an author otherwise? Antoinette is very open about these personal details.
Social Media links
Twitter: @CorvidaeR
So many book launches and author talks have had to be cancelled, I’ve decided to run as many Quintettes as I can to share some great upcoming work – and let you stock up on things to read while we’re all self-isolating.
March 24, 2020
Quintette oF Questions: Vikki Conley
Today I’m asking Vikki Conley 5 questions about her latest book!
1. What’s the name of your latest book – and how hard was it to pick a title?
The Lost Moustache came to me like a dream. I just woke up one morning and the title was in my head! I said, “hello, what’s this all about?” and just started writing.
2. If you could choose anyone from any time period, who would you cast as the leads in your latest book?
Probably a shorter, younger and female version of Sherlock Homes. Frankie is the main character in my book, and she is dressed up as a detective in search of a lost costume moustache! Set in a theatre, the illustrations are stunning and intriguing.
3. What five words best describe your story?
Fun, entertaining, curious, unique and quirky.
4. Who is your favourite fictional team/couple?
Can I say the children from Enid Blyton’s The Faraway Tree? This book was one of my childhood favourites.
5. What song reflects a theme, character, relationship or scene in your book?
I’m going to have to say the theme song from Inspector Gadget! I loved this original cartoon!
About The Lost Moustache
When Frankie finds a moustache, she is completely
baffled. Who loses a moustache?
Determined to return the moustache to its rightful
owner, Frankie launches an investigation. Engaging amusing and delightfully
quirky.
Buy The Lost Moustache
Red Paper KiteBooktopiaThe Little Bookroom
About Vikki Conley
Vikki is one of the most
prolific emerging children’s authors, with seven picture books being released
over three years. She is an author, book reviewer and intrepid adventurer. She
has worked as a professional writer and marketer, with diverse communities in
Africa, Asia and Australia, for over 20 years.
Vikki is part of the CBCA and Lamont Books authors in schools programs. When she’s not writing, Vikki is creating experiences for children through story, drama, nature and puppetry at schools, libraries and festivals. Recently her title, Little Puggle’s Song became a 2020 CBCA Notable Book.
Inspired by nature and her country/seagoing childhood, Vikki writes and shares children’s books that celebrate the spirit of wonder, adventure and freedom that she wishes every child could enjoy. Vikki regularly shares her love of children’s literature as the creator and curator of Courageous Pages on Facebook and Instragram
Social media links:
www.vikkiconley.comVikki Conley on FacebookCourageous Pages on FacebookCourageous Pages on Instagram
So many book launches and author talks have had to be cancelled, I’ve decided to run as many Quintettes as I can to share some great upcoming work – and let you stock up on things to read while we’re all self-isolating.
March 23, 2020
Free #Lockdown Reading
While so many of us are practising social isolation and avoiding non-essential travel, it might be a good time to catch up on our reading.
At the same time, a lot of us are at risk of losing incomes, so if you don’t already have a stupidly large book stash like me, you don’t necessarily want to fork out for constant new books.
To do my bit for the lockdown, I’ve arranged with Clan Destine Press to make my Scar Tissue and Other Stories collection ebook available for free from their website.
Some stories are set in existing universes and others standalone. Most (but not all) have a paranormal/fantasy aspect. Some are lengthy and others flash fiction. It’s a veritable show bag of delights!
” The whole collection is saturated with wonder and delight, and a level of clear-eyed observation which allows for both horror and beauty, tragedy and hope. “
Just choose epub or mobi from the dropdown list for whatever suits your device.
Order Scar Tissue and Other Stories
(and the publisher will email your book to you)
About Scar Tissue and Other Stories
It’s all about scars and what they mean.
Old myths made new.
Poems for those who’ve passed.
Tales of the lost and found.
Rarely seen stories, reprinted.
Brand new stories – in new places and familiar worlds.Narrelle M Harris‘ Scar Tissue and Other Stories includes tales in the universes of:
Holmes
Watson
Ravenfall
Kitty and Cadaver
The Vampires of Melbourne
Holmes + Watson
The stories include sequels to The Adventure of the Colonial Boy, Ravenfall, and Walking Shadows, and a prequel to Kitty and Cadaver.
There’s also a Sherlock Holmes/werewolf!John story set in the Victorian era, Lost and Found photo-inspired flash fiction, and short stories reprinted from other publications.
Wishing everyone the best. I’m also working on some online Q&As or other activities to help give people things to do with their home time!
Please share this post or the link to the free download!
Quintette of Questions: Lisa Walker
Today I’m asking Lisa Walker 5 questions about her latest book!
1. What’s the name of your latest book – and how hard was it to pick a title?
I started writing The Girl with the Gold Bikini about fifteen years ago. As a result, the title has gone through a few permutations. When I finally sat down in 2018 to try and finish it, the title came to me quite easily. It is connected to my protagonist’s love of Princess Leia, who was forced to wear a gold bikini by a giant slug. It also relates to the Gold Coast meter maids, who wander the streets of Surfers Paradise in gold bikinis. Many people have told me that the girl on the cover of the book is not wearing a gold bikini. No, she is not! The meaning of the title is revealed throughout the story.
2. If you could choose anyone from any time period, who would you cast as the leads in your latest book?
Olivia is an offbeat, feisty girl and I visualise her being played by Jessica Barden, who I loved in The End of the F***ing World. Jessica would have to put on some weight to play the part, as Olivia is curvaceous, but I’m sure she’d be up for it!
3. What five words best describe your story?
Funny, fast-paced, joyful, thoughtful, quirky
4. Who is your favourite fictional team/couple?
Princess Leia and Han Solo. They have such a great banter going on between them and even though they argue all the time, you can feel the sizzling sexual tension beneath that.
5. What song reflects a theme, character, relationship or scene in your book?
‘Rebel Girl’ by Bikini Kill – there is a climactic scene in the book where Olivia and her friends play this song and it’s a cool punk anthem about female power. What’s not to love about that?
About The Girl with the Gold Bikini
Eighteen-year-old Olivia Grace has deferred her law degree and ducked
out of her friends’ gap-year tour of Asia. Instead, she’s fulfilling her
childhood dream of becoming a private investigator, following in the footsteps
of Nancy Drew and Veronica Mars – who taught her everything she knows,
including a solid line in quick-quipping repartee, the importance of a handbag
full of disguises, and a way of mixing business with inconvenient chemistry.
Playing Watson to the Sherlock of her childhood
friend, detective agency owner Rosco (once the Han Solo to her Princess Leia),
Olivia pursues a routine cheating husband case from the glitzy Gold Coast to
Insta-perfect Byron Bay, where she faces yoga wars, dirty whale activism, and a
guru who’s kind of a creep.
Buy The Girl with the Gold Bikini
Wakefield PressBooktopiaReadings Amazon AustraliaAmazon UKThe Girl with the Gold Bikini[image error] (Amazon US)
About Lisa Walker
Lisa Walker writes novels for adults and young adults. She has also written an ABC Radio National play and been published in the Age, Griffith Review, Big Issue and the Review of Australian Fiction. Her recent novels include a young adult coming-of-age story, Paris Syndrome (HarperCollins, 2018), and a climate change comedy, Melt (Lacuna, 2018).
She has worked in environmental communication and as a wilderness guide, and recently spent six months in a Kmart tent in outback Australia. Lisa lives, surfs and writes on the north coast of New South Wales. The Girl with the Gold Bikini is her sixth novel.
Social media links:
Website: https://www.lisawalker.com.au/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisawalkerhome/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LisaWalkerTweetInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisawalkerwriter/?hl=enBlog: https://lisawalkerwriter.wordpress.com/
So many book launches and author talks have had to be cancelled, I’ve decided to run as many Quintettes as I can to share some great upcoming work – and let you stock up on things to read while we’re all self-isolating.
March 22, 2020
Quintette of Questions: AJ Collins
Today I’m asking AJ Collins 5 questions about her latest book!
1. What’s the name of your latest book – and how hard was it to pick a title?
Oleanders are Poisonous: The title went through at least half dozen (probably more) changes as I tried to capture the mood, meaning and genre of my story. As I came up with each ‘perfect’ title, I excitedly ran each suggestion past my writers group, and there was never a consensus, so I slunk back to my desk to await more inspiration. In the end, it was a scene from my book that inspired me. And voilà! Joy at last.
2. If you could choose anyone from any time period, who would you cast as the leads in your latest book?
Lauren: I could see a young Saoirse Ronan (with dark hair of course) capturing Lauren’s vulnerability and feistiness.
Harry: Oh look, let’s give a young Alex Pettyfar a go; he’s hot, English, can speak in sentences … what’s not to like?
Snap: Such an easy choice: a young Jordan Gavaris. He starred in the Orphan Black series – tall, intelligent, irreverent, fabulous and kind.
3. What five words best describe your story?
Honest, poignant, heartbreaking, gritty, brave
4. Who is your favourite fictional team/couple?
I melt over Hazel and Augustus in The Fault in Our Stars. Their strength, risking love in the face of adversity, rips my heart out.
5. What song reflects a theme, character, relationship or scene in your book?
Smile by Uncle Kracker – It’s Lauren’s theme song in the book
About Oleanders are Poisonous
It’s bad enough sixteen-year-old Lauren is losing her mum to a horrible disease and that her best friend is leaving town, but now the only person she thought she could trust is about to betray her in the worst possible way. A complex, mature YA coming-of-age story, filled with heartbreak, laughter and poignancy.
Buy Oleanders are Poisonous
Directly from AJ CollinsOleanders are Poisonous[image error] Amazon US Kindle or International paperback (Amazon Australia) AppleKoboNookScribdAngus & RobertsonIndigoMondadori24 Symbols.
About AJ Collins
AJ Collins is a Melbourne-based fiction author. A recipient of first prize and several commendations for the Monash WordFest awards, AJ has been published in various short story anthologies and magazines, and was awarded a place at Hardcopy 2018, a national professional development program for writers. Her work has also been read on Radio Queensland.
AJ graduated from RMIT’s Professional Writing and Editing Associate Degree in 2014 and has since established a successful editing and publishing business, AJC Publishing. Previous to this, AJ had an eclectic career from managing commercial mortgages, to working in a legal tribunal, to fronting her own function band for over twenty years. A one-time devotee of adrenaline sports, including bungee, skydiving, parasailing, sky-walking, sky-jumping, and volcano climbing, AJ is now happy to be settled at home with her hubby and two fur-kids, writing her adventures instead of living them.
Social media links:
Website: https://www.ajcollinsbooks.comFB: https://www.facebook.com/ajcollinsauthorTwitter: https://twitter.com/AJCollinsAuthorInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajcollinsauthor/
So many book launches and author talks have had to be cancelled, I’ve decided to run as many Quintettes as I can to share some great upcoming work – and let you stock up on things to read while we’re all self-isolating.
March 19, 2020
Quintette of Questions: Thuy On
Today I’m asking Thuy On 5 questions about her latest book!
1. What’s the name of your latest book – and how hard was it to pick a title?
It was pretty easy to call this collection Turbulence. It was the working title from the start and it remained the same til the very end. I like single-word titles and this one is self-explanatory.
The reason why there are koi swimming on the cover is not only because I have a poem called “Koi”, but because this particular fish is a symbol of good luck and also a marker of perseverance in times of adversity. They are symbols of courage and stamina, growth and transformation – all themes within the book.
2. What three things inspired you in writing these poems?
The death of my long-term marriage, the incendiary flame of a short-lived but inspiring fling a short while after, and my desire to rekindle an art form that had lain dormant for years because as an arts and literary critic/ journalist I was too busy writing about other peoples’ words.
3. What five words best describe your story?
Passionate, bracing, honest, sexy, lyrical.
4. Who is your favourite fictional team/couple?
An utter cliche but Darcy and Elizabeth. I think their minds and temperaments are well-suited and they are the archetype of all rom-coms for me.
5. What song reflects a theme, character, relationship or scene in your book?
I wrote a poem in there inspired by my favourite song of the band Pulp. It’s called Something Changed. It’s about how fate can engineer the romantic collision of two people. There is a lot of yearning and dashed opportunities in Turbulence and this song really appeals to me because it’s a reminder that you have little control over how things work or don’t work out with regards to love.
About Turbulence
Turbulence is a collection of poetry. It’s about loss, separation, and renewal, online dating, sex, longing, rejection, desire, and hope. All the big themes condensed in tiny poetic forms.
It’s ultimately about the turbulence of life.
It’s also a collection that also luxuriates in the beauty and nuances of language: there are poems about punctuation, fonts and grammar.about ampersands, semicolons and verbs.
Buy Turbulence
UWA Publishing (UWA is currently offering free postage their poetry titles)ReadingsBooktopiaDymocksBookdepository
About Thuy On
Thuy On is a freelance arts/literary critic and journalist who has written for a range of publications including The Australian, The Saturday Paper, The Age/SMH, ArtsHub and Books+Publishing. She’s also the Books Editor of The Big Issue. Her first book, a collection of poetry, Turbulence, is out now by UWAP.
Social media links:
Twitter: @Thuy_on_Instagram thuy_on123 and poemsbythuy
So many book launches and author talks have had to be cancelled, I’ve decided to run as many Quintettes as I can to share some great upcoming work – and let you stock up on things to read while we’re all self-isolating.
