Shelleyrae’s Comments (group member since Dec 03, 2019)

Shelleyrae’s comments from the Aussie Readers group.

Yep - just comment :)

Australian Only Book Giveaway

Granville: A Mother's Grief is a memoir by June Ollernshaw whose young daughter's died in the NSW Granville Train Disaster in 1978. I have one print edition to giveaway at Book'd Out. Entries close July 30th

eek fixed it!

I am happy to host a great giveaway and offer from Australian author, M L Sawyer today. Her debut YA fantasy novel, Quest of the Demon, has garnered several strong reviews on Goodreads and Facebook . Today M L Sawyer is offering one lucky reader a chance to win a signed print edition and a generous discount to all readers on the e-version.
Visit Book'd Out to enter
http://bookdout.wordpress.com/2011/06...

For Aussie Author Month, I posted a list of some great Australian crime and mysteries on my blog. Who did I miss?

http://bookdout.wordpress.com/2011/04...

Honestly Laura - save your money and read their blog instead - there is very little different from what they have already posted :) Its amusing but the snideness gets to you after a while.

My review and a link to their blog is here:
http://bookdout.wordpress.com/2011/02...

I'm about halfway through my list

1. Diamond Dove by Adrian Hyland

2. Watch the World Burn by Leah Giarratano

3. The Valley by Di Morrisey

4. The Body Count by PD Martin:currently reading

5. Things Bogans Like by E C McSween

6. Saltwater Vampires by Kristy Eagar

7. The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks

8. Lessons in Letting Go: Confessionsn of a Hoarder by Corinne Grant

9. Frantic by Katherine Howell

10. What Alice Forgot Liane Moriarty

11. I Came To Say Goodbye by Caroline Overington

12. Destiny Kills by Keri Arthur

I just finished Moonlight Downs and Gunshot Road by Adrian Hyland - both superb!

My tentative list is - mostly depending on what I can get my hands on :)

1. Diamond Dove by Adrian Hyland READ 5 stars

2. Watch the World Burn by Leah Giarratano READ 3 stars

3. The Valley by Di Morrisey READ 1 star

4. The Body Count by PD Martin READ 3 stars

5. Things Bogans Like by E C McSween READ 2 stars

6. Saltwater Vampires by Kristy Eagar *Substituted The Fix by Nick Earls READ 3 stars


7. The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks
* Substituted Hey, You in The Black T-Shirt by Michael Chugg. I gave it 2 stars.

8. Lessons in Letting Go: Confessions of a Hoarder by Corinne Grant READ 3 1/2 stars

9. Frantic by Katherine Howell READ 4 stars

10. What Alice Forgot Liane Moriarty READ 4 stars

11. I Came To Say Goodbye by Caroline Overington
Substituted Last Summer by Kylie Ladd 41/2 stars

12. Destiny Kills by Keri Arthur READ 3 stars

Thanks Mandy - I'm glad you found it useful

I've just written a blog post about how Australian publishers are profiteering in the book industry

http://bookdout.wordpress.com/2010/11...

4190574 Sandra wrote: "Speaking of ebooks and world publishing rights, I've never had a problem buying ebooks from USA & UK.

More likely because you are buying books that an Australian publisher does not hold rights on

Mel wrote: "I'm reading Poison Kissed by Australian author Erica Hayes.
And speaking of Australian authors, anyone interested in spec fiction which is anything from paranormal and fantasy and all things in be..."

Thanks Mel

I'm reading A Darker Music which I won through First Reads - it's an aussie book and I'm liking it so far

It wasn't at all what I expected - I reviewed it here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Thanks Mandy

Nicely said Stephanie..

My concern for people buying a Kindle is that they can only (as far as I know) buy from Amazon.

Actually Murray that isn't quite true, Kindles read (non-DRM) .mobi, .prc, .txt and PDF which means you can purchase from stores that offer .mobi (like http://www.fictionwise.com/home.html , http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/, http://www.booksonboard.com/landing.p...
On top of that almost any format can be easily converted to TXT or PDF yourself with free software, and Amazon offers a conversion service. Then you can easily transfer the file to your Kindle.

The only problem will be with DRM files which is true for every reader on the market.

Mandy wrote: "I could talk about it for hours, I'm hooked! But I'd really love to hear from anyone who uses their iPhone/iTouch to read books. It's a bit small for me but I've heard there are heaps of teens and ..."

I use my iPod touch - its why I got it. I primarily use Stanza as my reader, and use calibre to convert/ transfer my books over though you don't necessarily have to. I also have the kindle app, borders app, kobo app etc installed so it doesn't matter where a book is from I can read it.
I find it easy to read on mostly, you can adjust text size and background to make it more comfortable. I do find my eyes get sore if I'm too tired or have been on the computer all day already. What I love is that I also use my iPod to check into goodreads with the GR app, I have book organising software app so I have my TBR list with me all the time and I also keep up with book blogs etc using a RSS feeder app. I'd love an iPad but no budget lol.
I still want a Kindle as well too :)
You can BTW use third party software to convert files to mobi (for the Kindle) or any format mostly.

The only format I refuse to support is Adobe Digital Editions because it's not a portable format.

I'm a reader, not an author but I do have a couple of suggestions for promotion.

Library - contact libraries and ask if they are interested in having a guest author visit. This works best for general/woman's fiction because that readership is who usually has the time to attend, but you have access to a wide readership so the library can let you know if they think your book will be well recieved. You can donate a copy of the book to the library to sweeten the deal. Think about approaching libraries that are not just local but country areas if you are able to travel.

High Schools - If its a YA book, contact the English Dept head at high schools and ask if they are interested in having an author visit. Again you can offer your book to their library and maybe have a competition for the students to win a copy.

Rotary Clubs/CWA groups/ Youth Groups etc - these groups welcome guest speakers at meetings and if you have a book that suits the target audience then this can be a great opportunity.

If you publish a niche genre eg speculative fiction google sites that would likely appeal to your reader - like gaming sites, and consider advertising on them.

Google for book review blogs that review your genre and offer a copy for the blogger to review, and perhaps give away.

Post sample chapters/excerpts on Scribd, Wattpad etc

Hope something there is useful :)

BTW, If it helps anyone I have a power board I bought from Target that has 2 USB ports as well as 4 traditional power outlets. It's plugged in, in my kitchen and I use that to charge my iPod touch and my daughters iPod shuffle via USB.