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Isabelle's Locket
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Angie
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rated it 4 stars
Sep 21, 2011 02:11AM
Use this folder to discuss Isabelle's Locket.
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Just so you know. Isabelle's Locket is available from most online bookstores at varying prices (Fishpond and Mighty Ape have it on marketplace listings for $10, these are brand new books sourced directly from me) or the fastest and cheapest way is through TradeMe at $10 with free postage within NZ.
Colleen wrote: "Just so you know. Isabelle's Locket is available from most online bookstores at varying prices (Fishpond and Mighty Ape have it on marketplace listings for $10, these are brand new books sourced di..."If I buy it off TradeMe am I able to get it before Saturday next week? I'm flying back to Singapore October 8.
Yes, NZ Post averages 3 days to deliver to North Island and 4 days to deliver to South Island. I can send it by fast post or courier if you want to pay for that.I can have it in the mail immediately, should be there by Wednesday or Thursday.
Colleen wrote: "Yes, NZ Post averages 3 days to deliver to North Island and 4 days to deliver to South Island. I can send it by fast post or courier if you want to pay for that.I can have it in the mail immediate..."
Just bought your book off TradeMe. I've sent you an email. Thanks :)
Colleen wrote: "Your book is on its way :)"Thanks :)
Colleen wrote: "Your book is on its way :)"NZ Post was really fast. I received it today :)
Wow. That was fast! Hope you enjoy reading it :)
So I've begun! I'm really relaxing into this book. It is an easy read, which is something I really needed after battling a few Classics! I love the character of Erin and I am loving the descriptions of the old house. I am up to Chapter 11, so have met Isabelle, Flynn, Gabriel and Mr Harman, and some of their mysteries/secrets. Without giving too much away, I also love the conversations that happen, and the contrast in the way of speaking.
I'm glad you noticed the differences in vernacular. It was something that I pondered long and hard upon. I tried to capture the class distinctions this way, with Isabelle and Garbriel's speech patterns being so very different from Flynn's, and of course Erin's speech being different from everyone in that time. Also when Erin and her brother converse in 2010 their familial bond makes their speech different again. More relaxed and familiar. I modelled this on my relationships with my own family, of course.
Poor Erin. She's crying out for sleep! I am very close to finishing this book, and must commend you Colleen, as I am still none the wiser as to whether Erin will be successful in averting tragedy. I really pity Elizabeth. The way in which she was treated after her attack made me so angry, but I am aware that was how things were back then. The only constructive feedback I have was for the following choice of noun. Erin mentioned that she wished she was wearing trackpants and sandshoes. I know that my parents' generation used the word sandshoes, but being that I would have been the same age as Erin in 2010, I would never think to call them that. My friends and I use the terms gymshoes or trainers. I always thought sandshoes were something you wore on the beach, until my grandmother explained what they were. This aside, I have found this a really fun and entertaining read. Thank you Colleen. You should feel very proud of your book.
Guess that makes me the same generation as your parents then, lol. A child of the sixties. I still remember having hippies living next door when I was a child. Does that make me old? Oh dear, I suppose it does. I still call them sandshoes, must be stuck in a time warp myself.
Thanks for pointing that out, I would never have noticed it otherwise. The editor lives in the USA so she didn't notice it either, I don't know what they call them over there.
Hee hee, she got stuck on a few NZ'isms (Is that a word?) After I told her what they were, she decided to leave them in because the book is set in NZ.
I will bear that whole sandshoes/trainers/gymshoes thing in mind for future reference.
My next book, (due out soon), is a children's book for 4-8year olds all about pixies. (I wrote it for my 4-year-old granddaughter and the publisher loved it so we're publishing it). The one after that, (due out next year), is is a historical romance also set in the Foxton area.
I am glad you are enjoying the book.
And finished! Isabelle's Locket was fantastic. A great ending in which all the loose ends were well and truly tied. Your children's book sounds very cute. I taught six-year-olds a couple of years ago and they used to love the early chapter books about fairies, so I know that pixies will go down well with this age group too.
I'd be interested to know which NZ'isms stumped your editor. Living in NZ, you sort of take them for granted! I look forward to reading your new book next year.
I am so glad you enjoyed Isabelle's Locket. It was a lot of fun to write.I'm trying to remember the NZ'isms that my editor queried. Fart-bag was one, piqued was another. Also yeah-right! - they thought it meant yes. They couldn't understand how ground could be sandy and grassy at the same time, apparently they don't have sandy ground that grows grass (albeit sparsely). They don't know what a back step is. (In relation to the back door of the house that is, not in relation to walking).
There were heaps of other things too. (Oh, that's another one, they don't say 'heaps' they say 'lots', and the English say 'loads').
:)
Oh, anyone reading the book, I'd be interested to hear your comments on Edmond Mountcastle. (He comes in part 2 and has a brief but memorable part).As a character he was soooo much fun to invent.
It still gives me the shivers to think of him.
You did well in creating Edmond Mountcastle. What a vile man. The drool did it for me especially! I have passed on my copy of Isabelle's Locket to my mum. I know she will enjoy it. We don't often agree with our taste in books, but every so often I enjoy a book that I know will appeal to her too. Mary Higgins Clark, Belinda Alexandra and Lesley Pearse are authors we both enjoy.
Yeah, the drool was pretty awful, but what grossed me out most was the trouser-hockey, and when he leaned over her lap and sniffed I just had to let Elizabeth react.
Just starting reading Isabelle's Locket today. It's a very different genre from my normal reads, so a nice change for me. All good so far :)
Edmond Mountcastle made my skin crawl. He was definately my least favourite character. I think I liked Mr. Harman the most. He started off as a bit of a wuss, but manned up when it counted. I also think Mrs. Mallory was kinda cool, what a big-hearted lady, and so kind.
Ah yes, the world would be a much better place with more Mr. Harman's and Mrs. Mallory's in it.
I've been meaning to say that I gave my mum your book to read and she really liked it. She wanted to know if you had written other books, as she wanted to read them too. I mentioned that I had Maineland in my bookcase, so I must pass it on to her.
Thanks Angie. Yes, there are three books in the Maineland series, you have the first one. (Actually I wrote 4 books in the series, but the publisher only acepted the first three - go figure!) They're a bit expensive to buy, but I can lend them to you or your mum if you want to read them.The Pixie book is now released, and available world-wide. I'm waiting on a shipment of them to arrive here in NZ. (They should have been here two weeks ago. Post got a bit overwhelmed at Christmas, I suppose)
My next novel, Unbroken Promises, is due out in 2012.
:)
