Last weekend, whilst sitting on an idyllic river bank near the Tea Gardens village north of Sydney, my daughter was bitten by a particularly cranky ant. Amid the howling, I noted to a friend, ‘did you know the ants we... Continue Reading →
I remember my mum sitting down with me, clutching a book and giving me the ‘talk’. She hadn’t got far before I felt compelled to set her straight. I explained what I had figured out for myself: ‘Mum, the thing... Continue Reading →
Whilst investigating this relatively new and exceedingly broad sub-group of the fantasy genre, I was surprised by just how many novels I’ve unwittingly enjoyed from this category. When pitching to publishers for the first time last year, I found classifying... Continue Reading →
Frodo Baggins (AKA Elijah Wood) was staring at me from Netflix holding a Corgie, so naturally I hit play. Eight episodes of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency later and I’m still wondering what on earth I’ve just seen. The multi... Continue Reading →
'All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.'― J.R.R. Tolkien. I read Tolkien’s 1937 classic The Hobbit as a teenager and over the years I’ve tried and failed to conquer The Lord... Continue Reading →
Just like the cleverly crafted Motherhood rap from Fiat, I joined my book club ‘just so I could drink some wine’. Years later the company remains excellent but it’s less about the wine and more about our shared love of... Continue Reading →
You could read Craig Silvey’s award-winning novel Jasper Jones from deep inside your freezer and still feel the oppressive heat of the Australian summer of 1965. There isn’t a single word wasted and every line rings true. Whether thirteen year... Continue Reading →
I was in Aldi last week, doing my level best to avoid looking in the 'specials' aisle, when I saw a stack of Choose Your Own Adventure books for $5 each. During my early teens I absolutely loved these books.... Continue Reading →
For the November Read3r’z Re-Vue event at Dymocks, I took along three of well-worn books from home to illustrate the theme of infatuation. When I revealed that I read the first one in 1986 there was an audible gasp, followed... Continue Reading →
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