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August Book Reviews

August Book Reviews #bookreviews

It’s September which means it’s spring! Thank goodness. I’ve had less time to get anything done over the past few months thanks to ferrying my eldest child to and from school (he normally rides his bike but that’s not possible with a broken leg) and to have X-rays and doctors appointments. The cast finally came off after ten weeks, and he’s now been given the all clear to return to normal…

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For the Love of the Well

For the Love of the Well

An excellent post by my favourite CP and writing buddy 😉

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June Update & Book Reviews

June Update & Book Reviews

I have had an eventful couple of months which is why my blog has been so quiet. My husband had an ultramarathon in the Flinders Ranges in South Australia, which you can read here if you are into race reports. Not long after we returned, my eldest child broke his leg, so we’ve had lots of hospital/doctors visits. He is still in a full cast, but will have it cut down below the knee next week which…

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Book Review: A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab

Book Review: A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab

A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab Publisher: Tor Books Publication Date: 24th February 2015 Genre: Fantasy

Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see. Kell is one of the last…

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Book Review: Iron - Kalima Chronicles by Aiki Flinthart

Book Review: Iron - Kalima Chronicles by Aiki Flinthart #bookreview #amreading @AikiFlinthart

Title: Iron by Aiki Flinthart  Publisher: Computing Advantages & Training P/L  Publication Date: 28th October 2018 Genre: YA/Science Fiction/Fantasy

Kalima, an Earth-colony world with little iron ore and no fossil fuels, is entrenched in a peaceful feudal society. The Jundom of Mamalakah is ruled by the ambitious Hanna Zah-Hill, wife of the Jun First. Deep in debt, she wants technological…

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#bookreview #aussieauthor

Title: The Opal Dragonfly by Julian Leatherdale Publisher: Allen & Unwin Publication Date: 1st March 2018 Genre: Historical Fiction

September, 1851. Sydney, city of secrets and gossip. Seventeen-year-old Isobel Macleod is determined to save her father because she loves him. But when she dares to trespass in a forbidden male world, she will be plunged into social disgrace. A wave of ill fortune…

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Goodbye 2018

Goodbye 2018 #happynewyear #amwriting #amreading #bookreviews

Quick disclaimer: this post will be long since I haven’t written a blog post in three months – partly due to a lack of motivation, partly due to real life taking up a lot more of my time, and partly due to some technical difficulties. The last are clearly resolved because if they weren’t I wouldn’t be able to write this post welcoming in the New Year.

What can I say about 2018? It went by far too…

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Book Review: The Last of the Bonegilla Girls by Victoria Purman

Book Review: The Last of the Bonegilla Girls #bookreview #aww2018

Title: The Last of the Bonegilla Girls by Victoria Purman  Publisher: HQ Fiction Publication Date:Published April 23rd 2018 Genre: Historical Fiction 1954: When sixteen–year–old Hungarian Elizabeta arrives in Australia with her family, she is hoping to escape the hopelessness of life as a refugee in post–war Germany. Her first stop is the Bonegilla Migrant Camp on the banks of the Murray in rural…

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We’re into the final month of winter. Hallelujah. So where am I tracking with my reading and writing goals for the year?

Reading

At the start of the year I signed up to two main reading challenges: the Australian Women’s Writers Challenge, and the A-Z Challenge in a goodreads group I’m part of. I am four books behind on the AWW, and over 20 on the A-Z – EEK!! My slow going on the challenges is mainly because I’ve been distracted by new and shiny books I’ve been unable to resist which don’t fall into the challenge categories. I doubt I can fit 24+ books into my schedule between now and 2019. I may have been a bit ambitious in my reading goals, so I need to make a mental note to be more realistic next year.

Writing

I am well behind where I wanted to be. I had hoped to have my book fully edited by July – Ha! I haven’t finished Act One yet. However, the writing I have done is a huge improvement over the previous draft and I think the plot line is a lot more solid than it was before. Having said that, writing science fiction was always going to be difficult and I’ve been distracted by a few plot bunnies this year. I have varied my process and begun work on another novel, this one a fantasy, which is in the early stages of research and planning. I wrote Helios off the cuff before going back to study story-telling and structure, so it has a lot of problems I need to fix which sometimes get me a little stuck. I find jumping from my the manuscript into a short story or another form of writing actually sometimes help me get over whatever issue is causing writer’s block. If I have another project to work on, it should help keep my writing momentum going.

Reality

I have had less time than I had hoped to read and write this year with real life getting in the way. At times it can be frustrating, but I need to remind myself that it isn’t a race and I need to move at my own pace. The renovations my husband and I have undertaken (an extension plus full interior and exterior makeover) have taken up the bulk of my time and left me exhausted at the end of each day. I’m currently living in a dusty, half-completed construction zone not conducive to creative pursuits.

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I would love the house to be finished in time for Christmas, but I suspect it won’t be. Once the renovations are closer to completion, I should have more time and energy to get back into my reading challenges and writing a bit more. In the meantime, I’ll fit it in where I can.

Winter is ending We're into the final month of winter. Hallelujah. So where am I tracking with my reading and writing goals for the year?

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Book Reviews: Classic Speculative/Science Fiction

Book Reviews: Classic Speculative/Science Fiction #read #bookreview #dystopia #doublespeak

I’ve been watching the Handmaid’s Tale on SBS On Demand, mainly because I’m lazy and I tend to find Margaret Atwood‘s novel writing style dry. But the show itself, despite being slow and frustrating, has kept me tuning in each week. Dystopian or classic Speculative Fiction novels, like the Handmaid’s Tale, 1984, and Farenheit 451have seen a resurgence in bookstores around Australia of late. I…

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Midwinter Ponderings

Whoops. So I’ve written a whole heap of draft blog posts but never finished or published them. My motivation takes a nosedive during winter, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but it does make me feel rather slack. Such a cliche, I know, but I don’t do well in the cold. It’s like my brain decides to shut down. Plus it’s been raining and miserable which only makes everything seem so much harder.…

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Book Review: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Book Review: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner #bookreview #aww2018

Title: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner Publisher: Disney Hyperion Publication Date: December 10th 2013 Genre: YA/Science Fiction/Romance

Tarver Merendsen is a reluctant war hero – an eighteen year old from humble beginnings thrust into the spotlight. On board a luxury spaceliner, he meets Lilac LaRoux, daughter of the richest man in the galaxy. When the Icarus experiences…

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Book Review: Dust by Hugh Howey

Book Review: Dust by Hugh Howey #bookreview

Title: Dust by Hugh Howey Publisher: Broad Reach Publishing Publication Date: 17th August 2013 Genre: Science Fiction / Dystopia

In a time when secrets and lies were the foundations of life, someone has discovered the truth. And they are going to tell.

Jules knows what her predecessors created. She knows they are the reason life has to be lived in this way. And she won’t stand for it.

But…

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April Camp NanoWriMo & Editing Update

April Camp NanoWriMo & Editing Update #amediting #amwriting

I have a confession to make: I won CampNanoWriMo in April, but only because I was editing. My word count didn’t drastically change over the month, despite me spending an hour each day (or a few hours one day, none the next) going through my existing manuscript. But editing is still writing as far as I’m concerned, so I’m counting it as a win regardless.

My biggest stumbling block for April was in…

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Book Review: Shift by Hugh Howey

#bookreview: Shift by Hugh Howey #read

  Title: Shift by Hugh Howey Publisher: Broad Reach Publishing Publication Date: January 2013 Genre: Science Fiction / Dystopia In 2007, the Center for Automation in Nanobiotech (CAN) outlined the hardware and software platform that would one day allow robots smaller than human cells to make medical diagnoses, conduct repairs, and even self-propagate. In the same year, the CBS network re-aired a…

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Book Review: Wool by Hugh Howey

#bookreview: Wool by Hugh Howey #read

  Title: Wool by Hugh Howey Publisher: Simon Schuster  Publication Date: March 2013 Genre: Science Fiction / Dystopia In a ruined and toxic future, a community exists in a giant silo underground, hundreds of stories deep. There, men and women live in a society full of regulations they believe are meant to protect them. Sheriff Holston, who has unwaveringly upheld the silo’s rules for years,…

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Book Review: Obsidio by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Book Review: Obsidio by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff #bookreview #aww2018

Title: Obsidio by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff Publisher: Random House Australia Publication Date: March 13th 2018 Genre: Science Fiction / Young Adult Kady, Ezra, Hanna, and Nik narrowly escaped with their lives from the attacks on Heimdall station and now find themselves crammed with 2,000 refugees on the container ship, Mao. With the jump station destroyed and their resources scarce, the only…