A Busy Week of New Reading Material

I've had a busy week, and it's been filled with my craft group, reading and organising myself to get my butt into this year... yep, it's February already and this year isn't slowing down!

But on Monday, I thought to check my mail - seeing the rain had eased - and my PO Box was filled to the brim!  I also had to pull out a blue pick-up card!  Yay!  There was a parcel to get from inside the post office!  Anyway, once I did that, I found my curiosity got the better of me and I opened it right there in the place and found a brand new copy of 'Eucalyptus' by Murray Bail.  This came all the way from Scotland for the Australia Day Sweepstakes on Bookcrossing.  Well, I'd never heard of this author or the book, so this was a first for me.  And I'm looking forward to reading it too!
Then, while I was at my craft group, Nola (a lady who sits across from me at the tables) brought in some books she didn't want and showed them to us ladies before putting them up for grabs on the show and tell tables, where they're sold for $1.00 each.  I found a great copy of 'Hour's The Limit: Great Food In Less Than 60 Minutes' by 'Fast Ed' Halmagyi.  What a cookbook!  The pictures look great, the recipes look wonderful, and I've yet to try out anything in it, but it's all delicious sounding and I think I'll have to have a try of one of the pastas first... I'm not sure yet.

Also in the mail on Monday came my March issue of 'Good Reading' Magazine.  It's a bumper copy with all sorts of great articles about books, authors, and anything about the written word.  And you all know what I'm like about that!  Yep, obsessed!  Well, how was your week?  Filled with reading material like mine, or are you happily reading along like last week... please do keep us updated.  Until my next post, happy reading!

An Interview With Ged Maybury

Seeing I'm away next week for some fun in the sun and by the ocean to chill out, I thought to set up a funny and wonderful interview with one of my favouritely funny people, Ged Maybury. 

I met Ged about 20 years ago when I was a financial member of the Logan Writers' Guild and he spoke at one of our workshops at the Logan North Library in the IKEA Centre at Springwood (now that's a long time ago seeing how much that area's changed).  He wrote Young Adult works back then and he was as funny then as he is now.  We took him to The Coffee Club for afternoon tea and everyone got on famously with him.  He and I ended up nearly having a food fight over a piece of gluten-free Jaffa Cake... yummo and hilariously funny too.  Now, it's been quite some time and I found him on Facebook.  He no longer writers Young Adult, but Steampunk, wears a lot of pink - his favourite colour - and he's enjoying life and writing totally; and he agreed to be interviewed and we can still make each other laugh.  So, here you all are:  and interview with Brisbane Steampunk author, Ged Maybury.

1.  How long have you been writing?  And what kinds of genre have you written in your life? 

I began writing prior to high school, as most of us do. I recall my very first attempt at a story in about grade 7:
Teacher: “Today I want you to write an adventure story.”

I got to works and duly turned in about 12 pages (the average being about 1) Mrs Wilson was very impressed, probably astonished, and praised me to the entire class. But later she called me up for a private chat. Handed me back my epic tale, “This is very good, Ged.”

(nod)"Is this the first time you’ve written a story?”

(nod)
“It’s very VERY good. You have quite a talent.”

(surprised by this, belated nod) 
“But I’m wondering: is this maybe a bit like a book you recently got out of the library?” [I had only just discovered the school library.]

(nod) 
“Ah. So you copied the same story ideas you saw in the book?” 

(nod) [I saw nothing wrong in that.]

“Well, when you do creative writing, it’s best if you come up with your own ideas.”

“Oh.” [This was a surprising new idea to me. Somewhat alarming.]

“Do you think you can do that?”
(nod)
And I did. A mere 20 years later I wrote my next story. “TimeTwister” was taken up by Ashton Scholastic and sold about 50,000 copies. This was such a good start I decided to write some more.

2.  Have you always called Australia home? Or have you travelled and lived in all kinds of places?

I’m from New Zealand. I’ve been in Aus for 13 years, and have been a citizen since 2001. The only other places I have been are Papua New Guinea and Kansas City in the USA.

3.  How long did it take to get your first book published?  Or did you self-publish?

My first book started out as a script idea for a TV drama for children. (I’d been writing stageplays prior to that.) After I completed the first episode in 1984, someone suggested I approach a TV producer in TVNZ – who just happening to be starting up his own company right then – and while he had it he showed it to a Scholastic rep, and she thought it was a go-er. Soon I had a contract to write a book before a single word of it had been written!

I set about writing the book while the TV company completed their first big project, and got it finished just in time for them to crash and burn and go bankrupt and hastily leave their offices owing rent and I arrived in time to retrieve exactly 14 pages of my only hand-written copy from the bin. The guy with the computer had already stormed off, taking all their records with him.

At that point my book was dead, and I tried hard to give up all dreams of being a writer ( – which, incidentally, I never wanted to be).

But by a bizarre twist, five months later someone sent another computer printout of the book to the publisher – once again in draft-quality not letter-quality. Lacking a return address, but having mine, they sent it to me to complain. My book had come back to me!!

We then agreed to give up on the TV series tie-in and just do the book, which we duly did. That is how I came to be a writer.

You may call that easy if you like.

4.  Who is your favourite character from any of your books or stories?  Why?

Oh that is a hard one. I have created so many characters over the years. Comedic ones, and heroic ones. I think my favourite plucky hero type would have to be Varja D’Rotimar – heroine of my space adventure “Hive of the StarBees” (published 1995). Niece to a nasty neurotic space pirate Pommit D’Rotimar, she takes charge after they crash on a strange and distant planet – not far from a bizarre hive seething with gigantic metalloid insects, while a mind-controlling alien tries to steal the very core of their ship and other complex stuff. She’s heroic.

5.  Do you plan your books or do they just happen and the characters take you on a big adventure?

I’m a ‘pantser’ – I write by the seat of my pants, with only the barest intuition of how the story must go. That way, wonderful things happen along the way as my characters come out with unexpected gifts, secrets, or twists. Or even surprise chareacters who walk in at the halfway point and send the tale spinning off in a new direction.

I never get the story I expect. Usually I get one a lot better.


1.  What's your favourite colour/s? (everyone's got more than one).

Pink. (D’uh!) And burgundy colours too.

2.  Seeing it's close to Christmas, what do you love - or loath - about this time of year?

I loath the inescapability of it all. The commercial barrage. The ritual of obligation over genuine gift-giving. And having to spend time with people who are just not on my wavelength. Oh, and the sheer bloody *waste*. Bins full of cheap paper the next day. Toys that break. Presents that no-one wants or likes. Love for Christmas? – I have none, except that my two boys kind of like the fluff and stuff and ritual. (None of us are Christians.) 

3.  What is your funniest memory of all time?

I’m more inclined to recall the moments when I got a big laugh from my surprise on-liners, but they would take too much explaining, so here’s a childhood moment instead:

My younger brother was (and still is) intellectually impaired. At the age of about 2, he was given scrambled eggs for the first time. We were given the job of serving him this, and we told him what it was, “mmm, yummy” and all that, and told him to get eating. He gazed at it for many long seconds, then poked his finger into it. This tiny moment became memorable, and for years afterwards my elder brother and I could instantly set ourselves laughing by remembering it. Sadly, what delights a child can be just plain unfunny to an adult.

4.  If you had the cash, time and a building for a bookstore, what would you name your bookstore?  And what kinds of books would you have in it?

A bookstore? Gods, why would I want one of those? That sounds like work! Besides, I’ve quite lost my love of books and reading. But if I did have a bookstore, I’d call it本の愛. [“hon no ai” – “Love of Books” or more simply “Love This” ]. And I’d sell Japanese plushies, books, manga and anime as well as indie Sci Fi and kids books and just any kind of stuff that I like. (But NO COMICS!)

5.  What is your favourite place where you live now?

The West End. Spring Hill. Bardon. East Brisbane … anywhere with history and remnants of Victorian elegance.

Introducing Debut Author: Karen Tyrrell!

Hey all, I've had a really rough week and weekend.  So, to kick-start this week, I thought to upload an author interview for you all to get into.  Karen Tyrrell is a good friend of mine - a writer - who I've known for some years now.  And in the last year, she's published her first book 'Me & Her'.  Seeing she's a debut author, I thought you'd all love to know more about her; and want to read her book.

How did you get into writing?

Madness! An irrefutable obsession to write ME & HER: a Memoir of Madness, my unique teacher’s story of parent harassment, and the birth my two sides ME and HER.

ME: Teacher, wife, mother and Writer
HER: Manic, psychic, healer to the living, telepathic to the dead, and she’s very psychotic!

How long did it take to write your first book?  What kind of research did you do to get it all written?

Took six years and over 100 drafts to write ME & HER: a Memoir of Madness. I researched first hand, interviewing patients, doctors and nurses at the psychiatric hospital, determined to find the cause of my Madness. And how to recover and become ME again. I read every book on bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

What kind of works do you write?  Non-fiction? Fiction? Poetry? A bit of everything?

I write everything: memoir, self-help, articles for magazines, children’s picture books, mid-grade chapter books, science fiction, crime, young adult, short stories.

Do you have a day job to support your writing career or have you been a full-time writer for most of your life?
Up to 2008, I taught primary school. Now I write full-time and present motivational talks, Resilience Training workshops in the workplace and Life Writing sessions in hospital and wellness centres.

Now... for some fun questions so your public knows your FUN side.

Where were you born and where did you grow up?
I was born in Sydney, growing up in a poor family in the western suburbs. From the age of seven, I was determined to become a school teacher.
What is your favourite colour?
I wear colours to induce a mood.

Purple: for intuition. Green: for serenity. Orange: for energy. Red: for POWER

Do you love Christmas?  And if you do, what's your favourite part of this time of year?

I LOVE celebrating Christmas get-togethers with family and friends.

What kinds of books do you enjoy reading? 

Books that captivate and intrigue me from the very first page. Books that affect me profoundly and stay with me forever. I LOVE reading cinematic scenes that leap and dance off the page.

How big is your book collection - if you have one - and how many books a year do you read?

I devour over a hundred books for adults and children per year. I’ve triple-stacked my book shelf with thousands of books. I desperately need a new book shelf.

Do you come from a family of readers and writers?  Or are you the only one who has picked up the craft?

I’m the only one who Writes. My hubby and daughter are voracious readers.

To buy ME & HER: a Memoir of Madness go to Amazon http://lnkd.in/BmuVR7

To find out more about Karen, or download her Free eBook *30 Top Tools for Wellness* please check her website http://www.karentyrrell

Prizes!

This week has been a week of great things coming in the mail.  Yesterday, I received a copy of 'Crossing Paths' by Debbie Robson that I ordered from MacLean's Booksellers in Newcastle for myself for my birthday on 5th, October (I always get myself a pressie on my birthday seeing I've been single for over 10 years now).  Also yesterday, a HGG arrived from a fellow Bookcrosser.  A HGG has to do with the Christmas Holidays... and we start early there; it stands for Holiday Gift Giving, and it's a lot of fun!  I received two stretchy book protectors - one black and one a vibrant purple.  I also received a get well card from my Mum seeing I haven't been allowed near her because I'm sick and she's going into hospital soon.  

Well, today, I was off to the post office to check the mail and I found I had a lot of mail - again! - in my little PO Box.  I pulled it all out and found a blue parcel pick-up card in amongst it, an envelope from AGL (an energy company) and two magazines from Good Reading Magazine in Sydney.  I put all but the parcel pick-up card into my bag, closed the door on my PO Box and went to pick up the parcel.  I found that a parcel of books had shown up from a Bookcrossing friend in Darwin; and you know, I had only sent her bag off to her yesterday morning!  How cool is that?  As for the envelope from AGL?  It was a cheque with money owing to me from them when I changed energy companies... now that's very cool.  Until my next post, happy reading!

An Interview With Hugh Lunn

Hugh Lunn is one of the great Aussie authors who have made a mark in our history as a brilliant and funny story-teller.  He has traveled the world throughout his life and met many wonderful people in his long and interesting life.  I have been fortunate enough to interview him via an e-mail today when I took a chance and contacted him with a few questions; and tonight, I found this wonderful reply in my in-box.  None of the below has been changed or edited.

1.  How did you become interested in writing in general?  Was is a natural curiosity or something that came later in life?

I became a cadet reporter in 1960 on the Courier-Mail and had to learn to type to write little stories. In Hong Kong aged 23 I got a job writing for magazines and wrote columns etc. Eventually wrote longer and longer stories in London and eventually sold my Brisbane house and moved to fulltime books on Jan 1 1988 to write a book on my childhood. Three publishers told me not to because ‘there is no market for Aust childhood autobiography! That book “Over the Top with Jim’ is still in print 24 years later with ABCBooks. And it has never been out of print.

2.  How many countries have you traveled to in your life as a writer? 

Lots. In 1965 I got into “Red China” when you couldn’t get in. Wrote a book about it decades later called “Spies Like Us”, which has had 3 different publishers in Australia in the 17 years since and is still in print with ABCBooks. I was a Reuters correspondent in Vietnam for more than a year; Singapore for a year; Indonesia for a year. Lived in Hong Kong for seven months. London for 3 years. Stayed in Norway and travelled thro Russia and Poland and Germany and visited Paris often and Nice and Monte Carlo. Been to Cambodia and Tashkent and Thailand and Malaysia and West Papua and P-NG …. All as a young man.

3.  As an author, have you ever put yourself into your novels or your articles? 

I used to get criticized a lot by my colleagues for putting myself in my newspaper articles in the 70s and 80s (now they all do it). But I found everything in life needs some of your own philosophy in it – so even when writing about my childhood the adult was having his say (13 times by my count, tho no one seems to notice). Even in “Spies” I managed to twice campaign about the knocking down of old Queensland homes in Brisbane.

4.  Have you got a favourite author you read and have followed the career of?  Do you have a collection of their books? 

I have complete collection of Eric Blair and all the biographies written on him. I love his clear clean way of writing and try to emulate him. I couldn’t write my first book “Vietnam: a reporter’s war” properly until I read his “Homage to Catalona”.

5.  Do you collect books as a hobby?  If so, how many - approximately - do you have and what genres do they cover? 

No I don’t, but I have hundreds of books. I like true stories.

6.  How long does it normally take to get one of your books published?   

My Vietnam book took 17 years because I was an unknown nook writer: from 1968-1985. Now it takes about two years. I have had 15 published.

7.  Which one of your books have you written is your favourite?  Or do they all hold a special place in your heart? 

People write to tell me which is their favourite , or which character is their favourite. Mine is “The Great Fletch” because I always wanted to capture the amazing life of my best friend, an only child I’d known since we were babies together at Annerley and travelled the world with... And when he died, I did so, and it’s just been re-printed! On the last two pages of the book I called for this Brisbane boy to be included in the Hall of fame at Melbourne Park – and two years later on Rod Laver Arena Ken Fletcher was Indducted into the Melbourne Park Hall of fame with his on and daughter unveiling a bronze bust of him on a pillar while Federer and Nadal and Laver and Emerson and Rosewall etc watched. My wife and I were invited down to the ceremony and I was asked to speak about Fletch at the President’s dinner beforehand.

Now some fun questions:

1.  What's your favourite colour? green

2.  Where you do love to holiday?  Or do you love to stay in Queensland and Australia? 

Don’t seem to get any holidays. I love Kingscliff.

3.   What's your favourite food from which country? 

A Salad Tomate in Paris. A mango juice in Djakarta. A good meat pie in Brisbane.

4.  What is your favourite past-time when you were a child?  Do you see any children doing it now? 

Climbing trees. No. 

So, there you have it!  A fun interview with a great man.  I have met Hugh a few times at some of his book launches and talks throughout Logan Libraries and he's very funny and attracts all types of people from all walks of life and generations.  His work is well worth a read.  I have three of his books in my collection which I'm going to read this year and I will review as well.  Until my next post, happy reading!

An Interview With Estelle Pinney

Today, I thought you'd all like an exclusive interview with Estelle Pinney.  Now, Estelle is an old friend of mine who I met while singing in the Southern Cross Singers.  We were voice-placed in the same section, right next to each other; so it had to be fate that we were bound to become friends.  I've since quit that choir for personal reasons, however, Estelle still sings in it and loves doing so; as well as writing.

Estelle Pinney is a jill of all trades. The Brisbane author has been a photographic colourist, cake shop assistant, hand-grenade manufacturer, ambulance driver, nurse, mother and wife - all before turning 21.   However, not one to run from adventure, Estelle has found she drew her best writing and characters from life itself.  

I e-mailed her recently and asked her some questions about her books and publishing; and was delighted when she replied.

Did you know from a young age you loved to write?  Or was it a passion that came later on in life?

English at school was always a favourite and later in life letter writing to soldiers and sailors World War 2 was a pleasurable hobby.  An avid reader from seven years onwards it never occurred to me that one day I'd be a published author.

How long does it normally take to publish one of your books? 

Too many Spears. co-authored with my late husband Peter Pinney and including research over a long period of time took up to nearly ten years with lots of non-writing in between.  Net Full Of Honey(young adult fiction): about one year/ Time Out For Living: two years/ House On The Hill: eighteen months/ Burnt Sunshine: nine months.

How many books have you published overall?

Six. Too Many Spears/ Net Full of Honey/ Time Out For Living/ House On The Hill/ Burnt Sunshine/ reprint by Penguin of Time Out For Living

Which one of your books is your favourite?  Why?

Burnt Sunshine... I enjoyed my characters/ the timeframe and locale. Maybe because I was in familiar territory which brought back memories of my own time in the Torres Straits and the Orimo River PNG.

Do you include real people in your books, or are all your characters fictional?  Or are they based on real people?

Characters are mostly fiction. Perhaps shades of people met and lived with, linger in the mind but the only real live character I brought into the HOUSE On The Hill- was my photographer grandfather Steve Dublo. And I must admit Belle had a touch of my Mum in her.

I must thank Estelle for this wonderful interview.  She's a lovely person to know and I hope to read more of her books soon to review here on My Reading List. 

(NB:  Some of this article came from another online article written by The Courier Mail from 2008). 

Summer Fun

This Christmas I won't be going to the coast.  I'll be here in Brisbane for the whole of the Christmas and New Year's Eve Period to read, enjoy and relax as much as possible.  And while I'm here, I was thinking about what I'd be doing over this time with the blog.

I've taken on a Summer Reading Challenge on Good Reads.  So, this means I'll have a line-up of books I'll be reading over the next few months that I'll be reviewing as I finish them.  

There is an interview of an Australia Author I'd like to introduce to you all; and she's a wonderful friend of mine (actually, I've been meaning to interview her for a while, and thought this would be the best time).

And there's some book blogs I haven't mentioned on here that I'll install the links to for you all; as well as improve the events calendar for you all next year so it's easier to read.

So... there's the plans for this Summer.  I will be doing a little bit of traveling around Brisbane in search of the perfect bookstore for you to guys to come and look into, the best book-cafe to check and some of the rarest books I've found out there as well.  

All of this will be going on over Christmas, New Years Eve and throughout Summer (Winter for you guys in the Northern Hemisphere) to keep us all occupied.  All of this will begin at the end of next week; so until then, I hope you guys have a great weekend, and - of course - happy reading! 

The House on the Hill by Estelle Pinney

It's the 1920's in Far North Queensland and the three Dalton Sisters are boarding with Mrs Sanders in the house on the Hill.  There's Josie - the eldest of the three - who has big ambitions for herself and finds her life throwing her curve will test her in more ways than one.  Then, there's Molly who reigns in as the head cook at King's Hotel.  She can whip up any style of gown right down to the finest detail. However, her happiness with her sweetheart, Fred, has been threatened by something out of their control.  And the youngest of the three, Belle, is a talented singer and dancer who tours with a vaudeville troupe as they follow the rodeos and shows of western Queensland.  Belle is being romantically pursued by the hot and handsome Greek local Nicos Alexandros; the owner of the swankiest cafe around.  However, will she choose to settle down and leave her beloved troupe and marry Nicos?  

I loved reading this book after buying it from Estelle herself; then she signed it for me in 2005.  However, I'm sure I did a review of this book a few years ago here as I have a photograph of it on my files (and I would have used it on here for this particular purpose; oh well).  The one thing I do remember from this wonderfully-written book is the pineapple sandwiches that Estelle writes about.  She has told me about them; saying she ate them when she was young and traveling around; and that I really must try them out.  However, I don't like pineapple and can't see them in a sandwich; but that's just me.  Have a read about how they are served up are in this book; as they do sound delicious.

Estelle Pinney grew up and Cairns in the tobacco town of Mareeba, North Queensland. She left school at the age of thirteen to work as a colourist in her grandfather's photographic studio. Estelle's eventful adult life saw her working as an ambulance driver for the US army during World War II; as a beauty consultant; and as a registered deckhand on her husband's crayfishing boat in the Torres Strait. She is the author of Time Out for Living (1995) and A Net Full of Honey (1996), and co-author of Too Many Spears (1978) with late husband Peter Pinney.  Burnt Sunshine, was released by Penguin in 2008. Estelle currently lives in Brisbane.