Me & Her by Karen Tyrrell

Being a school teacher isn't easy; especially when so much is expected of you from the parents of some of the students.  Karen's life at school is hard, however when the parents of a couple of students begin to make her life so stressful she can't cope anymore, she finds that it begins to affect her personal life as well.  While on their way to a school reunion, her husband has to take her to a hospital because he finds she isn't making any sense to him.

However, by the time they return, things seem fine; but they're not.  Nightmares haunt her while she sleeps and working at school with children who try to provoke her is really taking its toll.  So, Karen does the one thing she knows:  she runs away.  She packs a bag, pulls out all her money from an ATM and stays at a cheap hotel for a week where she thinks she's okay.  This is until the police find her and take her to a hospital for her own good.

This book is an amazing journey through a serious medical and personal hell one of my friends went through.  It's hard to talk about mental illness and even harder to write about it.  However, Karen Tyrell has done it in this brilliant book.  I found it a tough read and haven't been able to finish it as it's something I can't really handle.  I will keep the book and try to read it at a later date,though.  This is well worth a read; and is available on Amazon as well as in e-book form too.

Death, Taxes and a French Manicure by Diane Kelly

Tara Holloway is a special agent on the IRS's payroll and she makes sure that you  pay your taxes; and keeps her finger on the pulse her love life at the same time.  After all, she needs one!

After being attacked by a small-time tax cheat who slices her wrist open with a box-cutter, Tara is put onto a case where she has to be under cover with an agent from the DEA.  They are tailing - of all people - an ice-cream man who is suspected of selling drugs from his truck in the poorest area of town.  And Tara and her partner for this case get down and dirty dressing in clothes she'd rather give to charity; and dressing like anyone but herself.

While she's working this case, an even bigger case falls in her lap; in the shape of a handsome, well-built landscape gardener called Brett.  He's working for some really big, dirty scammers who are stealing money off the retired folks and leaving them with empty bank accounts and nothing to live on.  But with Brett in her sights as a possible hotty to land, the small-time drug-dealer ice-cream man to bust, can Tara really handle everything on her plate right now?  Can she trust Brett with her heart and with what her job is?  Or is Brett in cahoots with the scammers and will she have to arrest the man who has become a big part of her world?

I won this book on The Romance Bandits site and thought it was the typical run-of-the-mill romance.  But before I turned the first page, I was laughing out loud!  By the end of chapter one, I was really gunning for main character (literally; as she can shoot a gun!) and by the time Tara met Brett and scored her first kiss, I wanted to meet the guy and steal him off her... only kidding.  Before I knew it I was putting aside an hour or two to read this book and today I finished it!  What a funny, sassy, hot book to read; and a great spin to put on romances.  I swear that I won't look at romance novels the same again.

Diane Kelly is a tax attorney by day, a writer by night.  A recipient of the 2009 Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award for Best Novel with Strong Romantic Element, she has received more than two dozen RWA chapter awards.  Diane's fiction, tax and humor pieces have appeared in True Love magazine, Writer's Digest Yearbook, Romance Writers' Report, Byline magazine and other publications.  'Death Taxes and a French Manicure' is her first mystery novel, with more in the series to come. 

Currently Reading

I've got my nose between the pages of a book again - yay!  And I'm darn proud of myself!  It did take a while to find the right book to take my interest; and it was an author I normally find an absolute yawn!  'Last Night In Twisted River' by John Irving is a book I bought two years ago for my birthday when a friend posted me a QBD gift voucher.  I took my time looking at the books to buy and knew that if I thought the storyline was good, I was likely to enjoy it; and I do.  I'm reading up to 30 pages in about an hour each afternoon, so I should get through this very thick book quickly.

The next one is a light, funny, quirky romance novel I won on Romance Bandits (you can find the link to this site on the sidebar) titled 'Death, Taxes and a French Manicure' by Diane Kelly.  It's about a Dallas IRS agent who is under cover with a partner when she falls for a suspect who is very hot, sexy and ... yes, he's hot for her too.  However, she doesn't want to get too close in case he's more than just a suspect and ends up being jailbait.  But he is very sexy!  Will she be able to keep her hands off him?  Let's hope so!  I read this one when I want to have a good giggle and relax before I go to sleep at night as John Irving's book is chock full of information I'd rather read in the afternoon and Diane Kelly's light, fun romance is something to enjoy and relax with.  

So, what have you been getting your nose into lately?  Do drop by and leave a comment letting us all into your reading habits.  Until my next post, happy reading!

Karen Tyrrell's Book Launch

Tonight, I was out at the Logan North Library at the book launch of 'Me & Her: A Memoir of Madness' by Karen Tyrrell.  I arrived there at around 5:30pm and was greeted by Karen herself and a few people she had been working with to make the book take off as well as her charming husband who was working hard behind the scenes putting piles of the books out on the tables for people to buy.  And as I've been watching her from across cyberspace and through Facebook work on her book, I'm pleased to see it in real life finally!

Once I had gotten myself a cup of coffee and some nibblies found there were other kindred spirits amongst us (other writers that is) we were all asked to sit and the Lord Mayor, Pam Parker, stepped up to the dais to make the first speech for the night; and to launch Karen's book.  Karen then took over and told us how the idea for the book came to her and why she wrote it.  She spoke on how working in a school where she was bullied by parents and students caused her to have a mental break; taking her through the frightening world of the medical and psychiatric system.

And after she read some choice pieces from her book, she left the rest to us to read!  Of course, I bought a copy and she has signed it for me.  I'm looking forward to reading it soon as well.

Once Karen finished her speech, she cut the 'Me & Her' chocolate cake and was off signing books for everyone! I had a great time at this book launch and can't wait to read the book!  
And to celebrate Karen's success, I've got four bookmarks of 'Her & Me' that I picked up at the launch to give away.  The first four to comment here are the winners!  Until my next post, happy reading! 

April Book Buys!

I've been good!  Very good... so good, fact, that I haven't bought a huge amount of books this month; only two.  These two books were by the same author and I'm proud to say they were both signed copies as well.  I found them at 'The Book Cafe' at Garden City for $10 each and they were both by a great Australian author:  Estelle Pinney.

The first one, 'The House On The Hill' is one I already have a copy of and Estelle signed that one for me personally.  So, this one was purchased for Mum.  I thought to get it as I knew we Estelle from choir and she's been such a good writer friend of mine for so long.  

Then, the second one was 'Burnt Sunshine' which was released in 2008 and I've never seen on the bookshelves.  I'm so happy these two books are now in my possession (well, one of them is; as I've given Mum the other permanently for her to read).  These are the only two books I've bought this month, and I'm happy to say, that I'm saving my money for not buying books.  So, what books have you bought this month?  Let us know what deals you picked up.  Until my next post, happy reading!

Lost In Translation

Last night, I stayed up late and watched the film version of 'The Wave' by Todd Strasser.  The book was based in the same place as the real-life incident: California.  However, the film was made in Germany;  so there were sub-titles.  I love foreign films and didn't mind this.  However, I thought it would have been better if the movie had stayed true to its word of the book and kept the characters and storyline in the place it originally took place; even though it was a more modern and up-to-date way of looking at things.

In this 2008 movie, they used the internet, MySpace, texting and e-mail.  I also found that the old-fashioned ways of bullying and gang warfare was still around and mixed in very well.  However, it still missed the point in that this is an American-based book; and this movie version disappointment me a bit, even though the plot and the way the story carried along was quite strong I did get lost a little in some places because the actions moved faster than the words on the screen.  And this is where it being made in English would have paid off.  

This isn't the only book where it hasn't been translated onto the silver - or small - screen well.  And it's not the author's fault for signing off to the wrong people.  They are made promises and the promises aren't held up; making the films one-sided and totally missing the point.  

I have noticed that 'The Stand' by Stephen King could have been made better.  It was a two-part tele-movie where the first part kicked-butt, and yet the second part fell apart.  However the book was a brilliant read!  And that's the thing with his books, a lot of them don't translate well onto the screen; and it's because they are multifaceted and the directors and screen-writers can't get the same feel as Stephen King into the scripts as he does in his own books.

However, there's always the other way around.  Yes, I've seen books that are drawn from films; and some work but most don't.  For some reason, there's people out there who think that a film/movie would make a good book, but when it does come out, it's a big farce.  I remember when 'The Fifth Element' came out as a film it was a funny and fun thrill ride with Bruce Willis out there saving the world and universe (well, okay, when doesn't he?).  However, about two years later, I found the book to it as a novelisation of the movie; and wondered who's bright idea that was.  I bought it to see how bad it was, and didn't get past chapter two when I gave it away.  It was the corniest, most far-fetched and dreadfully-written book I've ever found; and I swore I'd never buy another.  

Then, my brother asked me to look for 'Johnny Mnemonic'.  I knew it had been a movie as he had rented it out on VCR when I was younger, however, I didn't know it was book now.  It took me four years to find it, and it was the only book I found was worth finding.  After I gave it to Gabe (my brother), he read it and said it was just as good as the film.  However, I just looked up this movie, and it's from a book by William Gibson; this means we were both misinformed.  Now that says something about good writing.  You've either got it; or you don't... which means, you can either grab the action, feeling and dialogue from the film, silver and small screen and put it onto the page properly or you can't.  

Are there any books that you know of that have translated to the big screen - or even the small screen - that have done it well?  Or have there been movies that have done the switch to books in just the same way in a very good way?  Drop me a line and let us all know which ones are your favourites.  Until my next post, 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.

Another Win on Romance Bandits

I won another prize on this site (which I really need to put on this blog's side bar today for you all to have a look at).  It was about a month ago I won, and the prize arrived just today.  However, what I won I thought was the kindle of a book; and I e-mailed the author and had to let her know I didn't own a kindle.  

So, today in the mail, I received a surprised.  I thought I had won only one book; however as I opened the envelope, I found there were two book inside!  And both of them were signed with a two lovely bookmarks for them both!  How cool is that? 

It was 'The Accidental Couresan' I won; the other one was a surprise.

Romance Bandits Win!

I look around at other blogs of book reviewers, writers and book lovers as well.  I also comment on their blogs as well to keep in touch.  In the last few weeks I've joined in the banter of The Romance Bandits just for a bit of fun and have been enjoying myself immensely.

Recently, I scrolled through their blog - which works through their 16 managers quickly and so it updates rapidly; and sometimes daily - and found I had won a book from one of them!  Yay!  Today, it arrived; and little did I know (until I opened it to photograph it), it was signed by the author!  How good is that!  So, here are the photos for you all to enjoy of my prize!