A few photos from the Burn launch

5 July 2015 | 13 Comments

As you’ll see from the photos below, I had an awesome night when Marianne de Pierres and I launched Burn at Riverbend Books in Bulimba with another of our annual chats.

We had a great crowd and the buzz was fantastic. Thank you again to Marianne, the team at Riverbend Books (especially Vicky, Pauline and Lachlan), Text Publishing (especially Steph Speight), and everyone who came along and made it such a great night.

And I got to meet fellow Brisbane writer Christine Bongers 🙂

Some more shots from the night:

Shimmer launch, UK release, guests posts, reviews…

7 July 2014 | 0 Comments

It’s been a busy few weeks, with Shimmer releasing in Australia/New Zealand and the UK. Here’s quick wrap-up of what I’ve been up to.

Shimmer Australian launch
I had such a great night last Thursday at Riverbend Books, when the fabulous Marianne de Pierres and I sat down for a relaxed chat as part of the official Australian launch for Shimmer.

We covered a broad range of topics, from the appeal of angel mythology to the challenges of writing ‘hot’ scenes. I always enjoy chatting with Marianne (with or without an audience), and I loved the chance to meet readers and celebrate with my always supportive family and friends.

Thanks to the great crowd who came along on the night (so many of you bought books – and not just mine!). Thanks again to Marianne and Riverbend Books (especially Dave), and Text Publishing for making it happen (thanks Steph!).

Guest posts
I’ve had a couple of guest posts this week, as part of Shimmer’s release:

• Kids’ Book Review : where I talk about why I chose to tell the Rephaim story as a series
• Sister Spooky : 20 random questions
• Wondrous Reads : an in-depth Q&A including questions about THAT scene in Shimmer (warning: some spoilers if you haven’t read Haze and Shimmer)
• Dark-Readers : fun guest post featuring bonus details about Rafa and Jude

And a few early reviews of Shimmer:

• Inkcrush
• Speculating on Spec Fic
• Alpha Reader
• Realm of Fiction
• YA Midnight Reads
• Reading After Midnight
• Wondrous Reads

Thanks to everyone who’s sent messages and left comments after reading Shimmer. I really appreciate it.

Now, back to writing Burn (Rephaim #4).

Shimmer launch party on 3 July – you coming?

11 June 2014 | 0 Comments

If you’re not doing anything on Thursday 3 July and you can get to Riverbend Books in Bulimba (Brisbane), you might like to book to come along to the Australian launch of Shimmer (Rephaim #3).

The wonderful Marianne de Pierres will again be joining me, and this year we’ll have another of our fun informal chats about the series and writing in general. I’ll take questions from the audience (if anyone has any), plus I’ll be around to sign copies of Shimmer. (Wow, I can’t believe it’s only a few weeks and it’s out in the big wide world!)

I’m so excited to again be at Riverbend Books (I do love a tradition!). We’ll have snacks and a cash bar and of course there’s the actual bookshop itself to explore…

The launch is open to everyone, but you definitely need to RSVP (details below).

See you there!

Haze: official launch

7 June 2013 | 13 Comments

Last night we had the official launch of Haze (The Rephaim #2) – and it was a huge amount of fun.

Riverbend Books at Bulimba kindly hosted us again, and the wonderful Marianne de Pierres (who launched Shadows last year) was also on board, this time to lead an ‘in conversation’ session with me.

I was much more relaxed this year than last year – so much so I even did my own reading (in front of 60 plus people who know me!) – and the conversation format with Marianne helped enormously. Just two writers chatting. It was fun and informal and seemed to go down well.

As well as my enthusiastic gang of family and friends, there were also bloggers and reviewers in the crowd: Nomes from Inkcrush (with her friend Amanda), Michelle from Maree’s Musings, Mia K Rose (from the blog of the same name), and Trisha (from Padua College, who is also a Goodreads regular). It was lovely to have them along and to get a chance to chat in person.

During my chat with Marianne, I also announced the working title (which is pretty much final) for book 3: Shimmer.

(Nomes has written a fantastic overview of the topics we covered. Read it here.)

Special thanks again to Text Publishing for putting on the soiree, especially publicist Rachel Shepheard who did a fantastic job bringing it all together (as well as organising some wonderful publicity for Haze). And of course, my business partner Heather Scott (pH creative threw a few extra dollars at the bar later in the night). And thanks to everyone who came along and who continue to share in this adventure of mine.

At the start of the night I also acknowledged my friend Michelle Edmonds-Weller, who very sadly passed away on 12 May after a long fight against breast cancer. She was 42. In the days before she passed, Michelle asked me to sign her copy of Haze. It was the toughest signing I’ve ever done, knowing she wouldn’t get a chance to read it. Her husband Teale and sons Riley and Kynan came along to support me for the launch, which I really appreciated. As a way of honouring Michelle – and her family – I reminded women in the audience to get their breasts checked regularly. (I’m booked in at Breastscreen Queensland next week.)

Here’s a photo of Michelle (in the white scarf) at Shadows’ launch last year with her family and the Dunlops.

Why bookshops matter

11 August 2012 | 0 Comments

I’ve always loved bookshops – first and foremost as a reader and now, happily, as a published author.

Today, I had the privilege of being one of eight authors invited to work behind the counter at Riverbend Books at Bulimba (and one of numerous authors in bookshops across Australia) as part of National Bookshop Day.

I had a blast. Suzy and the team were so friendly and supportive – and patient, as I navigated through my first retail experience. (Okay, so I worked in a fish and chip shop when I was 14, but tills had buttons back then, not scanners, computer screens and EFTPOs facilities.)

The experience brought home to me yet again just how special bookshops are in a world where you can download an ebook in seconds or buy your hard copy books online and have them shipped to your front door.

Yes, convenience and cost saving is wonderful, but there are still so many experiences you can only have in a bookstore.

Here are my top 5 reasons why bookshops matter:

1. People work in bookshops. People who remember your face and your name and what sort of books you like.
2. The people who own and work in bookstores love books. They know stuff about authors and books, and they care about readers connecting with books they will love.
3. You can meet authors at bookshops; hear them chat about their latest project, get your books signed…see if they really look like their bio photos.
4. You can meet other book lovers at interesting and fun events; chat about hot topics (like the recent rise in erotica); join a book club.
5. There are books in bookshops. Books you can pick up and touch (and smell, if that’s your thing), covers you can linger over.

And of course, bookshops sell books. They are still a critical link between author and reader and we appreciate everything they do to get our books out to the world.

So this is a call to all you book lovers to support your local bookstore. Chat with the people behind the counter, build those relationships and you will be rewarded with great service and meaningful book recommendations.

Libraries also offer similar experiences to bookstores. The big difference being libraries don’t need sales to survive (but keep supporting them too!).

A huge thanks to Riverbend Books for the opportunity to see the world from the other side of the counter. I also got to meet fellow Text author Richard Newsome (who took the shift after me), which was terrific. He writes the popular Billionaire series for older children.

(Another added bonus was that, after hearing all about Shadows from Suzy, one kind customer bought a copy and I got to ring up the sale. Thanks Gina. Hope you enjoy the read.)

With Riverbend owner Suzy Wilson using the scanner for the first time!

Hanging out with Suzy and author Richard Newsome