Book Bites

Survey XI

2012-02-05T18:10:00.000+11:00

Hardback, trade paperback or mass market paperback?
Mass market paperback. Reading hardbacks and trades hurt my hands.

Waterstones, Borders or Amazon?
None of the above. I shop at Galaxy, Abbeys, Dymocks and a second hand store in Burwood that specialises in romance novels of a variety of subgenres.

Bookmark or dog-ear?
Both *sadface* I choose to use bookmarks, but I grew up using dog-ears and sometimes I forget I shouldn't. It is one of those habbits I have spent more than a decade trying to break, but sometimes I slip up. I collect bookmarks, but I can never have enough!!

Alphabetize by author, or alphabetize by title, or random?
I sort my books by genre and then by authors.

Keep, throw away, or sell?
I hoard books. I can't seem to thin out my collection. I do have a stack of books that my great aunt gave me that I want to give away, but I can't find anyone who likes chick lit. Contact me if you are in Sydney and like chick lit and I'll give them too you :)

Keep dust jacket or toss it?
I take it off when I am reading the novel, but I replace it when I reshelve the book.

Read with dust jacket or remove it?
Remove.

Short story or novel?
Both.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?
Harry Potter

Buy or borrow?
Both! I have a preference of buying books, but I am skint at the moment, so I rely on my local library. It is driving me crazy though, because I've read all the books I would usually choose to read. I'm now picking books up at random and reading them even if I'm not really interested in them.

Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
Tidy ending. Cliff hangers only work if it is something like the early Morganville Vampires books. Rachel Caine was amazing. You wanted to throw the book across the room in disgust, and at the same time, grasp the following book, even if it wasn't due to be published for months.

Morning reading, afternoon reading, or nighttime reading?
All of the above.

Favourite series?
Too many to number.

Favourite children’s book?
Too many to number.

Favourite YA book?
This changes constantly. I would say The Hunger Games, however I haven't read it for two years and the hype is crazy at the moment. I'd have to reread it to make sure it does my memory justice.

Favourite book no one has heard of?
Merlin's Keep by Madeline Brent

Favourite books read last year?
The Flame and the Shadow by Denise Rossetti

Favourite book to re-read?
Merlin's Keep by Madeline Brent

Do you ever smell books?
Yes

What are you reading right now?
I'm at the library and plan to max out my card.

What are you reading next?
As above.

Did 'ya miss me?

2012-02-02T16:03:00.001+11:00

This is just a quick hello. I'm still without a computer and unable to blog frequently. I will however be trying to post a little bit of something on a more regular basis using library computers. I can't promise much however! My computer will hopefully be up and working again in a few months :)

My reading style has changed a lot now I am no longer buying books. I'm relying a lot on my local library and its fantasy/science fiction and paranormal romance/urban fantasy shelves are pretty basic. I've picked up some new authors I haven't read before, but generally the shelves are full of books I have already read or don't feel like reading. Instead I have been lured to the dark side with all the romance recommendations and been exploring that genre. My local library has an extensive (I think, anyway) collection of romance, and as most of my twitter friends and some of my close friends read romance, I've been finding new authors to read. I never ever thought I would read this much romance! However, relying on library books has meant I've been able to explore without bothering to read blurbs or pay attention to genres and subgenres. It has been really interesting actually. I've found that a lot of my own thoughts on romance aren't exactly founded. I had never realised what a snob I was! I mean, a lot of the books are as you'd expect, light entertainment, but some books are bloody brilliant :) I'll have to borrow some again and write up some reviews or something. My biggest disappointment, I have to say, is the lack of erotica. I know, it is a public library and anyone can borrow books, including children and teens. I know I was punching above my weight when I was a kid myself! But at the same time, now I can't afford to buy ebooks (or have a computer to do so) I am really missing the erotica. Just don't tell my mother LOL Ah, who am I kidding. After her overhearing conversations about romance and erotica I have had with my great aunt June, I'm sure she realises my reading content, even if it is a little too spicy for her own tastes! ;)

If you are in Sydney and a romance reader (including paranormal romance), ARRA is holding a flashmob at Pyrmont Bridge at 11am on the 12th of January to celebrate Romance Reading Day as part of National Year of Reading. It will be a lot of fun and a chance to network with other readers. I hope to see any local romance readers there! You can find out more information {here}.On that note, today is the first meeting of my paranormal romance book club for the year. I can't afford to buy books as they are recommended to me any more, however, my list of books to buy when I get a new job has gone into the high double digits! Damn you Galaxy girls, tempting me with your bookish wiles...

You want to know gossip from the real world? I've just cut off my turquoise fringe, cut bettie bangs and dyed my hair garnet and hope this will make finding a job in the corporate arena easier. I'm considering doing my postgraduate diploma in musuem studies next year, and I may be organising a sharehouse with friends in a few months. We all have ridiculously large book collections, so that is going to be interesting LOL
I hope you are all well, life is great, and you have some great books in your TBR piles! I miss you guys!!!

xx

Book Bites' hiatus

2011-11-07T17:32:00.000+11:00

Hello my lovelies! Gosh I miss you! And blogging! And ebooks! And everything about the internet that I can't do over my phone!

I need to apologise! Three months and no word from me! :o I was on holiday and had planned to be away for a mere month or so, but when I returned to Sydney, my computer died and I have been without the internet ever since. Regular readers will know that I quit my job to pursue other interests (including blogging and writing - kinda need a computer for those!) and while I am looking for a part time job (so I can do part time archaeology as well), I have a very stunted cash flow. Basically that means I can't afford to fix my computer at the moment, or any time soon *kicks motherboard* I was planning on buying a small netbook with my tax return, but I used it to buy flights to volunteer at an archaeology convention in my home town. Totally worth it, but... Well I really miss having a computer *sigh* I'm an internet addict, so this has been driving me insane.

I am currently at a library using their computers, however I usually get to the library on closing and the computers are busy. Today was pure luck! So, here I am. Explaining. And gosh I miss Book Bites! Oh, I suppose this is the perfect opportunity to say welcome to all the new faces!! :D I know quite a number of you from twitter and your own blogs, but I shall say welcome all the same! And apologise that I haven't been able to say welcome before today.

So, what have I been up to in the last three months? Well I went home to Toowoomba for a month or so - I had a blast! And had some ideas for a dystopian story clobber me over the head. I'm using them for NaNoWriMo this year, which is handy. I'm going absolutely crazy not being able to read any book I want to, and being limited to the library's collection and my own bookshelves is hard. I can't charge my ereader, and I can't upload new books to it without my computer anyway, so that avenue has also been closed to me. So yes, I have also been seriously searching for a new job - something which is also hard without a computer LOL I've also been attending some readers and writers events in the last few months and I'll be blogging about Paula Roe's talk at the Burwood library in a few days.

So, where do I go from here? I will be attempting to upload some posts from my Android Blogger app, but I am not sure how good the formatting will be. I would like to say sorry in advance if there are any issues with typos, images, alignment, quotes, italics, bold font, and anything else that can go wrong and probably will go wrong... Murphy's Law and all that... I had some giveaways planned, and some guest bloggers lined up, but I'll be leaving those until I have my computer up and running again. And no, I have no idea when that will be. It might be in 2012, unless a nice cushy job falls in my lap today *looks up expectedly* Nope, nothing happened... So, basically I have no idea when I can get my computer fixed. I have some techy friends of friends, but I can't afford to pay them, and I don't expect them to work for free. So it may be a while before Book Bites can power forward again.

I hope you are all well, that your TBR pile is nice and beefy and that life is providing you with the time to read them!

Maria V. Snyder giveaway winner announced

2011-08-01T00:28:00.000+10:00

The winner of the Maria V Snyder giveaway was entrant 14!
Congratulations:

Pretty Lady!

Your prize will be posted to you shortly!

The giveaway was drawn by assigning numbers 1-38 to the 38 entrants based on the order they entered. 38 was then entered into the random.org number generator and the result was 14. The screen shots of the process are below.

Maria V Snyder is about to start a book tour of Australia. You can find out more on the publisher's facebook: http://www.facebook.com/harlequinteenaus

Ashfield Library's World Café Readers’ Evening 2011

2011-07-31T21:00:00.002+10:00

What a brilliant night I had on Thursday! Ashfield Library had a World Café Readers’ Evening, highlighting the various special interest areas of the library. I had two friends speaking, Vassiliki the tweeting librarian, who spoke about the romance genre and Sofia the book girl from Galaxy Bookshop who spoke about speculative fiction. It was the first time I have been to the new Ashfield library as they have spent considerable time and design dollars moving to a level of the new council building (I also lost my library card – I avoid libraries when I can’t borrow books). I was really impressed with the new layout. They have gone for a more approachable bookshop style layout, rather than the Dewey Decimal System. They have split the genres like speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, horror), romance, crime from the fiction shelves and put them in little cosy alcoves. The library is very spacious, has a lot of conversational space, meeting rooms, arm chairs and the layout and furnishings are dynamic. I’ll be looking for my library card and visiting more often!

The event started with a wine and cheese meet and greet, with platters of delightful food being passed around. I say delightful because if I had less manners I would have fallen upon those platters with glee! There were tandoori chicken sticks, Vietnamese spring rolls and a variety of sushi. Delicious! The entertainment was provided by Terry Serio and the strains of guitar threaded its way throughout the evening.

The sections of the evening that really stood out for me were “Planet Earth” by Melissa Sellen, “Romance” by Vassiliki and “Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror” by Sofia. This, however, may be because I have an interest in each of these topics.

Melissa is in the environmental services and knew her topic inside and out. I was talking to her before the evening started and was impressed with both her passion and knowledge. As a self-avowed greenie, I found this admirable, especially as she spoke about educating the children about how valuable and intrinsic the environment is for human beings. She was greeted with humour and agreement when she recommended The Lorax by Dr Seuss as essential reading for children.

Vassiliki has gained a bit of a name for herself as the tweeting librarian in Sydney circles. She has a special interest in the romance genre and many of us in the Twitter community count her as a good source of recommendations in the genre. She filled her speech with anecdotes from her own life and of being a reader of romance. My favourite is still the one where her parents used to watch wedding processions drive past to their local church and referring to them as funeral processions heading off to watch a hanging. It is such a droll story and perfectly illuminates the fact that readers of romance are readers of fiction. We do not think life is about happily ever afters, but about living in the real world - we just want a bit of happily ever after to lubricate its ups and downs. One of the recommendations Vassiliki gave that I will be looking up is a romantic suspense author, Suzanne Brockmann.

Sofia works for Galaxy, a specialist store for science fiction, fantasy and horror and has such knowledge and animated passion for the genre. She is my go to girl for new authors, and as far as I am concerned, she never gets it wrong (I may be biased as she is my friend LOL). She had such a dynamic presentation that the night ended on a high. She bought her lightsaber to play with when she was talking about science fiction, her Hufflepuff cloak when she was talking about fantasy, and a torch and wore her hood up to add suspense when she was talking about horror. I cannot comment on her recommendations as I have only read Terry Pratchett (read him if you haven’t - he is brilliant), but she did mention a book Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips which she has recommended to me in the past. I sat down and read the first chapter while she was talking with some other attendees and I will be reading it. It is very entertaining! Like I said, she never gets it wrong!

Sofia and I stayed back until late (she was my ride home) talking with various people and had many interesting conversations. The two that stand out are probably Sarah Barry, a psychic who spoke about the Mind and Body section earlier and Vanessa who was resident photographer of the night - both these conversations involved antics with the lightsaber! Over all, the night was a great success, and I was very impressed with the new design of the Ashfield library. I was sad to see they no longer have any Charles de Lint on the shelves, and while I think this is a great misjustice, I understand they have limited space. I also have to mention that they have an alcove for graphic novels and comics, as I plan to spend some time here in the future. I will be searching for my library card in the near future, so I can max out my card on speculative fiction, romance and graphic novels a regular basis. If you are local to the Ashfield library, I recommend you visit and check out the new location and design! If you just like libraries, are in the library industry or interior design industry, I suggest you visit just to see what a different and dynamic direction they have taken!

Why it is worth entering competitions....

2011-07-25T13:59:00.001+10:00

The moral of the story is enter any and every competition you would like to win the books for, because you may just win them. I know, it is strange to put 'the moral of the story' at the beginning rather than the end, but I am sometimes unconventional. I had a streak a few years ago where I won a competition every day for two weeks. It wasn’t because I was entering competitions daily, but because competitions I had been entering on and off for months all happened to be drawn consecutively. I recently won 2 books in two days, and it has reminded me that I will have no income in two weeks and those books at the top of my auto buy list will have to be put on the back burner. I’ll be borrowing from the library more often, and obtaining review copies (that is right, I’ll be posting regular reviews on Book Bites!) but some times you luck out with competitions and win something you wouldn’t normally choose for yourself. The best example of this is the time I won an ARC of Peter V Brett’s The Painted Man. I was no longer actively perusing epic fantasy (I had just come off a ten year glut) and would have been unlikely to have bought the book for myself. I loved it! It was such a refreshing take on the genre, my favourite read of the year and the author became one of my favourites over night. That would never have happened if I hadn’t won a competition that I entered on a whim. So yes, the moral of the story is to enter every competition you feel a flicker of interest in. You may end up striking gold! And if you read the book and it doesn’t give you enjoyment, you can either make a gift of it to a friend, swap it on a site like book mooch, give it away as a prize on a blog (of course, stating that it has been read) or donate it to charity. I have to admit, I usually like the books and keep them ;-p

So enter competitions, and the best of luck to you!

I have to admit, I decided to write this because I won another two competitions last week, however, now would be the perfect time to plug a competition run here on Book Bites LOL So, go enter the Maria V Snyder giveaway! It is a YA dystopian series you may end up liking!

Teaser Tuesday: Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris

2011-07-19T08:55:00.000+10:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser:

Standing at the entrance to Bethlehem Royal Hospital, commonly known as Bedlam, she found her feet unwilling to carry her any farther. Looking up, the ornate gate could have been mistaken for some grand country estate -- if you could ignore the writhing figures of madness above the ironwork.

Page 64 of Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris

Don't forget you can win a Maria V Snyder prizepack at Book Bites!

Aus & NZ only, ends 31st July

Maria V. Snyder book giveaway!

2011-07-11T12:51:00.005+10:00

With the creation of the new Harlequin Teen Australia fanpage on Facebook and on the occasion of Maria V. Snyder touring Australia, Harlequin Teen Australia has kindly donated some prizes to Book Bites! One lucky reader will win two books from her new Insider series, and an autographed poster! All you have to do to be in the winning is to enter your details in the form below. This giveaway is open to Australians and New Zealanders and closes on the 31st of July.

The Prize:

The blurbs from Goodreads:

Inside Out
Keep Your Head Down.
Don't Get Noticed.
Or Else.

I'm Trella. I'm a scrub. A nobody. One of thousands who work the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I've got one friend, do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? The only neck at risk is my own…until I accidentally start a rebellion and become the go-to girl to lead a revolution.

Outside In
Me? A Leader? Okay, I did prove that there's more to Inside than we knew. That a whole world exists beyond this cube we live in. And finding that led to a major rebellion - between worker scrubs like me and the snobby uppers who rule our world. Make that ruled. Because of me, we're free. I thought that meant I was off the hook, and could go off on my own again - while still touching base with Riley, of course. He's the one upper I think I can trust. But then we learned that there's outside and then there is Outside. And something from Outside wants In.

Terms and Conditions of the giveaway:

All prizes have been donated by Harlequin Teen Australia.
The winner wins two Maria V Snyder novels and a signed poster.
The competition closes on the 31st of July 2011 at 12pm, Australian Eastern Standard Time.
This giveaway is open to people residing in Australia and New Zealand only.
The winner will be chosen at random using random.org.
You do not need to be a facebook fan, a follower of Book Bites or my twitter to enter (although much love if you do).

This giveaway is now closed!

Good luck everyone!

If the winner would like to review the books for Book Bites, please let me know :-p

Review: Stranded With Her Ex by Jill Sorenson

2011-07-11T09:31:00.001+10:00

Stranded With Her Ex by Jill Sorenson

Blurb from Goodreads:

An exotic wildlife preserve is a dream come true for conservation biologist Daniela Flores. Until she finds out her ex-husband is leading the research team. World-famous shark expert Sean Carmichael has only grown more ruggedly appealing in the time they were apart…the passion between them more intense than ever. But how could Daniela forgive Sean for betraying her when she needed him most?

Sean had come to the remote Farallon Islands to study killer sharks. Now a real killer is on the loose, threatening the woman he's never stopped loving. And this time, he knows he can't walk away. Marooned together during a deadly storm, Sean vows to go to hell and back to save Daniela…and for the chance to begin again.

The review:

I don't usually expect much from category romance apart from an entertaining story. Stranded With Her Ex bucked the trend! I hate that I must subconsciously believe the negative press that the romance genre receives, but somehow I still feel surprised when I come across a romance novel that rates high on all the levels of novel appreciation, especially if it is a category romance. I am not a literature snob, far from it, but I seem to have soaked up some of those assumptions.

From the second Daniela sets foot on the stark island, the suspense and drama sets in. The landscape is foreboding, but even the sharks are viewed with a sense of wonder. All the wildlife are viewed as wild and dangerous, even the birds, and the scientific merit of the project, environmental cause and scientific passion comes through loud and clear. The characters are well written and believable, and the tensions and relationships of the team are real and add to the high drama and suspense. Apart from the main protagonists, everyone has reason to be suspect to the reader. Those same main protagonists are dealing with real and serious issues like anxiety, emotional breakdowns and grief.

I enjoyed reading this novel immensely and recommend it to both romance and thriller readers. I'll be buying Jill Sorenson's novels again in the future, and if my second book is as near as good as this one, Sorenson will have made it onto my autobuy list of authors.

The only part of this book I disliked was the need for a Mills & Boon descriptive title, rather than a meaningful one. However, I understand their marketing strategy and this is not a complaint but an observation. I really loved this book! Five stars! I'm off to read it again...

Harlequin Teen have a comp to win an iPad2 and meet Maria V Snyder

2011-07-08T14:34:00.003+10:00

Hi guys,
Harlequin, the publishers of Mills & Boon now have a YA Fiction imprint called Harlequin Teen. They've published some books I really like, namely Rachel Caine's Soul Screamer series which just blew me away with their use of an original species for both YA and UF/PNR. I raved about the first one in the series when it came out and I have the rest on my TBR pile. You should read them!

I got distracted *bites lip* Anyway, the reason for my blog is that Harlequin Teen in Australia are running a competition to meet Maria V Snyder and an iPad2. You can find out more on their new facebook page: www.facebook.com/harlequinteenaus

Sony can't keep up the the demand for the Sony Reader 650 & accessories

2011-07-08T13:48:00.003+10:00

So I wasn't able to buy the case I wanted. The Sony Centre in George Street had run out, and told me they had been discontinued. They are still listed on the website. I called Burwood's David Jones store and they only have the hideous red ones {pic1} {pic2}. I will only buy one of the red ones if I have to. I'd prefer my pretty red Sony Reader to be in a black case. I didn't buy one when I bought my ereader because I had limited funds at the time. I do now as well, but as I explained yesterday, a girl has to do what a girl has to do! Tomorrow I am getting Lillian to scout Myer's in Toowoomba, and I'll spend the day with the phone calling around stores in Sydney. I really don't want the red one. I am not an eBay user, but the search I did on eBay today turned up no sources. I am ready to scream or cry or something emotional. If the case was cheaper I would just get the red one, but I am NOT spending $60 on something I find unattractive unless I have no other options. The "red" binding is too brown for my liking, and although the red flap is a gorgeous red, the brown detracts from it. If in doubt, go black! Not that it is my favourite colour or anything! *snickers* (coincidently, nearly all my clothes are black LOL The only colours are for contrasting the black.) Anyway, I am in a quandary. What to do, what to do!?!

I've been talking to @fangbooks, @staticsan and @SonyNZ on twitter, and apparently there is a high demand for them and they are sold out and unlikely to get new stock soon. I don't know who to believe. A busy manager who could have been fobbing off a customer or a twitter account. I'll go with the twitter account's reasoning because the girl looked busy and annoyed. Also, I would hate to think this product has been discontinued. It would be such a loss!

I guess it doesn't really matter. I'll be leaving NSW for the sticks in QLD in just under a month, and I need a case with a light. Unless I can find the black one, I'll have to buy the red one. But it may sell out. In that case, I guess I'll have to get a normal book light and *cries* clip it to my pretty red ereader.

God, these are SUCH #firstworldproblems! But I don't have much money, and when I buy something, it needs to count. Also, a month with solar power. It is lovely on paper, and I am proud that we aren't using grid power and all it's nasty associations, but I grew up on solar power, and it is not fun when you are a book worm! You either drain the batteries and get yelled up (just remember, I have been dealing with this since I was 6. I am now 27. I moved out of home when I was 16, but I visit as much as I can. Every night I was yelled at to put down the book and turn off the light!), or huddle with a torch which constantly kills the batteries, or ring your bed with 20 candles to get light bright enough not to give you eye strain. The option of not reading in bed of a night is a no brainer. So, yes, I need a solution. I will be home for nearly a month. A month of not reading of a night? Have I mentioned I am an insomniac? And books are my cocaine? I have? Well, you can see why this is the most pressing issue about visiting my parents. And that it is a problem I'll have in the future. My ereader was partly bought for travelling. I can take hundreds of books with me and they won't take up any room. I tried to take 20 books with me on a flight home once - it cost me a fortune! So this case will be an investment! All those times I am trying to read in low light - either on holiday, camping, on trains or in blackouts - I can just use the light!

Wish me luck! I have 3 or 4 weeks to find a solution! Damn you Sony! You create such an amazing product and then can't keep up with the demand? You need better planning in place!! Serious book readers are addicts! We can't not read. It is a compulsion! And we share our love with those around us. Three people at my book club last night were interested in buying a Sony Reader after Maria and I waxed lyrical. Three people! I guess they luck out. And apparently @staticsan hasn't been able to buy one for months... And Rosie from @fangbooks lost hers when travelling and has been desperately trying to find a replacement. There is such a demand out there for the Sony Reader Touch 650, but it seems everyone is out of luck. So good luck to everyone else who is on the endless search for the ereader and accessories!

Edit: A quick update. Rosie from @fangbooks called around about the Sony Reader 650 and apparently there are none to be had in Australia! The new release is apparently in a few months.

Edit: My friend Zach just made a comment on the Book Bites facebook page about the availability in America: "The 650s are becoming rare here in America, too. There are very few left even on Amazon. The Daily and Pocket editions are a bit more available, but that's understandable, considering the Touch is more popular. All three are out of stock according to Sony's website. I've decided that I want a Reader over a Kindle or a Nook, so I'll patiently wait for the release."

Travelling, so I'm off to buy a Sony Reader case with booklight...

2011-07-07T13:11:00.000+10:00

As a change of plans, I am now going to be staying with my parents for a couple of weeks after I finish working. I am really looking forward to the peace and quiet (and puppy kisses) which I can find at the farm. I have two problems with going home to Queensland. One is I won't have internet access, and if anyone follows me on Twitter, you can see why that would be a problem! I've also recently become addicted to theforcebook, which is a social networking site for fans of Star Wars (join us!) which will be painful to abandon for any period longer than half a day. The second problem I have is our power at the farm is completely solar! I mean, yeay, us! But it also means that we have to conserve energy. All my life I have been yelled at to "turn off that bloody light and go to sleep!" ALL. MY. LIFE! And no, it wasn't so much because I was saying up until 2am reading (although I was), but that I was draining the batteries to do so. I tried everything. Torches, candles (I need 15-20 to avoid eyestrain), book lights and being sneaky. Nothing really works. But... I have an ereader! So, tonight, I am going to buy the Sony Reader case that comes with a built in book light! I don't want to clamp a generic book light onto my ereader, and although the official case is a bit expensive, I think this is the solution. I don't actually have a case for my ereader. I have a doll's rug from my childhood that I wrap it in, papoose-like, to guard it from scratches. So tonight, after work and before book club, I am going to the Sony Centre and buying this case!

And yeay, Queensland!!

I'll need to fill my ereader so freaking full of ebooks! There is NOTHING to do out at the farm except hours of reading and writing and playing with my puppy. Oh, and housework *sigh* I think I need to um.. write... *snickers* Somehow I don't think that excuse will work on my Mum.... I do plan on writing a lot though. And typing up my Nano manuscript on Mum's laptop for an hour each day. I'm getting excited!

The Rogue Gadda giveaway winner is...

2011-07-06T13:22:00.000+10:00

The winner of the Rogue Gadda giveaway was picked at random by author Nicole Murphy this morning. The winner is:

Sapphired Dragon

Nicole will be in contact with you shortly to organise postal details.

I wish everyone much luck pursuing their Plan A!

The Rouge Gadda giveaway ends in 9 hours!

2011-07-05T15:10:00.002+10:00

The giveaway for Rogue Gadda ends at midnight Australian Eastern Standard Time tonight! That is in about 9 hours. It is open internationally, and all you need to do is tell Nicole Murphy and myself what your "Plan A" or dream career is. You can enter {here}. Good luck!

Guest post and competition: Nicole Murphy

2011-06-30T17:22:00.007+10:00

One of the themes I've been running with in my life lately recently is change and “fuck plan b”. The fuck plan b phrase comes from something Amanda Palmer (one of my inspirational idols) tweeted at a muso about his music career. I've taken it on as my new motto and my twitter friends and I have had a lot of conversations about fuck plan b, life changes and pursuing dreams. Nicole Murphy, a wonderful writer from Australia, was to write a guest post for Book Bites as part of her blog tour for the release of Rogue Gadda and this is what Nicole had to say about pursuing dreams:

Fuck Plan B

This is one of the scariest things to consider – and one of the most liberating. We’ve all got dreams – something that we wanted to achieve. And for any of you saying “I don’t” – think back to when you were a teenager. What were you passionate about? I bet it still gives you a thrill, right?

So yes, we’ve all got something we WANT to do with our lives. The problem is, society is really good as telling us it’s not possible. You need to have a job. You’ve got to have lots of money. Security. You have to have x by this age, y by this.

I fell into the trap. I knew in high school that I wanted to do something creative. I had some music lessons. I did art up to year ten. I studied drama in year eleven and twelve. I did amateur theatre productions. But the thing I loved most of all was writing.

I made some attempts to live a creative life – I auditioned for the drama course at University of Western Sydney. But I let all the (well-intentioned) folks telling me that I needed a fall-back position to influence me and so when I left year twelve, I went to teacher’s college.

The problem with a fall-back position is that you’ll fall back to it. I did. I dabbled in writing from time to time, but I wasn’t serious about it. I certainly wasn’t acting any more. All my creativity, my passion, went into teaching.

I lasted at teaching for a bit over nine years, until I had a mini-breakdown. When that happened, I’d been lucky enough to meet and marry my husband who wants me to be happy. He asked if I could do anything in the world, what would it be and I had one answer – writing.

So I started to pursue it. Over time, my confidence in myself waned and I found other ways to use the skills I was developing by becoming a journalist, but now that I’d let the dream have some air to breathe it wouldn’t let go of me.

Finally, in 2007, came the crunch time. On the one hand, it had become clear that I was never going to be more than an average journalist – I didn’t have the guts to go for the hard stories – and I wasn’t satisfied with that.

On the other hand, I was struck by a sudden, intense vision. I saw myself on my death bed, thinking to myself “maybe I would have been published if I’d just tried harder…”

It chilled me, in a way few things have, and I swore that if I got to the end of my life and I wasn’t published, it WASN’T going to be because I didn’t try. So with hubby’s support, when I left journalism I got a part-time job at a supermarket so I could focus all my creativity and energy on my writing.

That was February, 2008. History now shows that I sold the Dream of Asarlai trilogy in July 2009 and here we are, two years later, with the third book being released.

Is fucking Plan B and running with the dream an easy thing to do? No. The worthwhile things aren’t easy. People around you won’t understand. You’ll have to go without for a while and make a whole range of sacrifices. But here’s the thing – the happiness you gain from knowing that you’re doing what you want with your life will make up for most of that. And the downs don’t last forever.

Dreams do come true, but not without a whole lotta work and effort. And there’s no reason you can’t start that work today – except for fear.

Giveaway question – To win a copy of Rogue Gadda tell me, what’s your Plan A?

Please provide your email with your answer so Nicole can contact the winner!

Terms of the giveaway:
The winner is decided based solely on the response Nicole chooses.
The winner will be contacted by email.
This giveaway is open internationally.
The give away ends at 12pm on the 5th of July, 2011, Australian EST.

Note: The giveaway is now officially closed!

Here is a sneak peak of Rogue Gadda.

She took a deep breath and then poured the potion over the amulet, onto her chest. It was jumping into a fire – instantaneous agony that drew a scream of horror from her throat.

She closed her eyes but couldn’t avoid the stench of burning flesh. She’d erred. Despite all her consideration and planning, she’d made the wrong choice. This wasn’t going to save her.

It was going to kill her.

The Dream of Asarlai trilogy by Nicole Murphy:

Teaser Tuesday: Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews

2011-06-28T14:09:00.000+10:00

The portable m-scanner resembled a sewing machine covered in clockwork vomit. It detected residual magic and spat the result out as a graph of colors: green for shapeshifter, purple for undead, blue for human. It was neither precise nor infallible and reading an m-scan was more art than science, but it was still the best diagnostic tool we had.

Page 58 of Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews

Books are my cocaine

2011-06-23T17:58:00.000+10:00

So I just logged into my bank account and this shit just got real! I usually have about $200 of disposable income after I pay my rent and living expenses each fortnight, and I just tucked that away somewhere safe to pay rent while I am unemployed. This leaves me with no money to buy books or go out to dinner, etc. O.O I know, I know, I knew this already... But for some reason I didn't think about that when I quit my job... I knew I would have to tighten my belt, but it didn't hit me that that meant I cannot buy ANY books for the next two months! And ebooks haven't featured in my book budget, so I didn't think of myself not being able to buy them when I felt like it. I did seriously think all these sums through! I even sat down and made lists and dusted off my calculator!! But for some reason, by logging into my bank to pay my rent today, it has really hit home... I'm poor! I can't buy books because I want them! I have to read books I already own! I have to pay my library fine! I need to start posting reviews and apply for ARCs! O.O

I know this is totally a #firstworldproblems meltdown, and I have done it tough before (I grew up quite poor, especially by Australian standards), but I have had a steady income for so long that I just didn't remember what it was like to look at a book shop and pine! I have to remember, this is better in the long run. But damn, I do so want all those books I can't afford to buy!!! D:

To deal with this crisis I plan to:

Pay my library fines (I am pretty sure I owe them money, anyway)
Start posting reviews (I have some written in my notebook which need to be typed up)
Fill out my Net Galley profile
Organise my bookshelves and decide which I can reread without wanting to shoot myself
Organise my slush pile and TBR pile and consider trading some of the slush with friends
Suss out the second hand store in a nearby suburb that Kat is always talking about
Read all the books I downloaded from Project Gutenberg but never got around to reading
Not give in to the lure of book shops! *whimpers*

Books really are my cocaine. Books are the reason I choose not to have a credit card. I just know I would convince myself that every book I pass is actually an emergency and that I must buy it. Or else. And I couldn't stop at just one! The only self control I have about books is not getting a credit card :( I've told myself I am allowed one more ebook and then it has to stop! I can't even justify a trip to Galaxy! One ebook that costs less than $5 D: I'd better make it worthy!

Teaser Tuesday: Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris

2011-06-22T15:31:00.002+10:00

And this roguish behaviour, Agent Braun, is exactly what troubles me. The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences is far more than simply acting on one’s impulses in the name of the Queen. The best way to defeat the shadows of menace and evil is to become a shadow of yourself. We protect the Empire in secret, a detail you seem to overlook . . . often. You could take a lesson from your predecessors, and perhaps develop a lesser reliance on black powder and dynamite.

Page 21 of Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris

Change

2011-06-22T12:46:00.004+10:00

In the words of Amanda Palmer, fuck plan b! I've quit my day job!

So, now it is official I can tell you that I resigned from my full time job last week. I’ll be looking for part time work as I want to get back into archaeology, and I couldn’t do that when I was working 40-55 hour weeks (and being paid for 38 hour weeks).

Why is this relevant to Book Bites? Well I also want to spend more time dedicated to blogging, reviewing and writing fiction. It won’t be a walk in the park (more like a fast sprint through scrub) but I’ll be happier doing what I love. It means I won’t be buying as many books, but I have a backlog of classics on my ereader I plan to read, and I’ll be renewing my acquaintance with libraries again. I still have a backlog of books in my TBR pile that I need to sort through, and I also have a notebook full of reviews I need to type up. So Book Bites may become more busy in the next six months! I have felt guilty that I haven’t had the time or energy to dedicate myself to this blog. I love blogging and the blogging community, and I love reading and the reading community. The fact that I have had to step back from both has been depressing. But, you know, I had a salary to earn and the work of two people to do *shrugs* Life, hey?! Anyway, there are changes a’brewing!

But for now:

Teaser Tuesday (it is late, but I had a migraine yesterday)
Supanova wrap up some time this week!
Kylie Chan will be signing at Galaxy on Saturday, 12pm. It is now squeezed above Abbeys on York Street (a few doors from old Galaxy and there is no signage yet) and I have no idea how they will fit anyone in – new Galaxy is claustrophobic enough as it is :( But they are resourceful, so I am sure they will work something out!! :D
A guest post by lovely Australian author Nicole Murphy will be appearing very soon! <3

To do list:

Sleep for a week
Move my desk and organise my workstation
Reply to blog comments I've missed
Type up reviews
Rearrange bookshelves
Organise TBR pile
Make sure I don’t have any library fines
Update Goodreads (recently read books and owned books)
Fill in my Net Galley profile
Start writing reviews for other blogs (Sorry guys, life got in the way!)
Organise a balanced reading/writing/blogging/job search/archaeology timetable
Review the design of Book Bites
Review how Book Bites interacts with its associated sites (Tumblr, Facebook, Flickr, Goodreads, Twitter)
Have an awesome career in archaeology!

What do you think makes a “successful” blog? Is there something I have been doing that I should do differently? I know I haven’t been blogging much and rarely review but I plan to change those. Do you like it when I get in guest bloggers? Should I do this more often?

The future of the book shop: some thoughts.

2011-06-16T17:04:00.003+10:00

This is purely an opinion piece based on my current inexpert knowledge and with my own personal experiences as a customer over the last 15 years.

I've been reading all these articles lately about the demise of the physical book shop in Australia. They (the generalised voice of the conversation) say that the demise has been caused by the sale of ebooks and stores like The Book Depository and Amazon with their reduced shipping fees and undercut prices. To my knowledge (and no, I haven’t researched it, I just felt like blogging) the two big chains that recently imploded, Borders and Angus and Robertson, are both run by RedGroup. I haven’t heard of other large chains closing all their stores in Australia. Like I said, I haven’t researched that fact, however, the panic I have seen revolves around those two book shop chains. Are the other chains like Dymocks threatening to close their doors, or is the fact that RedGroup ran both Borders and Angus and Robertson being underplayed for the sake of a sensationalist headline?

I really think there is a place for book shops in the Australian communities I have lived in. And I have to say, as someone who lived in regional Australia, I was never suitably impressed with these big chains. They clogged our shopping centres but sold the same books. There was no specialisation. Well, Dymocks stocks a great reference section, but generally, the chains stock the same 50 or 100 books per genre. So for speculative fiction, there are the new releases and then the big authors like Tolkein and Gemmell. That is NOT a lot of variety. It is fine if you read 5 books a year – you are rarely after variety when you read that many books. But for someone who reads 5 books a week, it was as frustrating as hell. If I wanted a book, I had to order it in. The process for that was very involving, and the staff usually huffed and puffed because it took time. And yes, I used to go through this process quite a bit. It was NOT a satisfying buying experience, and I am sure I would have bought up more books if I had have had access to them instead of waiting 6 weeks and paying higher prices. I ended up buying most of my books second hand because a local second hand book shop was run by a lady who loved speculative fiction. I could always find something new to read, and the range was extensive and eclectic enough that I could even find books by Charles de Lint (he is my yardstick author because he isn’t so easy to find). I also preferred buying there because the books were cheaper and the owner was familiar with her stock and could recommend others.

Specialisation and knowing what the customer wants.

Flash forward a few years. I moved to Sydney. The Big Smoke. I was so excited by the possibility of large book stores filled with gems just waiting to be discovered! And I was largely disappointed. I went to Borders and while they had a few more books than the regional smaller book shops, I still wasn’t impressed with their range. I started buying Nora Roberts books because all the book shops stocked them. It wasn’t until a year after moving to Sydney that I rediscovered Galaxy Bookshop and found my heart-home. I really think the way of the future is the indie book shops who specialise. I could walk into Galaxy and there would be row after row after row after row of speculative fiction. In fact, the WHOLE shop was dedicated to it! No wonder I would spend hours browsing! And the staff knew who I was because I quickly became a familiar face. They knew the books I read and could recommend others. I became part of the speculative fiction community just by being a frequent customer and meeting others, making friends and sharing recommendations. They run a book club for paranormal romance and we feed each other’s book addictions by recommending new authors – which of course, we then have to go and buy. I buy more books as a Galaxy customer than I ever did as a customer at Borders, Angus and Robertson, Dymocks or QDB and I believe that is because they catered to diversity. They create a community atmosphere and their love of their genres is shared with their customers, this in turn creates more sales. These are the things that are missing in the chains. I know they left a vacuum behind them, but I think there is a place for book shops in Australia in the future, but a place for indies, for genre specific shops and for shops with heart. Books are very personal. The things that hit your switches don’t hit someone elses. No person likes the exact same 50 books, and the fact that the chains tried to guess those books is one of the things that I believe lead to the demise of RedGroup. I also wouldn’t be surprised if had something to do with management and spreading themselves too thin – and the jamming of 5 book shops to a shopping centre probably doesn’t help!

Ebooks and online sales may be impacting book sales, but I doubt they are selling more books than physical books sold in Australia (remember, I haven’t researched this, I am just going on comments friends have made about their own buying habits). Most of the bibliophiles I know who buy ebooks still buy physical books – in fact, a lot of them, like myself, still buy physical copies even if we have bought the ebook! So we are spending MORE money in the book industry than we used too. Book Depository and Amazon may be a problem if the book shops in Australia don’t step up their own campaign for online sales. I think partly it is the convenience, and partly the price. I refuse to buy from either. I have made a pact to myself. I support indie book shops, and I won’t take my custom somewhere else for my paperbacks. I know that both companies have agreements in place about their shipping and this is why local stores can’t compete, however, I think they need to do more to lure back the customers. The sales experience is difficult. I find the CMS of the big online chains are easier to navigate than say, Angus and Robertson’s, which lagged, didn’t have a full catalogue and had missing metadata, covers and blurbs. I do not believe in Nationalism, but maybe calling up a feeling of national pride in our Australian book industry will help boost the book shop industry and guilt some customers back from buying at Amazon or Book Depository. I don’t know. It is just an idea I was having. Basically, these two companies worry me where ebooks don’t. Ebooks are different from physical books, and you buy them for different reasons. I can’t think to predict what the format of choice will be in 50 or 100 years, but I think books are safe for the next 10 to 20 years in the very least. I have read too much science fiction to think it will remain that way for the next thousand years, but I would like to think they will. There is so much more to get out of a physical book! But that is a discussion for another day.

I also think it would be really interesting to see how big a role second hand and online second hand book shops play in the future of the industry!

Thank you for putting up with my ramble on this topic. As I have said, I am saying all this as a reader, not anyone of standing in the book industry. I could have spent weeks researching this article, but then it would sit languishing in my drafts folder like all the other unfinished posts I have left half written. So, for the sake of expediency, these are my thoughts verbatim, without further research, polishing or input. You can take this as the thoughts of a reader you pass in the street, a conversation you might overhear in a café. I hope it made sense.

So how do you think the book industry will change in the next 20 years, 50 years, 100 years?

The Silence

2011-06-09T16:06:00.000+10:00

I have some bit things happening in my personal life at the moment, and haven’t had time or attention to focus on reading or blogging. Sorry for the lull. I hope to make up for it with Supanova occurring next weekend.

Don’t forget, Erica Hayes, Tracey O’Hara and Nicole Murphy will have a stall in the artist alley – pop along and say hi! They’ll be representing the urban fantasy authors in Australia!

Book Bites is now on Tumblr

2011-06-06T12:56:00.004+10:00

Book Bites now has a Tumblr ^_^ It is a place for me to share and reblog quotes, book p0rn and bookshelf p0rn! Because, you know you want to… ;-p I'll still be uploading pictures to Flickr, so mostly the Book Bites Tumblr will be where I post random pictures that excite a bibliophile like myself ^_^

NB bookshelf p0rn and book p0rn are pretty pictures of the same. I don’t post any naughty pictures there – just in case you are the type to worry about that (sexy pictures get posted to a different Tumblr LOL).

You can see the new Tumblr at http://bookbitesoz.tumblr.com

What kind of pictures do you want to see there? What quotes should I add? Do you have a Tumblr obsession too?

Teaser Tuesdays: The Seventh Wave by Paul Garrety

2011-05-31T15:32:00.000+10:00

That was the trouble with the damn universe; everything was connected. Change one thing and three others would tilt over and crash into nine more.

Page 13 of The Seventh Wave by Paul Garrety

Aurealis Awards wrapup (finally!), Supanova, Flickr and Facebook

2011-05-31T12:25:00.002+10:00

I am sorry I have been so slack with my blogging. I've been under the weather, and had stuff going on in my personal and professional life that have prevented me from writing more than a few garbled sentences at a time. I never finish or refine these drafts and thus they never see light of day.

Aurealis Awards

This wrap up is VERY late in coming, and I do apologise! Rather than give a blow by blow of who won what awards, I’ll list the winners (which I am sure you have seen around the Aussie

book blogging world by now) and then a quick summary of my highlights of the night.

2010 AUREALIS AWARD WINNERS:
CHILDREN’S FICTION (told primarily through words)

The Keepers, Lian Tanner, Allen & Unwin

CHILDREN’S FICTION (told primarily through pictures)

The Boy and the Toy, Sonya Hartnett (writer) & Lucia Masciullo (illustrator), Penguin Viking

YOUNG ADULT SHORT STORY

A Thousand Flowers, Margo Lanagan, Zombies and Unicorns, Allen & Unwin

YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

Guardian of the Dead, Karen Healey, Allen & Unwin

ILLUSTRATED BOOK/ GRAPHIC NOVEL

Changing Ways Book 1, Justin Randall, Gestalt Publishing

COLLECTION

The Girl With No Hands, Angela Slatter, Ticonderoga Publications

ANTHOLOGY

Wings of Fire, edited by Jonathan Strahan and Marianne S. Jablon, Night Shade Books

HORROR SHORT STORY

The Fear, Richard Harland, Macabre: A Journey Through Australia’s Darkest Fears, Brimstone Press

HORROR NOVEL

Madigan Mine, Kirstyn McDermott, Pan Macmillan

FANTASY SHORT STORY (joint winners)

The February Dragon, LL Hannett & Angela Slatter, Scary Kisses, Ticonderoga Publications
Yowie, Thoraiya Dyer, Sprawl, Twelfth Planet Press

FANTASY NOVEL

Power and Majesty, Tansy Rayner Roberts, HarperVoyager (HarperCollins)

SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY

The Heart of a Mouse, K.J. Bishop, Subterranean Online (Winter 2010)

SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL

Transformation Space, Marianne de Pierres, Orbit (Hachette)

KRIS HEMBURY ENCOURAGEMENT AWARD

Jodi Cleghorn (Go Jodi!)

PETER MCNAMARA CONVENORS’ AWARD

Helen Merrick

My highlights of the night:

Tracey O’Hara came to greet me at the door before we had even registered! O.O I was shocked, because despite talking to her on Twitter from time to time, I have only met her two or three times. She not only recognised me but knew me. It is a shock to me when someone I admire remembers me :D I was a bit star struck LOL
Hanging out with the lovely Nyssa from ASFFA and delightful Mark from Galaxy, with the gorgeous Elle and suave Nick from my writing group (Spiders represent!), and damn, ALLLLLLLLLL my twitter friends, including authors, editors and other book industry people. Unexpectedly I knew more than the four people I walked into the room to greet.
Because I went to the Aurealis Awards with Nyssa, she introduced me around to some of her “people”, be they friends or industry contacts. I admit to being starstruck at times.
I was talking to Tracey O’Hara and she introduced me to Nicole Murphy, another author I talk to on twitter quite a bit. You know how you don’t recognise someone, but the second someone points it out you feel like facepalming yourself? Well, it was like that.
At the after party I sat with Nyssa, Mark, Tracey O’Hara, Nicole Murphy and a few others and drank an overpriced bourbon. We had to catch a midnight train, so I went to find people to say adios to (actually, hello, as I said I would meet them there), and talking to @Rowena_SW realised that I should have spent more time in the other corner, because a lot of other people I enjoy tweeting with were present, including @BothersomeWords and @nickystrickland. After a quick chat and photo, Nyssa and I had to run, but it was lovely to put faces to aliases!

There were other highlights, like seeing authors I have admired for years, and all the pretty clothes (I could have worn my corset! Dammit!), and while it was over a week ago now, I have fond, if fuzzy, memories. I’ll definitely be returning to the next awards. I was not expecting to get much out of the Aurealis Awards aside from some silent fangirl squees, but somehow I found myself fitting in. Maybe it is because the literati type parties I have attended in the past were general fiction, not speculative fiction, but I was expecting to be bored while awed. Instead I found myself fascinated with every conversation I took part in, to the point I wish I had more time for each person I met. I also feel kind of bad because I didn’t drag Elle and Nick around with me so they could meet some complete strangers. Or at least offer too. I think I was high on the atmosphere. And I really wasn’t expecting to know anyone except my friends. I guess I am still kind of in shock. I am not the sort of person people remember. Well, I haven’t been in the past. But it seems the more I tweet, and the more I participate in the community, the more people are becoming to know me as part of that community.

Facebook

That’s right, I have a facebook page now! You can “fan” Book Bites at www.facebook.com/bookbites - I will be microblogging when I am attending events (e.g. the Aurealis Awards last weekend) and sharing links and such. It is also another way to keep up to date with blog posts if you do not check your Feed Reader constantly (I am guilty of that myself!).

Flickr

I've uploaded some more photos to my Flickr page. I found some old photos on my hard drive of signings at Galaxy that were not previously uploaded and I have added some photos from the Aurealis Awards, Sir Terry Pratchett at the Sydney Opera House and various prizes and autographs.

Here are some photos from the Aurealis Awards:

Master of Ceremonies, Garth Nix, hidding in the shadows while Susan Wardle and Nathan Burrage co-convene.

I was able to spend time chatting with some of my favourite ladies, Tracey O'Hara and Nicole Murphy.

Catching up with twitter friends at the Aurealis Awards after party.

One from the guest bag, one prize, a friend's prize, and the last because someone already had a copy.

Supanova

Supanova is on in a few weeks. I am going, my friends are going, even some of my book club ladies are going (let’s face it, they are friends too, we just happened to have met through book club LOL) and Supanova will be AWESOME! I am excited to meet JAMES MARSTERS!!! Seriously, his name belongs in caps. I may swoon. Yes, swoon. I am also meeting Sean Maher (another hottie playing one of my favourite characters, nice!), Moreena Baccarin, and Gareth David-Lloyd. And, the bit that is actually relevant to my readers? Tracey O’Hara, Erica Hayes and Nicole Murphy will all be at Supanova! They aren’t listed as guests, but they will have an Urban Fantasy stall in the Artist’s Alley :D We plan to go glomp! So, if you read urban fantasy and will be at Supanova, you should go say hi! They are all wonderful women who write terrific books! They are totally glomp-worthy! :D So do it. I am using my Jedi mind powers on you and telling you you should glomp them at Supanova. Of course, that would be more effective if I was actually a Jedi. The thing is, I’d probably be a Sith or smuggler like Han and Chewy LOL Anyway, Supanova, FTW, mid June, best geek fest in Australia!

ARRC to Perth in 2013?

2011-05-30T12:50:00.000+10:00

If you are a member of ARRA, you should check your email. There is a suggestion that ARRC 2013 could be held in Perth in conjunction with the RWA conference. It would obviously be cheaper for ARRA in terms of productions cost, but I suspect they will lose attendees if they do go ahead with it. ARRA has sent around a survey to gauge interest in this idea in an email this morning.

I personally wouldn’t attend ARRC 2013 if it was in Perth – unless I won the lottery, met a sugar daddy or got a substantial raise. None of these things are likely to happen in the next year and a half, so I can say with very little doubt I would not attend a Perth conference. The reasons for this are numerous, but the main one is if I had the money to go to Western Australia, I would spend it in a 4WD playing tourist, not paying for a conference and accommodation to spend the weekend in a luxury hotel. This, for me is about priorities. If I had the money to fly to Perth (approx $800 return), pay a couple of hundred in accommodation, another $200 or so for the conference, and then another $200 or so for clothes and accessories (there is a awards dinner and ladies need a chance to frock up!) I would need well over a thousand dollars! O.O I just don’t have that sort of money.

I have talked it over with my paranormal romance book club and we had tentatively decided to attend the next one and make group bookings for everything. You need ten people for that, but once you have that number, things get cheaper. One of our members is a travel agent and she knows these things. I very much doubt these ladies would go to their first ARRA conference if they needed to spend more than $1000 to spend a weekend in a hotel.

For the average member, I assume they would need to get some big names in the genre to attend for people to find it worth attending. By average member I mean someone without a lot of disposable cash. Yes, we have two years to think about saving, but that is A LOT of money for a two day event! O.O

If someone is going to spend that sort of money, they do so to see the sights and experience new environs. This is not me complaining that I never want to go to Perth. This is me saying when I go to Western Australia, I want to do a bloody good job of it. I would rather ARRC 2013 be somewhere accessible for most of the members, somewhere I could afford to go, and somewhere I could convince my friends to go. Let’s face it. ARRC 2011 was at Bondi Beach. How many attendees actually made it down to Bondi Beach? Maria and I went down for ten minutes or so while we were waiting for our bus home on the last day. No one would have made it to Bronte – and it is, by far, the better beach of the two! I am sorry ARRA, but if it is held in Perth, there is no way I will be able to attend, or would choose to attend. Which is sad, because I really enjoyed ARRC 2011!