Australian Author Recommendations From My Book Club

My monthly book club met tonight, and while we were missing half our members, I thought it would be fun to ask what Australian authors they could recommend*. We all come from a fantasy, romance and paranormal romance background, which really shows in these recommendations. This is what they came up with:

• Anna Campbell
• Catherine Jink
• David McRobbie 
• Denise Rossetti
• Erica Hayes 
• Ian Irvine
• Isobelle Carmody
• John Marsden
• Karen Miller / KE Mills
• Kate Forsyth
• Keri Arthur
• Kylie Chan
• Marianne de Pierres
• Melina Marchetta
• Sean Kennedy
• Tracey O'Hara

*They really wanted me to add Nalini Singh, but she is a Kiwi, and while we appropriate them as our own and she has attended our book club a few times... Well, she still isn't an Aussie author. Maybe someone should host a Kiwi Author Month... Let me know if there is one, and I'll join. I have a couple of Kiwi authors I love too. 

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 Aussie Author Month is a terrific initiative shining a light on Australian authors whilst raising funds for the Indigenous Literacy Project.

You can win a copy of Sandra Antonelli's new novel A Basic Renovation (here}.

You can find out more {here} about guest posting during Aussie Author Month. Let's share the love for our fabulous Australian authors!

Reading Pile for Aussie Author Month 2013

During Aussie Author Month I am planning on only reading books by Australian Authors. Because I spent all my 'fun' budget on concerts in the last two months I will not be buying books, so these will be books I already own and love. I may also borrow one or two novels from others if I get a hankering to explore. There are so many amazing authors from Australia but sadly they fly under the radar. I love that Aussie Author Month highlights this homegrown talent. Below is a list of the books I have read so far this month, and the books I am considering reading during the rest of Aussie Author Month.

Read:

• Gift Of the Goddess by Denise Rossetti
• Tail Spin by Denise Rossetti
• Strongman by Denise Rossetti

Reading:

• Guilty As Sin by Denise Rossetti

Possible(*) Planned Reads:

• Thyla by Kate Gordon
• Penumbra by Keri Arthur 
• Dragonfly by Erica Hayes
• Genesis by Lara Morgan
• Equinox by Lara Morgan
• Dark Star by Lara Morgan
• Checkers by John Marsden
• So Much To Tell You by John Marsden
• Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
• The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta
• Jack Maggs by Peter Carey
• Quest by Shannah Jay
• Lands of Nowhere by Shannah Jay
• Shadow of the Serpent by Shannah Jay
• The Price of Wisdom by Shannah Jay
• Envoy by Shannah Jay
• Drylands by Thea Astley
• The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea by Randolph Stow
• Visitants by Randolph Stow
• Strange Objects by Gary Crew
• The Hunting of Shadroth by Victor Kelleher
• Parkland by Victor Kelleher
• Guitar Highway Rose by Brigid Lowry
• Thunderwith by Liby Hathorn
• Chrysalis by Liby Hathorn
• Walking The Boundaries by Jackie French
• My Place by Sally Morgan
• Scatterlings by Isobelle Carmody

*I choose my reading material depending on my mood and how busy I am in my day job. If I am busy and wrapped up in the mundane I usually choose to read something light, either in content or writing style.

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Aussie Author Month is a terrific initiative shining a light on Australian authors whilst raising funds for the Indigenous Literacy Project.

You can win a copy of Sandra Antonelli's new novel A Basic Renovation (here}.

You can find out more {here} about guest posting during Aussie Author Month. Let's share the love for our fabulous Australian authors!

The next three days: Sydney meet up and the Australian Romance Readers Conference

I have a lovely few days planned, and it all starts tonight! Tonight is the meet up we have organised for the online book community! I get to meet some lovely people I've been talking too online, some times for years. I've met people in the real world through book clubs, signings and writing groups, but that isn’t quite the same as 30 odd bookish people chatting over cocktails at a bar LOL There is an impromptu book swap, so if you have any books you wish to offload, please feel free to bring them along! I was distracted by the internet last night and forgot that I was going to do a cull around the edges of my collection *blushes* Anyway, if you plan on coming, you will need to RSVP, and if you wish to watch for updates, please follow me on twitter on @obsidiantears83. I should be turning up some time between 6pm and 6:30pm, so I shall see you there! If in doubt, look for the people with books! (It takes a special breed to take a book or three into a bar LOL)

This weekend is ARRC, or the Australian Romance Readers Convention. I couldn’t afford to go for the entire weekend (it kicks off with drinks tomorrow night) but I will be attending for the Awards Dinner on Saturday night and the Sunday sessions. For all the goss, follow me on twitter, or follow the #ARRC2011 hashtag!

I really wanted to attend the morning session on Saturday. Lexxie Couper, Nalini Singh, Maggie Nash and Rhian Cahill talk about Paranormal Romance and why it is “so damn seductive”. It would have been interesting. Instead, I decided to attend the Sunday sessions (I could only afford the one day) and am really looking forward to the session with reader Kate Cuthbert (@katydidinoz) and writers Nalini Singh, Keri Arthur, Denise Rossetti, Erica Hayes and Karen Simpson Nikakis. It is entitled Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Futuristic Romance: Our world, otherworlds – romance in the realms of the imagination. Looks interesting!

I do have the problem of where to sit for the dinner. You get to choose your tables Saturday morning, but I won’t be there until the Awards Dinner later that night. I am at a friend’s Divorce High Tea (definitely worth celebrating!) most of the day, voting in the morning (why is the election the same weekend as ARRC?!), and live too far away to pop in to write my name on the seating plan *sigh* We talking about having a twitter table (two actually) but I am not sure if we are going ahead with that. My friend Maria is attending for the first time too, but she only knows our book club members attending There are four of us, so Maria and I wanted to sit together. I know a number of people in the community now, and will know more after tonight’s drinks, but that isn’t the same as a close friend to hang with. If we don’t have a twitter table, I am thinking of asking one of my other friends to pencil us down for the same table. But at the same time, I like the idea of bonding over books with a random set of people I would not have normally talked to. I don’t know. I guess I’ll bring it up at the meet up tonight.

Have you attended readers or writers conventions before? I don’t mean cons like Supernova or Dragon*Con, but more serious affairs where the focus is on the books, the authors and the writing rather than cosplay and actors? I haven’t! This should be interesting!!

If you are attending either our meet up tonight, or ARRC this weekend, I hope to see there. Come and introduce yourself if we haven’t already met! I’ll be the one wearing a lot of black and with a pink* stripe in my hair LOL






*Oh yes, the pink! The red faded, the lovely metallic magenta faded, and now it is a rose colour… I hate pink! But I guess this colour isn’t too bad LOL

Guest Post: Australian Romance Readers Convention 2011 and what it has to offer Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy readers

I have invited one of my friends to write about the ARRA conference I am attending in two weeks. I have not been to ARRC before, although last year I sat by my computer watching tweets and checking my text messages for the latest updates. If you are attending ARRC, please let me know, and we can grab a flute of champagne together at the dinner!

Decadence has been a romance reader for a decade, mainly paranormal, urban fantasy and Regency romance. Follow her on twitter (@my_lheage) or read her reviews at Book Thingo. As a member of the Australian Romance Readers Association, she wants to let other paranormal and urban fantasy readers know what's they can look forward to when love comes to town.

With some of the best local talent in attendance, paranormal romance readers are in for a real treat at the Australian Romance Readers Convention overlooking stunning Bondi Beach on 25-27 March. Keynote speaker Nalini Singh is an awesome addition to the mainly Australian line-up; her speech kept everyone well-entertained at last year's Australian Romance Reader Awards, where she revealed the title of her third Archangel book for the first time.

Panels

Lexxie Couper asks Nalini Singh, Keri Arthur, Maggie Nash and Rhian Cahill why we love creatures of the night and when they stopped being the monsters that scared us and became our darkest fantasy heroes. Urban fantasy readers are not left out either. Nalini Singh, Keri Arthur, Denise Rossetti, Erica Hayes and Karen Simpson Nikakis answer readers' questions in the Fantasy, Science Fiction and Futuristic Romance panel.

Some of these authors also appear in other panels to discuss the crazy side of being a published author (think crazed fans, how far they go to bring their books to life and what they do in their non-existent free time) and the sexy side of romance.

Awards Dinner

These awards are voted for by real Australian romance readers and the paranormal crowd can always be relied upon to bling it. It's just like the Oscars, only without the bad jokes.

Silent Auction

In the wake of the flood disaster in Queensland this year, the Australian Romance Readers Association is holding a silent auction with all proceeds going to the Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal. Generous authors from all over the globe have donated some amazing items to bid on including a signed House of Night set from PC Cast, a Kiss of Snow ARC from Nalini Singh, canvas prints of photographs taken by Keri Arthur. There are also book bundles and ARCs from authors including Charlaine Harris, Christine Feehan, MaryJanice Davidson, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Lynn Viehl, Tracey O'Hara, Rachel Caine and many more. The auction has so much on offer and supports such a worthy cause.

For a full list of items you can bid on, check out http://australianromancereaders.wordpress.com/silent-auction/

Book Signing

We all know that personally signed books are amazing, but even better than that, the book signing session also offers a little face time with your favourite authors. Ask that burning question about their series or your favourite characters.

There is another highlight from the convention that we can't find the right place for in the program and that is the atmosphere. You can just feel something in the air when you're surrounded by other readers just like you, all celebrating the books you love, swapping recommendations and discussing your favourite authors with other people who share your love of paranormal romance and urban fantasy that you simply can't find anywhere else.

To register or find out more, please visit us at http://www.australianromancereaders.com.au/2011.html

Membership has its perks. For discounts on entry and books from a number of independent bookshops, a monthly newsletter and access to our online romance reading community, join the Australian Romance Readers Association. With membership currently only $10 a year, you get real bang for your buck. Find out more at http://www.australianromancereaders.com.au/join.html

Manic Monday: Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur, Grimspace by Ann Aguirre and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Each Monday (or the closest I can get to Monday) I will be posting a Past/Present/Future Reading Post called Manic Monday. Don't hate me if I post it on a Tuesday - it just indicates how "manic" my Monday really was! If you want to see more of what I have been reading, I try and update my Goodreads account with each book I am reading.

What I just finished reading

Genuine Lies by Nora Roberts
Stars: 4/5

Blurb from Goodreads:
When a renowned writer with a fierce drive to discover the truth agrees to pen the biography of a Hollywood film legend, she encounters resistance from the woman's stepson after she tries to dig into the woman's past. First time in hardcover.

Why I picked it up: I needed something to take with me on my travels yesterday.
Why I finished it: I got into the intrigue of the story and couldn't remember who the killer was.
I'd give it to: Nora Roberts fans.

What I am reading now

I am going to be reviewing for Love Books and the first one I am to review is Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur. I like her Riley series, so I don't see any hardship in having this review finished by Wednesday. I haven't been in a reading mood in the last couple of days, and have been watching dvds instead. I feel really bad about not reading but when I can't concentrate, it is best not to push myself! Wish me luck with this review LOL

Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur

Blurb from Goodreads:
In this exciting debut, author Keri Arthur explodes onto the supernatural scene with a sexy, sensuous tale of intrigue and suspense set in a world where legends walk and the shady paths of the underworld are far more sinister than anyone envisioned.

A rare hybrid of vampire and werewolf, Riley Jenson and her twin brother, Rhoan, work for Melbourne’s Directorate of Other Races, an organization created to police the supernatural races–and protect humans from their depredations. While Rhoan is an exalted guardian, a.k.a. assassin, Riley is merely an office worker–until her brother goes missing on one of his missions. The timing couldn’t be worse. More werewolf than vampire, Riley is vulnerable to the moon heat, the weeklong period before the full moon, when her need to mate becomes all-consuming.…

Luckily Riley has two willing partners to satisfy her every need. But she will have to control her urges if she’s going to find her brother….Easier said than done as the city pulses with frenzied desire, and Riley is confronted with a very powerful–and delectably naked–vamp who raises her temperature like never before.

In matters carnal, Riley has met her match. But in matters criminal, she must follow her instincts not only to find her brother but to stop an unholy harvest. For someone is doing some shifty cloning in an attempt to produce the ultimate warrior–by tapping into the genome of nonhumans like Rhoan. Now Riley knows just how dangerous the world is for her kind–and just how much it needs her.

Grimspace by Ann Aguirre

Blurb from Goodreads:
As the carrier of a rare gene, Sirantha Jax has the ability to jump ships through grimspace—a talent which makes her a highly prized navigator for the Corp. Then a crash landing kills everyone on board, leaving Jax in a jail cell with no memory of the crash. But her fun's not over. A group of rogue fighters frees her…for a price: her help in overthrowing the established order.




Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Blurb from Goodreads:
From the Booker Prize-winning author of The Remains of the Day comes a devastating new novel of innocence, knowledge, and loss. As children Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy were students at Hailsham, an exclusive boarding school secluded in the English countryside. It was a place of mercurial cliques and mysterious rules where teachers were constantly reminding their charges of how special they were.

Now, years later, Kathy is a young woman. Ruth and Tommy have reentered her life. And for the first time she is beginning to look back at their shared past and understand just what it is that makes them special–and how that gift will shape the rest of their time together. Suspenseful, moving, beautifully atmospheric, Never Let Me Go is another classic by the author of The Remains of the Day.

What I am reading next

Rosie (@Fangbooks on Twitter) lent me a big juicy bag of books! I am tossing up whether to read the second Ann Aguirre book straight away, or read about cowboy vampires... decisions decisions...

Book signing today: Keri Arthur & Tracey O'Hara

The last time I met Tracy O'Hara

I am very excited! My best friend Lillian has a work conference in Sydney, so she is currently driving to Brisbane and jumping on a plane. We are catching up for one night only and it will be terrific to see her. I never get to spend any time with my Queenslander friends or family any more, as I can’t afford time off to visit. That is hard because when I was a university student, I would spend 2-3 months a year with them all, before heading back to JCU. I see people maybe a handful of days a year, which is bloody difficult. So when I can snatch little visits like this, I do. We are meeting up at Galaxy (so she can max out her credit card and add to my store reward points), and then meeting authors Tracey O’Hara and Keri Arthur. I have met Tracey before, but as she has only one PnR novel published I don’t have anything else to get signed. I had a chap book she gave me, but it is in my stack of “filing” somewhere (N.B. “filing” is another name for a desk I can no longer see through all the papers, books and cds. I really need to buy a filing cabinet – I should do my tax return so I can afford one LOL). I've also just read the first of Keri Arthur's Riley books – I had read a sea dragon one previously which I wasn’t wowed by, but I really liked what I have seen of the Riley series so far. So I have read Full Moon Rising and a short story she shared a link to on twitter. I love it that there are Australian authors in a genre that appears to be saturated by Americans. I especially love how the Riley series is actually set in Australia! After Galaxy (shhhh there will be cake!) Lillian and I are going to this awesome Japanese restaurant in the city. It looks so authentic. It has bamboo partitions, low seating in sunken floors, and the best damn beef hot pot I've ever had. I even like their sake!

I have been writing this intermittently during the day (some days I like call waiting LOL) and it is now time to dash into the city. If you will be at the signing tell one of the staff you read Zja’s blog and I will say hi ;D

Teaser Tuesday: Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur

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 Teasers:

A smile twitched his lips, but there was a coldness in his eyes that suggested he not only knew where I was going but had been waiting for it. And I knew in that moment that this was the reason he'd been trying to keep me talking before.
Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur

Manic Monday: Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur

Each Monday (or the closest I can get to Monday) I will be posting a Past/Present/Future Reading Post called Manic Monday. Don't hate me if I post it on a Tuesday - it just indicates how "manic" my Monday really was! If you want to see more of what I have been reading, I try and update my Goodreads account with each book I am reading.


What I just finished reading
Slave by Cheryl Brooks
Stars: 3/5

Blurb from Goodreads:
He may be the last of a species whose sexual talents were the envy of the galaxy. Cat is an enslaved warrior from a race with a feline gene that gives him awesome beauty, fearsome strength, and sensuality and sexual prowess unmatched by any other males in the universe. Even filthy, chained, and beaten, he gives off an aura of power and virility. Jacinth is an intergalactic trader on a rescue mission. She has spent years pursuing her kidnapped sister from planet to planet. Now her quest leads her to a place where all the women are slaves. "Jack" needs a slave of her own-one who can masquerade as her master. Enmeshed in a tangle of deception, lust and love, they must elude a race of violent killers out to destroy Cat, and together forge a bond stronger than any chains.

Why I picked it up: I asked Dan Dan for something light and trashy, after reading something slow and heavy. She delivered!
Why I finished it: The story was so bad it was nearly a satire! It makes me laugh because it is so blatantly trashy! I will never look at noses the same way ever again. In fact, I was watching Fröken Sverige on SBS the other night - a serious movie about a messed up girl. There was this sweet moment where one of her guys was talking about the wings of her nose, and I couldn't stop laughing.
I'd give it to: Anyone who is bored and likes trashy space romances. Basically anyone who wants to waste some hours they will never get back. The dialogue gets worse and worse the further the book goes along.

What I am reading now
Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur

Blurb from Goodreads:
In this exciting debut, author Keri Arthur explodes onto the supernatural scene with a sexy, sensuous tale of intrigue and suspense set in a world whe...more In this exciting debut, author Keri Arthur explodes onto the supernatural scene with a sexy, sensuous tale of intrigue and suspense set in a world where legends walk and the shady paths of the underworld are far more sinister than anyone envisioned.

A rare hybrid of vampire and werewolf, Riley Jenson and her twin brother, Rhoan, work for Melbourne’s Directorate of Other Races, an organization created to police the supernatural races–and protect humans from their depredations. While Rhoan is an exalted guardian, a.k.a. assassin, Riley is merely an office worker–until her brother goes missing on one of his missions. The timing couldn’t be worse. More werewolf than vampire, Riley is vulnerable to the moon heat, the weeklong period before the full moon, when her need to mate becomes all-consuming.…

Luckily Riley has two willing partners to satisfy her every need. But she will have to control her urges if she’s going to find her brother….Easier said than done as the city pulses with frenzied desire, and Riley is confronted with a very powerful–and delectably naked–vamp who raises her temperature like never before.

In matters carnal, Riley has met her match. But in matters criminal, she must follow her instincts not only to find her brother but to stop an unholy harvest. For someone is doing some shifty cloning in an attempt to produce the ultimate warrior–by tapping into the genome of nonhumans Rhoan. Now Riley knows just how dangerous the world is for her kind–and just how much it needs her like .
^I am meeting Keri Arthur at Galaxy with Tracey O'Hara tomorrow, so I thought I should try her Riley series.

What I am reading next
I need to get my butt into gear and read On The Road for the Sutherland book club my friend has organised. This is like being back at uni. I am currently cramming two books LOL



P.S. - Who do you think the best Paranormal Romance authors are?