Relentless Adaptations by Tansy Roberts Rayner (short story review)

When I was thinking about what I could do for Aussie Author month there were a couple of options. I could write at least some of the reviews that I have in draft for books by Aussie authors (which may still happen), or I could try something new to me - short stories. That option also seems like a really good way to expose myself to lots and lots of new to me Australian authors.

Luckily I had recently bought Sprawl, an anthology that fit the criteria perfectly that was published late last year by Twelfth Planet Press, a small publishing house based in Perth!

I am not sure why I don't read more short stories. I will read novellas, especially if they are part of a series, but the short story form seems to have passed me by. So far though, I have been pleasantly surprised at how much I have enjoyed the ones that I have read.

The first story I read from Sprawl was Relentless Adaptations by Tansy Roberts Rayner.

I think the thing that surprised me most about this story was that despite the fact that the story was only 12 pages or so, there was still time for a gradual unveiling of the world. This story is set in suburban Hobart, in what initially feels like the not too distant future. We start with a group of friends who meet regular for coffee in a bookstore with their young children in tow. They are asked "coffee or books" as they enter, but this is a world where that mean print on demand, and if you don't like something, even in the classics, then you can order your changes before it is printed. You may for example want to add a vampire or have a same sex relationship. Whilst there are differences between the world of Relentless Adaptations and our current world, and these differences are developed the further the story goes along, I also loved how recognisable things from our world today were incorporated and developed in the story, like the evolution of Twitter!

As someone who doesn't really like the classics mashups that have been so prevalent over the last couple of years, I loved where this story went, and the humour that was prevalent also worked for me! I actually read this story on the train on the way home from work one night, and I smiled the whole way through, to the point that I probably worried a few of my fellow travellers, and I was still smiling as I walked to my car and drove home.

I teased from this story a couple of weeks ago, and I participated in the Mighty Slapdash Blog Tour last week for her new release The Shattered City, book 2 of the Creature Court trilogy, and even in that short post I could hear an authors voice that definitely made me want to read more! 

This story has been nominated for an Aurealis Award in the Science Fiction Short Story category and even with my limited exposure to short stories, I can definitely see why. Sprawl was also nominated in the Best Anthology category and there was at least one other short story nominated in the same awards which gives me something to look forward to as I read more! The Aurealis Awards were set up in 1995 "to recognise the achievements of Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror writers".

Sprawl is available from Smashwords, and until April 15 is available for the reduce price of $4.99 (using the redemption code LY79G ).

This short story counts towards my Short Story Quest for the Once Upon a Time V challenge.

Aussie Author Month update

So far Aussie Author Month has been busy, busy, busy with lots of participants! To help keep everyone up to date you can follow it on Twitter using the #ausbooks hashtag, and now you can also keep up to date using Facebook!

The other important development is that the official fundraising page is now up! Fundraising for the Indigenous Literacy Project is an important part of Aussie Author Month. It is easy to donate using the following link:

Indigenous Literacy Project

Library Loot: April 6 to 12

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

Not a lot of loot for me this week, mainly because I am reading an overdue book that I want to finish before I go and pick up the books that are waiting for me.

You can share the loot that you got by leaving your Library Loot post link in Mr Linky below.

Here is what I did get:

Balzac and the Little Chines Seamstress by Dai Sijie - This is my next book club book.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman - After reading a few rave reviews of the follow up to this book I had to see what the fuss was!

The Tin Ticket: The Heroic Journey of Australia's Convict Women by Deborah Swiss - I saw this on someone's blog, and I usually make a note, but this time I can't remember where it was!



The other thing I wanted to do this week was mention an event that is coming up soon. Stephanie from Book Love Blog is hosting an event in honour of National Library Week between April 11 and 18. There are going to be guest posts, contests and more. For full details, click on the image below.

Teaser Tuesday: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

For the second week running I have a teaser from a book featuring vampires, but they are very different books! I am really enjoying A Discovery of Witches, but I really need to get through it a bit quicker. It is already overdue at the library and I still have quite a bit of it to read!

The teaser comes from page 135:

"Nobody can be what he's not, no matter how hard he tries. You mustn't romanticize vampires. Knox may not have your best interests at heart, but he was right about me."

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. Head on over to find out all about it, and how to join in!

Ransom by David Malouf

I am Priam, King of Troy. I have come to you, Achilles, just as you see me, just as I am, to ask you, man to man, as a father, for the body of my son. To ransom and bring him home.

In his own stunningly lyrical language, David Malouf revisits Homer's Iliad, adding a new and uplifting dimension to the classic story of rage, pride and grief. Written with lightness and humanity, and profoundly affecting, Ransom reflects upon the bonds that exist between men - between fathers and sons, dear friends and bitter enemies.

One of the good things about going to book club is that you are forced encouraged to read books that you wouldn't normally have read. That was true of last month's book (Sold by Brendan Gullifer), and also this month. Another good thing is that the first two books of this year (at least) are Australian authors. It's funny though, I always forget that David Malouf is Australian.

In Ransom Malouf takes us back to ancient Troy, and revisits just a small part of the epic Iliad. One word of warning though - if you are hoping for Paris and Helen, this is not that book.

The story opens with Achilles whose companion Petroclas has been killed by Hector after being led to believe that he was actually Achilles. In his grief and guilt, Achilles fights Hector and kills him, but instead of acting in the time honoured fashion (ie honourably), he is now acting dishonourably in his treatment of the body of his vanquished enemy by tying the body to his chariot and dragging it through the dirt each day.

For Hector's father Priam, whose life is lived within the formal strictures of royal protocol, a break with tradition such as this is mind boggling and he finds himself having to come up with a new solution (with the aid of the gods), and so he decides to offer a ransom to Achilles in order to retrieve the body of his son.

Here the author steps away from the original story and introduces a new character. He is an old man who each day waits in the town square to hire out his cart and two donkeys, one is the non descript Shock, and the other donkey is called Beauty, who is admired by all who meet her. Somax is hired to drive the King to the Greek camp to offer the ransom, but really his role is much more than that. He becomes the companion of the king, not only physically, but also in terms of life experience. He offers the man Priam experiences that seem everyday to many, but that fall outside the King's normal life such as  the experience of dangling your feet in the cool water of a stream and eating griddle cakes prepared by Somax's daughter in law and realising that all the food that he eats must come from ingredients - something he has never had to think of previously.

For all that this is a retelling of this particular part of the Iliad, it is also merely the framework for a discussion around the relationships between fathers and sons, strangers and friends, and between bitter enemies, who find common ground despite their differences.

This is a very short book, and surprisingly easy to read after the initial section. There is no doubt that Malouf has a way with words, and I can see myself reading more from him one day. It did however take me a little while to get into, and I needed to read without big distractions. I was trying to read one section at the computer with Twitter going, and the TV on, and I swear I read the same passage at least ten times. Away from every day distractions, I was able to find myself back on the battlefields, surrounded by Achilles soldiers.


This book counts towards the Aussie Author Challenge and also is being post as part of Aussie Author Month!

Next month our book is Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie which is a book that I have wanted to read for a long time.

Mailbox Monday: March edition (Part 2 of 2)

Last week I posted about all the books I got in the month of March, except the books that I got at last weekends ARRC, and there is a lot. It is a sure sign of my addictedness that I got all of these books and I was still browsing in the bookstore at the airport ... I thought about buying a couple of books but I didn't!

Here's my ARRC haul:

The Collaborator by Margaret Leroy and Devil's Consort by Anne O'Brien - These two books were available from one of the trade tables on the first morning. The Collaborator is going to be released in the US under the title The Soldier's Wife.

Wings of Fear by Helene Young - on the Saturday morning of ARRC, Helene Young's book Shattered Sky was launched (one of numerous launches as far as I can tell). As interesting as Shattered Sky sounded, I can't read books out of order, so knowing that the heroine from the Shattered Sky appeared in Wings of Fear, so I went and bought this one.

That Christmas Feeling (Brenda Novak, Kathleen O'Brien, Karina Bliss) includes Colorado Christmas by CC Coburn - in the goodie bag (I think). Not exactly Christmas time now, but I have read a few Kathleen O'Brien books and enjoyed them I think.

Dreams of a Dark Warrior by Kresley Cole - in the goodie bag. I own the first book in this series but have never read it. Need to get onto this series.

The Perfect Rake by Anne Gracie - I won this item (including the earrings) in the silent auction for the Queensland Flood appeal. When I got home I realised that I actually already own the book, just haven't read it yet. Oh well, the money went to a good cause!

Best Laid Plans by Constance O'Day-Flannery - either in the goodie bag or in the raffle prize. Can't quite remember where.

Expecting Miracle Twins by Barbara Hannay, Christmas at Candlebark Farm by Michelle Douglas and  Her Best Friend and Home for the Holidays by Sarah Mayberry - Aussie authors I haven't read before.

And One Last Thing by Molly Harper - This was the other item I won from the Silent Auction. Not 100% sure why I was bidding for it. I guess just because the cover looked fun.

Storm Glass by Maria V Snyder - won this in the raffle. I have read two of the Study books and both Inside Out and Outside In and loved them. Really need to read finish the the series so that I can move onto this series.

My Reckless Surrender by Anna Campbell - I have really liked the other Anna Campbell books I have read, but haven't read this one. Got this in the raffle too.

When Strangers Marry by Lisa Kleypas - On the Friday night, Kat from Bookthingo held an impromptu get together in her room where she allowed us to go through a big box of books she wanted to get rid of, and this was one of those books. This is one of only two Lisa Kleypas books I haven't read, so I claimed it straight away.

Dating the Millionaire Doctor by Marion Lennox - I have read one book by Marion Lennox (the RITA nominated Christmas with her Boss).

Take No Prisoners and Feel the Heat by Cindy Gerard - Cindy Gerard was one of the three big name authors who were guests at ARRC (the others being Nalini Singh and Anna Campbell). I haven't read her before with romantic suspense not necessarily being my favourite genre, but now that I have signed copies of these books I might give them a go.

Heat in the Outback by Suzanne Brandyn - either in the goodie bag or the raffle prize.

Blackout by Connie Willis - My friend actually got this in her raffle prize, at which point I went "I didn't see that there!" and she gave it to me! What a lovely girl she is.

Paycheque by Fiona McCallum - One of the breakout sessions II went to was about Outback and rural lit, and we were all given a copy of this book.

The Last Dance by Nora Roberts - this is a two in one book that includes Reflections and Dance of Dreams - in the raffle prizes.

Without Mercy by Lisa Jackson - either in the goodie bag or raffle prize - can't remember which!

The Relic by Maggie Nash - got a free download of this book during the Up and Coming Authors break out session.

Mailbox Monday is on tour and for April it is being hosted at Passages to the Past. Head over there to share your links, or to see what everyone else has posted about this week.

Sunday Salon: Parramatta or bust!

A few weeks ago now, I blogged about the mysterious identity of author Aaron Fletcher, who wrote the Outback Saga books that I have been reading for the last few months. At the time I was posting about how I hadn't been able to find out much about him as an author, and that hasn't changed. This week's post is not so much about the author or the books themselves, but rather a day trip to Parramatta that was inspired by reading the books.

I've mentioned once or twice that I was in Sydney last weekend, and I am sure I will mention it again given that I still haven't posted anything about ARRC yet. Because I wanted to be in Sydney for the Thursday night book blogger meet up, I flew up early Thursday morning which meant that I had most of the day Thursday and a few hours on Friday that I could use to explore.

I have been to Sydney a few times now, so have done most of the obvious tourist stuff that can be done in and around Sydney itself, so was trying to think about what I could do when I had an idea.

The Outback saga is predominantly set in the Outback of New South Wales, but there is quite a bit of toing and froing from Sydney, and many of the characters started out in Sydney in the first place. Every time the people travelled, they had to go via Parramatta and then Bathurst. I therefore decided that I might go and have a bit of a look around Parramatta. I couldn't spend a lot of time there because I needed to be back for the blogger meet up, but I really wanted to be able to still have a Sydney experience so I decided I would catch the Rivercat ferry up and the train back again.

It was a gorgeous day in Sydney, and there was a big cruise liner in port, so there were plenty of tourists around that I could have a chat with while I sat at Circular Quay eating my lunch, and then again as we got on the ferry.

I sat out the front of the ferry, which was a really bad idea for two reasons - it was really windy and my hair went everywhere, and I got sunburnt - but it was beautiful, sitting out in the sunshine on a lovely day going past some of the most famous sights in the world! Here are a couple of images from the boat ride.

Once I got to Parramatta, I walked through the main part of town and was surprised by how many restaurants there were. A short walk and I was at the entrance to Parramatta Park.  This used to be part of the ground of Old Government House, which was my destination. From this direction, you get to see a Tudor style gatehouse

The original Old Government House was a lath and plaster hut that was built in the1790s. A more substantial residence was built in by Governor King and then further extended by the Governor Macquarie (who is mentioned in the books) who came to Australia in the early 1800s. The double story section you can see at the front below is the King House, with the wings and the back part of the house added by Governor Macquarie later.

This property is now part of the National Trust, and as such there were guided tours of the building by a member of the Trust. In my case, my tour guide was Mavis, and we got to have a look at the interiors of the building including the formal reception areas as well as the family area. I was really pleased to see that the Trust is working to make the upstairs areas into more interesting displays, which when they are finished will show a room as it would have looked like from the 1820s to the 1850s which is when the house was no longer used for official purposes.

There were some fascinating details in the house like the fold back window shutters (which you can see in this image), the grandfather clocks that were amongst the earliest in the colony, and the cabinet that was made by the first Australian born cabinet maker to complete his apprenticeship.

On the second day (the morning after the meet up which I which I posted about here) I spent the morning at the Museum of Sydney, which I enjoyed despite the fact that it wasn't quite what I was looking for. I really wanted a museum about settlement. There was a little bit of that , but there was also an exhibition of Edwardian summers in Sydney. The other exhibition is called From Little Things Big Things Grow and was about the struggle for indigenous rights. We like to think that we live in enlightened times, but it was only four years before I was born that a referendum was held that gave Aboriginal people in Australia the right to vote.

When I was talking to the tourists they asked where I was from, and when I said Melbourne, I was asked a couple of times how Melbourne compared to Sydney.  My answer to that question is that Sydney feels like a much bigger, more crowded city. For example, there are lots and lots more apartment blocks scattered around Sydney compared to the houses that predominantly form the Melbourne housing market.

I love living in Melbourne. There is always stuff on, things to do and the lifestyle is great, but it has to be said that it can't compete with the sheer physical beauty of Sydney. The harbour, the bridge, the Opera House, the history, the beaches - everything really! When I got my first glimpse of the harbour from Circular Quay train below train station (seen below) I must confess that my breath caught, just a little bit. I also wondered if Sydneysiders ever get a bit immune to the sights? I hope not because it is gorgeous!

Sydney is a fantastic place to visit!

Have you ever been inspired to visit a place due to reading a specific book?

Caleb's Crossing giveaway winners

Congratulations to both

Gretchen H and Laura L

who have won a galley version of Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brook. I will be in contact shortly to get your address details.

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway.

Weekend Cooking: A visit to a French patisserie

For this week's Weekend Cooking post, we are visiting a patisserie in Paris through the eyes of the characters from Stephanie Perkin's YA book, Anna and the French Kiss. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, not only because of the Parisian setting, but also because it is a really well told story. Just briefly, the book is about a young American girl who is sent to an international school in Paris against her wishes. She starts out very unhappily, but she gradually finds a group of friends, one of whom is the droolworthy Etienne St Clair (not that I am drooling over him. He is 17 for goodness sake, and I am, well, not.).

These excerpts all come from Chapter 17.

The patisserie has thick planks of creaky hardwood and a chandelier draped with tinkly strings of topaz crystals. They glow like drops of honey. The women behind the counter lay extravagant cakes into brown-and-white-striped boxes and tie each package with turquoise ribbon and a silver bell. There's a long line, but everyone here is patiently basking in the ambience.

Mer and I wait between tiered displays as tall as we are. One is a tree made from macarons, round sandwich cookies with crusts as fragile as eggshells and fillings so moist and flavourful that I swoon on sight. The other is an arrangement of miniature cakes, gateaux, glazed with almond frosting and pressed with sugared pansies.

And then a bit further on

We're almost in viewing range of the display case. I see a hint of golden apple tarte tatins. The edge of a glossy chocolate-and-raspberry gateau.

At first everything seemed too sophisticated for my tastes, but three months into this, and I understand why the French are famous for their cuisine. Meals here are savored. Restaurant dinners are measured in hours, not minutes. It's so different from America. Parisians swing by the markets every day for the ripest fruit and vegetables, and they frequent specialty shops for cheese, fish, meat, poultry, and wine. And cake.

I like the cake shops the best.

And again further on ...

...we reach the front case. It shimmers with neat rows of square shaped tarte citrons, spongy cakes swelling with molten chocolate, caramel eclairs like ballet slippers, and red fruity cakes, with wild strawberries dusted in powdery sugar.

And more macarons.

Photo credit

Bin after bin of macarons in every flavor and color imaginable. Grass greens and pinky reds and sunshine yellows. While Mer debates over cakes, I select six.

Rose. Black currant. Orange. Fig. Pistachio. Violet.

And then I notice cinnamon and hazelnut praline, and I just want to die right there. Crawl over the counter and crunch my fingers through their delicate crusts and lick out the fragrant fillings until I can no longer breathe.

I've never actually tried macarons myself, but I have to say, I am definitely feeling the need to do so now! And just looking for pictures of them online was loads of fun because they just seem to look so gorgeous most of the time!

 Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs.

The Long and Short of It (guest post by Tansy Rayner Roberts)

For the launch post of Aussie Author Month, I am pleased to present a guest post from Tansy Rayner Roberts. In my last post, I mentioned that I am focusing on short stories, and Tansy is the author of one of the stories that I read and thoroughly enjoyed (Relentless Adaptations from the Sprawl anthology). When I heard that she was looking for hosts for her Mighty Slapdash Blog Tour, I volunteered straight away, and my suggested topic - shorts stories v novels!

The Long and Short of It

Have you ever noticed that it’s easier to run late sometime if you’re just going around the corner, than if you’re travelling somewhere at a greater distance? The further away you are when you start, the more opportunity you have to hurry up... but if it’s five minutes away, you’re already late.

That’s pretty much how I feel about short stories.

A novel is a long, glorious stretch of road, and I don’t have to worry about what’s behind the curve of that bend not yet. I have time to pay attention to the scenery and my travelling companions, and my brain doesn’t have to fling me all the awesome ideas and snappy bits of dialogue straight away. It can burble away in the background, hurling me tools and stray bits of string (to hold the cart together, have I overworked this metaphor yet?) as and when needed.

A short story, on the other hand, hardly has time to get started before I’m panicking about word count, and do I have enough story yet, or is there too much story, and there’s a brick wall hurtling right at my face and OMG IT’S A NOVELLA, PULL UP, PULL UP...

With a short story, there is nowhere to hide.

In case it’s not immediately obvious, I am a touch more intimidated by the short story form than I am by novels. I don’t claim to have mastered either, but I came to an understanding with novels far earlier than shorts, probably because I read more of them! I feel like I have only started hitting my stride with shorts in the last few years, which coincides with my participation in the Not If You Were The Last Short Story on Earth project, which involved me reading and critically evaluating huge quantities of world class short stories.

I like the opportunity to experiment and be brave that short stories affords me, even if my initial reaction is often to hide behind the sofa instead. I also love being forced to pare every indulgence out of my writing, and that does make me look at novel writing with a touch more discipline. Also there’s the deliciousness of getting something finished in a limited time frame, even if short stories always take me longer than I think they will.

Ultimately, though, my heart belongs to novels: fun though it is to capture a character voice or moment in a small and elegant box, I much prefer having the space and leisure to get to know that character, and their world. Luckily, I don’t actually have to choose between the two writing forms, though of course I do: I spend a fraction of my writing time on short stories and tend only to write one when I am actively being begged for a contribution (and sometimes not even then) because my latest novel is calling loudly to me.

It’s calling to me right now... and you know what? It used to be a short story.

=====

Tansy Rayner Roberts is the author of Power and Majesty (Creature Court Book One) and The Shattered City (Creature Court Book Two, April 2011) with Reign of Beasts (Creature Court Book Three, coming in November 2011) hot on its tail. Her short story collection Love and Romanpunk will be published as part of the Twelfth Planet Press “Twelve Planets” series in May.

This post is brought to you as part of Tansy’s Mighty Slapdash Blog Tour, and comes with a cookie fragment of new release The Shattered City:

She became slowly aware that everything hurt, her spine and ribs and skull, as if someone had been pounding her bones with a mallet. Somewhere along the way, she had lost her dress. They were all looking at her, the Lords and Court, hovering in an uneven circle around her, in their naked ‘people’ bodies. They were - not awed, exactly, but impressed with her. Some of them were wounded, their skin scratched and punctured in places by those spikes of ice. Livilla licked a smear of blood from a scrape on the back of her hand, gazing thoughtfully at Velody.

Too late, Velody remembered her duties, to honour the Creature Court for their efforts. “You fought well,” she said, finding her voice. Her throat ached as if she had been coughing up her lungs for hours.

“I’m not entirely sure we needed to,” said Poet.

Aussie Author Month is here!

I am so excited. April is Aussie Author Month, and now it is here!

Don't know about Aussie Author Month? You can find out all the details here.

In this post I thought I would share what my plans are for this month! I wanted to find a way to introduce myself, and you, to as many Aussie Authors as possible. I just happened to have downloaded a short story collection, and so my focus for this month was born!

In addition to some guest blogs (including the first one later today) and some reviews, I am also going to be focusing on short stories by Aussie author. Among those to be featured will be Margo Lanagan, Marian de Pierres, and the authors who featured in the Sprawl anthology which was published by Twelfth Planet Press late last year..

If you want to participate you can do so. Pick one of the buttons in this post, (or you can snag them from Flickr) and make sure that you let Nyssa know that you are participating so that she can add you to the list of participants.

I am very excited about this month, but should probably warn you that I might be posting a little more than normal! Can't wait!