Weekend Cooking: Cheese-Chocolate-Croissants

My Weekend Cooking post this week is from the book My Hundred Lovers by Susan Johnson. I read the chapter that this quote comes from, and then when I finished it, I went back and read it again, wishing that I had a fresh croissant there waiting for me to savour when I got to the end of the chapter!

The quote comes from page 26-29:

My mouth is the opening into myself, the principal portal of the body: the teeth, the gums, the fleshy slope of the throat, the glistening entrance into the dark depths below. The myriad tastebuds of the tongue, which when I was young, I imagined resembled the buds on the frangipani tree outside our house.

I pictured a tongueful of flowers, smaller than the eye could see, hundreds of tender buds opening as one to savour the body's bountiful catch.


From my earliest days I have had affairs with the food that gives my body life. Food may be mouthless but it is nonetheless animate, created by the dance of water, heat and life.

I have had endless affairs with fat French cheeses, creamy and sticky, made from raw cow's milk, brought to full, ripe life through the confluence of time and air. The rich distinctive smell of a mature brie de Melun has spilt into my nose and mouth, causing my mouth to flood with water and desire.

I have been a lover of milky chocolate dissolving on my tongue, of the dreamy bloom of thick, sensuous fragrance that spreads up from the tongue to the roof of the mouth, to light up all the pleasure receptors of the brain.

And then there is the croissant. Such a brief, perishing object! So full of life, yet as evanescent as the most fragile butterfly, dead by day's end, its flowering over within hours. Le feuilletage, layer upon layer of pastry animated by yeast, alive with butter, rolled and folded as carefully as an old-fashioned handwritten letter.

In the northern hemisphere croissants have a season, like asparagus or cherries, and the croissant's season is brief, from the end of October to the beginning of November. After this, the wheat harvests of summer are blended with older harvests, and the pastry made from blended wheat becomes inferior.

The particular warm, satisfying fragrance of a proper croissant au beurre in season, preferably eaten at a cafe in Paris on a pale autumn day, fresh out of the oven, warm and alive.

The whiff of the egg wash in the moment before the croissant enters the mouth and is felt upon the tongue. The crisp golden flakes surrounding its moist heart, flakes as sharp as toast, which crackle as you bite into it. Pierre Herme, the renowned Parisian patissier, says that the sign of a good croissant is that you should be able to hear its suffering as you eat it.


The tongue is the last to forget desire: my mother's tongue loved chocolate, avocado and cream right up until the end, when at last her tongue of flowers forgot the sound of suffering.

This book has a lot of emphasis of the experiences of the senses and this description definitely had me salivating.

Weekend Cooking 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, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. For more information, see the welcome post.  

Fables, Vol 2: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham

As I mentioned when I reviewed the first book in the Fables series, my library doesn't have any of these graphic novels on the shelf so I am having to get them through inter library loan. That means that I can't renew the books like I normally do so I should be reading one of these every six weeks or so which is a little less gap than I tend to have between books in a series usually.

Lucky that is no hardship!

Animal Farm is the second book in the Fables series, and it clearly takes the George Orwell classic as inspiration.

Whereas the first book in the series focused on those characters who were able to pass as human and who therefore could live hidden in plain sight in New York in a community known as Fabletown. They are able to live relatively normal lives.

Unfortunately for those who can not pass as human their lives are somewhat more restricted. They live in a community on a farm in upstate New York. There are spells that keep the community hidden from outsiders to protect them, but that means that they are stuck only within the farm area. Such restrictions of freedom can, and this time does, mean that there are many people/animals who want to see change and will go to just about any length to achieve their aims.

The story starts when Snow White realises that Weyland Smith, the caretaker of the farm, seems to have disappeared and she packs her sister, Rose Red, into the truck and heads up to the farm for one of her regular twice yearly visits . Rose Red is still officially on probation after the events of the last book and Snow is hoping that a trip to the country might help mend the fractured relationship between the two sisters.

It doesn't take long to realise that something is wrong at the farm, and that the leaders are not necessarily who you would expect! And having Snow turn up during the midst of the uprising is a bonus as it will definitely help gain the attention of the city people if they have Snow as a pawn.

Snow needs to work out who she can trust, who is in charge, why Rose seems to have gone all militant, what the long term goals of the uprising are and how she can get away from the predicament she is in before they decide that she is expendable.

The range of characters is once again immense with familiar names like Brer Rabbit, Shere Khan, Reynard the Fox, the three little pigs, a very anti authoritarian Goldilocks and the three bears and so many more picking which side they are on! It was also very interesting to get a small glimpse into the emotion that is at the very heart of Rose Red's antagonism towards Snow White.

Once again, the story is fun although it probably leans a little to the gory side (poor Colin), and the art is amazing! I am really looking forward to reading volume 3 which is titled Storybook Love.

Art by Mark Buckingham and Steve Leialoha

Rating 4/5

Synopsis

Ever since they were driven from their homelands by the Adversary, the non-human Fables have been living on the Farm -- a vast property in upstate New York that keeps them hidden from the prying eyes of the mundane world. But now, after hundreds of years of isolation, the Farm is seething with revolution, fanned by the inflammatory rhetoric of Goldilocks and the Three Little Pigs. And when Snow White and her sister Rose Red stumble upon their plan to liberate the Homelands, the commissars of the Farm are ready to silence them -- by any means necessary!

Collecting the second story arc of creator and writers Bill Willingham's acclaimed series FABLES, ANIMAL FARM feature the stunning artwork of penciller Mark Buckingham and inker Steve Leialoha, and includes a special sketchbook section of preliminary artwork from Willingham, Buckingham, and cover artist Jeames Jean.

I read this book as part of the Once Upon a Time VI challenge.

Winner of The Unseen by Katherine Webb

Congratulations to 

Sam from Samstillreading

Who has won the giveaway of The Unseen by Katherine Webb.

Library Loot: June 13 to 19

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!

Another week - some more loot! And a couple of these are books I am really excited about reading!

Here's my loot

Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett - I borrowed this from the library because it is the next book in my chronological read of the series but then I was looking for something else on my overstacked bookcase the other day and realised that I actually own this book so I will be taking it back and reading my own copy!

Overseas by Beatriz Williams - As soon as I started hearing about this book I wanted it! I have high expectations for it.

The Light Between Oceans by M L Stedman - There have been a lot of positive reviews about this one and I am really looking forward to seeing how well it works for me!

Painter of Silence by Georgina Harding - This is one of the novels that was shortlisted for the Orange Prize and it sounds like something I might like.

A Lady Never Surrenders by Sabrina Jeffries - The next book in this series.

Manu's French Bistro by Manu Fiedel - I have been meaning to borrow this book for a while now. Given that Karen from Bookbath and Tamara from  have now confirmed that they will be running Paris in July again this seemed like the perfect chance to have a look at this book!


What loot did you get from your library this week? Share the link to your Library Loot post in Mr Linky below:

Tuesday Teaser: Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

One of my most anticipated new releases for 2012 has been Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore. It has felt as though we have been waiting for this book for ages and ages. Last year Kristin came to Melbourne and I went and bought Fire and Graceling to get signed and the question on everyones lips was 'when will Bitterblue be out?'. Finally, that time has come.

When I went to the library to pick this book up, I was really, really surprised at how big this book is. At nearly 550 pages, it is much bigger than both of the previous books but luckily I like big books. Not as much as I used to because there was a time that I bought my books based on how thick they were, but I am still happy to invest time into a big story and hopefully get lost in the pages.  I wasn't quite so appreciative when I chose this to be my commute book over the weekend when I was going to the convention I was at and had to carry it around all day! Should have chosen a smaller book for that but never mind.

So far, I am enjoying the story although the reader is only slowly being drawn into what is happening in the book but to be fair, the main character, Queen Bitterblue, is only slowly finding out what exactly went on in her kingdom previously and what is going on in her kingdom now.

For the teaser today, I thought I would share a section from pages 126-127

"How is your puzzle going?"

"Dreadfully," she said, grateful to him for remembering. "I have lords like Danzhol, who stole for Leck, connecting with thieves who are stealing the things back, connecting with a strange piece of misinformation about gargoyles my advisers gave me, connecting with other kinds of knowledge my advisers seem to prefer to discourage, connecting with knowledge the thieves would like to keep from me as well, such as why someone would stick knives in their guts. I don't understand the courtyard decoration either," she said grouchily, glaring at the shrubberies that a moment before had been delighting her.

"Hm," said Giddon. "I confess, it doesn't sound very illuminating.

"It's a disaster," Bitterblue said.

"Well," said Giddon with mild amusement. "Your great courtyard is lovely in the rain."

I am looking forward to reading more and getting lost in Bitterblue's kingdom when I get back on the train tomorrow morning!

Readalong Week 1: My Hundred Lovers by Susan Johnson

Over the next few weeks I am participating in a readalong of My Hundred Lovers by Australian author Susan Johnson. The readalong is hosted by Bree from All the Books I Can Read. My first order of business is to apologise to Bree for being so late with my post, but I have been busy with all sorts of other bookish goodness! This week's post covers pages 1-88 and I have to warn....


SPOILERS AHOY!


If you look at the title of this book you do have possibly have a fair idea of what to expect from this book, and the book blurb would also reiterate that:

A woman, on the eve of her fiftieth birthday, reflects on one hundred moments from a lifetime's sensual adventures. After the love, hatred and despair are done with, the great and trivial acts of her bodily life reveal an imperfect, yet whole self. By turns humorous, sharp, haunting and wise, this is an original and exhilarating novel from one of Australia's premier writers.

Lyrical and exquisite, My Hundred Lovers captures the sheer wonder of life, desire and love.

It is at times shocking, at other times funny, but it is also surprising. I was expecting this to be an exposition of our main character Deborah's sex life and it is indeed that, but it is also more than that with observations about many sensory adventures including passages about food, observations about aging, about unhappy childhoods, about depression and unhealthy relationships and so much more.

The writing is often a treat for the senses. There is a section that I will be sharing later in the week that just had me wishing that I had a trip to Paris planned sooner rather than later. Then again, it doesn't take that much to get me to that point really.

The structure of the novel is interesting. The chapters are for the most part short and jump around from topic to topic, and with the narrative jumping forwards and backwards in time and from first person narrative to third person. It makes the reader work more than you would have to with a straight narrative but I think that the short chapters make that easier than it would if you had more substantial chapters.

Bree gave us some suggestion points to discuss and so I thought I would address those

How do you feel about Deborah? Do you like her? Can you relate to her? Did you feel sympathy for her? If so, why and if not, why?

At this stage I am not sure that we are meant to really like Deborah. So far, we have been given glimpses of the events in her life that coloured her impressions of herself and how she came to be the woman that she is now, but I am not convinced that we have seen too much of the real Deborah just yet. It will be very interesting to see how she treats many of the milestone moments in life in the rest of the book. For example, she just kind of glossed over the fact that she has at least one child which for most mothers would be a pretty major event!

I do think it is very telling though that for much of this section Deborah is referred to as 'the girl' rather than by her name, almost as if the fact that she is a girl is the complete definition of her as an entity and that the Deborah-ness of the entity is an after thought. This idea of 'the girl' also manages to keep the reader at arm's length for quite a bit of this opening of the book so it will be interested to see if this technique continues.

I do relate to Deborah though in particular in relation to her relationship with her family. Having grown up in a difficult family relationship I can see why she made many of the choices she made, particularly when it comes to sex and to the relationships that she chose to pursue. The search for love can be very problematic if you never learnt how to do that properly within the family environment, and to be honest, I feel that is very much reflected in my own life right now.

She is much more overtly sexual, particularly from a very young age and I must admit that in some ways I found that quite confronting because I don't remember being that way as a young girl myself, although I would have classified my teenage activity as relatively normal - at least I think so.

Do you think that her upbringing and her parents’ fractured relationship sent Deborah on a path of looking for acceptance and love, often in the most unlikely and unfortunate places? Does she use sex as a way to find or feel love?

Without any question of doubt. In my experience, there are two ways that people who have had traumatic childhood experiences will react to those events when it comes to their sexualness (if there is such a word. I didn't want to use sexuality in case it indicated sexual orientation whereas I am talking more about activity). One is that they will be very restrictive in relation to their relationships and the opposite can also be true where  the person concerned will look for 'love' wherever they can find it and will easily accept sex as a substitute for love.

Then again, some people are just more adventurous than others, and it could well be dependent of which activities they have been introduced into over the years. Deborah could well just be one of the more  naturally adventurous, and perhaps this is also reflected in other aspects of her life including the travel she has done for example.

As an aside, it seems that often these readalong books are trigger's for me to think about my past a lot. It happened with Foal's Bread which was very uncomfortable for me and is happening again with this book!

It turns out I had quite a lot to say about this section. We will see what happens in the next section!

Sunday Salon: May Reading Reflections

I am actually spending all this weekend at Continuum8 which is also the 51st Australian National SF Convention so this post is just going to brief....kind of.

Here's what I read during May:


The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani 4.5/5
Grace and Glory by Sofie Laguna 4/5
The King's Agent by Donna Russo Morin 2/5
Legacy by Susan Kay 5/5
Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt 4/5
The Queen's Lover by Francis du Plessix Gray 3.5/5
To Wed a Wild Lord by Sabrina Jeffries 4/5
A Home for Grace by Sofie Laguna 4/5
The Unseen by Katherine Webb 3.5/5
Lady Maggie's Secret Scandal by Grace Burrowes 4/5
Clara and Mr Tiffany by Susan Vreeland 4/5
A Summer in Sonoma by Robyn Carr 3.5/5
Fables: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham 4.5/5
Slow Heat by Jill Shalvis 4/5
Letty and the Stranger's Lace by Alison Lloyd 4/5
Hot Island Nights by Sarah Mayberry 4/5
Her Best Worst Mistake by Sarah Mayberry 4.5/5
A Night Like This by Julia Quinn 4/5
The Sweet Life by Kate Bracks 4.5/5
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett 4.5/5
Jacaranda by Mandy Magro 3/5
Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn 3.5/5
Letty on the Land by Alison Lloyd 4/5
Lords of the White Castle by Elizabeth Chadwick 4.5/5
The Red Spice Road Cookbook by John McLeay 4/5
The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley 4/5
Lucky in Love by Jill Shalvis 4/5
The Long Shadow by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles 4/5
Eric by Terry Pratchett 4/5

I am continuing to add books to the Aussie Author Challenge, Australian Women Writer's Challenge and Historical Fiction Reading Challenge even though I have technically completed all of those challenges.

Grace and Glory and a Home for Grace along with Hot Island Nights, Her Best Worst Mistake, The Sweet Life and Letty on the Land all count for the Australian Women Writer's Challenge and the Aussie Author Challenge with The Red Spice Road Cookbook counting only for the latter.

For the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge I read The Shoemaker's Wife, Grace and Glory, Legacy, The Queen's Love, The Unseen, Clara and Mr Tiffany, Letty and the Strangers Lace, Letty on the Land, Lords of the White Castle, The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag and The Long Shadow. Phew, that's not bad for one month.

Eric and Fables 1 counted for the Once Upon a Time challenge and The Shoemaker's Wife for the War Through the Generations challenge.

I really need to find some books to read for the What's in a Name Challenge!

So, there we have my May reads! Hopefully I will be able to do a couple of posts about Continuum in the next few days, or at least for next week's Sunday Salon post.


Currently Reading

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore, Fables 2 by Bill Willingham and My Hundred Lovers by Susan Johnson

Up Next

Really not sure! So many books I need to read, and I bought quite a few more this weekend and there is still a day of the convention still to go!

Armchair BEA: Breakfast at Tiffany's

If I was in New York today, I think I would have to start with Breakfast at Tiffany's! Of course, it isn't all that original as I am sure that plenty of people who recreate the iconic opening scenes from the movie,  and I would NEVER look anything like Audrey if I was to do so, but it would still be fun.

We actually have a Tiffany's here in Melbourne, so in theory we could have breakfast at or near Tiffany's anytime we like, but there is something much more iconic about the idea of doing in front of the New York store. Here are the opening credits:











Breakfast at Tiffany's is one of my favourite films. I first saw it on a Saturday night in with a friend when I was in my late teens and now every time I see anything to do with that movie it makes me think of that friend. I have seen it numerous times since then, but one of my favourite times when I saw the movie was when I went with the same friend and a few others to an outdoor cinema screening of it in the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide many years ago. A balmy sunny night, good food and company plus a great movie equals great memories!

It's been a little while since I actually sat down and watched it again. Might be time for a rewatch!

Another thing I always think of now when I think about this movie is the song that came out in the 90s (I think or maybe early 2000s) by Deep Blue Something which was called Breakfast at Tiffany's. I have listened to the song numerous times this week and was hoping to include it in the post, but I can't find an embeddable version of the video, so if you want to listen to the song, click here.

If I had of been at BEA on Thursday I would have been at the front of the queue to get Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore signed by the author. Last year she came to Melbourne and I got Fire and Graceling signed so then I would I would have the complete set! I am sure that I would find plenty of other things to do too but that would have been possible!

Now though, it is time to get ready for what I am really doing this weekend, which will include lots and lots of bookish goodness as I am going to the Australian spec fic convention which is being held here this weekend!

Armchair BEA: If I was in New York today

I am not sure why, but the first day of big events seem to have lots that I would want to do but then it slowly tapers down. But don't be deceived. Despite the fact that there are a lot less authors that I would be trying to see today, I would be doing a big-time fan-girl-dance-on-the-inside at least once!

So, the same rules apply as for yesterday. There would be no queues, no sore feet, all the booths would be right near each other so I could just wander leisurely from one place to the other - so not like real life at BEA at all.

Well maybe not all these behaviours!

My day would start with a visit to see Erin Morgenstern and talk to her about The Night Circus. This book made my list of excellent books for 2012 so I would love to talk about how she came up with the ideas for the book, all the excellent tents that were so magical and about the structure of the book!

After that, Sarah Maclean is signing 11 Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart. Interesting that this is the book that she is signing as she has had another book out since then!

Queue the fan girl dancing because I would next be on my way to see Robyn Carr! I credit this author for making me open to the possibility that I could actually enjoy reading contemporary romances after I read 12 or 13 books in the Virgin River series in the space of a month. We would be able to sit down, have a fantastic chat about the characters that populate the town of Virgin River, about what is coming next etc etc.

My final stop of the day would be to see Libba Bray. I am not sure why, but I actually didn't realise that this author even had a new book coming out, but I am definitely determined that I am going to get it now that I know about it!

Armchair BEA: Networking in Real Life

Today's Armchair BEA post prompt is

Today is the day that we discuss networking. Many of us bloggers network online. After all, Armchair BEA is all about networking online, particularly with other bloggers. However, how can you get more involved offline and in real life? Have you ever wondered how some bloggers have established those connections with local bookstores or libraries or even beyond?

For Day 3, we want you to share your positive experiences of using your blog to get involved in your community. This can involve partnerships with the local literary scene, attending author events and signings, or getting together with bloggers in your area. We want to hear it all!

When it comes to networking in real life, there is really only one way to do it and that is to be involved! I am lucky in that I live in a city with a pretty good literary tradition. There are lots of bookish events on and I do my best to go to at least some of them.

I choose to try and be very supportive of my local bookstore who does an amazing job of bringing different authors to the local area. For example, coming up in July, the bookstore is combining with out local library service to bring Jodi Picoult and her daughter who have written a book together to the local community centre that is five minutes up the road. Now, I am may not have previously been fussed about the sound of the book, but I will be doing my best to go in order to support the bookstore owner so that she can continue to get big name guests in. I mean, in terms of best sellers, Jodi Picoult is a big name and she is going to basically drive past the end of my road in order to get to the event! I also tend to buy books at those events, sometimes despite the fact that before seeing the authors I may not have even thought of buying the book because the bookstore needs to sell in order to remain a viable business. If you are in Melbourne and might be interested in attending the Jodi Picoult event then check out the details here.

Other ways I have gotten involved include participating in a romance book club that is run in one of the big bookstores in town. This has helped to get to know the events coordinator and whilst there has been limited physical benefit, I know that she knows who I am and I know that my name was mentioned in relation to a non romance related event. I have also been to author events at that store.

Another fantastic way to meet people is conventions. I have been lucky enough to go to two Australian Romance Readers Conventions where I had a fabulous time and got to meet some amazing people. This weekend I am going to Continuum which is the Victorian speculative fiction convention and this year it also doubles as the Australian convention.

Keep an eye out for local festivals. Even if it is just a small local festival you may get to meet local authors and who knows where that could lead you in the future!

Now, I am okay in a social situation, but I do get nervous beforehand, but an important thing to remember is that you already have a shared interest with many of the people that you meet in this situations! Some of the hard work of meeting new people is already done!

I would hate for it to sound as though I have this thing down though. There are lots more networking opportunities that I would love to be developing - better connections with local publishers (I just don't seem to be able to get good connections here despite having good relationships with overseas publishers), better connections with some of the festivals etc that are held here, so there is still plenty for me to be working on when it comes to networking!

For many people, there may not be local events to participate in like this, but if there are take the opportunities as you will meet like minded readers and get to meet some great people. I was lucky enough to meet other bloggers who live in my area who have now become my real life friends!

And for those who don't have these same types of opportunities, then talk advantage of online events like Armchair BEA, of social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads and build your online networks. You never know... one day one of those people might be in your area and you will be able to meet up!

Library Loot: June 6 to 13

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!

You may remember that last week I posted about the unwieldy new hold system at my library. Tonight when I was there to pick up more books, they had some feedback forms there to be completed about the system, and you can be sure that I left some! I was seriously tempted to see if I could see what other people had written on the forms but it would have been hard to do that surreptitiously!

Anyway, Claire has Mr Linky this week so be sure to head over and add your link so that we can all be a bit nosy and see what you borrowed.

Here are the books that I borrowed this week:

The Winter Mantle by Elizabeth Chadwick - The next book in my slow stroll through Elizabeth Chadwick's backlist.

A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley - The next Flavia de Luce mystery.

The Witness by Nora Roberts - This is Nora Roberts 200th book - 200, can you believe that? And this book in particular seems to have been getting good reviews still as well! Amazing.

The Chevalier by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles - The next book in the Morland Dynasty series of books.

Big Sky Country by Linda Lael Miller

Slade Barlow grew up as the only child of a single mother in the small town of Parable, Montana. Everyone knew exactly who his father was, but that man never acknowledged Slade in any way.

Meanwhile, Hutch Carmody has grown up as the pampered legitimate son of the same man and he fully expected to inherit everything so it was something of a shock when his father's will was read and the property was passed to both men. Given the different ways that they were treated by their father there was already quite a difficult relationship between the two men and this development does not make it any easier!

Now Slade is the local town sheriff. He has always grown up having to watch all his pennies and so to suddenly be independently very wealthy is a nice problem to have. Unfortunately though, he has a few other things on his mind. Firstly, he isn't sure if he wants to continue as Sheriff but doesn't really like the only other person who might want the role. His ex-stepdaughter has also decided that she needs to come and live with Slade and given that he currently lives in a one bedroom apartment that means finding somewhere else to live .... quickly! And the final complication - the gorgeous woman who has just returned to town after years away who he can't keep out of his mind.

Joslyn Kirk grew up in Parable but left town following a huge scandal when her stepfather ripped off many of the locals in a dodge investment scheme. Whilst Parable has always been 'home', she feels very uncomfortable returning to town to stay with her best friend because she knows that she will meet up with many people whose lives were ruined by her stepfather. She has, however, been doing her best to make amends.

When Slade and Joslyn meet up again, sparks fly and it is almost inevitable that they will come together. I must say I was surprised how long it took for the two of them to act upon their attraction to each other.

It is not uncommon for me to enjoy reading the hero's story more than the heroine and this was no exception. I loved reading about Slade. He was a quiet man, careful in nearly every regard, a man of honour who loved fully as evidenced by the fact that he was more than willing to be Dad to his former step-daughter, Shea and to bring her into his life when she needed him.

Joslyn was a little more problematic for me. I understood why she felt the need to make restitution to the victims of the investment fraud despite the fact that it really wasn't her responsibility. She had built up a successful computer business which she had supposedly sold which is why she had the money to do what she was doing, but it didn't make sense to me that she would coming back to the town with no plan other than to temporarily work as the receptionist in her friend's real estate business.

Speaking of the friend, Kendra, there is a definite story between her and Hutch and I look forward to reading their story in the next Parable, Montana book, Big Sky Mountain.

Recently I posted about one of the latest popular trends in Australian publishing which is known as either rural lit or even chook lit. I also recently read one of these books and so as I was reading this one I found myself contemplating what are the differences between rural lit and books like these which could be seen as the American equivalent. One of the big differences would appear to be the way they are marketed as the rural lit books here are being promoted as mainstream fiction rather than romance, so whilst a rural lit book would be found in the fiction section of the bookstore whereas this book would be relegated to the romance section if the store had one.

Another marketing difference is the fact that pretty much all of the rural lit books here have women on the cover whereas all of the contemporary western romances I have read by this author have had men on the cover.

In terms of the content of the book it is probably unfair to compare Linda Lael Miller to someone who has just had her second book published and also the whole genre given that I have only read one rural lit book in the last few years.. There is definitely a smoothness and confidence to Miller's writing, and definitely differences in the voices with the Australian author trying very hard to make sure that the voice is unmistakably Aussie, maybe trying too hard. I have a few more books here to read in the rural lit genre so I will be trying to compare the two different types of books a bit more in future.

To summarise, this is another solid read from Linda Lael Miller, and was a pleasant way to pass a couple of hours without being completely exceptional.

Rating 4/5

Synopsis

The "First Lady of the West," #1 New York Times bestselling author Linda Lael Miller is back with a new series about Parable, Montana-where love awaits. The illegitimate son of a wealthy rancher, Sheriff Slade Barlow grew up in a trailer hitched to the Curly-Burly hair salon his mother runs. He was never acknowledged by his father-until now. Suddenly, Slade has inherited half of Whisper Creek Ranch, one of the most prosperous in Parable, Montana. That doesn't sit well with his half brother, Hutch, who grew up with all the rights of a Carmody. Including the affections of Joslyn Kirk, homecoming queen, rodeo queen, beauty queen-whom Slade has never forgotten But Joslyn is barely holding her head up these days as she works to pay back everyone her crooked stepfather cheated. With a town to protect-plus a rebellious teenage stepdaughter-Slade has his hands full. But someone has to convince Joslyn that she's responsible only for her own actions. Such as her effect on this lawman's guarded heart.

Armchair BEA: If I was in New York today/Best of 2012

Today's prompt for Armchair BEA is:

Share some of your favorite books so far this year, and/or the the books being promoted at BEA that you hope will end up among your favorites for the year!

I actually shared my favourite books of the year in yesterday's post but I will add some other favourites a bit later, but one of the things that I have done for the last couple of years during Armchair BEA is to look at the schedule at BEA and figure out what it would be that I would have been doing if I was lucky enough to actually be in New York!

Of course, the best thing about this virtual attendance at BEA is that there are no queues, the authors will be waiting just for me to turn up with my book to be signed and even though there are several signing that will clash with each other, the booths will be suitably close to each other so that there is no rushing from one side of the building to another - and no sore feet!

My day at BEA would start with the Adult Book and Author Breakfast which is hosted by Stephen Colbert and features authors Barbara Kingsolver, Junot Diaz and Jo Nesbo. Having heard Jo Nesbo give an interview last week on Australian TV where he talked about his definition of a love story I hope they don't question him too hard because we would after all be eating! Really, the person who I would want to see most would be Barbara Kingsolver. I have only ever read one book by her, The Poisonwood Bible, but I did love that one!

After powering up with a delicious breakfast it would be a leisurely stroll to the signing areas (no crowds remember!) and my first stop would be to meet contemporary romance author Jill Shalvis. In my review of her new release, Lucky Harbor, I mentioned that I had read more than a dozen of her books in the last year so I definitely consider myself a fan!

Thanks to the very convenient booth placements I would then amble my way over to see Simon van Booy. I have only read one book by him, but it was a very good one!

Next stop - Catherynne Valente. She is another author who I haven't read as much of as I really should have, but I loved the one I did read (The Orphan's Tale: In the Night Garden) and I have been wanting to read The Girl Who Circumnavigated the World ever since it came out and now the sequel to that book is just about to come out too! Must get to them!

The next author I would visit would be Ruta Sepetys. I haven't actually read her book, Between Shades of Grey, but I am 95% sure that I am going to love it when I do get to read it!

A few years ago I read Debra Dean's Madonnas of Leningrad. It was one of several books that I have read that is set during the Siege of Leningrad during World War II, a setting that I find heartbreakingly compelling to read. She has a new book coming out called The Mirrored World and I am looking forward to reading it a lot!

One of my most anticipated reads for 2012 is The Twelve by Justin Cronin, the sequel to the mega popular book from last year, The Passage! It would be a shame to be in the same building and not go and have a chat, especially seeing as he would be sitting there all by himself waiting for me to turn up!

My final two authors to visit would be Eloisa James, who is an author I have read a lot of, and then finally Adriana Trigiani who is an author I have only read a couple of books by, but who I want to read through the available backlist after reading and loving her latest book, The Shoemaker's Wife!

Looks like a busy day, right?

Yesterday I posted about the two books that I have given top marks to so far this year.  If you haven't read them yet, I highly recommend that you get hold of Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (but don't read it in public because you will cry!) and Legacy by Susan Kay, a must read if you are a fan of the Tudors.

When I look at the list of books that I have given the still excellent grade of 4.5/5 I am a little bit surprised to see that there are around about 20 books that I gave that grade to. I thought I would do a picture representation of those books with a very brief comment, but I would invite you to mention in the comments if there is a particular book you would like to know more about and I will add a bit of a paragraph when I get the chance.

Here goes:

Olivia and Jai by Rebecca Ryman - this book was highly recommended to me for anyone who likes to read historical fiction set in India. It is a drama filled and page turning read.

One Dance with a Duke by Tessa Dare - historical romance at it's best. Funny, passionate, engaging! Just have the third book in this trilogy to read soon.

Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold - part of the iconic Miles Vorkosigan series. Need to get back to this trilogy soon.

The Black Pearl by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles - Part of the uber-long Morland Dynasty series, this one is set during the reign of King Charles II, another of my favourite periods to read about in history.

The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald - a book club choice in honour of the movie coming out later this year!

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley - the first Flavia de Luce mystery featuring a precocious 11 year old girl as the main character and amateur sleuth!

A Good American by Alex George - I loved this immigrant story that was filled with music and food and family.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - a blogger favourite!

Lord John and the Scottish Prisoner by Diana Gabaldon - I wasn't keen on the first full length Lord John Grey book but ever since then I have loved them, and this one had lots and lots of Jamie Fraser so you can't go wrong with that really!

 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff - another winning book club choice. Not only is at a super quick read, but it is also funny and charming and pretty timeless considering it was published so long ago.

All Mortal Flesh by Julia Spencer-Fleming - I don't read much contemporary set crime but I love this series which features a female priest and a married chief of police in a small town in New York State.

Shalimar by Rebecca Ryman - Another fantastic historical fiction read set in India. I think I might actually try and see if I can find it to buy as I loved it!

Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett - It's Pratchett. What more do I need to say.

Ride with Me by Ruthie Knox - Hot and spicy contemporary romance that almost had me thinking about getting my bike out of the shed and going for a ride.

The Island by Victoria Hislop - Historical fiction set on and near a leper colony just off the coast of Greece.

 The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani - another immigrant story. I had read one Trigiani before and liked it but I loved this one!

Her Best Worst Mistake by Sarah Mayberry - I am a huge fan of Sarah Mayberry's books and I was always going to follow her when she decided to self publish this story! Oh, so good!

Fables 1 by Bill Willingham - This series is on a lot of my favourite bloggers list of favourite reads and if the rest of this series continues as well as this one did I will definitely be joining the chorus!

Lords of the White Castle by Elizabeth Chadwick - This author is one of my favourite historical fiction authors. I love the way she bring the medieval world to life to the reader.

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett - I was really pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book!

Linda Lael Miller stops by.....

As part of the blog tour to celebrate Big Sky Country, Linda Lael Miller is stopping by today with a guest post asking a very unfair question really? Isn't asking a writer which is her favourite character just like asking which of the kids is her favourite?

Do you prefer Slade or Hutch?

Well, heck, that’s a hard one, because I’m crazy about both of them. Slade is the strong, silent type, physically patterned after a young Rob Lowe (I had his shirtless Vanity Fair cover framed and kept it on my desk throughout.) He’s big on honor and integrity, and he’s really gun-shy because of a love gone wrong. Hutch is strong, too, but he’s outspoken and reckless. Where Slade will examine an issue from all angles, Hutch tends to jump right in and worry about the details later. Because they’re both LLM heroes, they have certain qualities in common: they want a woman who is an equal, and a partner, they love kids, they love animals, and they will always try to do the right thing. Like “real” people, they sometimes get it wrong, despite all their good intentions. They both have a sense of humor, Slade’s being dry and understated, while Hutch’s is more wisecrack dependent. They never look for a fight, but they never run away from one, either. I’m often asked if I wish real men were like my heroes—truth be told, I think there are a lot of very fine men out there, doing their jobs, loving their women, raising their children to be good citizens.

To find more stops on the tour, which includes excerpts, Q and A's as well as the chance to win a copy of the book and a fun cowboy inspired charm necklace!

Find out all the details here or click on the image above.


Later today, I will be posting my review of the first book in this trilogy, Big Sky Country and then next month I will be reading and reviewing the second book in the trilogy, Big Sky Mountain.

Armchair BEA: Introducing Me

Armchair BEA is here! This will be my third year of participating in this event that was originally started as a kind of substitute for those of us who couldn't make it New York for Book Expo America and now has grown into a massive week long celebration of books and bloggers!

The first post of the week is one where we are invited to answer 5 questions about ourselves out of a selection of around 10 questions. Here are the five I have chosen to answer.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging? 

My name is Marg and I live in Melbourne, Australia. I am a single mum who holds down a full time job, a teenage son (wait, that doesn't sound right!) and most of the rest of the time I am either reading or talking about reading!

I started my blog nearly 7 years ago, which at times makes me feel positively ancient in blogging terms, and I started it because I wanted, no make that NEEDED, to find a way to talk about the books that I was reading and loving.

When I started  my blog I fully expected that the blogging phase would last a few months, and then it would fade away which is precisely what I used to do whenever I started a journal when I was a kid but somehow or another this blogging habit has stuck and I most certainly cannot imagine life without it!

I also am part of a group blog which is focused on historical fiction called Historical Tapestry and each year co-host the Virtual Advent tour with Kelly from The Written World which runs all through the holidays during the month of December. In addition I do some Australian focused things like allegedly run the Australian Book Blogger Directory (I say allegedly because I am very behind on that) and also co-host a weekly twitter chat called #spbkchat (South Pacific Book Chat) which was started as a way of having a regular book chat that was run during times that were convenient for us because most of the other chats seemed to always happen when we were sleeping!

What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2012? 

Today I just finished The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera for my face to face book club. The meeting was tonight and I only just started the book yesterday which was cutting it a bit fine really! In the end I finished it with 37 minutes to spare before book club which is lucky!

I am currently reading Nadia Knows Best by Jill Mansell and I am about to start Attachments by Rainbow Rowell.

The best books I have read so far this year are Me Before You by Jojo Moyes and Legacy by Susan Kay. You can read the discussion post about Me Before You here. I haven't actually written a review for Legacy yet so I will summarise my thoughts on that book by saying I thought I was all Tudored out when it came to historical fiction. Legacy proved that in the right author's hands I could still read books with that setting!

What is your favorite feature on your blog (i.e. author interviews, memes, something specific to your blog)? 

I think I have a pretty stable blogging routine now. I usually do a couple of reviews a week plus co-host the Library Loot meme and participate in Weekend Cooking hosted by BethFishReads. I also participate in Sunday Salon. I think those last two are probably my favourites as there is lots of freedom to post about whatever you want to really!

What literary location would you most like to visit? Why? 

When I was much younger I spent five years living in the UK and whilst travelling had lots of opportunities to visit some amazing places, but now having so many more years of life experience and also having read a ton more books there are loads of places that I am pretty sure that I would get more from if I visited than I did when I first went to.

I would love to do one of the literary tours that authors are being asked to lead. For example, Elizabeth Chadwick is leading one later this year which will take the participants to many places that were significant to William Marshal who lived during the time of the Plantagenets in medieval Europe. It would be fabulous to not only visit all those places but also to have the chance to sit down and chat with one of your favourite authors. I know that Sharon Kay Penman has run one before and I think that there are other authors who are doing things.

The thing is though, if I do get the opportunity to travel again any time soon, as much as I would love to go to lots of literary places, really the first trips that I would be taking would be to see people who have become important to me through blogging. 

I know for example pretty much what my itinerary would be if I was going to get to New York and the east coast of Canada, or if I was lucky enough to get to France I know that I would be heading towards places like Grenoble that aren't necessarily on the normal tourist routes but where I know there is at least one like minded blogger who I would love to meet in real life.

Have your reading tastes changed since you started blogging? How?

My reading tastes have definitely changed since I started blogging. These days I am reading a lot more spec fic, loads more short stories and a lot of young adult and contemporary romance novels which I would not normally have read before I started blogging.

There is a whole world of books out there waiting to be discovered! Blogging and my fellow bloggers are definitely helpful in trying to work out which ones I think might be books that I could fall in love with!

The Historical Novel Society comes to Australia!

Today I am pleased to welcome James Vella-Bardon to my blog to talk about the new Historical Novel Society Sydney! As a big historical fiction fan, I am really excited that there is now a chapter of the society in Australia! I have often watched all the historical fiction fans I know get excited about going to the conferences in the UK and US and have even had conversations with fellow fans about the possibility of one day going to one of those overseas events! Maybe it is more realistic to aim for a Sydney event! I hope my fellow Australian historical fiction fans will be as excited as I am at this news.

I asked James a few questions about the goals of the Historical Novel Society Sydney chapter and what we can expect to see in the future.

Welcome James!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Historical Novel Society is an internationally recognised and respected advocate for all things historical fiction. What has prompted the creation of the Sydney Chapter now and are there plans for chapters in other cities or do you see this one as being an Australia wide chapter in reality.

In 2009 I was conceiving of my first historical novel after having moved to Sydney from Europe in early 2007. It was then that I stumbled across the Historical Novel Society (HNS) online, which is the way most Australians have discovered the HNS. Although I really enjoy HNS publications, like most readers I was dismayed to discover that although the society is very active in the US and the UK, it has no local presence. Therefore before we got started with HNS Sydney there was no one carrying the can for fans of the genre except for the New South Wales Writers Centre (NSWWC), which offers the odd day course on writing historical fiction.

I attended a few of these brilliant courses delivered by novelists of the ilk of Tom Gilling and Diane Armstrong, amongst others. Yet these classes make for little lasting interaction beyond the course, and they do not cater to fans of the genre. Therefore the idea of forming a local chapter had already started to form in my head back then, but I was uncertain how to proceed until I noticed a call for BETA readers on the NSWWC e-newsletter by historical novelist Nick Bleszynski. After putting my hand up to read his work in progress (WIP), I chatted to him about forming a chapter of the HNS in Australia and he seemed to think it was a very good idea. With the blessing and help of HNS founder Richard Lee in the UK, Nick and I got in touch with other Sydney based HNS members: Elisabeth Storrs and Rachelle Blackledge who are also founding members of our society. The four of us met one evening in February at ‘The Fortune of War’ in the Rocks (quite apt, since it’s Sydney’s oldest pub), and we got the ball rolling. I should add that I’m very fortunate to have these guys on board, since they’ve been very forthcoming with their time and ideas.

So I guess you could say that it was self-interest that prompted the start of this society but in truth it has been set up in the interest of all fans of historical fiction or ‘historical fictionistas’. Originally we did brand ourselves as ‘Historical Novel Society Australia’ (HNSA) but after talking to different Sydneysiders involved in the literary scene like Irina Dunn and people at the NSWWC, we decided to start building up the society in Sydney first, hence ‘HNSS’ i.e. the Historical Novel Society (Sydney).

Although it’s early days yet, it would be great if other HNS chapters appeared in Melbourne, Brisbane and other Australian capitals, which could eventually lead to the creation of a nationwide HNS. On our part we’re open to all Antipodeans (from both Australia and NZ), and will readily share the experience we have gained so far with ‘historical fictionistas’ who are willing to start up their own HNS Chapters outside Sydney.

James Vella-Bardon hard at work

What are the goals both short and long term for the chapter?

Our immediate goal is to grow our society, to create a platform for local ‘historical fictionistas’: a meeting place where readers and writers can exchange ideas, work and experiences. Off the top of my head, I know that in the past prominent novelists like Balzac and Lancelyn Green formed part of these societies in Paris and Oxford respectively, and we see no reason why there cannot exist a similar thriving community in Sydney.

Of course the ever growing virtual world presents us with some other more immediate avenues of communication, and we already have a presence via social media of Facebook and Twitter. We’ve also flown out of the blocks and created a blog: www.hnssydney.blogspot.com.au – and in the short term we hope that this becomes a bubbling stewpot of ideas. Members will be able to use it to conduct a ‘blog hop’ or attach ‘guest posts’ consisting of an excerpt from a WIP (work in progress) or an unpublished novel, and also book reviews or recommendations.

Other posts will include ‘historical interest’ posts on a period of history that a particular HNSS member might be researching to complete their novel. HNSS members can also signal their intent to be BETA readers via our blog, as this would be of indispensable help to published and unpublished authors out there.

Other short-term priorities include boosting the attendance of our monthly chapter meetings where members may gain the benefit of feedback on WIP, discuss research topics and our favourite novels. And be it the short or the long term, we would like to have guest speakers attend these meetings from time to time.

We are currently also seeking to ‘put ourselves out there’, that is to reach out to new members by not relying solely on the virtual world. To this end we are presently identifying other collaborators, be they novelists, libraries and bookshops, amongst others, who we shall seek to contact in the coming month. I would like to imagine that with the growing dominance of ebooks, that forging links with a niche community like ours would be of particular attraction to those bookshops out there who are scratching their heads as to how to maintain their relevance to local readers and writers.

Ultimately these collaborations should help the HNSS with its members drive, and also help us connect with the existing and potential passion for historical fiction to which Sydney is home.

In the long term, it would be great if our efforts eventually lead to an annual event on the Sydney calendar that celebrates the historical novel, since these conferences / festivals already draw scores of ‘historical fictionistas’ to the UK and the US each year from all over the world. It would be fantastic if Sydney could be the first city to host the first of these conferences in the southern hemisphere. We would also like to be a first port of call for those Sydneysiders who have a novel that is pouring out of them, and who have no idea where to begin with converting it into text.


What benefits do you think that the chapter will be able to offer its membership?

I’m not sure where to begin with this question but I’ll try! Speaking personally, I’ve already gained so much insight into historical fiction through my membership to the HNS alone. In practical terms it has helped me to identify those literary agents who I can market my work to. This has led to me to correspond with a prominent literary agent in the UK who requested my whole manuscript and even offered praise and insights on how to further improve it. As you can imagine, this left me bouncing off the walls in ecstasy, particularly since the manuscript was only two years old. It was certainly better than trying to show it to a monosyllabic mate who just told you that he thought your work was ‘good’. So the stark fact of the matter is that without the HNS publications I wouldn’t even have known where to begin, and the agent’s feedback has been a huge shot in the vein for my prospective writing career. Membership of the Sydney chapter will also help to give members similar insights as to how to improve their work since there are many published authors among our number with experience of the literary industry who are very forthcoming with their advice.

But I have also already gained much else from my HNSS membership, namely attending monthly chapter meetings where I have been able to have many eye-opening discussions about the genre with published authors of the calibre of Lisa Storrs and I have also been able to trade views with someone in the same boat as myself like Rachelle Blackledge. It sounds simple enough, but until the HNSS was created, I did not know of a place in Sydney where stimulating discussion about e-publishing, research, new novels etc. could be had. Furthermore, the fact that our society is still in its early stages means that exposure to some incredible Australian talent is easily available. Nothing feels better than meeting fellow writers and discussing the trials and tribulations of writing a novel, it’s a bit like watching the ‘special features’ bit on the DVD of a movie you love, and readers will also find this process fascinating.

The sky is the limit for us in the virtual world, but nothing can replace real interaction by readers and writers and having debates – I think it’s ok to stay at home and bury yourself in a cave and write the perfect novel – but meeting others and talking about your work saves you heaps of time since you get to confront a target audience quicker and it separates the wheat from the chaff in your mind. In this respect, our society will is invaluable. It’s one thing to show your manuscript to your mom who tells you it’s great so as to prevent you having another creative meltdown, but it’s another meeting other writers who will give you their honest take in the spirit of constructive criticism. I know from previous experience that there is nothing better than receiving a compliment from a hard-nosed career author. So that I think the greatest value our society can offer is to be the catalyst for a more effective writing process. Which is not to mention the potential advantages that exist in posting excerpts of your work to our blog, because you never know who might be looking at it!

But in saying that, we must again emphasise great importance of readers of the genre to the HNSS. I don’t think there are many greater unadulterated joys than debating the merits of one’s favourite novels with other fictionistas, and BETA readers and novel reviewers are always welcome. Being part of the ‘great unpublished’ myself, I know first-hand how putting your hand up as a BETA reader can also help aspiring authors, since it can serve to hone your skills and sharpen your understanding of drafting fiction so that you are not only assisting the reader of the work you are writing but also growing your own learning curve.

Another advantage is the chance to be part of something bigger on the international stage. This might sound like pie in the sky, but I was recently entered a dialogue with Irish novelist Hugh Fitzgerald Ryan who forms part of the Irish HNS chapter, and obtained knowledge about a specific period of Irish history – Hugh is currently creating a fictional work set in 16th C. Ireland against the backdrop of the Desmond uprisings. In contacting him I am also aware of another novelist whose work I’d love to read. So in forming part of the HNS you’re putting yourself out there and you never know what surprises are waiting around the corner!

How do historical fiction authors and readers get involved in the HNS Sydney chapter and what kind of participation are you looking for?

Everyone is welcome to become a member and membership is free. The best way of going about this would be to express an interest in joining our society by sending a short email to: hnssydney@gmail.com

Readers and writers are also more than welcome to subscribe to our blog by email - there's a link in its side bar on the left which will allow you to do this. In this way you'll be notified of new blogposts.

Ultimately we are looking for people to just be themselves to share their likes and creations with us. This is not a chore or a job, and the day it becomes one is the day we should pack it in. We’re looking for readers to tell us what they love to read, and writers to share their work and experiences with us – we are ultimately looking to create a forum that is a meeting of minds.

It’s all too easy to overlook the great diversity of backgrounds that we have in Sydney, and the passion for literature that exists out there. I’ve met kids who have attempted movies on Elizabethan England, and guys in offices writing novels about family dynasties in 1930s USA or about the early Celtic civilisation. We want to centralise all of this, create a ‘talking shop’ if you will, but one which will be of great service to many people.

The truth is that we’re a fledgling organisation, so anyone who wants to put their hand up is more than welcome. Even simple things like helping out with contacting collaborators and doing a bit of work on our virtual presence would be of great help. That being said, we don’t want to scare people away by making them think that they’ll be forced to do anything once joining the group – after all we’re flexible and informal, since this is a voluntary society.

At the end of the day it’s meant to be fun. Enjoying oneself whilst discussing, sharing and being transported to exotic worlds where you learn heaps. After all, that’s what historical fiction is all about isn’t it? It’s such a powerful tool to learn whilst enjoying oneself and one that is still so rarely employed by our educators - even though the likes of Desiderius Erasmus have been suggesting that teaching be made enjoyable since the 1500s!

I have often been jealous as I watched my fellow hist fic fans heading off to the annual conferences in the US and UK. Is a HNS Australia conference something that you are working towards?

Tell me about it! So many times have I met Aussies and Kiwis who tell me ‘oh, why do the Brits and the Yanks have all the fun?’ And I completely agree. I repeat, I’m off the boat in Sydney, and moved in here in 2007 – I was amazed to find that there’s no annual historical fiction event on the calendar. But the beauty of it is that the process leading to a conference being established is in our own hands, and we’ve got to work towards it, just like the Yanks and the Brits did. But before proceeding to conference / festival stage, we need to identify and reach out to all those Sydneysiders (and other Aussies / Kiwis) who are passionate about the genre.

After all many people have assured me that the passion for historical fiction is alive and well in Sydney, and my experience so far leaves me in little doubt of this. So although it may at the moment be a little bit further on down the line, we just need to get cracking with a local society and I’m sure many other doors will eventually open, leading to the organisation of the first Australian HNS Conference. And when that day comes, I’ll hope to see you there!