05 Apr 2013 4 Comments
in Australian Reading, Book Babble
So on Thursday night I was honoured to be able to hang out with Jenn J McLeod, author of House For All Seasons, Marcia of Book Muster Down Under and Anna from The Reading Room in our first Google Hangout. It was actually quite nerve wracking and I got flustered to begin with.
I either need a LOT of practice or to never do it again!
To see us chat, stream the video
To learn more about Jenn J McLeod read my author Q&A and read my review of the warm and engaging House for All Seasons
04 Apr 2013 4 Comments
in Book Babble
with author of House For All Seasons, Jenn J McLeod and The Reading Room.
Log into Google+ and add The Reading Room to your Google+ circle
At 7.30pm go to The Reading Room google+ page and you should see a black box that says Hangout.
Click the play symbol to watch the stream.
This is my first time participating in anything like this and I am very nervous.
If you have any questions for Jenn please post them below and I will be sure to ask.
30 Mar 2013 8 Comments
in Book Babble
I am thrilled to have been nominated for the 2013 Best Australian Blogs competition and I would be delighted and appreciative if you chose to vote for Book’d Out in the People’s Choice awards. The contest is an initiative of the Australian Writers’ Centre and is sponsored by Random House Australia and there are over 1000 entrants in this round.
Anyone can cast a vote. Book’d Out can be found on the very first page – just click to tick! You can vote for multiple blogs, but you can only vote in the survey once. Keep clicking next until the final page and then make sure you click “Finish” to make your vote count.
Voting closes April 30th, click the image below to vote for me!
26 Dec 2012 4 Comments
in Book Babble
I took part in The Broke and the Bookish’s Secret Santa Exchange this year I sent a batch of gifties to Kayleigh at Nylon Admiral and in return I received a box of bookish goodness from Myra at Pieces of Whimsy!
Thank you Myra for The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner, Beyond Fear by Jaye Ford, 2 swag bookmarks and a cute paper bead bracelet!
————————————————————————————-
I also participated in the The Book Bloggers Holiday Card Exchange organised by Judith at Leeswammes’ Blog and by Courtney of Stiletto Storytime.
I received a card with lots of great reading recommendations from SamStillReading along with a lovely handmade Japanese bookmark, a card from Stacy at Stacy’s Books with a swag card, and I also received a lovely card from Judith at Leeswammes, just because! Thank you ladies!
I hope the cards I sent to Jeannie, Stacy and Cassandra made it to them in time!
Both events are such fun, and I look forward to participating again next year!
17 Nov 2012 8 Comments
in Author Interview/Guest Post, Book Babble
Escape Publishing is a new venture by Harlequin Australia launched on November 14th and I am pleased to be able to support this innovative publishing house. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to attend the glittering premiere at Sydney Harbour to learn more so I invited Kate to Book’d Out to tell me, and you, a little more about this exciting new development.
Kate Cuthbert
“Paul Raymond Martin said “’Better safe than sorry in living. Safe is sorry in writing.” I only came across this quote a couple of weeks ago, but it fully embodies what I’ve been living for the last six months.
You may have heard – Harlequin Australia has released a digital-first imprint, Escape Publishing. I’m Kate Cuthbert, and I’m the Managing Editor of Escape. My main task in this role is to go through every submission that Escape receives, and decide which books we’re going to publish, and which books we are going to pass. So, basically, I get to read romance novels for a living. It’s the best job ever.
So how does that relate to not playing it safe? Well, don’t worry. I’m going to expand. So, to put a book into print costs an astronomical amount of money, what with the editorial, marketing, print, distribution, storage, retail cuts, etc. So print publishers, being a business, need to make decisions about which book is going to most likely recoup those costs (and maybe even make a little money on the side, so, you know, everyone can get paid). A book can also take years to get from acceptance to print publication. This means that print publishers – in a gross generalisation kind of way – are looking for books with mass appeal. Books that take risks, for example, or are likely to only appeal to a niche market, or represent an author stepping away from the style to which their readers have become accustomed, are not financially viable in this current climate.
Digital-first publishing, however, has only a fraction of the costs of print – and a much faster turnaround time. So we can take those risks, do a little genre-bending, play with characterisation, see if we can’t fill a niche or two.
What does that mean for readers? Well, honestly? It means you might not love every book we publish. Not all books are meant for all people, and while I am seriously damn excited about our titles, you may not be. But that’s okay, risks are by nature risky, and the next book might be filling that need that you didn’t even know you had. And the next one might be even better than that. We’re willing to take that risk.
I don’t plan on ever being sorry that we didn’t play it safe.
I’m thrilled to announce our five launch titles, released last Wednesday. Chains of Revenge is a dark, violent, erotic, fabulous erotic fantasy novella. Chaos Born is a complex, meaty, dark, funny urban fantasy debut. Christmas Wishes is a sweet, sexy, smile-inducing friends-to-lovers holiday novella. Grease Monkey Jive is a big, modern, groovy, ensemble cast contemporary romance, and In Safe Hands is a polished, sophisticated, suspenseful romantic suspense novel. They’re all at a special launch price at the moment so you can take less of a risk on trying us out 
In fact, our erotic fantasy novella, Chains of Revenge, is free for a very limited time.
Our website is here: escapepublishing.com.au, if you want to learn more about us, see pictures of our fabulous launch party, or if you have a manuscript looking for a home. I would love to hear what you think about our titles – my job can be a bit lonely, and I haven’t been able to talk about these books yet, so I’m positively desperate to have a conversation. You wouldn’t leave me hanging, would you?”
31 Oct 2012 1 Comment
in Book Babble
Drop by to say hi and browse Michelle’s book reviews!
01 Sep 2012 11 Comments
in Book Babble
Thrill Week, hosted by tea Time with Marce, is all about Networking with Bloggers and Authors who love to read and write Thrillers, Mystery, Suspense and/or Horrors. The goal is to find new blogs and bloggers with similar interest in those genres and of course add to our huge TBR and Wishlists. The week begins with this questionnaire for all participants, read on for my answers….
Introduce yourself
Hi! Thanks for stopping by Book’d Out today! My name is Shelleyrae , I am a wife and mother of four who lives in a small town in Australia. I read a bit of everything but I particularly enjoy thrillers, mystery and suspense.
What has been your top 3 reads this year?
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, A Dissection of Murder by Felicity Young , The Betrayal by YA Erskine
What are you currently reading during Thrill Week?
The Vanishing Point by Val McDermid, Velocity by Steve Worland, After The Darkness by Honey Brown, The Geneva Trap by Stella Rimington
What debut author(s) or new to you author(s) have you read within the last 12 months that have impressed you?
Heather Gudenkauf – I enjoyed One Breath Away and bought 2 of her other books on the strength of it; Andrew Kirshbaum – his self published novel, Monday and the Murdered Man, has a hard-boiled PI character meshed with urban fantasy; Jaye Ford an Australian writer of psychological suspense including Scared Yet? ;
Favourite trilogy or series you recommend to others to read in the genres above?
That is such a tough question – probably the series I have followed the longest is Jonathon Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series, so it seems only right I recommend it.
What popular author(s) have you NOT read but is on your Wishlist?
Elly Griffiths, JA Konrath, Elizabeth Peters
Other than blogs, share with us what other tools you use or subscribe to in order to keep up with the latest news on authors, new releases, book tours, etc?
Goodreads groups including The Mystery, Crime and Thriller Group and Aussie Lovers of Crime/Mystery/Thriller and Suspense but primarily blogs
What current book is hyped among the blogosphere that you want to read or are not interested in?
Right now Scandinavian crime (ala Jo Nesbo/Henning Mankell) seems to be all the rage but so far my experiences with it have not been great.
What is most important in these genres to you? Plot, characters, location, dialogue, red herrings, narrator or what mix of them?
A clever, well crafted plot that isn’t transparent and characters I either love, or love to hate, are essential.
Recommend a book made into movie you thought both were good?
Hmm, this was hard, I actually don’t watch a lot of movies. Forced to choose I will say I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Sherlock Holmes (2009)
27 Aug 2012 27 Comments
in Book Babble, Giveaways
I have always been a voracious reader, but reading has been a very solitary passion. Discovering Goodreads, and then book blogs, changed my life. Now, not only do I get to share my obsession with people who are actually interested, I have access to a much wider range of books, chat to authors and work with publishers.
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate each and every person who stops by, who leaves a comment or decides to subscribe to my blog. Your support has been integral to my daily happiness and success.
As a small thank you, I am offering you the chance to win your choice of book/books up to the value of $20AUD from BookDepository or Amazon.com
Open worldwide. Entries close September 1st
11 Aug 2012 Leave a Comment
in Book Babble
“Everything Fifty Shades should have been … And more”
Tiffany Reisz’s first book in her The Original Sinners trilogy – The Siren, launches Harlequin ’s erotic fiction imprint, Harlequin Spice, in Australia.
Notorious Nora Sutherlin is famous for her delicious works of erotica, each one more popular with readers than the last. But her latest manuscript is different-more serious, more personal-and she’s sure it’ll be her breakout book…if it ever sees the light of day. Zachary Easton holds Nora’s fate in his well-manicured hands. The demanding British editor agrees to handle the book on one condition: he wants complete control. Nora must rewrite the entire novel to his exacting standards-in six weeks-or it’s no deal. Nora’s gruelling writing sessions with Zach are draining…and shockingly arousing. And a dangerous former lover has her wondering which is more torturous-staying away from him…or returning to his bed? Nora thought she knew everything about being pushed to your limits. But in a world where passion is pain, nothing is ever that simple.
WARNING: This excerpt contains explicit sexual content. Not suitable for those aged under 18.
Available at Harlequinbooks.com.au or bookstores nationally
at RRP AU $ 19.99.
11 Aug 2012 3 Comments
in Book Babble
Today is National Bookshop Day in Australia!
Bookstore’s all over the nation are joining in the celebrations with sales. guest authors, activities and more!
Make sure you visit your local store to show your support!
Click here to visit the National Bookshop Day Facebook Page
