Hello! :)

Hello!

It's Nomes :)

I've been letting inkcrush sleep for a long time. During that time I've been blogging elsewhere for my uni degree which I finally graduated from in December 2016! I was awarded with my Masters in Teacher-Librarianship and am now a qualified teacher-librarian (primary and secondary school) as well as a straight-up regualr (but awesome) librarian ~  qualified to work in any library (such as the council library, TAFE or at a uni library). Phew! My masters was a mammoth effort and I learnt so much but, underneath it all, my passion is still for literature and developing and nurturing a love of reading and learning how to create libraries that are both a haven and an inspirational space for creativity and lifelong learning (etc! Not about to get into my uni essay talk! Haha). Turns out there is more to be a librarian than just reading and talking about books all day! ;)

Some grad pics @ Southbank in Brisbane (with some of my fam)

I hope you are all going well and finding new favourite books and authors, and spending time visiting old literary friends. I have had a quiet year online (both on here and I also had a rest from social media) but I hope to be back here (and visiting you all on your internet spaces) more frequently this year chatting about my new fave books, authors, literary characters and life! I fell in love with so many books in 2016 and already I have 7 new favourite reads from 2017 alone to talk about. 

Here's three recent reads that are all new faves for me:

By Your Side by Kasie West
I just love how Kasie West writes. Her books so easy to sink into and relax with. I spent a blissful day with this book and am already hanging out for Kasie's next release (which is in July! So thankful she keeps her books coming at me!). She is on par with Elizabeth Scott for me (one of my fave relaxing and swoon-delivering YA authors) and reading By Your Side definitely got me in the mood for revisiting Kasie's older titles (like The Distance Between Us and P.S. I Like You ~ both contemporary YA faves of mine). Her books really are reading highlights in my year. They hit that sweet YA spot (something light, swoony and unputdownable ~ with just the right amount of character development to add some ache and depth). 


Strange The Dreamer by Laini Taylor is exquisite. Unique and vibrant and messy, the fantasy world vividly comes to life like no other fantasy world I have visited before (in my reading travels, haha). Laini Taylor is a born story-teller, and this story is complicated, romantic, haunting and altogether unexpected. Brilliant, imaginative and stunning ~ Strange the Dreamer was worth the wait. I'm so excited for everyone to read it!






The Pretty Delicious Cafe by Danielle Hawkins
I really, really  enjoyed this charming New Zealand read! Refreshing and very smiley. Gorgeous setting with characters who feel like family. I loved it from the first chapter (with an awesomely awkward and smiley meet cute!). This book has swoon, humour, fantastically fun dialogue, and genuine family and friend messy relationships that never derives into melodrama. Definitely on the look out for more work from Danielle Hawkins and now I have her backlist titles to catch up on!

What book have you read lately that is a new fave?

Talk soon! Nomes x

Sneaking in an update post before my end of year lists...

It's been so sleepy on my blog for the last few months. Here's a few things to kick off my post ~

One: I am in the worst reading slump ever. It's been 5 weeks since I've finished a book (although I've started and abandoned dozens).

Two: I love this time of year and love reading about everyone's fave things of 2014. I am drafting some blog posts of some of my fave reads this year <3 (and also a post about books I can't wait for in 2015).

Three: I have always always been a mad crazy reader and I love chatting about books so I don't think my blog will ever die completely but I have seriously been lacking in motivation to sit down and blog. In part, that would be due to being in a slump, also due to seasons of life and shifting passions and it is also due to many of my fave bloggers having left the scene so things just don't feel the same. I started in 2009 and so much has changed since then. So a big shout out to anyone who is still around and reading (my sporadic posts).

Four: So many of my highly anticipated reads for 2014 turned out to be real duds for me! Haha, that felt a bit blunt, but it is so (unfortunately) true. Books by authors who I previously loved fell flat, books in series I was so into had me forgetting characters and stalling midway. Hate when that happens. But I also discovered new-to-me authors to love and new fave series to follow AND I read outside my fave genres and found some new books to love <3.

Five: On a personal note ~ 2014 had so many challenges for me with health and study but it also included the BEST  (five week) holiday ever in braw Scotland (with a touch of York, Cardiff, London and Paris thrown in). I have fallen in love with Scotland and absolutely cannot wait to go back. My mum is Scottish and all her family is still over there (she has five sisters all still living where they grew up) so it was awesome visiting with them all ~ I am half Scottish by blood and it has stolen my heart :)

I've picked just a tiny section of photos from Scotland for those who are interested (see below, haha. I was going to keep going and get my England, Wales and Paris pics but was worried I'd never be able to restrain myself...)

Six: I'll be back in a few days. I hope you all had an awesome Christmastime ~ so much to celebrate and be thankful for at this time of year x

Gartmorn Dam, Alloa ~ right around the corner from where my mum grew up

My daughter with some local highlanders at the Scottish Highland Games

Campbell Castle, Dollar

Views from the Wallace Monument, Stirling (The Ochil Hills)

Hills in the highlands opposite Rob Roy's gravesite

Walking along Loch Ness, Fort Augustus

River Ness, Inverness

Inverness Castle

Urquhart Castle ruins on the Loch Ness

Highland Cows at the Culloden battlefields

Culloden Cottage, site of last great Jacobite uprising 

Clava Cairn, 3000BC burial chamber

Walking Ben Cleuch in the Ochil Hills

Magnificent Ochil Hills

Stirling Castle

Old Town Edinburgh

Clackmannan Tower

Me and my three kids, Ben Nevis Mountain Range, the highlands

Bonus pic to say hey ~ my kids and I up the top of the Eiffel Tower, Paris
(it was freezing and windy but very cool!)

Five Things and HEY

1. BEST NEWS EVER yesterday:

Oh, man, I didn't even know about this book until yesterday and I am already aching/dying/desperate to get my hands on it. No idea what it is about, but it is by Nicola Moriarty (!) and the cover and title are gorgeous. Due out early 2013

2. Meet my local second hand book shop:

Totally feel like you are in an episode of Hoarders walking around there. Three rooms, many aisles, decked out like this.

Bonus: the kids love going there (who wouldn't?).

Look what I found! This is the 1995 edition of the very famous and well loved Sleeping Dogs

Totally fluked seeing this book! (was right on the top of a random stack). This is the first Sonya Hartnett I read, back when I was 15 (!). So cool to finally have my own copy. Any other Sonya Hartnett fans out there? She is AMAZING.

3. On Monday, I met Aussie author Toni Jordan at Caloundra Library.

She is one of my favourite (and I know many others) writers of (smart) romantic comedy. Her debut, Addition, is SUCH a favourite book of mine. I've loaned it to so many friends and read it 2.5 times myself (we all know which parts the .5 were, haha). It's PERFECT crossover, with our 19 year old protagonist and the gorgeous and sexy 19 year old Irish boy (my gosh. sexytimes.) and I love that the protag has OCD (one of my fave topics in fiction) and this time presented in such a fun (but heartfelt) way (gosh, enough with these parenthesis already!)

Speaking of Addition: it is available worldwide. Translated into, like, 17 languages. Multiple reprints and soon to be a movie. I love it so. MAJOR RECOMMENDATION from me.

ANYWAY. I took my copy to get signed ... [cue drum roll] and upon reaching Toni, flipped it open and found she had already signed it. CLASSIC. Back in 'Sydney '98' She signed it again for me anyway, and, I just have to add, my inscription is WAY better :)

I am too private to share actual inscriptions. Sorry if this tiny pic drives you crazy!
Side note: I love this cover for it ;)

Also, Toni Jordan talked for an hour and she is SO funny and eloquent and I took mad-girl notes and loved it. Also took my husband. he liked it, too, especially the bit where we (Toni and audience) joked about OCD (not to be disrespectful, etc). I completely didn't dob myself in, but who doesn't have some kind of OCD issues? (well, apart from my husband...) 

One thing Toni shared that I liked: she calls her first draft her 'heart draft' and her second draft her 'brain draft'. Meaning the first time it's all about getting into the characters and the story and feeling it, and the second time through it's making it work: research, tension, shaping the story. Beautiful.

4. Been doing a lot of bush-walking, this place just at the top of my street.

Maggie, of Young Adults Anonymous, pointed out that one of my pics is like the US cover of Jasper Jones. Sweet.

5. I've really been sucking at reading.

I have PILES of half read books on my bedside, bookshelves and half done books on my kindle. I return books to my library, 3/4s read. It's becoming my new thing :/ Most are actually really good. I am just finding that if it is not EXACTLY my kind of perfect book, I lose interest. If I am not sucked in with that unputdownable feeling, it gets put down and I have no urge to pick it up again.

It's actually really frustrating...

Plus YOU GUYS it's school holidays! Best feeling ever. I love having the kids home and sleeping in, and my parents are driving up so I'll get to feel all tourist-y alongside them.

It feels so good to make this random post and say hi to you all!

x Nomes

Me & the Writing Panel Author Event

So I went to an author event on the weekend and all I took photos of was me and some Star Wars cosplayers who were wandering around the library. Which was so bizarre:

Darth Vader was really tall.
He also had this breathing sound effect going the whole time, LOL.
My kids wanted to know if the spikes on Darth Maul's head were actual bone implants, haha. I don't know, but it looked pretty genuine. Wish I had peered in closer... 

That R2D2 was actually used in Empire Strikes Back. We could look but not touch. (Although I got my head pretty close, haha)

The author panel was part of the 'grand finale' of the Sci Fi Month, of which I had no idea. I was mainly going to catch up with YA author Paula Weston. (And seeing Marianne De Pierres would be a bonus, too)

Official flyer I half read before committing to the event

When I got out at the carpark (at Logan North Library) I had a startled moment as I looked up through the second storey windows and saw Darth Maul and Darth Vader standing next to a Death Star backdrop, gazing out over street. The place was buzzing. With random sci-fi characters and people dressed up. To enter the library, you had to walk through a Stargate  (classic!)

The Brisbane Regional Youth Orchestra  was fully set up in one section of the library, playing Star Wars tunes (such atmosphere!) while storm troopers and jawas looked on. There were other professional sci fi characters wandering about, ones I am not geeky enough to know who they were (haha). 

On to the actual event. 

(of which I managed to take zero photos...)

Marianne De Pierres (author of the Burn Bright series, among others) was the host, and four sci fi/fantasy authors were on the panel (see event poster above). They had a great vibe and camaraderie amongst them (good times!). Marianne posed questions and each author approached their work in different ways, so it was cool to hear all different perspectives.

Here's some of the questions and responses, all paraphrased by me (the authors, of course, were much more eloquent)

How do you go about plotting?

Rowena: believes we all have an innate sense of story and authors need to trust that. If the story is working, she'll feel good about it. If not, something about the direction of the plot just feels clunky and she reworks it. Approaches her work: I want x and y to happen, but I let characters take control of how it all comes together.

Kev: I start with an idea. What if? Then let the characters tell the story. Much more fun that way.

Trent: Writes in notebooks, sometimes elaborately, but then always ignores the notebooks. Later on (post-project) finds earlier notebooks and has a moment - oh! that's right! I was going to do that! Makes diagrams and maps but in a chaotic way. Uses diagrams to discover new things. Most important thing to him is being open to the weird things that happen along the way. Like following the white rabbit. Any other way is boring, for him. Needs to discover along the way. (He showed us a "small" notebook, which was A3 in size and full of scribbled notes, drawings, etc)

Paula: Talked about how working out details are important as she is working on book two of a four book series. She has a rough idea for each book in the series covering the story arc and individual character arcs. Important to lay the seeds for the big reveal in book four (me: instantly, I am DYING to know what the big reveal is...)

Marianne: Mentioned for her there was no right way/no magic recipe and that for each book it can be different.  When writing mystery/crime she plots more. She talked about plotting over a series and joked about you just write into the terror :D

What do you do when your plot hits a dead end?

Paula: One word: Foofighters.(LOL!) She goes for drive with the Foofighters blaring and everything becomes clear ;) Music is really good for her brainstorming, but when she is actually writing, she never plays music. Dead ends often mean she is trying to force something with her characters for the plot that doesn't match who they are.

Trent: (shamefully confesses) he does not write in a linear fashion. If he gets stuck, he just writes a different scene from a different part of the story. I love what he said here: About a third of the way into the first draft, he has an epiphany about what the final scene will be. Then everything else is just a dance towards that final scene. 

Kev: forces himself to write when stuck. Just writes any random scrap of dialogue, anything, and often what he begins writing leads him through to the next part.

Rowena: Talked about believing in her instinct for the story. If she does get stuck, she goes back through what she has already written. She fixes up previous scenes and polishes things up and gets to know the characters better and that often unblocks the path. 

Random comment from Marianne: if you know the rules of writing, you can break them. (have to know the rules first)

Talking about characters. Do they arrive fully formed? Or do you get to know them?

Paula: For Shadows, Rafa arrived fully formed. MC Gabby was more complex: she is like two characters in the sense that her present character had amnesia and her past shows a completely different side of her, unknown to herself. Paula shared an awesome tip from her editor who posed Paula the question:  why are gabby and Maggie friends? (as opposed to Maggie just being the requisite side character for plot's sake) and it forced Paula to discover more of Maggie's background (she discovered Maggie's own pain and story) and she went back through and was able to add depth to their relationship.

Marianne strongly recommends this book to everyone: Nancy Kress 

Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint: Techniques and exercises for crafting dynamic characters and effective viewpoints

Where do they find characters? Is it a mixture of pure imaginatoin, seeing a random person or people they know?

Marianne: her strongest characters are partially based on someone she knows.

Random discussion with all author going for it: Often start with rough shape of personality type. Paula mentioned she doesn't base her characters on someone, but often thinks her characters have a similar personality to so-and-so and when she is stuck on what a charatcer would say/do she thinks: what would so-and-so do? (ie her cousin/friend with that assertive personality...) 

Discussion turns to how the character themselves are different to the author's perception of the character which is different to the characters perception of themselves which differs from the reader's perceptions of the character which differs to the other characters perception of the character and how it changes of the course of the novel, etc, etc and etc.

Rowena refers to the Johari Circle. Rather well, by memory. And how you can use all that info to flesh out a character and give them depth/discover things. 

Just substitute 'us and ourselves and organisation' for your characters to see how the Johari thing works  in this context

Marianne asks how to keep characters fresh, referring to the main character of the book and not always writing in the same "voice"

Here my notes get fuzzy and I make some random note about goodreads and LOL (?). 

Nuggets I wrote (not sure who said what). 

• Don't cater for the public. Tip: Don't read a review and consider someone's thoughts and adjust your character accordingly. Try and forget all that and be true to the character. (Having said that, one author said they realised through reading reviews that perhaps their characters were rather too unlikeable and realised it's important to give them a shred of likeablility, haha)
• Characters just are who they are (everyone nodded profoundly at this)
• Marianne deliberately changed her new series from 1st person to 3rd person to avoid sounding the same in first person to her previous series. 

Then the audience asked a heaps of questions and I relaxed and didn't write one more word ;)

What I loved most about the event was just hearing the authors chat so openly about things. Also, authors are such fun people (huge generalisation, but I am going with it). Afterwards, I chatted to a few of the authors. Marianne was just. so. nice. She is friendly and funny and clever and really generous with her time.

Australian cover. Out now.

UK Cover. Jan '13 release

Likewise with Paula Weston, who I got on so well with. Gosh, I had a great time chatting with her. I am also really pumped for Paula as her Aussie YA debut, Shadows, has a four book deal not only in Australia, but also in the UK and the US. Her book, Shadows, is one of my favourite reads this year, even though I don't do paranormal YA, haha, it was brilliant and addictive and sexy. Cannot wait for Book #2, Haze.

Also, can't wait for my next author/industry event. Now that I am closer to a capital city I am pumped about the opportunity to attend stuff like this. 

May the force be with you,

Nomes

Hello and Photos

A big hey from me. Just a little personal catch up post, for those who are interested, if not, move right along ;)

Bookish stuff first:

1) coming up in the next week I have 3 New Adult reviews, plus a review of Courtney Summers new zombie novel (I seem to be out on a limb with my thoughts on it).

2) Yes, that's THREE new adult reviews. It has been a GREAT reading month. I love the genre (which doesn't yet officially exist) and am really thrilled with some of the newest releases.

3) Huge congrats to MAJA of The Nocturnal Library who has won my Preloved giveaway. Maja - I'll be right in touch xo

4) My new library is HUGE. It has ten branches and you get 15 reservations per card. My family makes 5 cards, all care of greedy little me (LOL). My last library was only 3 reservations per member, which I thought was normalish, but am now wondering what is the normal amount?


Anyways, already have over 40 reservations between us and I seem to be down there every second day collecting things. So much bookish goodness. It's overwhelming and awesome all at once.


5) not so bookish: since moving, internet is stuck on dial-up speed. Do any of you guys remember those dinosaur days? MY GOSH, it's painful. I am not a patient person in the context of waiting for a web page to load. So apologies for not bouncing around all your blogs. Hopefully it will all get sorted soon...(although my husband is currently in Thailand, so waiting for his return where he can handle it for me. Haha!) Meanwhile, I've been taking the opportunity to have internet-free time

What I've been up to:


We moved to the Sunshine Coast a few weeks back. Here's a few pics I've taken while schlepping around the place:

Five minutes east of my house, the Pacific Ocean :)

Five minutes west, the rainforest.
I actually prefer the bush to the beach. Both are lovely, but the bush feels like home to me, having grown up in the Blue Mountains.

My middle boy, Reuben, taking some time out.
Reuben has Aspergers and he is just lovely.
Moving states is a big thing for the little guy <3

From my top deck. Was overcast, but we have ocean views. Lush.
Also, lots of bird poo ;)

View from my study downstairs: our jungle-y backyard
I call it my study, but so far the kids always seem to be in there ;)

Bonus: my kids, first day of new school.
They are going great so far.
New school system means Sam skipped up a grade, he's pretty happy about that ;)

How are all you guys? I am flabbergasted that it is nearly July already. I am so looking forward to the end half of this year - as always, the best is yet to come! Can't wait to find some more favourite books and share them with you guys over the coming months.

xo Nomes

Dusting off the blog

So, you may have noticed I had an impromptu announced hiatus... mainly due to work and life, but also stemming from the fact that I have barely been reading this year and, so, sadly lacking in inspiration for a book blog. (I won't take time to go into various computer/internet problems, which have also kept me offline).

I have missed you all so, although I've been, surprisingly, keeping up with you all on my reader (I use Flipboard [free app] on my iPod and COMPLETELY recommend it for reading blogs. I fly through my google reader on it). Although, I haven't taken time out to visit and say hi (HI!)

Keeping my post in point form so I don't drown you all with a monologue of my life

1. For those who are interested: I am moving! Completely out of the blue, as I ADORE living in Sawtell (so very much) and assumed I was here to stay... yet a series of events lead my husband to his DREAM job which happens to be in Maroochydore, on the Sunshine Coast in QLD.

Aerial shot of Maroochydore, where we are moving to
On the east coast of Australia

Changing states! Wah! By all accounts, it is an equally gorgeous place to live. And so far my friends here are in equal parts mourning my departure (heheheh) and jealous of our good fortune. 

If you're still reading ~ my husband will be working for Compassion Australia, an international world aid and child advocacy ministry. I've spoken on here before about his passion for world aid and eradicating extreme poverty, so I while I am slightly startled to be moving so suddenly, I am absolutely thrilled for the new direction in our lives. My husband will be travelling throughout Queensland and internationally and away from home a lot, which will be another change for our family.. Speaking of travelling, he is currently in Bali with my oldest son, Sam, holidaying and also helping to build water tanks for villagers who are dying for lack of clean water.   

My son Sam, cycling through Bali last week

My husband in Uganda with former child soldiers, taken in 2010

Are there any Aussie bloggers near the Sunshine Coast? It would be awesome to meet up one day :)

2. While I was absent on inkcrush, I guest posted on two of my fave blogs:

Over at Chachic's Book Nook where I raved on about a favourite Melina Marchetta book of mine for Marchetta Madness week. Can you guess which book?

a shot from my shelves...

This MM book was made into a movie :)

And I was here on The Readaventurer, talking about one of my ABSOLUTE FAVE HEROINES EVER. In fact, I love her so much, I even took pictures of myself trying to be her... 

I know! Can you guess who I am and what I am doing? haha

Maybe this will be a better clue?

3. I was scheduled to be a part of a Very Exciting Blog Tour: 

And I missed my stop! Never fear, I will be posting and encore guest post this coming week, including an international giveaway for a most wanted Aussie YA book. Be excited! 

Do you know who this Aussie YA author is?
Coming up on inkcrush

4. I have read a GRAND TOTAL of 19 book this year. Not many, hey? I'll be back in a few days to show you the books I read in March and April. A little teaser: my favourite books for those months were

Free Falling! YOU GUYS. SO good. On my hall of fame of all-time lifelong favourites xo

5. I cannot pretend my blogging is going to suddenly be super regular, but I am not going away. In fact, March marked my two year anniversary. I love the literary world too much, and my blogging friends just as hard, to disappear altogether. That said, this next month is looking crazy busy for me (finishing up work, packing and farewelling friends and all the fun stuff that comes with an interstate move). Thanks to all you who bear with me and are still hanging around. You make it worth it :)

6. Just have to say: my new library on the Sunshine Coast looks like a dream! Definitely the biggest library I will have ever belonged too and I have already scoured their catalogue for books I have had on my wishlist for a while and found a bunch ~ so pretty pumped to check it out. Can't wait to join up and get reading :)

On the flipside of that, my Coffs Harbour librarians are sad to see me go, a couple of them have become good friends of mine, I will miss them too. Love my librarians xo

7. If you have the time: recommend me a favourite book you have read this year. I am sorely in need of a GOOD READ to remind me how much I love reading. YA or adult fiction :)

See you all again real soon

xo Nomes