Book Review No 29: Dancing Backwards In High Heels by Christine Darcas

Maddy is 42 years old and in a rut. A newcomer to Australia, she is struggling to find her feet while her two kids and husband seem to have settled in well at work and school. Desperate for a new outlet but just not sure what she wants, Maddy finds her answer one night as she searches for a doctors surgery for her ill son. A dancing studio catches her eye and on a whim, Maddy signs up for lessons - having no clue just what an impact it will have on her life.

Many women would be able to relate to Maddy's feelings - she is a giver to everybody except herself. While she has carefully buried her past as a dancer, that spark still exists within her and it doesn't take much to bloom back to full strength. Her family aren't entirely happy with her new hobby - after all it means she will be less available for them. Yet Maddy knows if she doesn't take a stand now, she never will.

Well written and easy to read, Dancing Backwards in High Heels explores many themes common to women worldwide. It is ultimately an uplifting story that celebrates the different passions each one of us has and why it is so important for us to embrace them - no matter what other people think.

Kindle Sale!

The Kindle version of The Beach House is just $2.99 for the weekend. Check it out at Amazon or Amazon UK

Thanks Fellow Authors

I really am very glad that I have become an author in the Internet age! In fact in all honesty, I might not even be here if it wasn't for the sweeping changes that the Internet has brought into the publishing industry. Not only is it much easier to get your work out on the world stage, but there is a huge community of fellow authors out there who are ready and willing to help you make it in the writing world. Over the past couple of months I have managed to conquer two of the biggest challenges facing (non U.S.) authors publishing on Amazon Kindle - tax and payment.

While Amazon might get your book out onto the global stage - unless you have your tax sorted out, the I.R.S. will take a huge 30% chunk of your earnings. Ouch! While you can apply to get this money back, it is such a long winded process it's really not worth the bother. Applying for an International Tax Number was similarly daunting - which was why I kept putting it off. Then I was lucky enough to stumble across a blog post about the much simpler to get Employee Identification Number and after a ten minute phone call I was sorted!

Dear Amazon, Please Explain......

I've said it before - Amazon has changed the way books are bought and read and given all authors a massive worldwide platform to share their work with the world. They are the King of books and I humbly acknowledge that. However, they can also be sneaky and as a huge player that knows they pretty much control the world book selling and e-book publishing industry, sometimes they do things that are just plain unfair.

Recently an indie author John Locke admitted he had paid for hundreds of glowing reviews of his own book. While it is without doubt an unethical thing to do, it was also without doubt a dumb thing to admit to. So like the whole class who gets kept in at lunch time because one kid won't admit to doing something wrong, thousands (or millions) of other authors have to suffer the fallout from this.

Book Review No 28: The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty

I've always enjoyed Liane Moriarty's books, but I think this one is my new favourite. I don't think it was so much the subject matter of the book, but just the entertainment value of a well told story that I liked so much.

Ellen is a 35 year old hypnotherapist with her own practice. Successful in her chosen field and living in her grandparents old house on Avalon Beach in Sydney, the only thing missing from her life is a relationship. Turning to the internet, she thinks she has hit the jackpot when she meets Patrick. A handsome, seemingly stable man with a decent job, he is also a widower with a young son. It is only a few dates in that he reveals his secret - he has a stalker named Saskia. In a relationship with her for three years, Patrick has moved on but she refuses to let go.

Book Review No 27 - Lola's Secret by Monica McInerney

Having just picked this book up at the library, it took me a while to realise that the main character Lola was the grandmother from Monica's previous book The Alphabet Sister's. It was a nice surprise as I always enjoy follow on books.

Lola is still enjoying life in the Clare Valley, helping her son and his wife run their motel. But it's Christmas and instead of going away with her family, Lola decides to stay home and run a special event and see who will turn up for a quiet, bush Christmas. A midst all this Lola is still very involved in the lives of her granddaughters Bette and Carrie (who have their own dramas to contend with) as well as her great-granddaughter Ellen, who is living far away in Hong Kong.

AWW Challenge Progress Report

I've been a little bit slack with my reviews over the past month, but thanks to a return flight to Melbourne and back, plus airport time and being away for a week I've managed to get back on track. I must admit I wondered at the beginning of the year if I would find a continuous source of  Australian Women Writers to read, as I had struggled in the past to find any kind of list or website that gave information about female writers here. Wow! I am so pleased to have been proved wrong. There ARE lots of Australian women writers out there, producing high quality fiction and non-fiction books and as long as we as readers keep supporting them, there will continue to be more books to fill our bookshelves (or Kindles).

My target for the year is still 50 and I think I'm a pretty good chance of making it. I can't thank the AWW challenge enough for inspiring me to seek out and read female writers and for providing the information about what books are out there and of course the reviews (more than 1000) that help you choose which books you would like to read.

Book Review No 26: Kath's Miracle by Kathleen Evans and Sarah Minns

Kathleen Evans was just an ordinary woman in NSW until the day she was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and given a matter of months to live. Advised not to undertake treatment as her illness was too advanced she got her affairs in order and prepared to die. But then something amazing happened - she got better. Less than a year later she was given the all clear with all medical tests confirming she had no signs of cancer within her once ravaged body.

A miracle by anybody's standards (religious or not), the only answer Kathleen had was the Mary McKillop relic she had worn under her clothing every day and the knowledge that a prayer group at her local church had been praying specifically to Mary McKillop on her behalf.

Book Review No 25: Feral Bells by Peta-Jo

I was immediately drawn to the Queensland setting of this book. With lots of local references around Brisbane and Townsville (as well as a mention of my native Sunshine Coast), I couldn't help but feel immediately at home and enjoyed being able to picture most of the places depicted within.

Fortunately the story was similarly warm and inviting. We all know a few 'ferals', but there aren't many books written that acknowledge and celebrate them.

Book Review No 24: If I Should Lose You by Natasha Lester

Camille is the daughter of one of Australia's first female transplant surgeons and has herself forged a career as a nurse, working with the families of potential organ donors. Besides that, she is the mother of two young girls, one who is in desperate need of a liver transplant.

Poignant and compelling, this book explores an uncomfortable reality of organ donation - when those waiting for an organ essentially have to hope for the death of another so they might live. Beautifully written with lyrical, flowing prose you cannot help but feel Camille's despair as she watches her daughter grow sicker while trying to nurture her other child and deal with a less than loving marriage.