May
4

Festival of Authors 25th of May

I am thrilled to be part of Wanaka Library’s program! I’ll be having a chat Thursday 25th May at 5:30pm. It is a free event, booking with Wanaka Library

REPOST • @qldclibraries We are delighted to announce the lineup of this year’s ‘Festival of Authors’ in its second year running.

Apr
12

‘THE NANCYS’ Review – @HungryThesaurus

Thank you so much Jacinta, 2023 made! 🤩🙏🏻💖REPOST • @hungrythesaurus
“I didn’t grow up reading Nancy Drew and I still dip in and out of crime generally so I was a little worried when I ordered The Nancys that I was going to struggle.

My assumptions couldn’t have been more wrong. While Nancy Drew is definitely present, there is no pre-reading needed. And while there is a fat load of crime and scaries in there, The Nancys is about so much more than murder and mystery.
I was completely invested in this gorgeous little family. Tippy, Pike and Devon might just be the most perfect trio. Whenever they are ready to spring to life, I am ready to be adopted into their clan.

There was so much heart and love poured into these characters that even just thinking about them makes me warm and fuzzy.
And if that doesn’t convince you, The Nancys is actually so bloody funny too! Like genuinely laugh out loud, cackle on the tram, lay in bed and laugh to yourself funny.

There are plenty of witty one liners, some excellent banter and amazingly balanced dark humour that gives you that reprieve when the tension is biting or the mushy stuff has made you too gooey. I have never read a funnier crime book and with the exception of future Nancy books, I kinda doubt I will.
The Nancys really is a perfectly balanced book that goes above and beyond its genre or blurb.”

Apr
12

Book Mail: ‘The Albatross’ – Nina Wan

THE ALBATROSS @ninanwan , début fiction @macmillanaus out 26th April. I was lucky enough to read Nina’s unpublished manuscript in the 2022 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards where it was shortlisted, and Primose has stayed with me ever since and I can’t wait for readers to meet her too! (Please see blurb below ⬇️)

‘The albatross is just about the rarest thing in golf – two shots on a par 5. A hole-in-one, anywhere on the course, is just a random event, a fluke. It’s not your own doing. But an albatross . . . It’s a thing of beauty. One. Two. It must be very deliberate, very thoughtful, one superb shot followed by another. You can say it’s got to take a degree of belief. You’ve got to really want it, and aim for it, and try for it.’

When Primrose makes an unplanned detour into a dilapidated suburban golf course called Whistles, she has no idea that the past will come rushing back at her, bringing every detail of her life into stark focus. At 36, her marriage is teetering from illness and infidelity. A visit from her commanding brother-in-law looms ominously on the horizon. And by a twist of fate, Peter, the boy she loved twenty years ago, is now living across the street.

Primrose cannot escape the increasing demands to make a choice, between her first love and her marriage, duty and desire, fear and freedom. Slowly, the grounds of Whistles, and a sport she proves to be terrible at, become her meditation and cure.

From a sparkling new Australian voice, The Albatross is a big-hearted, beautifully written and utterly engaging novel about first love, second chances and the most elusive shot in golf.

Apr
4

Readings – In Discussion with Paddy O’Reilly

A lot of love (and standing room only) tonight @readingsbooks for @toni_jordan_writer in discussion with @paddyoreilly.writer about PRETTIER IF SHE SMILED MORE – always an absolute privilege to listen to these two incredible writers speak 🔥🔥🤩🤩 Could have listened for hours – congratulations @toni_jordan_writer can not wait to read!

Apr
4

‘Dying to Know’ by Rae Cairns

One day to go… DYING TO KNOW @raecairnswrites

📘Compelling and emotive, with a main character you want to root for and villains you love to hate. Dying to Know kept me up late at night wanting to know what happened to Amber, and what will happen to the family she left behind.

Blurb: Twelve years ago budding journalist Geneva Leighton received a phone call that stopped her life in its tracks. Her terrified sister, Amber, was locked in the boot of a moving car and begging Geneva for help. Amber was never heard from again.

Since that night, Geneva’s days have revolved around caring for her traumatised niece and nephew, despite the unpredictable behaviour of their father … and keeping the search for her sister alive. But the knowledge it should have been her in the boot of the car haunts her waking hours.

When Sergeant Jesse Johns turns up with shocking new evidence about Amber, Geneva’s world is thrown into chaos again.

Mar
24

QWS – S2E4 Jasper Peach

🤩NEW PODCAST EPISODE 🎧 QWS S2E4. Jasper Peach @queerwritessessions @daniveebooks_wordsandnerds

In this episode I chat with Jasper Peach @jasperpeachsays about writing, Rainbow Families and those questions — and all about their new book, You’ll Be a Wonderful Parent: Advice and Encouragement for Rainbow Families of All Kinds

Jo @blarneybooksandart reviews Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg.

Queer Writes Session (QWS) Podcast, a Words & Nerds @daniveebooks_wordsandnerds spin off series hosted by Rob aka R.W.R. McDonald, in partnership with Blarney Books & Art in Port Fairy. You can listen to the episode through @daniveebooks_wordsandnerds website and platforms 🤩🙌🏻🙌🏻

Books mentioned and reviews can be found on QUEER WRITES SESSIONS | Blarney Books and Art Resources mentioned and a transcript for this episode’s interview is available at QWS Podcast

R.W.R. McDonald https://rwrmcdonald.com

Listen here!