tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1099559803297892162024-03-14T15:14:07.210+11:00Dangers Untold and Hardships UnnumberedThe blog of YA author Rhiannon HartRhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.comBlogger388125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-38513631645855194092017-07-19T10:00:00.000+10:002017-07-19T18:09:41.561+10:00Pitchwars Wishlist and About Me Bloghop<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Welcome Pitchwars hopefuls! I'm so pleased to have you here and to share my wishlist with you. Giving feedback to other writers gives me such a buzz.<br />
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First little bit about me. I'm a fantasy writer from Melbourne, Australia now living in London. I worked in publishing for many years until I left two years ago to become a freelance editor and writer full time. Under my own name I've had two novels published with Random House and self-pubbed a novel and a short story. I'm repped by Ginger Clark of Curtis Brown. This is my <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4862379.Rhiannon_Hart" target="_blank">Goodreads profile</a>. As my "day job" I work as a biographer for <a href="https://storyterrace.com/rhiannon-hart/" target="_blank">Story Terrace</a> and as a freelance developmental editor. You can see my 5-star feedback on <a href="https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~01223cb55c60bd7993" target="_blank">Upwork</a>, where I do some of my editing work.<br />
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I'm also a secret contemporary romance author with one of the big houses and I've got three romances out this year. A fourth historical novel is on submission with my publishers at the moment, and I'm so excited about it!<br />
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I'm here to help you with the big picture issues: characterisation, structure, plot development and voice. Is the point of view working? Is the structure working? Are the characters behaving in a believable in and in-character manner? What can we improve to make your book the one agents and publishers keep reading?<br />
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It can be scary showing other people your work, and even scarier asking for feedback. I still get nervous when I know people are reading my work! Because I've been on both sides of the table, getting editorial notes and giving them, I understand the need to be constructive and sensitive at the same time. You want to be sure that the person giving the feedback gets what you've written and cares about it before they launch into all the things they think you should fix.<br />
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<b><i>Pitchwars Wishlist</i></b></div>
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Because I work and write so widely across genres I'm pretty open genre-wise. It's the style of writing that I most connect with. I like scenes with a lot of emotion and characterisation, and high stakes moments. Unusual ideas and scenes capture my attention, and twists on usual tropes.<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Both SFF and contemporary genres. I write and work freelance across both of these.</li>
<li>SFF novels with lush settings, unusual main characters and strong plot arcs</li>
<li>SFF that is primarily character-driven. I'm all about digging into the emotion and characters in a books, and that goes for all genres.</li>
<li>Paranormals, especially if there's a strong romance plotline. PNR is coming back after lull in the industry. </li>
<li>Historical settings. I love history. Twentieth-century right back to ancient times. And historical settings combined with SFF/PNR? Yes please. </li>
<li>Stories influenced by fairytales and myths, with twists on familiar themes.</li>
<li>Crime elements. I love crime novels and mystery, especially with unreliable narrators.</li>
<li>Villains who <span style="color: cyan;"><b>are </b></span>the stars of their chapters. Villains who scene-steal. Villains who make you love them just a little too much. </li>
<li>I do a lot of gaming so if you've been influenced by the tropes and worldbuilding in Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Destiny etc, I'm your gal.</li>
<li>Worldbuilding that is law-based and thoroughly reasoned. I'm not so much into magical realism.</li>
<li>Did I mention I'm also a contemp romance author? I love any story with a strong romantic plotline and a happy ending. </li>
<li>But I also love it if you can make me cry. You cruel, cruel writer.</li>
</ul>
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Got something and you're not sure if it'll suit me? Hit me up on <a href="https://twitter.com/rhiannonlhart" target="_blank">Twitter</a>. </div>
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<tr><td align="left" class="blenza-td" valign="top" width="33%">1. <br />
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<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11053007.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.cmmccoy.com/%E2%80%A6/pitchwars-yana-weird-stuff-mentor-%E2%80%A6" target="_blank">CM McCoy (Colleen Oefelein)</a></div>
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2. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11053012.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.rebeccasky.com/gallery.php" target="_blank">Team Gingersnaps (mentors: Rebecca Sky </a></div>
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3. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11053256.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.nktraver.com/" target="_blank">N.K. Traver</a></div>
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4. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11053337.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.rachelsolomonbooks.com/blog/pitch-wars-2017" target="_blank">Rachel Lynn Solomon</a></div>
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5. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11053344.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="https://michelladomenici.wordpress.com/%E2%80%A6/pitch-wars-2017-me%E2%80%A6" target="_blank">Michella Domenici</a></div>
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6. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11053424.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://booktivities.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Leigh Mar</a></div>
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7. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11053440.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://sharonmjohnston.com/" target="_blank">Sharon M. Johnston</a></div>
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8. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11053690.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="https://carliesorosiak.com/pitch-wars/" target="_blank">Carlie Sorosiak</a></div>
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9. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11055297.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.onlybylaura.com/pitch-wars-mentor-wishlist" target="_blank">Laura Pohl</a></div>
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10. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11055401.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://samanthajoyce.com/pw2017wishlist/" target="_blank">Samantha Joyce</a></div>
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11. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11056317.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.katherinefleet.com/blog" target="_blank">Katherine Fleet</a></div>
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12. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11056372.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.metuiteme.com/blog" target="_blank">Amelinda Bérubé</a></div>
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13. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11057129.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="https://erinfosterhartley.wordpress.com/%E2%80%A6/my-pitch-wars-20%E2%80%A6/" target="_blank">Erin Foster Hartley</a></div>
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14. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11057405.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="https://mariemeyerbooks.com/%E2%80%A6/pitch-wars-mentor-wishlist-b%E2%80%A6/" target="_blank">Marie Meyer</a></div>
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15. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11058600.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://akemidawnbowman.com/2017/07/pitch-wars-wishlist" target="_blank">Akemi Dawn Bowman</a></div>
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16. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11059116.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.mollyelee.com/blog/2017-pitch-wars-bio-wish-list" target="_blank">Molly E. Lee</a></div>
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17. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11059302.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.kipwilsonwrites.com/?p=2251&preview=true" target="_blank">Kip Wilson</a></div>
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18. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11059485.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://kkazulwolf.com/2017/07/18/pitch-wars-intro/" target="_blank">K. Kazul Wolf</a></div>
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19. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11059919.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://naomiedits.com/pitch-wars-2017.html" target="_blank">Naomi Hughes</a></div>
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20. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11059991.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.aimeelsalter.com/%E2%80%A6/my-pitchwars-ya-mentor-bio-an%E2%80%A6" target="_blank">Aimee L. Salter</a></div>
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21. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11060054.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="https://emilywibberley.com/pitch-wars-2017-wishlist/" target="_blank">Austin and Emily</a></div>
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22. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11060456.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="https://katchowrites.wordpress.com/%E2%80%A6/claribel-kats-pitch-wa%E2%80%A6" target="_blank">Claribel Ortega and Kat Cho</a></div>
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23. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11060559.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://ladennison.com/pitch-wars-2017-mentor-bio/" target="_blank">Laurie Dennison</a></div>
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24. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11060623.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://wp.me/P5qzh8-9e" target="_blank">Ashley Hearn</a></div>
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25. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11061144.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="https://www.rschaefferbooks.com/pitchwars" target="_blank">Rebecca Schaeffer</a></div>
<br />
26. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11061728.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="https://rebeccadenton.me/2017/06/16/pitch-wars-lets-ave-it/" target="_blank">Rebecca Denton</a></div>
</td><td align="left" class="blenza-td" valign="top" width="33%">27. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11062054.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://scribblebabble.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Mara Rutherford and Joan He</a></div>
<br />
28. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11062867.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="https://alicialclancy.wixsite.com/%E2%80%A6/18/Pitch-Wars-Mentor-Bio" target="_blank">Alicia Clancy</a></div>
<br />
29. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11063106.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.kristenciccarelli.com/pitch-wars" target="_blank">Kristen Ciccarelli and Joanna Hathaway</a></div>
<br />
30. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11063804.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://natashaneagle.com/2017-pitch-wars-wishlist/" target="_blank">Natasha Neagle</a></div>
<br />
31. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11063863.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="https://lyndsayely.wordpress.com/%E2%80%A6/pitch-wars-2017-wish-li%E2%80%A6/" target="_blank">Lyndsay Ely</a></div>
<br />
32. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11066059.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://judilauren.com/?p=410&preview=true" target="_blank">Judi Lauren</a></div>
<br />
33. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11066834.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.mmhoffmanbooks.com/pitch-wars-mentor-bio/" target="_blank">Monica M. Hoffman</a></div>
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34. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11067851.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://wp.me/p6vlU2-cO" target="_blank">Kelly Ann Hopkins</a></div>
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35. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11068410.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.helenedunbar.com/blog/our-pitchwars-wishlist-2017" target="_blank">Helene Dunbar and Beth Hull</a></div>
<br />
36. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11068466.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.boekwegbooks.com/%E2%80%A6/pitch-wars-mentor-blog-swap-s%E2%80%A6" target="_blank">Sheena Boekweg</a></div>
<br />
37. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11069969.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://mkengland.com/?p=620&preview=true" target="_blank">M.K. England and Jamie Pacton</a></div>
<br />
38. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11070519.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://wp.me/p29p7E-aL" target="_blank">Nikki Roberti</a></div>
<br />
39. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11070636.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="https://writenextchapter.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jenny Chou</a></div>
<br />
40. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11070863.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://wp.me/p2aC2P-2iu" target="_blank">Amy Trueblood</a></div>
<br />
41. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11070878.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.isabelibanezdavis.com/%E2%80%A6/pitch-wars-wish-list-2017" target="_blank">Isabel Ibanez Davis</a></div>
<br />
42. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11070926.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="https://swordsandstilettos.blogspot.com/%E2%80%A6/pitchwars-2017-me%E2%80%A6" target="_blank">Kristin Smith and Beth Ellyn Summer</a></div>
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43. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11071465.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="https://lisa-amowitzya.blogspot.com/%E2%80%A6/greetings-aspiring-wr%E2%80%A6" target="_blank">Lisa Amowitz</a></div>
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44. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11071526.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.colegibsen.com/" target="_blank">Cole Gibsen</a></div>
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45. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11071541.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="https://www.natalkaburian.com/pitch-wars/" target="_blank">Natalka Burian</a></div>
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46. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11071696.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="https://katekaryusquinn.blogspot.com/%E2%80%A6/gonna-make-you-sweat%E2%80%A6" target="_blank">Kate Karyus Quinn and Mindy McGinnis</a></div>
<br />
47. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11072084.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.soniahartl.com/-pitchwars.html" target="_blank">Sonia Hartl and Annette Christie</a></div>
<br />
48. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11072316.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://wp.me/pBC5g-lj" target="_blank">Kit Frick</a></div>
<br />
49. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11072754.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="https://susangrayfoster.wordpress.com/%E2%80%A6/my-pitch-wars-wishl%E2%80%A6" target="_blank">Susan Gray Foster</a></div>
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50. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11073425.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.sarahnicolas.com/2017/07/pitch-wars-wishlist.html" target="_blank">Sarah Nicolas</a></div>
<br />
51. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11073490.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://monibw.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Monica Bustamante and Kerbie Addis</a></div>
<br />
52. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11073563.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="https://mckelleblogs.wordpress.com/2016/07/19/pitchwars/" target="_blank">McKelle George and Heather Cashman</a></div>
</td><td align="left" class="blenza-td" valign="top" width="33%">53. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11073718.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://andthenshewaslikeblahblahblah.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">RuthAnne Snow</a></div>
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54. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11074169.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="https://lauramsteven.tumblr.com/%E2%80%A6/my-pitchwars-2017-wishlist" target="_blank">Laura Steven</a></div>
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55. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11074713.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.dianagallagherbooks.com/%E2%80%A6/lightscamerapitch-wars%E2%80%A6" target="_blank">Diana Gallagher and Katrina Emmel</a></div>
<br />
56. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11074750.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.jennyferguson.ca/%E2%80%A6/hi-and-welcome-to-pitch-wars-%E2%80%A6" target="_blank">Jen Ferguson and Gracie West</a></div>
<br />
57. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11074753.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://kestrester.com/" target="_blank">Kes Trester</a></div>
<br />
58. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11075257.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="https://jeanmarie-anaya.squarespace.com/%E2%80%A6/577e9731d1758e975%E2%80%A6" target="_blank">Jeanmarie Anaya</a></div>
<br />
59. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11075322.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="https://catherinescully.com/%E2%80%A6/pitchwars-blog-hop-and-wishl%E2%80%A6/" target="_blank">Cat Scully</a></div>
<br />
60. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11075769.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://heatherezell.com/2017/07/pitch-wars-2017/" target="_blank">Heather Ezell and Rachel Griffin</a></div>
<br />
61. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11075857.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.stephaniescott.net/%E2%80%A6/pitch-wars-2017-mentor-bio%E2%80%A6/" target="_blank">Stephanie Scott and Erica M. Chapman</a></div>
<br />
62. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11075862.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="https://linseymiller.tumblr.com/PWMentorBio2k17" target="_blank">Linsey Miller and Maria Mora </a></div>
<br />
63. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11076257.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://heathersmithmeloche.blogspot.com/p/pitch-wars-2017.h%E2%80%A6" target="_blank">Kristin Bartley Lenz and Heather Smith Meloche</a></div>
<br />
64. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11076259.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.kellydevos.us/pitchwars/" target="_blank">Kelly deVos</a></div>
<br />
65. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11076294.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.tomiadeyemi.com/bl%E2%80%A6/teamclaws-pitch-wars-wishlist" target="_blank">Tomi Adeyemi and Kit Grant</a></div>
<br />
66. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11076338.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="https://rhiannon-hart.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rhiannon Hart</a></div>
<br />
67. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11076415.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://shortcuttoshrums.blogspot.com/%E2%80%A6/pitch-wars-wishlist-%E2%80%A6" target="_blank">Brianna Shrum</a></div>
<br />
68. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11076467.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.emilymartinwrites.com/%E2%80%A6/pitch-wars-wish-list-an%E2%80%A6/" target="_blank">Emily Martin</a></div>
<br />
69. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11076494.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://natasharazi.com/pitchwars" target="_blank">Natasha Razi</a></div>
<br />
70. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11076685.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="https://tabithamartin.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Tabitha Martin</a></div>
<br />
71. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11076709.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://jamiehowardauthor.com/%E2%80%A6/2017-pitch-wars-mentor-bio-w%E2%80%A6" target="_blank">Jamie Howard</a></div>
<br />
72. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11076711.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.lindseyfrydman.com/blog" target="_blank">Lindsey Frydman</a></div>
<br />
73. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11076729.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://jennalincoln.net/%E2%80%A6/pitch-wars-2017-blog-hop-mentor-%E2%80%A6/" target="_blank">Jenna Lincoln</a></div>
<br />
74. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11076739.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="https://destinycole.com/2017/07/18/wishlist2017/" target="_blank">Destiny Cole</a></div>
<br />
75. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11076884.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://www.dawnius.com/%E2%80%A6/it%E2%80%A6/68-2017-pitch-wars-wishlist-bio" target="_blank">Dawn Ius </a></div>
<br />
76. <br />
<div>
<img border="0" height="75" src="https://www.blenza.com/…/bre…/MjltYXkyMDE3YQ==/11077060.png" width="75" /><br />
<a href="http://jaycoleswrites.com/%E2%80%A6/1631514%E2%80%A6/pitchwars-wishlist-2017" target="_blank">Jay Coles</a></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="border: 2px solid #000000; color: black; padding: 4px; text-align: center;">
Powered by... <a href="http://www.blenza.com/linkies/" target="_blank">Mister Linky's Magical Widgets</a>.</div>
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Rhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-3036311208689773702016-04-29T17:29:00.001+10:002016-04-29T17:29:36.663+10:00VLOG: April Favourites<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
There are few things I like more than talking about books and writing, so I've started a vlog about Writing Genre Fiction.<br />
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I'd love you to check it out - this first vid is all about my favourite books and TV in April. Plus you get to hear my mongrel Aussie/English accent! I've totally been infected.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/re_PZvZdYwo" width="480"></iframe></div>
</div>
Rhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-65134582213289876142015-10-14T02:05:00.000+11:002015-10-14T04:59:22.335+11:00In Search of the Highwayman Claude Duval, or, There are lies on the Internet!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today I walked into Covent Garden to visit the resting place of infamous highwayman and heart-breaker Claude Duval (1643-1670) at St Paul's Church:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mvMLGuaOvq8/Vh0TyYiBJyI/AAAAAAAACHc/J9PRFIesSuM/s1600/Covent%2BGarden.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mvMLGuaOvq8/Vh0TyYiBJyI/AAAAAAAACHc/J9PRFIesSuM/s320/Covent%2BGarden.png" width="318" /></a></div>
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Duval (or Du Vall/Duvall) was a French-born servant who became a highwayman in London. He reportedly never used violence and was by some accounts a bit of a hottie. Cue my interest: a swarthy anti-hero in real life? I'm there.<br />
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From his <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Duval" target="_blank">Wikipedia page</a> (Wikipedia, I hear you say with scorn. Lazy sourcing. It is linked only for your amusement, not as a verifiable source. Very little about this story is verifiable.):<br />
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There are many tales about Du Val. One particularly famous
one — placed in more than one location and later published by William
Pope — claims that he took only a part of his potential
loot from a gentleman when his wife agreed to dance the "courante"
with him in the wayside, a scene immortalised by William Powell Frith in his
1860 painting <i>Claude Du Val</i>.</blockquote>
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The painting in question, which hangs in Manchester Art Gallery:</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x4ZO8lVzDF4/Vh0TLP7UZzI/AAAAAAAACHU/mHwAhEv4ScA/s1600/2-_DSC0073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x4ZO8lVzDF4/Vh0TLP7UZzI/AAAAAAAACHU/mHwAhEv4ScA/s400/2-_DSC0073.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://pipandsteve.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/manchester-art-gallery.html" target="_blank">Source</a></td></tr>
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I did a lap of the inside of the very lovely church but could only find one plaque from the seventeenth century, but it wasn't Duval's and the person probably wasn't the least dashing and handsome. I moved on.</div>
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There was a nice lady selling Christmas cards so I bought a packet of ten and asked her to show me where Duval's plaque was. She looked half amused, half annoyed, and told me that he wasn't buried in the church at all, it was just a story. People came in from time to time asking about him, and when she'd asked the rector about it he'd told her Duval was a criminal who'd been hanged, and therefore couldn't have been buried on consecrated ground. The rector's theory about how the story came about was that someone connected with the church put the story about to make it attractive to visitors. </div>
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When I got home I did some digging. The church was built in 1631 and Duval was hanged in 1670, so the dates fit at least. One source said that he was buried in the centre aisle, but it's covered in carpet now so I couldn't check that. Another source says that the tomb was destroyed by a fire in 1795. The parish records apparently show that a Peter Du Val was buried there the day after Claude Duval's lying in at the Tangier Tavern, St Giles. Could be him. Sounds implausible though.</div>
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The epitaph in the tombstone is supposed to read:</div>
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Here lies DuVall: Reder, if male thou art,<br />
Look to thy purse; if female, to thy heart.<br />
Much havoc has he made of both; for all<br />
Men he made to stand, and women he made to fall<br />
The second Conqueror of the Norman race,<br />
Knights to his arm did yield, and ladies to his face.<br />
Old Tyburn’s glory; England’s illustrious Thief,<br />
Du Vall, the ladies’ joy; Du Vall, the ladies’ grief.</blockquote>
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The epitaph is credited to Walter Pope, an astronomer. I'm nearing the end of my digging now, dear reader, and this blog post. The epitaph comes from a book Pope wrote called <b style="font-style: italic;">The Memoires of Monsieur Duval</b>. It seems Pope was a little annoyed by the English fascination for highwaymen, and particularly the way women liked to swoon over them. After all, Duval wasn't only a criminal, he was <i>French</i>, by god. </div>
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The book detailed Duval's supposed exploits, but was meant as a work of satire. The full title is <i><b><u>The Memoires of Monsieur Duval: Being the History of his Life
and Death; whereunto are annexed his Last Speech and Epitaph</u>; intended as a
Severe Reflection on the too great fondness of English Ladies towards French
Footmen, which is too common a complaint</b></i>.</div>
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<a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=e7ZCAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kwYvFtU2exk/Vh0bNmkluGI/AAAAAAAACHs/Pw48vdjcjZ8/s320/Memories.png" width="229" /></a></div>
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You can <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=e7ZCAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false" target="_blank">read it here</a>. </div>
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The only parts of this story that I was able to verify are that the church certainly does exist (you'll have to take my word for it), and the part of the title above that is underlined. Even the authorship of the work is not certain.</div>
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I'll make an educated guess and say that Pope made up the burial at St Paul's Church and Duval was really consigned to an unmarked grave after he met the hangman at the Tyburn Tree. </div>
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TL;DR: Reality is nowhere near as sexy as stories and myth. Also, take what's written on the internet with a good pinch of salt. </div>
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Rhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-21792885399195352442015-05-04T19:13:00.001+10:002015-05-04T19:13:17.799+10:00BLOOD QUEEN paperback now available<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Queen-Third-Book-Lharmell/dp/0692406921/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430729471&sr=8-1&keywords=rhiannon+hart+blood+queen" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XieZM1xAUDA/VUc3oSoGP2I/AAAAAAAACDE/P7U_Rc_TJDg/s320/BQ.png" width="319" /></a><span id="goog_1238676019"></span><span id="goog_1238676020"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></div>
I'm so pleased to announce that the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Queen-Third-Book-Lharmell/dp/0692406921/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430729471&sr=8-1&keywords=rhiannon+hart+blood+queen" target="_blank">paperback of <i><b>BLOOD QUEEN</b></i></a> has now been released. There have been such fabulous reviews for the ebook and I'm over the moon. Have you read it? Let me know what you think!</div>
Rhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-10826449220474381382015-01-23T18:52:00.000+11:002015-01-23T18:52:19.007+11:00Three special announcements about Blood Queen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm very pleased to let you know not one or two, but THREE exciting things about<i> Blood Queen</i>.<div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Format</span></div>
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<i>Blood Queen </i>will be available internationally in eBook format. Not everyone enjoys reading digital books, though, and <i>Blood Queen</i> has such gorgeous artwork (it's the same artist that did the Blood Song art) that I'll be releasing book three as a PAPERBACK for online order. </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Release Date</span></div>
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I know Goodreads has been driving some of you up the wall. <i>Blood Queen</i> is in it's final stages and it will for sale to read in a matter or weeks. </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Blurb</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fVG62saCFmg/VMH9PW_IIxI/AAAAAAAACA0/jCtFCyu1X3w/s1600/16108820.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fVG62saCFmg/VMH9PW_IIxI/AAAAAAAACA0/jCtFCyu1X3w/s1600/16108820.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a></div>
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<i>After losing Rodden at the last Turning, Zeraphina is alone.
Or she would be, if her mother and Prince Folsum would leave her in peace.
The prince, blind in one eye after an attack by Zeraphina’s brant, has taken up
residence in her home and is insisting she marry him. When an accident happens, Zeraphina flees – straight into the arms of a waiting harming.</i></div>
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<i>Now a captive, she discovers she’s being taken to Lharmell.
But not to be executed. To be crowned queen. The identity of the one who has
given the orders is shrouded in mystery, and Zeraphina can’t help but be
suspicious. After everything she’s done the Lharmellins should want her dead.
Just who is
awaiting her in Lharmell?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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I'm excited. Are you excited?</div>
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Rhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-67147355327925566562014-11-19T08:15:00.000+11:002014-11-19T08:24:56.557+11:00The Haunting of Hill House -- read the book or watch the movie?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Preamble</span></b><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rrqqTvusuww/VGuv_hsmLQI/AAAAAAAAB_Q/jYzPFG0drzU/s1600/Theres-some-scaaaaary-stuff-going-on-here..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rrqqTvusuww/VGuv_hsmLQI/AAAAAAAAB_Q/jYzPFG0drzU/s1600/Theres-some-scaaaaary-stuff-going-on-here..jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The Haunting</i> (1963)</span></div>
<br />
Sometimes it feels like without books the movie industry would grind to a halt. Think about the biggest films of this year. Think about the hugely hyped movie that's being released this Valentine's Grey. I mean Day.<br />
<br />
Mostly I don't see the movie. Sometimes I didn't love the book, like the <i>Life of Pi</i>, or I was too distressed or depressed by it, like <i>The Kite Runner</i> and <i>Gone Girl</i>. Or a really liked the book and just wanted it to stay a book. In my head. My pictures.<br />
<br />
The adaptations I do see and love bring something new to a book. Like the BBC's <i>Sherlock</i>. Different, but respectful. And that's how I feel about <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057129/" target="_blank">The Haunting</a></i> (1963) and <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6393407-the-haunting-of-hill-house" target="_blank">The Haunting of Hill House</a></i> by Shirley Jackson. But enough of this philosophical crap. On with the reviews.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Book</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eTUiUUuG6C4/VGu1KlWls_I/AAAAAAAAB_g/KIMZ11keo5I/s1600/6393407.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eTUiUUuG6C4/VGu1KlWls_I/AAAAAAAAB_g/KIMZ11keo5I/s1600/6393407.jpg" /></a>Eleanor has spent her whole life looking after her invalid mother. With nothing to show for her efforts, she jumps at the invitation to spend a few weeks at supposedly haunted Hill House with a professor of the paranormal. There's something so self-conscious and sweet about Nell at the opening of the book, relishing and narrating her own journey to Hill House. Then about the instant bond she forms with Theodora. After residing in the house a little while she quickly becomes self-conscious and <i>strange</i>. She seems to be suffering from some sort of social anxiety and a fervent wish to belong somewhere. ANYwhere. It's needy, and it's worrying.<br />
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The Movie</span><br />
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The first thing I'll say here is I AM TALKING ABOUT THE 1963 ADAPTATION. Not the god-awful slush that seems to be the 1999 remake. The second thing I'll say is that the premise of the film is exactly the same as the book above. It is also presented in a slick way with a short prologue stuck on the front that gives the viewer a quick (and augmented) history of Hill House. The black and white footage is stunning and the production is fantastic. What is interesting is the way the film takes the same main character, the same setting and the same basic ending, conflates things, twists others, and shoves it into a little black dress that is so damn engaging and so damn thrilling.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, Which One?</span><br />
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Do you like to be scared?* No? Well, stick to the book. But if you do like to be scared, spend a little time with the movie. The book isn't scary and it has all the good things about the film except the things that go BANG in the night ... Almost.<br />
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I have to say, I like the film better. (Why do I feel like that's heretical?) I like what the film did with Dr Montague and his wife. (His poor wife!) I like all the creepy statues in the house and the doors that swing <i>open</i>, not <i>closed</i>. I like the trapdoor (spoilers, won't say any more). It's tense. It's direct. But most of all I like the clever, clever ending. The book gives you two plausible endings. The film gives you three.<br />
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*My boyfriend wasn't scared. But he's scared by movies like Jaws, not by ghosts.<br />
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Have you read the book or watched the film? Which one did you like?</div>
Rhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-78212851782751828642014-11-02T20:40:00.001+11:002014-11-02T20:40:44.305+11:00The Good, the Bad, and the Gothic<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've been on a bit of a gothic kick this last fortnight. It started with <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04mj17l" target="_blank">The Art of Gothic</a> documentary and <i>Dracula </i>(1958) on the BBC for Halloween.<br />
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Above, Christopher Lee as Dracula, emerging from his coffin. His suave, classy and ferocious interpretation of Dracula is probably my favourite. From interviews he seems to have a love/hate relationship with playing the role, and with Hammer Production, the British film company behind the 60s and 70s horror revival. Playing Dracula made him famous, but he was frustrated that the films ignored just about every line that Stoker wrote for the character. For the purists, you can find recordings of Lee reading the 1897 novel -- Stokers words and Lee's stentorian voice. *<i>frisson</i>*</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Good</span></b><br />
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As well as loving the above, like The Very Hungry Caterpillar I've munched my way though <i>The Castle of Otranto</i>, Horace Walpole (1764), <i>The Legend of Sleepy Hollow</i>, Washington Irving (1820), and <i>Honeysuckle Cottage</i>, P.G. Wodehouse (1975). Otranto is one of the silliest novels I've ever read. I rather liked it. <i>Sleepy Hollow </i>could have done with more talk about ghosts and less of food, but the writing was fantastic. And Wodehouse, what can I say. Always a pleasure. In this short story a dead aunt is exerting not a malevolent influence on the residents of her former house, but a soppy, sentimental one.<br />
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On Halloween itself we watched <i>Don't Look Now</i> (1973), an adaptation of a Daphne du Maurier supernatural thriller, <i>The Wicker Man</i> (1973) and <i>Taste of Fear </i>(1961).<br />
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<i>Don't Look Now</i> was very good, but I sense that the book would be better. <i>The Wicker Man</i> ... more on that below. But <i>Taste of Fear</i>! What a gem. Another Hammer horror film.<br />
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A young wheelchair-bound woman comes home for the first time in ten years to find her step mother (above, top) acting strangely. Her father's corpse keeps appearing and disappearing around the house. The doctor (above, below) seems to be in league with the stepmother. Yes, that's Christopher Lee again. He says its his favourite Hammer film that he was in, but I would say it's far from his best role. It might have been if they'd fleshed out his character a bit more, like they did with the chauffeur. </div>
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Above is a photograph I took at the British Library yesterday. What an UTTERLY FABULOUS exhibition. It had handwritten Blakes, Brontes and Byrons, original models of Gothic houses, old film reels, paintings, set sketches from Hammer horrors. Do go see it if you're in London.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Bad</span></b><br />
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You can't love everything as much as you want to. This book and this film are classics with legions of adoring fans but they are just not for me. The Turn of the Screw (1898) is a famous ghost novella about a governess who keeps seeing the ghosts of the previous governess and the former valet about the place. They had an affair, and the governess suspects that the children know, and now their Innocence Has Been Tainted. Are the ghosts real, or are they hysterical projections of the governess's Victorian fear of sex? It is a good book as far as themes (oh my god the themes the themes) go, but frankly the writing is impossible. If pressed, I might even say rubbish.<br />
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Ah, <i>The Wicker Man</i>. A cult classic. Horror's answer to Citizen Kane, apparently. Appearing in Top Ten British Films of All Time lists since the 90s. Christopher Lee's self-professed best film he's ever been in. (Yes Lee again!) I make a habit of ignoring reviews before I see a film but these tid bits I gleaned from the IMBD. I can proudly say I didn't know what it was about before I watched it.<br />
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Now I've seen it I'm still not sure what I watched. I think it was conservative paranoia. Or possibly a musical. But it wasn't scary and I don't think it was very good. Perhaps in 1973 it would have struck a chord with me.<br />
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The best part of it was Edward Woodward. Not his acting, but just saying his name. And then saying it without the <i>d</i>s: Ee-war Woo-woo. Hours of fun.<br />
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The other best part was LAUGHING AT CHRISTOPHER LEES OUTFITS.<br />
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Dracula, what have they done to you? *sobs*<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Gothic ... on my reading and watching list</span></b><br />
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<i>The Curse of Frankenstein</i> (1957), and more Hammer horror in general<br />
<i>The Haunting of Hill House</i>, Shirley Jackson<br />
M.R. James short stories<br />
More Susan Hill -- I saw her speak at the British Library a week ago, she's fantastic<br />
Finally finishing the epic <i>The Castle of Udolpho</i><br />
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What have you been reading and watching for Halloween?<br />
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Rhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-82946004810849125522014-10-04T20:05:00.001+10:002014-10-04T20:05:24.175+10:00THE END IS NIGH<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
You are all being so patient and I am so, SO close to writing THE END it's not even funny. <i>Blood Queen</i> has been a very tough book to write because of the book itself and because of silly old real life getting in the way. I know! What's that about!<br />
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I want <i>Blood Queen </i>to be as vivid and entertaining as the first two books, and getting it right is the most important thing. Zeraphina won't let it be anything other than just so, or she'd be so pissy with me. It's her story, after all.<br />
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Rhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-79589635645860824602014-08-11T19:31:00.000+10:002014-08-11T19:31:12.868+10:00This week in Portugal ...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is where I'm staying, a remote villa outside Silves in southern Portugal. It's hot and peaceful and there's lots of fresh fruit and Portuguese custard tarts to eat. The water is very cold and refreshing.<br />
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This is where I'm working on<i><b> Blood Queen</b></i> this morning (below). There's a sea breeze blowing and a few puffy white clouds blowing overhead, but soon it will pass 30 degrees celsius (80 F? 190F? I have no idea) and I'll go to the pool to read and swim. I finished <i><b>A Wizard of Earthsea</b></i> yesterday and loved it. Review soon.<br />
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And these are keeping me company as I write, a family of tabby cats, a mother and two younger cats I think. They are very friendly and semi-domesticated. They love pats and scratches but never venture into the house, and they don't know what laps are for. They're skinny but not unhealthy, but I'm feeding them up anyway with lots of cat food and tid bits from our cooking.<br />
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There are only birds and cicadas to be heard. It makes such a change from London life. Now, back to <i><b>Blood Queen </b></i>for me.</div>
Rhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-87270962809202903542014-07-31T06:41:00.000+10:002014-07-31T07:07:33.169+10:00Review: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, Holly Black<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1367312471l/12813630.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1367312471l/12813630.jpg" width="206" /></a>I have been in such a reading slump. I mean, I've been reading, but no YA. Instead it's been mags and history and Longreads, and that's FINE, you know. But it's not getting lost in an amazing story in the genre that I love.<br />
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On the weekend I was in Brooklyn with a friend and we went to Word and had a nose around. They have a small but very good YA collection, mostly fantasy and PNR. <i><b>The Coldest Girl in Coldtown</b></i> was a fat blue hardback on the shelf and tacked underneath it was a handwritten review that went something like "Thought you were over vampires? Read this!" And of course I'm not over vampires, but I still had to read it. (I also got <i><b>Graceling </b></i>for my friend as a thank-you for letting me stay, but also cos he was lovelorn and Katsa can wallop that right out of you.)<br />
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This girl called Tana goes to a party and wakes up in a bathtub the next morning, and everybody who was at the party is dead. In a bedroom she finds her friend Aiden tied to a bed, and on the floor is a vampire in chains. Outside the door are more vampires, and they want to kill all three of them. Tana doesn't want to die and she doesn't want her friend to die and she doesn't really know who this vampire is but he probably shouldn't die either, right? So she gets them all out of there, stuff happens, he's bit, she's sorta bit and the other guy is a vampire, so they head for a Coldtown.<br />
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Now, Coldtowns are like the Big Brother house but they're cities and the apocalypse has happened inside. And also The Bachelor and Strictly Come Dancing Too. All at the same time. They're where vampires and infected humans have to live, and were wanna-vamps go to try and get turned. There's a big baddies and little baddies and some good guys too, and they're all mixed up together in this place. And Tana might or might not be becoming a vampire.<br />
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There are so many quotable quotes in this book, and most of them come out of Gavriel's mouth. Gavriel is the vampire who Tana impulsively saves. I'm not going to quote any of them, though, because they're much better in the book.<br />
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OK, maybe just one quote.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Gavriel closed his eyes, sooty lashes brushing his cheek. "I'll stay with you."</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">"What? No," she said automatically. "No! That's crazy."</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">"I'm crazy," he reminded her. </span></blockquote>
Do you know when you get a really strong picture in your head of how a character looks in the book you're reading? Here's how Black describes Gavriel:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">He must have been handsome when he was alive and was handsome still, although made monstrous by his pallor and her awareness of what he was. His mouth looked soft, his cheekbones as sharp as blades, and his jaw curved, giving him an off-kilter beauty. His black hair a mad forest of dirty curls.</span></blockquote>
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He's also got a strange accent and he's all handsome and mad and charming, and I could help picturing ...<br />
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... everyone's favourite prince who got cocky dropped the GODDAMN BALL. GAH. (Prince Oberyn of Dorne, I still love you. You IDIOT.)<br />
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But back to <i><b>The Coldest Girl in Coldtown.</b></i> Basically this book is cool and sexy as well as being well written. What a trifecta. Loved it.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e06666;">EDIT: Did I mention this book is gory? It's really gory. Gory-good. </span></b></div>
Rhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-39030365410147110612014-06-22T00:00:00.000+10:002014-06-22T23:51:13.224+10:00euphorYA: A Speculative Fiction Scavenger Hunt - Elizabeth Wheatley Guest Post<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Today I'm hosting Elizabeth Wheatley, author of <i><b>Fanged Princess</b></i> (we like vampire princess around here!) for the euphorYA Scavenger Hunt. Enter the competition below to be in the prize draw!<!------amazing--><!------amazing--></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now on with the guest post ...</span><br />
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<a href="http://elisabethwheatley.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/euphorya-banner.jpg"><img alt="euphorYA banner" class="alignnone wp-image-2007" src="http://elisabethwheatley.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/euphorya-banner.jpg" height="162" width="438" /></a><br />
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Welcome to euphorYA and I’m delighted to share with you an extract from my vampire novella series, Fanged Princess. Fanged Princess revolves around Haddie, a teen vampire whose brother is in love. The only downside? The girl is human.
Haddie knows firsthand the dangers of falling for a human and this loss is a large part of what drives her to help save her brother’s girlfriend. Today I’m showcasing a scene from Haddie’s backstory, the day she met Fletcher, told in his perspective.
When I was writing this, I started to hate myself because I know what happened to Fletcher by the beginning of the first novella. It will probably make you all hate me, too. So check out the scene below and don’t forget to hop on over to the other blog stops today for cool extras on <span style="color: magenta;"><em><strong>books</strong></em></span> you love and a shot at the scavenger hunt grand prize!<br />
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<strong><a href="http://figment.com/books/798542-Fanged-Princess-Extra-I" target="_blank">Read <em>Fanged Princess: Extra I</em> on Figment!</a></strong><br />
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<a href="http://elisabethwheatley.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/b21ba-in_20c.jpg"><img alt="b21ba-in_20c" class="alignnone wp-image-1784" src="http://elisabethwheatley.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/b21ba-in_20c.jpg" height="316" width="204" /></a><br />
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<em>I will not let my brother suffer the same loss…</em>
Hadassah’s father, the Vampire King, punished her for her choice to love a human. Now her brother, the only person in the world who still matters to her, has fallen for a human girl. Determined to keep the girl safe, the three of them flee from their home in New England and find themselves cornered with their father’s minions closing in. If they want to escape, their only hope may be to join forces with the mortal enemies of their kind…
<strong><em>Be ensnared in this dark tale of enduring love, loyalty, and revenge from teenage author, Elisabeth Wheatley.</em></strong>
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16095765-fanged-princess" target="_blank">Find <em>Fanged Princess</em> on Goodreads</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fanged-Princess-Elisabeth-Wheatley-ebook/dp/B00B3YOB70/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1402603152&sr=8-1&keywords=fanged+princess" target="_blank">Find <em>Fanged Princess</em> on Amazon</a>
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>About the Author</strong></span><br />
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<a href="http://elisabethwheatley.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/wheatley-pictures33_s1-cropped.jpg"><img alt="Wheatley Pictures33_s1-cropped" class="alignnone wp-image-2134" src="http://elisabethwheatley.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/wheatley-pictures33_s1-cropped.jpg" height="199" width="172" /></a><br />
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Elisabeth Wheatley is a teen author of the Texas Hill Country. When she’s not daydreaming of elves, vampires, or hot guys in armor, she is wasting time on the internet, fangirling over indie books, and training her Jack Russell Terrier, Schnay.<br />
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Where to find her:
<a href="http://elisabethwheatley.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Blog</a>
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/ElisabethWheatleyYAFantasyAuthor?ref=hl" target="_blank">Facebook</a>
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5139754.Elisabeth_Wheatley" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>
<a href="https://twitter.com/#!/wheatley_e" target="_blank">Twitter</a>
<a href="http://pinterest.com/inkspelledfaery/boards/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>
<a href="http://tumblr.com/inkspelledfaery" target="_blank">Tumblr</a><br />
<br />
<a id="rc-701ca029" class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/701ca029/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
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Here's the schedule for the EuphorYA Scavenger Hunt. Each blog stop features exclusive content from one of our authors as well as a giveaway. Collect the blue / red / pink colored words to make the daily secret phrases. Then enter for your chance to win the Grand Prize Giveaway--$75 Amazon / Nook gift card (first prize only), books and swag (first, second and third prizes).
Day One Stops, Friday ,June 20 - <span style="color: blue;"><em><strong>Blue Phrase</strong></em></span>
<a href="http://www.annasilverauthor.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Anna Silver</a> | <a href="http://chloejacobsworld.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Chloe Jacob's World</a> | <a href="http://elanajohnson.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Elana Johnson</a> | <a href="http://booksbyintisar.com/blog/" target="_blank">Books By Intisar</a> | <a href="http://www.alicross.com/index.html" target="_blank">Ali Cross</a>
Day Two Stops, Saturday, June 21 - <span style="color: red;"><em><strong>Red Phrase</strong></em></span>
<a href="http://elisabethwheatley.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Elisabeth Wheatley</a> | <a href="http://www.catseyechronicles.com/" target="_blank">T.L. Shreffler</a> | <a href="http://www.rashelleworkman.com/" target="_blank">RaShelle Workman</a> | <a href="https://www.blogger.com/www.kellywalker.net" target="_blank">Kelly Walker</a> | <a href="https://www.blogger.com/www.hannieclark.blogspot.com" target="_blank"> Hannah L. Clark</a> |
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/www.christydorrity.com" target="_blank">Christy Dorrity</a>
Day Three Stops, Sunday, June 22 - <span style="color: magenta;"><em><strong>Pink Phrase</strong></em></span>
<a href="http://rhiannon-hart.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rhiannon Hart</a> | <a href="http://natashahanova.com/" target="_blank">Natasha Hanova</a> | <a href="https://www.blogger.com/www.tracyebanghart.com" target="_blank">Tracy E. Banghart</a> | <a href="http://authorkaitlyndeann.wordpress.com/blog-posts/" target="_blank">Kaitlyn Deann</a> | <a href="http://www.jadiejones.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jadie Jones</a> </div>Rhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-13353345756367078742014-05-19T01:32:00.001+10:002014-05-19T01:32:52.661+10:00Jane Austen and the Guinness Book of Records<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
You know what doesn't happen enough? Wandering around Bath dressed in an empire gown and bonnet and pretending it's 1810.<br />
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I just found out there's going to be two attempts to break the most Lizzie Bennett (and Mr Darcy) wannabes all in one place, and one of them is going to be <a href="http://www.janeaustengiftshop.co.uk/collections/festival/products/grand-regency-costumed-promenade-the-jane-austen-festival" target="_blank">this September in Bath</a>.<br />
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I think I have to do it. I'll look a right wally by myself because I think I'd struggle to find someone to do it with me in a country where I *do* know a lot of people, let alone here. But then everyone will be looking fabulously silly anyway. It sounds too delicious not to do it.<br />
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I'll want to make my own gown and accessories so I'll have to beg or borrow a sewing machine from someone. This pattern has a lot of good reviews:<br />
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I can see it in a textured cream-coloured fabric, or perhaps something sprigged, with a paisley shawl, teeny reticule and a bonnet. I would love to get the man done up a la Wentworth, but feel that getting him into silk stockings might stretch the relationship.<br />
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If you're planning on going, let me know and we can look fabulously silly together!<br />
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Rhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-20954444060125768802014-04-24T04:38:00.001+10:002014-04-24T04:40:11.485+10:00Mandatory #1Kaday<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Now that hashtags have made it to Facebook they're pretty passe, right? What the hell, it rhymes.<br />
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I have a new writing schedule, and like all new writing schedules, diets, boyfriends and New Year's resolutions it simply must be talked about.<br />
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It's very simple: I have to write a thousand words per day, and if I don't I have to add whatever I didn't write to the next day's total. No excuses. No shirking. I've been sticking to this for a whole two days now and its going better than a Stark in Westeros, so that's something.<br />
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Hashtag winning.</div>
Rhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-85092224165918147572014-04-19T18:25:00.001+10:002014-04-19T18:25:46.469+10:00Blood Queen, London and Life<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
You look away for FIVE MINUTES and suddenly nearly a whole year has gone by since you updated your blog. It was around this time last year that I started working for a publishing house instead of writing full time (it was nice while it lasted, but was always going to be temporary) and then LIFE just took over.<br />
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I moved house twice. The flat I share with my partner has a second bedroom in which I can write. There's also a balcony with potted flowers and squirrels that come up for nuts. I love it here.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Last week's blossom </span></div>
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I visited Prague and Paris. Both of these cities were just gorgeous. Prague was atmospheric and gothic, and it was a beautiful sunny autumn day when we visited, and we walked and walked and WALKED. Paris was freezing cold and I was a little unwell, but we had very glam digs in Le Marais and saw lots of art, ate lots of food and bundled up warmly. <br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Versaille, just outside Paris</span></div>
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I wrote two books. Both were rejected -- yes, published authors get rejected too. I think I'm suffering from dreaded Second Book Syndrome. If you count the Lharmell trilogy as one book. But hey-ho, rejections only make you stronger, and keep you from getting cocky. </div>
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I got burgled :( I can't stress this enough, BACK UP YOUR WORK. Sigh. I lost about 20,000 words of Blood Queen which, as you may have noticed, has put back the publication date to August. I used to very sporadically back up bits and pieces of projects but now I am using a cloud system that automatically backs things up. Automatic is good!</div>
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I flew home to Australia for my brother's wedding. OH GOSH BEAUTIFUL. What an amazing wedding it was, and it was so much fun being in the bridal party. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The bride with a herd of deer</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Me in my wedding get-up</span></div>
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This year I have more travel planned, more writing, more blogging and of course ....<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16108820-blood-queen" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jSakZ_pR_YU/U1IyEuSSeSI/AAAAAAAABuM/MIYajmsDArM/s1600/RhiannoncoversBloodqueen-02_zps8c44e8f2.jpg" height="640" width="414" /></a></div>
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The release of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16108820-blood-queen" target="_blank"><i>Blood Queen</i></a>!<br />
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Happy Easter all.</div>
Rhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-80280464227562173252013-05-20T00:03:00.000+10:002013-05-20T00:12:34.613+10:00On reading old books and being far away<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I don't think I've read a book written in the last thirty years for two months now. I can't even think what the last one would have been. Oh, yes I can. A few Mills and Boon Moderns last week, because it's comforting to read romance novels when it's too wet to go out. But mostly there's been a lot of Jane Austen and the Brontes and Wodehouse and Neville Shute. The Shutes are particularly enthralling as the characters are Brits who come out to Australia and go back to London on slow boats or bunny-hop through Asia or the States to get here. Letters are send by air mail and take a week, or by sea mail and take months. The odd telegram is sent too, but you get the impression that they were terribly expensive.<br />
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These days I don't review books so I read what I like, which is the best way to do things, I think. So I wander over the Italian Alps with Emily St Aubert, not much caring that I should be "keeping up with the industry". I'll be in the mood for new releases soon I'm sure. But why am I liking these old books so much? I think it must be because I'm far from home. If a man who's lost his legs in WWII can't find a Naval Wren and chases her all over the world for years only to discover she's opted out with a bottle of sleeping pills the day before he finds her (thanks for the laughs, Neville Shute), I can't really be sad for being twenty-two hours or a Skype call from home.<br />
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I'm not a melancholy, homesick person, and I like being out of my comfort zone. I needed to be out of my comfort zone. What self-respecting writer hasn't moved to another country? Read their autobiographies in the back of their books: "Hazel has lived in Vladivostok, Tangiers and briefly in Yemen, which makes her pretty cool and smug, don't you know. No wonder she's written a bestseller based on her experiences and has a proper grip on metaphors." <br />
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But when your brother gets engaged and everyone's there at the party but you, in the house you used to live in, you might like to read a few comforting old books where they didn't even have Skype and shed a few untimely tears into your boyfriend's jacket on the main street. It was lovely to know that three of my dear friends, Shona, Megan and Ben, where there to represent me and drink plenty of champagne in my stead.<br />
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In a serendipitous booking, last night Tim and I went to see Alan Davies in a stand up show in an Islington theatre. Just love him. Tim was in tears at one point and I couldn't stop cough-laughing. (Back-to-back spring colds. Worth the extra coughs.) Cheered me up no end. Today I'm reading Rosamunde Pilcher novels from the 1970s, and this one's set in London. I'm sure it'll end up in Scotland at some point because what Pilcher novel doesn't? It opens with a girl getting a letter from Ibiza a month late saying her mother is dying. So Melbourne isn't very far away after all.<br />
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Stiff upper lip and all that. Spirit of the blitz. What ho and pip pip.</div>
Rhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-9732019429717583652013-05-08T03:22:00.002+10:002013-05-08T03:37:33.117+10:00“I promise not to oppress you with too much remorse or too much passion, though since you left us the white rose bush has died of grief.”<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Who knew anyone could improve on Austen? That one line is just toooooo romantic. Do you know where it's from? The 1986 adaptation of Northanger Abbey. It's 80s-tastic with all the perms and the sax-offending soundtrack, but I adore this silly adaptation of Jane Austen's silliest book. The acting is awkward and some of the supporting cast are downright weird, but Peter Firth is the perfect quirky Henry Tilney and Katherine Schlesinger is a lovely big-blue-eyed-and-naive Catherine Morland.<br />
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*happy sigh*<br />
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I'm obsessed with books about big dreary old castles at the moment. I'm reading <b><i>The Mysteries of Udolpho</i></b> (halfway, but the audiobook is bugging me so may switch to an electronic edition) as well as <b><i>The Tenant of Wildfell Hall</i></b>.<br />
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Meanwhile, say it again, Henry. Please!<br />
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“I promise not to oppress you with too much remorse or too much passion, though since you left us the white rose bush has died of grief.”<br />
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The thing is, that line is not in the book. But it ends this TV movie perfectly. <br />
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Watch it here: <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JDxPJzflrOI" width="420"></iframe></div>
Rhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-47289483281435791702013-04-21T19:36:00.001+10:002013-04-21T19:36:22.011+10:00London, and Some Thoughts on Being Rescued<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've been pretty quiet on the blog, and I'll be able to tell you why very shortly. It's been a deliberate silence and nothing to do with my books and writing. I have been doing a *lot* of writing, and loving it. London is absolutely gorgeous. I've become a history nerd. The V&A, the British Library, The Wallace Collection at Hertford House, Fulham Palace and Southwark are just a few places I've been exploring in the last few months. I love it here. And now it's spring I love it even more.<br />
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Now, some thoughts on being rescued. There's a scene in <b><i>Blood Song</i></b> which you may remember (and spoilers if you haven't read it -- and if you haven't you can no matter where you are in the world now -- hurrah! Quick plug: the ebooks are already out for both books and the paperbacks are out in Singapore and Malaysia, on May 10 in the UK and in September in the USA) when Zeraphina is "rescued" by Rodden in Lharmell. The thing I love best about that scene is while Rodden has every intention of getting Zeraphina and taking her back to the safety of Pergamia, it is a rescue that backfires on the him. Zeraphina's first emotion upon seeing Rodden is annoyance, because it means he's a good guy after all and she did so enjoy detesting him. And her second thought (after Rodden elucidates a few things) is absolute refusal to go home. Rather, she insists they press onwards. And I rather like her subversion of the damsel in distress trope.<br />
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It never occurred to me at the time that that was what I was writing. It just seemed to me what Zeraphina would do (the stroppy thing, any excuse to argue with Rodden, right?) But when I read a review that complained the heroine was *actually rescued OMG laaaaame* or words to that effect, I felt rather surprised. Most of my reviews have been glowing, some middling and a very few absolutely flaming. But none of the flaming ones got to me because I absolutely condone the right for someone to dislike a book. It's being misconstrued that makes me indignant.<br />
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But my indignance aside, the idea of a hero aiding a heroine is important to me. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Not something a feminist should say, right? Well, bully to that. Because conversely, there's nothing wrong with a heroine helping a hero. When two people fall in love, or set about falling in love despite the path being littered with obstinate parents, blood-sucking creatures and class divisions, they should above all else be equals. They should be stronger together than apart. Add to each other. Be a team. And that means relying on each other from time to time. And I hope that's what I demonstrated in <b><i>Blood Song</i></b>, and will continue to demonstrate through all my writings. Zeraphina would have been pretty stuffed if Rodden hadn't shown up, but they would have both been stuffed if she hadn't put her foot down and insisted they go on and not go back.<br />
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As for <b><i>Blood Storm</i></b>, well that's a bit trickier, isn't it? Because we can't talk about <b><i>Blood Storm </i></b>without talking about <b><i>Blood Queen</i></b>, and if we talk about <b><i>Blood Queen</i></b> you'll want a release date and I still, STILL can't give you one. I wish I could, with all my heart. But it's out of my hands for now. FOR NOW. A tiny bit more patience and it will all be worth it, I promise.<br />
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(FYI, I know some authors get annoyed when they're asked by fans when the next book will be out. I can't think of anything more ungrateful. Ask away, I'm flattered you care enough to write and ask.) <br />
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And if you see another book from me before <b><i>Blood Queen</i></b>, that will only be a good thing, right? I hope you'll be excited for it as much as you are for <b><i>Blood Queen</i></b>. Nothing is confirmed as yet (I seem to say that all the time as an author. I wish I didn't but things take an awfully long time behind the scenes). Don't be alarmed if the title sounds a little like <b><i>Blood Queen</i></b>, either. It's a different book and hasn't superceded the Lharmell books or anything like that. <br />
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TTFN!</div>
Rhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-49044327363088655402013-01-27T11:45:00.002+11:002013-01-27T11:45:58.858+11:00From the Road: Kep, Cambodia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I meant to do aaaaaaaaall these "From the Road" posts. From outback NSW, from Singapore, from Malaysia ... but travel in strange places means staring out the window, not writing, right? Bad writer ...<br />
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Tim and I had plans to travel overland, no flying, from Singapore, up through Malaysia and into Thailand, through Bangkok then down into Cambodia. It wasn't the amazing cultural adventure I was hoping. It didn't suck, but of course there are always unexpected problems while travelling. I didn't think I'd say this, but SE Asia is COLD. Not in the streets, right, but in the goddamn trains and buses! What the frack! Sitting 4-6 hours basically motionless under mandatory and constant cold air just shuts down my circulation. I do not like the cold at all. Hence relocating from Melbourne to the tropics! So, I did what any new traveller would do. Got the flu.<br />
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Malaysia does not hold many pleasant memories for me. Partly the flu, and partly several dirty hotels. Sorry Malaysia :( I did enjoy the museum and historical buildings in George Town, Penang very much indeed. I am certain I'm going to set an historical novel there one day. Suffolk House is highly recommended for a visit if you're ever in that part of the world. The only Georgian Mansion in SE Asia. It's shocking to see how run down it was in the 90s, but now its been lovingly restored.<br />
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Ah, Thailand. Last time I came it was the islands. This time it was Krabi and Phuket. We decided to fly out of Phuket and linger a little in Thailand as I'd missed so much holiday time being sick. Krabi and nearby Ao Nang are lovely, packed holiday spots. We rented a scooter and buzzed about seeing temples and waterfalls. Then I lost another day to food poisoning ... thank you Lae Lay Grill, the supposed best restaurant in Ao Nang. It was safer sticking to hawker food.<br />
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I can see why people flock to Phuket. It's freaking gorgeous. The beaches are just beautiful. On our last full day we spent the day on Karon beach. Or was it Kuta? Anyway, lovely. But I had just one more piece of bad luck: got stung by a jellyfish all up the back of my legs. OW. Hurt like a mofo for an hour, then started to subside. Bad luck comes in threes, so I'm glad that's over with.<br />
<br />
We've been in Cambodia about four days. I'm loving it again and Tim is being won over. He can't believe how low the cost of living here is. We've already rented a flat. Such an uncomplicated business here. We called an agent and he promptly came to get us from our hotel on his scooter, and we hired a tuk-tuk to follow him to various flats. The first two ... hmmm. I have to say I'm not loving the Khmer architectural design. We were also warned that Khmer windows can't be shut as they have vents. Cambodia can be a noisy place, so we passed on those. Also, I can't say I am fond of 80s peach, rose pink, beige tile and dark wood decor.<br />
<br />
The third place was the shiz. Four flights up and no elevator, but they are demure marble steps, not monolithic metal structures to be traversed one painful step at a time. Beautiful and bright with large windows in the kitchen and bedroom and double doors in the lounge that open onto a large balcony. Big marble tiles throughout (the landlord is a tiler) in beige, but not a scrap of pink or peach to be seen. Most rentals seem to come furnished here, so all Tim and I need to do tomorrow morning is sign the papers and lug our suitcases in. I am, of course, so excited.<br />
<br />
But as I said above, right now I'm in Kep. It's on the coast, and we are staying with half a dozen other peeps in a gorgeous private villa. My friend organised this weekend and I'm so glad we made it to Cambodia in time to come.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n4rosAp44f0/UQR4gzEWydI/AAAAAAAAAg8/6Ov6piEQOJM/s1600/543896_10151243589749227_2016201965_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n4rosAp44f0/UQR4gzEWydI/AAAAAAAAAg8/6Ov6piEQOJM/s400/543896_10151243589749227_2016201965_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The villa in Kep, set up for a house party</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
More anon. </div>
</div>
Rhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-18106531107396745942012-11-29T07:13:00.002+11:002012-11-29T07:16:03.402+11:00South East Asia Travel Prep<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's going to be 38 in Melbourne today. Which has got me thinking: there's not going to be a lot of <i>weather </i>once Tim and I get to Phnom Penh. By that I mean it's going to be the same forecast, every day, all year. Phnom Penh is quite close to the equator which means daily temps have a lower and upper of about 22 to 34 degrees Celsius. All year. The only difference seems to be the amount of rain that falls and whether there are mangos in the markets.<br />
<br />
I've got just three weeks of work left, then it's Christmas in Melbourne, New Year's in Tasmania with Tim's family and friends (first time meeting everyone--I hope they like me, I'm taking their baby/buddy overseas and away from them) then back to Melbourne briefly to collect Tim's car and our suitcases. Then we're driving to Sydney via Benalla, and stopping overnight there to visit my dad who's in town for a gliding competition. We have two nights in Sydney seeing more family and friends, then we fly out to Singapore on January 8.<br />
<br />
Every time I say <i>Singapore </i>to myself I get a little excited. I don't know much about the city, but what I've read and seen sounds a) delicious (Singaporeans love their food. Hey, I love food, too!) and b) beautiful. It would be nice if we had the money to stay at the Marina Bay Sands with their infinity pool on the elebenty-eighth floor, but it's the cheap and cheerful Geylang district for us, with its claypot dishes and Happy Smile Hotels. For more on Singapore, particularly the food, I recommend <a href="http://www.travelchannel.com/tv-shows/the-layover/episodes/singapore-4" target="_blank">Anthony Bourdain's 'Singapore: The Layover' episode of <i>No Reservations</i></a>. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.gtp.com.au/cruiseplanet/images/Marina-Bay-Sands-Hotel-Singapore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://www.gtp.com.au/cruiseplanet/images/Marina-Bay-Sands-Hotel-Singapore.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Marina Bay Sands <span style="font-size: x-small;">H</span>otel, where Tim and <span style="font-size: x-small;">I will be staying in Singapo<span style="font-size: x-small;">re.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;">HAHAHAHA. Kidding. But <span style="font-size: x-small;">dammit I am going up to the rooftop for a cocktail.</span></span> </span> </span></span></div>
<br />
Travel preparations are going ... along. It feels like we're barely doing much to prepare for living in another country, me for the first time ever. Tim's lived in LA and Indonesia, owns two t-shirts and five computers, so his pre-packing is non-existent. I've taken bags and bags of clothes and boxes of books to the op-shop. I'm being ruthless, keeping only a few winter essentials to store in Melbourne, and just two bookcases of books. My brother and his girlfriend, whom I live with, are going to mind my things, which is so very wonderful of them as now I don't have to find storage for my bits and bobs and furniture.<br />
<br />
We've had our first round of shots. I wholly recommend The Travel Doctor on Little Bourke Street. Dr Sonny Lau was lovely, and the nurse Jo gave me three of the least painful shots I've ever had. Only two more rounds to go! (Ack.) My mother has been sending me articles about dengue fever, which I'm dutifully ignoring. I know what you have to do to try and avoid getting it, but there's no sure-fire prevention and if you get it you just get it. I don't need to read about stage-four haemorrhaging. Worry isn't prophylactic.<br />
<br />
On the bookish side of things, my publisher Zoe has set up a meeting in Singapore for me and my distributor there to meet up and also visit some booksellers. I'm looking forward to going to Kinokuniya for starters.<br />
<br />
And what I'm looking forward to the most? Putting 'Writer' on my immigration forms for the first time. Oy vey. Five weeks to go.</div>
Rhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-65982080596074043432012-11-09T07:00:00.002+11:002012-11-10T09:06:10.330+11:00It's my birthday, and I'm buying the presents!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
The worldwide release of <span style="color: orange;"><b><i>Blood Song</i></b></span> and <span style="color: orange;"><b><i>Blood Storm</i></b></span> falls within two days of my twenty-eighth birthday, so what better way to celebrate than a giveaway.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">It's a Twitter comp, so see the <a href="https://twitter.com/rhiannonlhart/status/266627611579523072" target="_blank">tweet here on how to enter</a>.</span><br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet tw-align-center">
<span style="color: #cccccc;">~ ~ INT'L BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY 2 ebook copies of Blood Song/Storm (your choice). Ends when I turn 28 on Tuesday 13th. RT or follow to enter ~ ~</span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">— Rhiannon Hart (@rhiannonlhart) <a data-datetime="2012-11-08T19:45:50+00:00" href="https://twitter.com/rhiannonlhart/status/266627611579523072">November 8, 2012</a></span></blockquote>
<b><span style="color: orange;">***10/11 EDIT*** </span></b><br />
<span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: black;">The worldwide release of books has been held up due to a technical glitch at Random House. I will reopen the comp in a few weeks when they will be available.</span></span><b><span style="color: orange;"><br /></span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YMOXQUoxk08/TMYy0oQI4sI/AAAAAAAAC9Y/uZloFoDAzG4/s1600/cat_birthday_cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YMOXQUoxk08/TMYy0oQI4sI/AAAAAAAAC9Y/uZloFoDAzG4/s400/cat_birthday_cake.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
On another note, Tim and I bought our tickets to Singapore yesterday! We fly out on January 8.<br />
<br />
*zooms around making aeroplane noises*<br />
<br />
It's a one-way ticket. Super scary and exciting.</div>
Rhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-78566635153135748932012-10-25T19:58:00.000+11:002012-10-25T19:58:04.347+11:00My Big News<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Actually, there are several bits of news. Many newses! And they all make me very excited and happy. There is book news, professional news and personal news. Not too personal. We don't want to get all TMI here. But these bits of news are all INTERRELATED. I don't know where to start. The news that affects you guys the most? The romantic news? (No I'm not getting married; nor am I pregnant. Ew. Sorry, parents.) The newest news? Perhaps I should begin at the beginning, continue until the end and then stop, as the caterpillar said. Or was it the walrus...<br />
<br />
As you can imagine, especially if you're a writer or other breed of creative person, working full time and creating in your spare time is not a big maker of the happies. Waking up with an idea for a longform journalistic piece examining people's perceptions of free speech and the legal ramifications when high profile murder cases are discussed on social media and then having to put it aside because you have work and a novel and yet more novels to work on can bring tears to your eyes. I'm not using hyperbole here. I actually did well up.<br />
<br />
I said a long, long time ago in my Dear Agent posts in 2009 I spent as much time learning how to query agents and then subsequently querying them as I did writing <span style="color: orange;"><b><i>Blood Song</i></b></span>. And since then I have spent that time writing the novel over again doing publicity work. Ergo, the time I have for writing these days is only spent in actual writing about a third of the time.<br />
<br />
Gosh, this is coming out as some sort of mega whinge. What I'm trying to do is paint a picture about why I've made a certain decision.<br />
<br />
But first.<br />
<br />
When I started seeing my adorable, gorgeous, wonderful partner nearly a year ago (happy anniversary for the 29th, sweetheart) I said straight out that I wanted to live overseas in 2013. At that time my intention was to move to Edinburgh. It is a UNESCO City of Literature, like Melbourne is, and I could see myself in some grotty little garret, immobilised by sleet and rain and wind and social deprivation, glued to a laptop and pounding out delicious chapters. The brief respite of he the Scottish summer might--between showers--bring about some frolicking. But then it would be straight back to the laptop.<br />
<br />
Fast forward through some squishy couple stuff, the oh-my-you-want-to-travel-toos, the where-could-we-be-happy stuff. Edinburgh was quietly put aside. (A friend of a friend ranting at me at Horse Bazaar at 2am about how goddamn depressingly awful Scotland is and what was I THINKING may have swayed me a tiny bit.)<br />
<br />
I spent my time off this year with a girlfriend in the islands of Thailand, and then visiting another girlfriend who has settled in Phnom Penh with her French boyfriend and had a baby. (How's this for a pedigree: little Jaya is French-Canadian-Japanese. He is stunningly adorable and will probably be fluent in six languages by the time he's out of nappies.) I love, love, loved Phnom Penh. More on that in the coming weeks.<br />
<br />
My first piece of news is ... I quit my job this week. My last day of work will be December 28. <br />
<br />
My second piece of news is ... I am moving to Phnom Penh with said partner. He's spent quite a bit of time travelling through SE Asia, but he's never been to Cambodia. Nevertheless, he's agreed to give it a try with me. How awesome is he?<br />
<br />
And now some book news. That's what you've all come here for, right? <br />
<br />
This news concerns people living outside Australia. From November 11, the ebook version will be on sale everywhere. And I mean EVERYWHERE. If you want it in English, it's all yours.<br />
<br />Did I say the ebook version? I mean BOTH ebook versions. <span style="color: orange;"><b><i>Blood Song</i></b></span> and <b><i><span style="color: orange;">Blood Storm</span></i></b> will be available electronically in all territories, courtesy of Random House Australia.<br />
<br />
But wait! There's more. If you're in Malaysia, Singapore or the UK, hard copies will be appearing shortly too. And if you're in the US ... well, the most I can say is soon.<br />
<br />
How soon?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WYq1gxEQ_9M/UIj7A3IzolI/AAAAAAAAAgo/0oxf2Ms7StA/s1600/soon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WYq1gxEQ_9M/UIj7A3IzolI/AAAAAAAAAgo/0oxf2Ms7StA/s400/soon.jpg" width="365" /></a></div>
<br />
AND. If you're in Singapore or Malaysia, I'm going to be travelling through there in January and I plan to get to, at the very least, Kinokuniya, and try to sign copies.(Not all bookstore let you sign copies. Readers Feast in the city has two copies of <span style="color: orange;"><b><i>Blood Storm</i></b></span> by they remain, sadly, unsigned.)<br />
<br />
A huge thanks to my publisher Zoe at Random House Australia for taking on the distribution for the Lharmell books. Now when I get emails from far-flung corners of the globe I will be able to reply YES. Yes you can read the books!<br />
<br />
TL;DR?<br />
<br />
<span style="color: orange;"><b><i>Blood Song </i></b></span>and <span style="color: orange;"><b><i>Blood Storm</i></b></span> have overseas distribution; I've quit my job and I'm going to SE Asia to write for a while. I KNOW. I can't believe it either.</div>
Rhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-37551028337275523782012-09-28T17:37:00.000+10:002012-09-28T17:37:46.626+10:00Jill Meagher, SlutWalk and Reclaim the Night Sydney Road<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Australian readers, and some abroad, will be aware of the sad events of the last week surrounding Jill Meagher's disappearance and the subsequent discovery of her body today. Like many other Melbourne women, I've been preoccupied with thoughts that it could so easily have been myself or one of my girlfriends walking along Sydney Road in the early hours of Saturday morning. It's a walk I have taken many times before.<br />
<br />
Sydney Road has held a special place in my heart the last ten years. My first share house was in Brunswick West and I spent a lot of time in Sydney Road cafes, bars, and shopping at Savers and Spotlight. It's remained one of the few unpopularised main drags of the city. It has a natural quality that I adore that's been lost from streets like Brunswick Street in Fitzroy and more lately Gertrude and Smith Streets in Collingwood. Fun places to hang out, but without the multicultural, unvarnished atmosphere of Sydney Road. <br />
<br />
By the time I attended the University of Melbourne from 2002, a lot of radical feminist activities that had been so popular there during the 90s had disappeared. More recently, we've had SlutWalk. While I'm pleased to see a resurgence in radical feminist activities, I did not and never will march in a SlutWalk. I see no advantage in women "reclaiming" a word that has been flung at us as an insult. One that has never had any good connotations that need rescuing. I find the ideology of SlutWalk to be a little immature and misguided; immature in that it succeeded at grabbing headlines but little else, and misguided in that to a casual onlooker, the intention of a march with 'slut' in the title can so easily be misconstrued. ("Women WANT to be called sluts now?") I did consider briefly marching in my street clothes instead of an artificial slut uniform, but in the end decided not to be a part of it at all. In the words of a famous feminist whom I can't remember the name of, there are a million ways to be a feminist. SlutWalk just isn't one of mine. <br />
<br />
Today I came across <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ReclaimTheNightSydneyRd2012?ref=ts" target="_blank">Reclaim the Night Sydney Rd 2012</a> on Facebook. It's a march that is part memorial, part activism. The page has already attracted over 4,700 likes at time of writing. Reclaim the Night is so apt in this circumstance, as Jill Meagher's rape and death highlights what we already knew about violence against women: that it has absolutely bloody nothing to do with the clothes you're wearing. <br />
<br />
I want to leave flowers at Duchess Bridal, where the CCTV footage of Jill and her accused killer was recorded. I want to attend tonight's gathering at the Baptist church on Sydney Road. But neither of those activities are 'me'. But I will march in October on Sydney Road, in defiance and sadness, and hope to reclaim a sense of safety in a much-loved area of Melbourne.<br />
<br />
Note: Before anyone gets on my case about SlutWalk, these are my opinions and I know others feel very differently. I agree with the reasons the march was set up, just not it's manifestation.<br />
<br />
IMPORTANT NOTE: Please, please, please, do not speculate on or discuss the man accused of Jill Meagher's rape and murder, especially online. This could result in the case never being heard in court as Adrian Bayley's defense lawyers could argue that he's already undergone a trial by social media, and thus will be unable to receive a fair trial. <br />
<br />
Please 'like' the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ReclaimTheNightSydneyRd2012?ref=ts" target="_blank">Reclaim the Night Sydney Rd 2012</a> page, and unlike any pages calling for Bayley's hanging or similar, and delete any photographs of him or posts speculating or damning him.</div>
Rhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-41718057725655930222012-09-22T07:54:00.003+10:002012-09-22T07:54:57.426+10:00Review and Interview: Emily Maguire's Fishing for Tigers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://images.smh.com.au/2012/09/15/3637493/an-Fishing-20for-20Tigers-20by-20Emily-20Maguire-20120915135112827787-300x0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://images.smh.com.au/2012/09/15/3637493/an-Fishing-20for-20Tigers-20by-20Emily-20Maguire-20120915135112827787-300x0.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<span id="freeText208644211851690890">Six years ago, Mischa
Reese left her abusive husband and suffocating life in California and
reinvented herself in steamy, chaotic Hanoi. In Vietnam, she finds
satisfying work and enjoys a life of relative luxury and personal
freedom. Thirty-five and single, Mischa believes that romance and
passion are for teenagers; a view with which her cynical, promiscuous
expat friends agree. <br /><br />But then a friend introduces Mischa to his
visiting eighteen-year-old son. Cal is a strikingly attractive
Vietnamese-Australian boy, but he's resentful of his father, and of the
nation which has stolen him away. His beauty and righteous idealism
awaken something in Mischa and the two launch into an affair that
threatens Mischa's friendships and reputation and challenges her sense
of herself as unselfish and good. <br /><br />Set among the louche world of
Hanoi's expatriate community, 'Fishing for Tigers' is about a woman
struggling with the morality of finding peace in a war-haunted city,
personal fulfilment in the midst of poverty and sexual joy with a
vulnerable youth.</span></blockquote>
<br />
<a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1295969997p8/166079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1295969997p8/166079.jpg" /></a><span id="freeText208644211851690890">You know when you're reading a book and you could swear that you were really reading a memoir? This was one of those times. Perhaps it's because Emily Maguire is a talented non-fiction writer and essayist as well as a fiction author. I came to know her work via <span style="color: orange;"><b><i>Princesses and Pornstars</i></b></span>, which examines the new Madonna-whore dichotomy. (Favourite chapter title: Your Vagina is Not a Car.) But <span style="color: orange;"><b><i>Fishing for Tigers</i></b></span> is not a memoir. It's just that good atmospherically and in its characterisation. </span><br />
<span id="freeText208644211851690890"><br /></span>
<span id="freeText208644211851690890">I adore south east Asia. I love the heat and the humidity, perhaps because it reminds me of growing up in north western Australia. The food, the watery beer, the crazy roads. Despite some similarities with the weather up north, it's a far cry from sedate, organised Australia; the ideal place for a woman who wants to lose herself to go. There are very few expectations placed on Mischa, and as she doesn't understand much of what many people around her are saying to her, she's free to escape. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://blogs.crikey.com.au/literaryminded/files/2008/12/princesses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://blogs.crikey.com.au/literaryminded/files/2008/12/princesses.jpg" /></a></div>
<span id="freeText208644211851690890">The scenes between her and Cal are fascinating when they're talking, and delicious when they're not. But this book is so much more than it's steamy (*fans self*) passages. It's a challenging one for Australians, as you see yourself in the expat crew that makes up Mischa's rag-tag group of friends. It's a confronting book in places, but also very uplifting. Highly recommended.</span><br />
<span id="freeText208644211851690890"><br /></span>
<span style="color: orange;"><i><b><span id="freeText208644211851690890">Interview with Emily Maguire</span></b></i></span><br />
<span id="freeText208644211851690890"><br /></span>
<b>Your descriptions of
what it's like to be an expat in Hanoi are very detailed. How long did
you spend living there? </b>Although
I've spent quite a lot of time in Hanoi, I've never actually lived
there. I first visited on an Asialink literature residency for three
months in 2008 and I fell seriously, deeply in love with the place and
have returned for at least a month each year since then.<br />
<div>
<div class="im">
</div>
<div class="im">
<b>In <span style="color: orange;"><i>Fishing for Tigers</i></span>, Cam's reaction to the attitude of expats towards the locals is one of revulsion. Did you share a similar experience?</b></div>
<div>
Not
really. Certainly I met some deeply unpleasant characters in hotel
bars, but I could say that about every place I've been to. (I should
probably stop talking to drunk strangers in hotel bars. Bad habit.)</div>
<div>
Cal's
response to the expats in particular, and to Vietnam general, are very
much rooted in his personal situation, which is as the child of a
Vietnamese refugee who wants nothing to do with the place, and an
Australian man who chooses to live there even though it means he rarely
sees his son. To Cal, every expat is his selfish father and every
Vietnamese person is either the communist thug of his mother's childhood
or a reminder of what his own life might have been had his mother not
escaped. Mischa and her friends do act appallingly sometimes, but Cal's
judgement of them is not always clear-eyed or fair.</div>
<div class="im">
<div>
</div>
<div>
<b>In several scenes, Mischa extracts herself and Cam from seemingly
innocuous situations whilst in Hanoi, such as when she makes them leave
bars when she thinks they've been overheard. There's also a scene where
she doesn't let Cam interfere with a man who is brutalising his wife.
Are these examples of Mischa's reticence to immerse herself in
Vietnamese life, or is she right to behave so, and why?</b></div>
</div>
It's
complicated. Mischa spent her twenties in an abusive marriage, before
escaping to Hanoi. I think once you've lived with violence in the way
she has, you're always alert to danger, worried about offending someone,
angering them, causing a scene. So Mischa is all about staying under
the radar, avoiding conflict, keeping the peace. I think she'd be like
this wherever she was living, but the complicating factor in Hanoi is
that she is very much an outsider and so there's a real chance that if
she did get involved in conflicts with local people that she would be
blundering in some way, possibly making things worse due to a lack of
understanding. So it's partly a defence mechanism and partly the
sensible caution of an outsider. Whether her behaviour in any given
situation is right or not is up to the reader! <div class="im">
</div>
<div class="im">
<b>4. The "cougar" relationship has risen in prominence in recent
years. What did you like best about writing an older woman-younger man
relationship, and what did you like the least?</b></div>
I rarely thought about in those terms. I think it's so important to <i>not </i>think
of characters as age groups or types or whatever and so Cal was always
this complicated, unique individual and so was Mischa. What interested
me most about their relationship was how their unique sets of life
experiences and prejudices and fears played off each other. I loved
discovering the ways in which his resentment about his father and his
idealism about how good people <i>should </i>act conflicted with
Mischa's live-and-let-live, determinedly disengaged way of life. Having
said that, I did have a bit of fun with the more overtly teenaged
aspects of Cal's behaviour. I love how utterly relaxed and casually
generous he is as a lover, and I love his righteous idealism which I
remember from my own teen years and bitterly regret having lost.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
One
of the interesting things in talking about age (and age differences
between lovers) is how much people project their own ideas about what
any given age looks or acts or feels like. I was very aware while
writing that although Cal is a teenager, the adults around him are, in
many ways, less mature. They're certainly less honest and thoughtful. I
don't think this is an exceptional situation. I remember being a
teenager and thinking that adults knew what they were doing and only did
things for sensible reasons which they understood and could justify.
Now, of course I realise that people in their thirties and forties and
beyond are just as impulsive and selfish and clueless about their own
motivations as teenagers, but they get away with it because every other
adult is in on the conspiracy.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<b>5. You are well known for your articles and feminist non-fiction such as <i>Princesses and Porn Stars</i> (which I loved) as well as your fiction. How much fiction versus non-fiction do you see in your future?</b></div>
I
am very much in love with fiction at the moment - reading it, writing
it, thinking and talking about it. But I also love the way that my
non-fiction writing allows me to feel part of a huge, inspiring,
important movement towards social justice. So the answer, I suppose, is
that I hope to be writing lots and lots of both forever and ever.<br />
<br />
<b>Thanks for answering my questions, Emily!</b> </div>
Rhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-61182731244518120132012-09-21T06:27:00.002+10:002012-09-21T06:27:52.754+10:00Launch Date and Review Copies: Possessing Freedom<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16008702-possessing-freedom" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1347676174l/16008702.jpg" width="243" /></a></div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span id="freeText10985719576276949322"><i>If you can’t see yourself, how do you know you exist?</i><br /><br />Melbourne, Australia: 2026<br /><br />Alice
Travers, 17, is stuck in a psych ward. When she discovers her imaginary
friends are ghosts, and that some of them are not so friendly, things
get complicated.<br /><br />Told in 12 short stories by four authors,
Possessing Freedom plays out a supernatural thriller for Young Adult
readers through 6 interlinked point of view characters.</span></blockquote>
<br />
<span id="freeText10985719576276949322">This is <span style="color: orange;"><b><i>Possessing Freedom</i></b></span>, the new YA ghost novel I've been working on with Beau Hillier, Belinda Dorio and Steve Rossiter, and it's out Monday September 21, worldwide as an ebook and locally in paperback.</span><br />
<span id="freeText10985719576276949322"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: orange;"><i><b><span id="freeText10985719576276949322">Review Copies</span></b></i></span></span><br />
<span id="freeText10985719576276949322">Do you like ghosties? Do you like psych wards and violent possessions? Who <i>doesn't</i>? If you're a blogger, review copies are available from the publisher Steve and can be requested via <a href="mailto:auslit@hotmail.com" target="_blank">email</a>. Best thing is, they're available worldwide, just like the book will be. Hurrah!</span><br />
<span id="freeText10985719576276949322"><br /></span>
<span id="freeText10985719576276949322"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16008702-possessing-freedom" target="_blank">Add it on Goodreads</a>.</span><br />
<span id="freeText10985719576276949322"><br /></span>
<span id="freeText10985719576276949322"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/PossessingFreedom" target="_blank">Visit the Facebook page</a>.</span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText10985719576276949322"><a href="http://possessingfreedom.net/fan-fiction-competition/" target="_blank">Enter the $2000 fan-fiction competition</a>.</span></div>
Rhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-81487080493561790892012-09-19T06:51:00.000+10:002012-09-19T06:51:03.546+10:00Blog Tour for Blood Storm<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F_L7HgKhIRI/UFjc9HmE5pI/AAAAAAAAAgY/QgDUKsql-3s/s1600/Blood+Storm+blog+tour+graphic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F_L7HgKhIRI/UFjc9HmE5pI/AAAAAAAAAgY/QgDUKsql-3s/s400/Blood+Storm+blog+tour+graphic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The blog tour starts tomorrow! Here's the schedule:<br />
<br />
<br />SEPTEMBER 20 <a href="http://inkcrush.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">Inkcrush </a><br /><br />SEPTEMBER 21 <a href="http://refractedlightreviews.com/" target="_blank">Refracted Light </a><br /><br />SEPTEMBER 22 <a href="http://www.littlebookowl.com/" target="_blank">Little Book Owl</a> (Blood Song)<br />
<br />SEPTEMBER 23 <a href="http://www.theintrepidreader.com/" target="_blank">Intrepid Reader</a> (Blood Song) <br /><br />SEPTEMBER 24 <a href="http://rachybee-the-rest-is-still-unwritten.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">The Rest is Still Unwritten</a> <br />
<br />
SEPTEMBER 25 <a href="http://talesoftheinnerbookfanatic.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">Tales of the Inner Book Fanatic </a><br /><br />SEPTEMBER 26 <a href="http://www.thetalescompendium.com/" target="_blank">The Tales Compendium </a><br /><br />SEPTEMBER 27 <a href="http://larissabookgirl.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">Larissa Book Girl</a> (Blood Song) <br /><br />SEPTEMBER 28 <a href="http://teddyree-theeclecticreader.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">The Eclectic Reader </a><br /><br />SEPTEMBER 28 <a href="http://beautyandlace.net/" target="_blank">Beauty & Lace</a> (Guest post) <br />
<br />SEPTEMBER 29 <a href="http://treasuredtalesforyoungadults.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Treasured Tales for Young Adults</a> (Blood Song) <br /><br />SEPTEMBER 30 <a href="http://www.tickettoanywhere.net/" target="_blank">Ticket to Anywhere</a> (Guest post) </div>
Rhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.com0