Now you may have been reading this blog for over a year (I hope, but if not do some scrolling back we have some great stuff on here) and you may have noticed I am a HUGE fan of the Supanova Pop Culture expo.

This year is shaping up to be the most epic one ever, and I’m not just saying that because it gets bigger and bigger every year without fail… I’m saying it because there are now going to be six stops on the calendar.

Melbourne has theirs April 13-15. The new kid on the block, the Gold Coast (Queensland), is a week later April 20-22. Sydney gets their chance from June 15-17 Perth is June 22-24. Brisbane is November 9-11 and Adelaide rounds out the year November 16-18.

You may be wondering what the big hairy deal is; and if you are, my guess is you have never been to Supanova. Poor you, let me give you a really quick rundown of the awesome stuff you can expect from this much awaited expo.

The difficult part is where to start.

I guess you start with the pricing; it’s cheaper to go to Supanova than catching a flight to the USA, or the UK. (They’re the only other places I can think of who may have an event that might match this level of awesome.) Tickets for the Melbourne and Gold Coast expos go on sale in late February BTW.

Then the next thing you will notice is the level of participation. The crowds may be a little large; however there is always a cosplay competition and the costuming is always, always top notch. You may wish to dress up just for the heck of it, but be a good sport and be willing to have your photo taken, and if you are planning to be the photographer, be nice and ask your subject if it’s okay before snapping their pic.

Next it has to be the merchandise. Swords, anime, comics, bobble heads, clothing, costumes, posters and rare items that you may not see outside of the expo, are one of the main reasons my family turn up year after year. Oh, and considering the downturn of the bookshop gravy train, there is always a book stall selling a nice selection of sci fi fantasy books, and on that note we move to the next cool thing that Supanova is famous for, and that is authors. Check with the Supanova website closer to the date of your closest expo to see who will be the lucky ones to be signing and doing panels on various topics to do with their line of work.

But then the thing you may want to save up for is the guests from movies, tv and character voices from well-known anime series. Again check their website or friend them on facebook for updates on appearances and guest lists closer to the date.

If this hasn’t convinced you, then the only thing left to do is challenge you to go to your nearest Supanova pop culture expo and not have fun. Mission Impossible!

http://www.supanova.com.au/

http://www.facebook.com/supanovaexpo

I guess besides my Mum’s insane love of books being modelled for me for as long as I can remember; school was really the beginning of the seed being planted for my love of books.

My earliest memories are in primary school like in grade two, my teacher, Mrs Fuller, reading us Roald Dahl’s The BFG. Then onwards to Grade 3, with Roald Dahl again and James and the Giant Peach.  In 1991 grade 4 it was Fire in the Stone by Collin Thiele, and the first book to ever give me horrific nightmares, My Hiroshima by Junko Morimoto. Then the first and only book we ever read in school that Mum said no to, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr (understandable when by this stage the nightmares were so bad I was asking her for medication to help me sleep, at age 9). I still cannot stomach the thought of re-reading those two particular books.

Outside of school I was reading The Baby-Sitters Club series by Anne M Martin, and The Gymnasts series by Elizabeth Levy, and apart from my brush with the books about Hiroshima, my reading material was generally free of world shattering unpleasantness.

Things cooled off a little after that as I changed schools and every teacher having a different way of teaching, not to mention the curriculum being as it was in the 1990’s; it wasn’t until grade 8 that we did any book studies. Reading for the hell of it wasn’t really the focus anymore.

The Wave by Todd Strasser, Came Back to show you I could fly by Robin Klein and Peeling the Onion by Wendy Orr were the studies we did in the first 3 years of high school.

It had been years since I had voluntarily picked up a book by the time I’d finished my junior years at high school. I think mainly because having to analyze every little speck of information, character development and plot progression made the act of reading like eating a bowl of high fiber cereal without the aid of sugar, fruit or milk to wash it down or give it flavour. Anette Kurtis Klause was the author to rekindle my passion for reading outside of school with her novel The Silver Kiss.

From then I picked up some heavy hitters like Anne Rice and in the final years of high school we were able to choose about 10 books from the approved list and break them down into basic reviews.  Of the ten only two made an impact; Jean P Sasson’s Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia, and Jayne Eyre by Charlotte Brontë.

Now my book case is full to the point of over flowing.  Most of them carry some sort of supernatural or romantic themes. Humor is also an almost necessity, life is too serious most of the time so when I am escaping into a book, I like to be able to have a giggle.

Reviewing for Burn Bright and Marianne’s other sites is nothing at all like doing the books studies in my teen years. Books for young adults today have surpassed the calibre of those in the 1990’s by a light year or two. The variety and quality is second to none, and I look forward to reading any review books that come my way.

Handmade Candles

Aunt Betty just rolled into the driveway unannounced… ARGH!!!!! She has a box of chocolates under her arm and an ‘I got you’ smile on her face. You’re trapped and you have no gift to give her… Or do you?

If you have the time to make and store a few sets of these really simple bees wax candles, you can thwart any uninvited, gift-bearing guest.

What you’ll need

~A few sheets of bees wax foundation (They come in all sorts of colours and sizes. You can cut them down to suit your needs)

~A few meters of candle wick

~A few lengths of ribbon

~A cutting board

~A ruler

~A sharp knife

~A pair of scissors

Method

1.      Cut the foundation sheet to the desired size

2.      Place the wick along the length of one side pressing it into the foundation gently

3.      Tightly roll the foundation over the wick at least 3 times

4.      Roll the foundation the rest of the way making sure you keep even pressure and the end that will become the bottom is quite straight

5.      Roll the candle over and over a few times to ensure it’s not going to unroll on you

6.      Trim the wick to about 3cm from the top of the candle

7.      Tie the candles firmly in lots of two or three with the ribbon, tying with a nice bow.

Take that Aunt Betty!

~The usual candle safety tips apply~

A hat trick of fantastic books is a rare occurrence, but it is precisely what we have on hand from Kristen Painter with the House of Comarré series. Bad Blood is the most recent installment, and in my opinion, it is the best one yet.

On the cover Chrysabelle is ready for battle. Her hair has been braided well and truly out of the way, both hands wielding the deadliness of Sacres, and the kick-ass armor is in place. This girl is ready for the fight of her life.

“A spate of violent murders is plaguing Paradise City, all the victims being girls masquerading as vampire servants. The Kubai Mata have long battled othernatural atrocities, but have had their hands full as they work with the police to stop this bloodshed.

As their city becomes increasingly dangerous, Malkolm and Chrysabell hunt the Ring of Sorrow – hoping its power will provide an essential edge against dark otherworld forces. But forced to make a life and death decision, Chrysabelle realises her relationship to Malkolm could prove fatal. Meanwhile, the night of Samhain approaches, bringing the final melding of mortal and othernatural worlds. No one knows what to expect – except that the war is coming.”

If you’ve done what I suggested in the previous two book reviews for this series, you will have already read this book. If not, I do suggest consuming the series in order. That way you get the full impact of character development and the awesome story arc. Kristen Painter is an expert at action scenes and cliffhangers. Her ability to create perfectly terrible bad guys and lovable but flawed good guys is really working in her favor.

There are moments where I thought I would burst from the suspense, and I found myself yelling at the pages. *being normal is over rated*

I really can’t go into too much detail, because even to pick one thread of storyline would unravel the others. Yes, it’s woven that tightly.

This series would make the perfect gift for someone who likes off-beat vampire stories, and would be a perfect way to spend those rainy vacation days. These books are quite suitable for a Young Adult audience and adults alike.

http://kristenpainter.com/

http://www.houseofcomarre.com/

Paperback, 384 pages

Published November 2011 by Orbit

ISBN 1841499714 (ISBN13: 9781841499710)