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Ruth Cohen has been cosplaying since 2009 and has attended around 8 official conventions. She enjoys shiznick and stuff, amongst other things. Plausibly addicted to social media, she spends large amounts of time on Facebook and Tumblr. An avid reader of all genres of fiction, this is her first foray into ‘proper writing’.

 

 

When I first sat down to write this blog the first thing that came to mind was Sheldon Cooper (from ‘The Big Bang Theory’) attempting to teach Penny physics in an episode called ‘The Gorilla Experiment’. He is standing there with his white board and starts “What is physics? Physics comes from the ancient Greek word physika. Physika means the science of natural things.”

I tried to imagine myself delivering a similar, comprehensive version for cosplay. “What is cosplay? Cosplay comes from the combining of two words, costume and play. Cosplay means to use a costume to become another personality.”

But realistically, whilst true, that seems a bit dull… cosplay is a hobby. At its heart, it’s about having the time of your life with the character you’ve chosen. It certainly doesn’t mean you have the most recognisable, the most complicated, or even the most flawless costume.

Let’s try for some examples shall we?

This is a cosplay:

MiddleEarthBarbie as Marilyn Monroe

 

This is a cosplay:

This is a bloke I snagged a photo of at GoldNova 2012. He’s Marten from the webcomic Questionable Content.

 

 

Are you beginning to grasp the picture I’m painting?

Cosplay is often mistaken for costume that MUST be DC/Marvel comic or anime/manga related. But for the Cosplay Community it is so much more than that. In fact, since it began, cosplay has grown so vast that there are now sub-categories or ‘cliques’ of different styles. Let’s test my memory now, as I walk you through them.

So you start with the standard cosplay. This is for a person who fell in a love with a character’s personality or one particularly awesome outfit they wore. For example, I’ll put myself in the line of fire with a favourite I did of Sarah Williams from Labyrinth:

 

Then you have Crossplay. Crossplay is best described as people who love a character but happen to be the wrong gender. So say you’re a girl and you love Link from Zelda. If you were to Crossplay then you would simply strap down those boobs and strut your stuff.

Exhibit A, Li Kovacs AKA Pikmin.

 

Moving on to the uber impressive, con-floor hogging, Mecha cosplay. Mecha is those who are decked out in armoured characters. Tricky to make, but it has an incredible effect.

DreamCoat Photography snagged this Mecha at BrisNova 2013.

 

Genderbend! The Cosplay community is a quirky one and this sub-category is no exception. Similar to Crossplay, the Genderbend messes with the mind a little. When you Genderbend, you take a character you love who is male and create a female version of it so you can wear it (or vice versa of course!).

I snapped these fantastic Fem!Goku and Fem!Vegeta ladies at GoldNova 2012.

 

My final category is what I refer to as Crossover cosplay. I imagine there are many other names for it, but essentially it is about taking a character and re-imagining it in a different style. For example: Steampunk, Lolita, and historical era versions of a character.

One of my personal favourites is ‘The Artful Dodger’ as Steampunk Ariel.

 

So that’s me finished for now. Hopefully you now have a vague idea of what cosplay is now, and are intrigued enough to explore this community a little more …

Happy cosplay hunting!!

 

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Marianne attends the launch of M.J. Steven’s young adult novel, Bound.

 

 

Book launches – like weddings – are always happy affairs and M.J. Steven’s BOUND launch was no exception.

Following a lovely introduction by the author’s long term friend, Ruth Cohen, M.J. (Melanie) Stevens talked about how she’d taken the self-publishing journey because of her deep love for telling stories.

After that, she read the first chapter of BOUND keeping the audience enthralled and keen to find out what happened next.

From GoodReads:

‘No good deed ever goes unpunished, Mellea…’

Mellea Wendorn hasn’t exactly had a normal life. Misfortune seems to follow her, and her family, wherever she goes. 
However, when Mellea stops to assist a mysterious young man suddenly her prior hardships seem trivial.

His name is Leo. He is a Successor, a child of the Guardians of Selestia. 

He is royalty. 
He is handsome. 
And he wants Mellea completely to himself. 

Unable to escape the Guardian’s laws, Mellea must learn the ways of the royals. She is convinced her life can’t get much worse. But when a timeworn Guardian enemy arises from the shadows, Mellea must make a choice that will change her destiny forever.

 

After that, we all got to mingle and eat and drink and I spoke to the author’s very proud mother, and some of her teachers.

Below are a selection of photos from the launch. We’ll have a review of the book up soon and in the meantime you can check it out on GoodReads. 

You can purchase BOUND from this link.

 

 

 

And here is the book trailer:

 

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The book!

  

Okay, I get it now.  I must admit I had been ignoring The Hunger Games more out of spite for something that was causing so much hype, than anything else. Don’t I feel silly? Yup.

Suzanne Collins has created a character that is just the right balance of innocent and ball-tearing tough. Katniss is smart, sweet and determined. She’s not about to allow the powers that be to walk all over her and I can honestly say I’m finding it hard to write this when I could be moving on to book two.

With our unexplainable lust for ‘reality TV’ it is somewhat disconcerting to have the mirror placed before us to see how it must feel from the point of view of the ‘contestants’. The haves using the desperation and suffering of the have nots as entertainment. I must admit this is not one of the better human traits we seem to have acquired over the last couple of decades.

It took me ages to decide whether to read the book first or watch the film. I read first and I have a feeling I’ll be happier for the choice.

Paperback, Luxury Edition, 386 pages

Published November 5th 2012 by Scholastic Australia (first published January 1st 2008)

original title

The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1)

ISBN

1742835759 (ISBN13: 9781742835754)

 

The Film!

There is no escaping the film trailers so I already had some idea of how the film would look. The Costume and Wardrobe department should be given kudos for making the world that is in the book turn out exactly what was running through my head.

Special effects were top notch and scenes with CGI were seamless in their inclusion.

Casting is spot on and any alterations to the story line and plot points aren’t enough to detract from the whole picture. I think perhaps having Suzanne Collins on the writing team helped keep everything authentic.

Even my hubby watched along with me (and he’s a tough one to impress)

As for which I liked more?

The book is a longer adventure with details you may miss in the film, however if you’re short on time and just want to know what on earth everyone is raving about, grab the DVD. There are even a few editions with some seriously cool extras and behind the scenes tid bits.

Both get a 5 out of 5 for me.

 

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Belinda Hamilton’s had a busy year but she flies by to share her Top 5 reads for 2013

 

 

1. Between the Lives by Jessica Shirvington

2. This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E Smith

3. Written in Red by Anne Bishop

4. Fragments by Dan Wells

5. Hidden by Marianne Curley

 

 

 

 

 

Most anticipated books for 2014

1. Secret by Brigid Kemmerer (January 2014)

2. Murder Of Crows by Anne Bishop (January 2014)

3. Hunting the Dark by Karen Mahoney (February 2014)

4. Ruins by Dan Wells (March 2014)

5. The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E Smith (April 2014)

 

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Marianne speaks to Adrianne Fitzpatrick, publisher of Books To Treasure.

What is the focus of Books To Treasure publishing? What kind of books are you looking for?

Books to Treasure is an independent children’s publisher, looking for new fiction: picture books and early readers, through to chapter books and novels for independent readers. Both series and stand-alone books are welcome.

 

What’s your background in books and publishing. How did that lead you to creating your own imprint?

I started my career in publishing as a writer, with my first story appearing in print in 1977; but I discovered, while working on a children’s magazine in the late 1980s, that I had a flair for editing. So in the 1990s I built a up career as a freelance editor and designer and went on to teach various subjects in the Publishing and Editing Diploma at Morningside TAFE, as well as running writing workshops and courses privately and through adult education.

I moved from Australia to the UK in 2003 where I continued to work in the publishing industry variously as project manager, editor, proofreader, book designer, writer … even photographer … for both publishers and independent clients. Over the years I’ve had the privilege of working with some very talented writers, and when one of those authors, Helen Barber, showed me handmade copies of two picture books, The Princess and the Socks and Be Quiet, Bird!, I just knew they had to be published. So I did it!

 

What’s your best advice for children’s writers?

Read. Recent publications, not just old favourites. Writers need to be familiar with the contemporary market. I see many well written stories that would have been ideal for children of the 50s or 80s or … And write, obviously. A good critique partner or writing group to help you hone and polish your work before submitting it is possibly one of the most important resources a writer can have.

 

What else do you have coming out soon?

Confirmed titles for next year include another picture book from Helen Barber, which we hope will be out in time for Christmas, an early reader from multi-published author A H Benjamin, and a YA fantasy novel from Philip S Davies. There are several other projects in the pipeline as well.

 

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