MDP and Stage Fright 3You can listen to and watch Marianne in a bunch of special videos and podcast. Check them out.

 

WORLDBUILDING with Sean Williams, Meg Mundell and John Birmingham along with Nalini from Dark Matter.

The Skiffy and Fanty show with Tansy Rayner Roberts, talking about Aussie spec fic.

Genre blending and bending with Mike Underwood, Rod Duncan, and Emma Newman from Angry Robot.

The Queensland Writer’s Centre asked me to talk about Author Branding

And why authors should be online

 


galactic suburbiaAnd
a long chat with Alex Pierce on the award winning Galactic Chat podcast about my body or work.

Followed by an upcoming Peacemaker special with Dave Kearney from Scenes and Sequels.

 



 Belinda_kisses_tnBelinda’s green thumb is itching to plant!

Flowers_Cineraria

 

I’ve talked about gardening in a few of my blogs in the past, and since it’s eventually going to turn into autumn, eventually, I figured I’d go look up a few beautiful flowering plants you may find either in your local garden centre, or in the seed section of the shops, that would be perfect to plant now.

Cineraria – It sort of looks like a crazy coloured daisy, and the meaning of the flower is delight. What better way to beat a bad day than to plant something delightful.

Cornflower – Such a beautiful blue colour when it flowers; the cornflower is used in symbolic representation all across Europe for various things. Probably the one that’ll make a mind feel at ease is Social Liberalisation.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERASnapdragons – These come in a huge variety of colours and if you’re anything like me it’s difficult to see the flowers without gently pinching the blooms with their small hinged edges and making them talk. (Yes, I am strange!) The meaning can go in one of 2 different directions, either deception and denial or whimsy and grace.

Be sure to follow the directions on the packaging for maximum satisfaction. Oh and if you manage to grow anything, be sure to send us a picture. I want to see what beautiful things can come from your deliberately thinking positively.

Sources…

http://www.annettemcfarlane.com/calendar.htm

http://www.floweringinfo.org

 



Mlynoski_donteventhinkaboutitGetting your annual flu shots, you know you’ll most likely wake up the next day with some flu-like symptoms like a fever and a stuffy nose, but never would you assume you’d get telepathic powers…

These New York high school students definitely never thought they would!

They never thought they would be able to overhear their parents having sex in the room next door or that their school nurse had a career in stripping! While the idea of hearing everyone’s thoughts sounds cool, it isn’t as awesome as comics and movies make it seem. When they can hear everyone’s thoughts, they mean EVERY SINGLE PERSON!

The teenagers learn a lot about their classmates, their teachers, their families, and each other. They can’t keep seem to keep any secrets—not that Mackenzie’s cheating on her boyfriend, not that Olivia has a new jerk boyfriend, and not that Tess is crushing on her best friend.

Unsure of what to do with their newly discovered powers, these average teenagers have no idea if they should tell someone and, if so, who? If they did tell, what would they do to them? Would they run crazy tests on them?

But who wouldn’t want to be telepathic? You can easily cheat on tests, know what that cute guy on your date is thinking, and know when someone is gossiping about you!

When the temporary nurse at school starts acting suspiciously and starting to ask questions about the telepathic teenagers, the groups of friends don’t know what to do. Some just want this horrible nightmare to end, and others are afraid of what might happen to them. It’s a tough decision to make, and a decision that will affect the rest of their lives. 

Don’t Even Think About It was a light read when it comes to super powers. The story revolves around NORMAL teenagers, who don’t intend to save or destroy the world with their newly-discovered abilities. Instead, they are much more focused on themselves, their secrets, and the secrets of their peers.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story, I liked the characters, and I liked that it was light-hearted and not dark. But I do have to admit two things—there were a large number of characters and the nurse caught on to them very easily.

At the beginning of the book I was struggling to keep up with who was who, and what everyone was doing. The different perspectives weren’t divided by chapters and they would randomly change between characters.

When the nurse first shows up at the school, she’s on the mission to find this group of teenage students with telepathic patterns. But after only confronting the students twice, they basically spit it out without hesitation. I guess I was hoping the group would avoid her longer and that she would have to REALLY try and get them to admit it instead of just blurting it.

I LOVED Ten Things We Did And Probably Shouldn’t Have, and I loved this one from Sarah Mlynowski as well! Can’t wait to pick up her future books!



fabryan-1Launched in 2010 by self-taught designer Samantha-Jane, the clothing label Fabryan mixes ethical values with couture aesthetics to create one of a kind pieces, worthy of A-List red carpets.
Having already been featured in some of the world’s top publications, including Tatler, Vouge and Glamour magazine, the brand offers simplicity but elegance for the feminine and fashion conscious woman.

Intricate hand techniques, fine fabrics and a variety of textures are infused together to create everything from evening gowns, cute accessories and home decor, all of which are designed and made in the UK. Fabryan also honors its cooperate social responsibility, donating a portion of their sales to the Children of Haggai Foundation and trying to source the majority of their fabrics locally.

Elegant, imaginative and ethical, everything you would want from a high-end clothing company.



Paul_Belladonna 2In Belladonna we’re heading away from the lustre of Venice and the elusive and anonymous happenings at glamorous masquerade parties of the top echelon of Venetian society. Cassandra is in a life or death struggle to find out who and why her fiancé Luca was arrested for heresy. To clear his name, she travels to Florence in search for the Book of the Eternal Rose.

As with the Fiona’s first book, Venom, nobody can be trusted and all are suspected of hindering Cass’ progress. Falco is still driving me crazy as a character. I don’t know where he stands and what his motives are, and it makes my blood boil.

The use of Florence as a backdrop takes me back to my art theory days in high school and grabs me in a way I wasn’t expecting. I love the opulence of high society and the lavish way a good proportion of the characters live.

Medical science was still in its infancy in these historical mysteries, and if you have a weak stomach, beware; do not snack while reading these books. There are entries from The Book of Eternal Rose at the commencement of each chapter and the clinical nature of them certainly adds to the mood and the relevancy of Cass’ plight.

If you’re in the mood for something a little different, a little posh, and a little gory, go find Fiona’s Secrets of the Eternal Rose series.

Belladonna was released in the middle of last year, so I feel like I’m playing catch up on this series. I saw book 3, Starling, on the shelves this week and I’m very, very, tempted to spend the 14 dollars to find out what happens to Cassandra, and what the hell Falco is playing at.

http://fionapaulbooks.blogspot.com.au/

Paperback, 352 pages

Published July 1st 2013 by HarperCollinsPublishers Australia

ISBN 0732295939 (ISBN13: 9780732295936)

 


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