RIASS stuff:
Book Review: Seriously Sassy ' Crazy Days by Maggi Gibson'Rating: 
Interview: Mingmei Yip on narrative, Chinese femmes fatales, and chicken's feet
Book Review: The Guys' Guy's Guide to Love by Robert Manni'Rating:
The lost subscribers thing is slowly being resolved, as is the website hack thing, so just hang in there a little longer and things should be back to normal soon.
On the bookish front, Im on the last round of agent edits for my MG, and then were off on sub. Huzzah!
Other bookish stuff:
5 tropes science fiction and fantasy should really stop using'Especially,'especially the first point. I cannot emphasise how much I hate the idea of rape being used for characterisation.
Why one CEO refuses to hire people people who use poor grammar''Am I the only one giggling at the fact that the URL for this article has abbreviated to Why I refuse to hire people who use poo?
On passing verdict on books that you havent read: notes on the Booker'Quote:'Recently, a couple of memoirs came out, both of which I read in extract, not in full. Both writers sounded annoying, and I enjoyed judging them based on what I had read, as well as on the reviews, comment pieces and articles that foamed in their wakes. However, I came to feel uneasy with the quality of the view from my high horse.
My quick thoughts: Oh yes, I see this all the time, and frequently fall victim to it myself. There are so many books published a year, and peoples reading lists seem so divergent. And I only have one pair of eyeballs. It does become embarrassing when all you can add to the conversation is, oh, I listened to an interview with them on the Book Show once, or isnt that a pretty cover? or I dont like their surname. Most of this ignorance is just time and resource related, but admittedly, theres sometimes a bit of pettiness about it. There sometimes comes a point where you just become defiant about a book that just wont go away'and you want to scream to the heavens (or Twitter),'no, for goodness sake, just no!
And thats exactly how you end up with bizarre gaps in your reading knowledge. I have plenty such holes to fill, and Im working on it bit by bit, even if I hate the covers of said books, or whatever reason Ive given for avoiding them in the past. And'I completely agree with the authors comment of much of this being akin to poking something with a fork and saying I dont like it. I havent tried it. Heck, if I can eat durian and blood sausages, Im sure I can read a novel thats out of my comfort zoneUnless its Orson Scott Card. Because I just dont like him.
An interview with Sharon G Flake'Quote:'Recently I did a Skype with students in Thailand. They were reading my novel The Skin I'm In. 'Dark skin is a problem in that country. So here I am with them reading about African American inner city girl saying how much they connect to her. All problems are universal. 'When books about African American youth, Latinos, Irish and others are told, anyone can benefit.
My quick thoughts: Yes, this. I also love the fact that slowly, slowly, the publishing industry is waking up to the fact that someone can be a person of colour'just because, and that the book doesnt necessarily need to be about a PoC journey or overcoming the odds of being PoC.
An interview with Juliet Marillier'Quote: A young adult novel is usually built around the personal journey of the protagonist(s) ' often a journey to maturity. My books are strongly based on the protagonist's internal journey ' often to find the strength within herself.
My quick thoughts: Not especially relevant to this article at all, but Marilliers thoughts on YA being about internal growth/journey made me think briefly about the differences between YA and Middle Grade, which is my genre of choice. Although MG does involve character growth, there tends to be far more emphasis on the external journey of the character. I think the sames often quite true of literary fiction vs genre fiction. (Im talking in generalities here, so no need to jump down my throat with crime fiction characters grow, too!!)
A thoughtful feature on Jacinta Halloran'and her tussle between faith and science. Quote:'Im interested in writing about a character who has tried to live her life andshe ends up in a situation where things havent turned out the way she might have hoped.'How does she move on to make sense of her life? Im interested in struggle and how that might or might not be resolved.
My quick thoughts: Im interested in how Jacinta seems to have remained Switzerland rather than condemning or condoning faith-based approaches in this book. Literature is such a perfect form for being able to examine these things without taking sidesor for taking sides if thats whats wanted.
And on a similar topic,'Maurice Broaddus on faith in the fantastic'Quote:'Speculative fiction has a bit of an uneasy relationship with religion. On the one hand, Stephen King has considered horror writers as little more than moralists as they explore the nature of evil. On the other, some people of faith are concerned that books like Harry Potter might lead children down the path to witchcraft.
My quick thoughts: Spec fic (although the more I think about it, the more I hate that term) is well placed to examine religion and spirituality, I think, and the horror and science fiction genres especially. Both so readily veer into the territory of ethics, belief, and morality, and its hard not to see that theres some sort of spiritual lens here.
Jonah Lehrer imagined quotes in Imagine book, resigns from New Yorker'The quotes in question either did not exist, were unintentional misquotations, or represented improper combinations of previously existing quotes, said Lehrer in a statement.
My quick thoughts: This is a terrible shame, but I wonder whether this might have something to do with the blurring line between biography and narrative, where biographers are expected to come up with a fly-on-the-wall narrative that works almost as a novel.
Best writing shack ever.
Arcade Publications has 30% off!
Did you know that theres a Peoples Choice award now as part of the Queensland Literary Awards?'
A website dedicated to Bruno Shulz
The longlist for the Dylan Thomas Prize
A new reviews site for WASLA is seeking to review Australian childrens and YA books
Maeve Binchy has passed away at 72'
An interview with Roddy Doyle:
Oh how sad Maeve Binchy has died, ive enjoyed many of her books!
Very sad news. Shes one of my mums favourites.