Book Bizzo #10 The as if we needed to buy more books edition

Angel’s Blood giveaway winner: KayTee

The winner of our first book giveaway is KayTee, who recommended Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series:

The world building is great but not too overwhelming and the two possible heroes (or should I say anti-heroes) are compelling and keep us guessing if they are the good or bad guys or both. These books make me feel I am with Mac on her journey and it is very easy to get lost in the story.

KayTee, I’ve sent you an email, but in case you don’t get it, please email me your address and I’ll pop the book in the post for you next week. Thanks to everyone else who entered: Marg, Jessica and Lisa. We really shouldn’t be adding any more books to our TBR piles, but I think we’re going to have to try some of your recs, you’ve made them sound so good!

Coming soon

You know, I’m not usually big on outback romances or romantic suspense, but I can’t wait to read Bronwyn Parry’s second novel, Dark Country:

They’ve considered him a murderer for eighteen years, so no-one in Dungirri is surprised when Morgan ‘Gil’ Gillespie returns and a woman’s body is found in his car. Wearied by too many deaths and doubting her own skills, local police sergeant Kristine Matthews isn’t sure whether Gil is a decent man wronged by life, or a hardened criminal she should be locking up. But she does know he’s not guilty of this murder, because she is his alibi.

Gil isn’t used to feeling anything for anyone. But there’s a teenager here who has his eyes—a daughter he never knew existed—and the sergeant’s fiery tenacity stirs his blood. He can’t acknowledge either. He’s made too many enemies in the Sydney Mafia, and amongst corrupt cops. Kris’s alibi might have saved him from a murder charge—for now—but her dedication to finding the truth has made her a target. The tentacles of organised crime and corruption are winding their way through the isolated, struggling town, feeding on despair and anger. They’re surrounded by wilderness, but there’s no place to hide, because Gil’s enemies have most of the town on their side, and they know that the one thing more punishing than putting him back in prison would be harming the few people he cares about.

Dark Country is due for release in September. I liked Kris in As Darkness Falls (and I had a feeling she wanted her own story), but I’m not sure why I’m so eager for this book. I think maybe because I’m just so glad to find an Aussie romance that rings true.

Speaking of upcoming releases, Ann Aguirre’s next Jax novel, Doubleblind, comes out on September 29. Click here for the blurb. I can’t wait!

And here’s a preview of Blaze of Memory by Nalini Singh. It comes out in November.

Finally, it’s not a new release, but Tailspin by Denise Rossetti is finally out in print via Ellora’s Cave. Click here for an excerpt.

Conventions, library news and author visits

Swancon, an annual convention run by the Western Australian Science Fiction Foundation (WASFF), will be on from April 9 to April 13 at the All Seasons Perth hotel in Northbridge. Guest panelists include Richard Morgan, Trudi Canavan, Theresa Anns, Rob Masters, and Alicia Smith.  Click here for details.

On March 27, the National Library is hosting the Innovative Ideas Forum 2009. This year’s theme is social networking. Registrations have closed, but you can follow the event via Twitter, through the blog, via podcast, or by searching for the iif2009 tag in Flickr and other social networks. Click here for the program.

Richard Morgan, author of The Steel Remains and Black Man, will be at various book events after the convention:

• Book talk at Scarborough Library on April 18 at 5pm
• Guest speaker at the Melbourne Science Fiction Club on May 8 at 9pm
• Book signing at Galaxy Bookshop on May 21 at 5:30pm
• Book signing at Gaslight Books on May 23 between 3-4pm
• Book signing at Pulp Fiction on May 27 at 6.30pm

Trudi Caravan, author of the Black Magician and Age of Five trilogies, will be at Osborne Park Library on April 9 at 11.30am for a book talk.

Competitions

• DA BWAHA — The annual DA BWAHA tournament, run by Dear Author and the Smart Bitches, has begun. I was equal first at one point—with about a hundred other people—but as I predicted, it didn’t last very long. Click here to cast your votes for each round.
• Win a Sassy Mamas DVD Movie Pack at Australian Women Online

And other random stuff…

In this interview, Australian fantasy writer Sara Douglass says she’s interested in writing historical romance. At first I thought that’s quite a leap, but maybe it’s not such a big step from high fantasy to historical romance. Th interview was part of Flycon, an online convention on speculative fiction that was held last weekend. You can view the full programme here, with links to archives. Some of the panels sound very interesting and have significant crossovers with romance (unfortunately, I found it a bloody pain to navigate).

Save the date

25/3 -– Linda Jaivin at Readings Carlton, 6.30pm | Bookings: 03 9347 6633 or events@readings.com.au or Facebook.
27/3 — Innovative Ideas Forum 2009 at the National Library of Australia
31/3 — Kate Legge at Readings Hawthorn, 6.30pm | Bookings: 03 9819 1917 or events@readings.com.au
31/3 — Q&A and booksigning with Wendy Harmer at Berkelouw’s Newtown, 6pm | Enquiries: 02 9557 1777‎
2/4 — Wendy Harmer at Readings Carlton, 6.30pm | Bookings: 03 9347 6633 or events@readings.com.au
3/4 — Celebrate the life of Dorothy Parker at Bell’s Hotel, 8pm (dinner at 6.30pm) | Bookings: Jacqui Horwood on 0449 703 503 or jacqui.horwood@gmail.com ($10/$5)
9-13/4 — Swancon 2009 at All Seasons Perth ($160/140)
9/4 — Trudi Caravan at Osborne Park Library, 11.30am
18/4 — Richard Morgan at Scarborough Library, 5pm
8/5 — Richard Morgan at the Melbourne Science Fiction Club, 9pm
21/5 — Richard Morgan at Galaxy Bookshop, 5:30pm
23/5 — Richard Morgan at Gaslight Book, 3-4pm
27/5 — Richard Morgan at Pulp Fiction, 6.30pm

Book Bizzo is a weekly omnibus of news items, events, and other interesting tidbits related to books, and especially the Australian romance book industry. You can find past Book Bizzo posts here.

Did we miss anything important? Got a book event coming up? Feel free to send tips, press releases, and any other interesting links to kat@bookthingo.com.au.