Catching up on other book news…

Bronwyn Parry’s third Dungirri book shelved

In case you missed her announcement, Bronwyn Parry is no longer working on her third Dungirri book. If there’s one thing I admire in an author it’s knowing when to let go of a book or series. The good news is that Parry seems to have a new book in the works, so yay for her and for us readers!

FANGtastic Fiction’s change of focus

I noticed that our friends over at FANGtastic Fiction have decided to stop selling books directly but have become a kind of portal for book recommendations. If you love your books with a touch of the supernatural, it’s worth checking out the site.

Coming soon from Australian romance authors

Watch out for these titles, which are coming out in the next couple of months:

• Blame It On the Moonlight by Tracie Sommers – Spice Briefs, Aug 2010, Paranormal romance (with ‘some really hot bits’ – yes, that’s an actual quote from the author)
• The Dream Master by Maggie Nash – Total-E-Bound, Sep 2010, Erotic romantic suspense (featuring the Sydney Harbour Bridge on the cover)
• Savage Transformation by Lexxie Couper – Samhain, Sep 2010, Erotic paranormal romance (featuring shapeshifting Tasmanian tigers!)

Pocket After Dark

Simon & Schuster has launched Pocket After Dark, a new online community for romance and urban fantasy readers. The site includes excerpts and will have free backlist titles available for a 30-day period. There’s a points system, although as far as I can tell they’re only for bragging rights at this point. I’m not sure what I’ll do with yet another social networking account, but I can’t resist the lure of free books. The site needs Flash to work properly, so no love for iPad users, I’m afraid.

Mudgee Readers Festival

The Mudgee Readers Festival will be held from September 10 to 12 at the Parklands Resort and Conference Centre. There don’t seem to be any romance genre authors in the programme, but big names include Tom Keneally and Di Morrissey. I’m particularly interested in Sherman Young’s panel, Is page turning a thing of the past?, as well as his talk, which will apparently feature a show-and-tell of ebook technology.

Stephanie Laurens in The Circle

Early this month, Stephanie Laurens was interviewed in The Circle. You can find the video on the Channel 10 website (you’ll need to search for ‘Stephanie Laurens’ under the Video Menu button). It’s a bit irreverent to the genre but also fun. I’m flabbergasted that not one audience member admitted to reading romance!

I found out about the festival and Laurens’s interview via the Australian Romance Readers Association email list. Which brings me nicely to…

ARRA book signing – not long to go!