Keri Arthur (left) and Tracey O'Hara

For the first time that I can remember, Galaxy had TWO paranormal authors in to sign books. And they brought a New York agent. And a soon-to-be-published debut author. And a partridge in a pear tree. OK, maybe not that last one.

The gathering at Galaxy was nice and informal, so we got to spend some time chatting with Keri Arthur and Tracey O’Hara while they signed our books.

The cover for the second book in Tracey’s Dark Brethren series, Death’s Sweet Embrace, has been redone and I think it looks better this way. Its style is more like the Night’s Cold Kiss cover, so I think the new cover ties the books together as a series better than two differently styled covers.
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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. (more)

The finalists for this year’s Romance Book of the Year (R*BY) Awards have been announced. Congratulations on the finalists and good luck!

Long Romance Category
Mistletoe Magic by Sophia James
Mastered by Love by Stephanie Laurens
Temptation and Surrender by Stephanie Laurens
Wicked Little Game by Christine Wells

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In which I continue my undignified squeeing over a fantastic Australian author.

Thanks to Adele at Persnickety Snark I discovered that this week is Author Appreciation Week. How perfect.

Everyone who follows me on Twitter is groaning, I’m sure. For the past few weeks most of my book conversations have revolved around—or eventually ended up with—Melina Marchetta.

I love her work. I want to marry her books and grow old with them.

When Looking For Alibrandi first came out, I was heavily into category romances and the last thing I wanted to read was an angsty teen novel set in Australia. It wasn’t until last year that I first picked up Marchetta’s work when I read her short story, Twelve Minutes, in last year’s Books Alive anthology. Even then I wasn’t sure I’d read the novel that the short story was based on, The Piper’s Son. (more)

It was the surprise that couldn’t be kept under wraps. Plans were dropped for this … or they would have been if I’d made any.

Galaxy’s monthly book club would have another special guest in New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Nalini Singh, who jumped across the pond from New Zealand.

I managed to arrive before Nalini and learned that Sofia (Galaxy’s paranormal romance guru) had invited a reporter and photographer from the Daily Telegraph to meet Nalini.

While I was waiting for Nalini to arrive, I had a chat with the reporter, Julia, who will soon converse with (rather than interview) Charlaine Harris. (I asked what the difference was, and apparently a conversation is meant to be more comfortable, informal and less inherently interrogative than an interview.)

For research purposes, Julia has read the first 2 Southern Vampire Mystery books (which she enjoyed) but hasn’t read any other paranormals. Yet. (I’d like to think that might change as a result of her stories on Nalini as well as Charlaine.) (more)

BOOK GIVEAWAY: Read on for a chance to win a free copy of Night’s Cold Kiss. The contest ends midnight on Sunday, December 20 AEST.

What happens when an Aurealis Award finalist comes to visit our local bookshop? We take over the paranormal romance aisle, of course! And yes, there were Tim Tams involved.

Decadence, the early bird

This was not your traditional book signing, with a long line of people waiting, the publisher’s reps asking for the name you want to personalise your books and standing ready to take your photo with the author. Thursday night’s book signing with Tracey O’Hara took place during one of Galaxy’s book club meetings, so there was a row of chairs down each side of the paranormal aisle, ending in a table of refreshments. I was a book club virgin, so I didn’t know what to expect from the evening.

Sofia introduced me to Tracey (who was standing in the new releases section, at the back, with a female relative and her father) before the meeting started (more)

It’s not often we get romance author signings, let alone two at the same time, so when Tracey O’Hara and Erica Hayes did a signing at Intrigue Bookstore in Canberra last month, Kate Cuthbert generously offered to do a recap for Book Thingo.

Kate is a reader, writer, reviewer, twitter-er, blogger, and starter of readers’ groups, all devoted (mainly) to romance novels. You can read her Romance Buzz newsletters at Booktopia, check out her sadly-neglected website, email her, or follow her (@katydidinoz).

Here’s a hint: showing up first thing for a signing means you get a couple of extra minutes to hang out with the authors. Of course, you’re up first thing for a signing, but as Intrigue’s sponsoring of brand new Aussie authors Tracey O’Hara and Erica Hayes started at 11am, it wasn’t that hard to pull myself out of bed. Plus I’d read both Night’s Cold Kiss and Shadowfae, loved them, and really wanted signed copies for myself. (more)

Decadence, who is fast becoming our author event specialist, ducked out at lunchtime last Tuesday to attend one of Diana Gabaldon’s Sydney events.

In what is sadly becoming a book signing tradition for me, I missed my train to the city and had to wait half an hour for the next one, which would hopefully still get  me to North Sydney before 1pm, but leave me right at the end of the queue.

Stanton Library is at the top of a hill I used to walk up to get to work a few years ago, so in my defence I was younger then and wasn’t carrying 6 very thick and heavy books, even if they are all mass market editions.

I had almost made it to the library when I was ushered into the neighbouring council chambers and up the stairs to their meeting room. I found a seat with a few minutes to spare before Diana arrived. I looked around and even though I’d heard about a friend’s experience in Melbourne, I was still surprised to notice that most of the crowd consisted of middle aged women. I noticed a small group of girls closer to my own age and two very brave and intrepid men. (more)

Source: Bronwyn Parry

What do you do when one of your favourite authors visits your library? You talk about books, of course!

When I arrived—half an hour late and with the Lilliputians in tow—to Books Alive author Bronwyn Parry’s meet and greet at Ultimo Library, it seems I may have interrupted an animated discussion about books. I felt a little awkward, butting into the conversation, but it’s almost impossible to hang out with book lovers and not be caught up in the discussion.

Located near the library entrance, Bron’s table was the first thing I saw as I walked through the doors. Seated at a large, round table were Bronwyn Parry, Louisa Dear (her publicist), Vassiliki (our librarian host), and a couple of us readers.

It was a far cry from Decadence’s recent author signing experience, but it made for a much more intimate experience. For someone long past her teenybopper years, (more)

Bronwyn Parry at Ultimo Library

Books Alive author Bronwyn Parry will be at Ultimo Library tomorrow from 5pm-6pm. Come along for a chat, and bring your books or buy one on the day and have them signed. More details at the City of Sydney’s What’s On website.

Australian release for Night’s Cold Kiss

Night’s Cold Kiss, the debut novel by Australian author Tracey O’Hara, will be published locally by HarperCollins Australia. The website shows Sept 22 as the release date, so it should be in stores soon.

Coming soon from C. L. Wilson

One of my most anticipated books of the year, the Queen of Song and Souls by C. L. Wilson, is scheduled for release on October 27. (You can read an excerpt here.) I’m told that the book became much longer than anticipated and had to be split, so this will be book 3 in the Tairen Soul quartet. The last book will be called Tairen Soul, which gives it a lovely bit of symmetry, given that it was the original name for the first book, which then had to be split into Lord of the Fading Lands and Lady of Light and Shadows. (more)