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)

Blue Diablo by Ann Aguirre (Corine Solomon, Book 1)

Believe it or not, I don’t read urban fantasy. But an autobuy author is an autobuy author, so when Ann Aguirre’s Blue Diablo turned up at Galaxy, I just had to have it without knowing anything about the plot. It turns out that Aguirre’s new series uses Mexican beliefs in the supernatural, and this is only one of the many things I love about the book.

Corine Solomon is a handler. She has the ability to touch an object and see its history—or sometimes its future—but it’s a gift that comes with a price. After her last job almost killed her, she left her life, her past and especially her lover to set up a small shop in Mexico City where no one knows about her ability. So when her ex suddenly appears, her dreams of a safe, comfortable existence are shattered.

Chance asks for Corine’s help to find a missing person—and it’s not a request she can refuse because it’s someone they both love. But working closely with Chance isn’t going to be easy because: a) Corine isn’t fully over him yet; b) Chance says he never got over her and wants her back; c) they can’t seem to tell each other what they need; and d) Chance has his own gift that more often than not puts Corine in danger. (more)

Grimspace by Ann Aguirre (Jax Series, Book 1)

I’m late for my re-read challenge review, but I’m blaming Ann Aguirre. I’ve re-read Grimspace at least three times before, and each time, I’m compelled to read every word to savour the story of Jax and March.

Sirantha Jax is the sole survivor of a terrible spaceship crash that killed not only a prominent dignitary but also Jax’s lover. Jax isn’t sure what happened, and she’s starting to believe that maybe it was her fault. In any case, it looks like she’s going to be the scapegoat. So when a stranger offers to spring her out of the pyschiatric facility she’s being kept in, Jax has nothing to lose.

But to get out, the rescue ship needs a navigator and Jax is the only one on board. Jax’s genetic makeup allows her to navigate through grimspace, a kind of dimension that allows people to bend space so they can travel great distances. Jax has the ability to sense the beacons in grimspace—landmarks or doorways that mark where in grimspace you are. But to do that, Jax has to be plugged into the ship with the pilot. It’s an intimate relationship, one that allows jumper and pilot to be in each other’s minds … and it’s too soon for Jax. Because the lover she lost had been her pilot, (more)

applause-2 by Multiple fragments of tissue (via Flickr)

Congratulations to RITA and Golden Hearts finalists!

The 2009 finalists for the RITA and Golden Heart awards have been announced by the Romance Writers of America. A number of Aussie authors made the list, including:

Vanessa Barneveld for the Golden Heart for Young Adult Romance (Call Me Crazy)
Lilian Darcy for Contemporary Series Romance (The Children’s Doctor and the Single Mum)
Barbara Hannay for Contemporary Series Romance (Adopted: Outback Baby)
Stephanie Laurens for Historical Romance (Where the Heart Leads), Regency Historical Romance (The Edge of Desire), and Romance Novella (The Fall of Rogue Gerard in It Happened One Night)
Nalini Singh (because NZ is close enough!) for Paranormal Romance (Mine to Possess)
Christine Wells for Regency Romance Historical (The Dangerous Duke — which I’ll be reviewing soon!) (more)

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! (more)

Lost in Austen (DVD)

Pride and Prejudice time travel shenanigans

Tomorrow night, ABC1 will screen the first part of Lost in Austen, a British mini-series in which a 21st-century reader swaps places with Elizabeth Bennet and finds herself inadvertently changing Jane Austen’s story. It sounds fabulously fun, and the SMH provides some background to the series. Lost in Austen has become one of Britain’s best selling DVDs, with talks of a film adaptation. Click here to watch a preview of the show.

Ebooks in Australia

Thinking of buying an ebook? David Frith at Doubleclick has a good round-up of ebook options for Australians. The BeBook seems to be the cheapest option, although Frith seems to have missed the products sold by DA Direct (which, according to a reader at ARRC, will be selling more ebook readers through their Melbourne store). (more)

ARRC update

If you’ve registered for the Australian Romance Readers Convention, don’t forget to vote for your favourite reader review (hopefully you’ll like the review of Claiming the Courtesan in the fifth round *g*). You can read the entries here, and voting ends tomorrow.

The ARRC website has a guest blog for authors supporting the convention. It seems everyone is jealous of our summer. All I can say is that I hope nothing happens to the air conditioning that weekend!

Check out the Melbourne Leader article on the convention: Romantics converge in Melbourne for novel convention. This time next week, we’ll be in Melbourne! *happy dance*

Book events

The National Library of Australia in Canberra is holding a speed dating night for book lovers on Friday, February 20. You’re invited to bring your favourite book to use as an ice breaker and meet other book lovers. The event is open to all book lovers—not just singles. (more)