Hey guys (especially those of you who are overseas),
I just wanted to let you know that Raw Blue is going to be published in the UK in August, by Catnip Publishing. I’m so happy about this. Hopefully this makes it easier for some of you to get hold of the book. And once again my thanks go out to the blogging community for raising this book’s profile – you know who you are :)
It’ll be coming out in August, smack bang in summer. I LOVE the cover:
Went for a surf this morning and when I returned to my car afterwards, there was a yellow Laser parked right next to me. The exact same car – the exact same model – that Carly drove in Raw Blue (and they’re not common, least not any more). Parked exactly where she would have parked it. How weird. Sort of Lunar Parky (that Bret Easton Ellis novel). The owner turned up and I told him why I was checking out his car. He was nice enough to look chuffed, like his car had this whole history he didn’t know about. I didn’t have anything to photograph it with, but next time I will.
Anyway, I’ve got no segue between that and why I’m playing this a lot today. The two things will just have to go together. Hope you’re having a good one!
Raw Blue has the glitter skin, but it was only as I looked at the previous post I realised Night Beach has the glittering lights. Huh. Funny how you find patterns. It’s a recurring thing through the story. What do you call that? Motif?
At seventeen, I’m in‑between. Staring at the carnival from a distance. Not sure if I want to go forward and become an adult; liking the view too much to turn back. Drinking and cars and Kane and freedom. All those glittering lights … (from Night Beach)
Yay!!! After all this time, and all this lobbying (thank you blogging community! thank you, Bibliophile Brouhaha) it means that those of you who have a Kindle, and are so minded … Well, you can finally read them!
Thanks also to Pam for letting me know!
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Update: Sorry guys, looks like I got carried away. I think it’s only available for Australian users to download. Ah well, small steps, right?
Further to my last post, the schedule for this week is now up at Irresistible Reads, so check it out. I’ve realised, just from trying to get my guest posts ready, how much time and effort must have gone into organising, preparing and coordinating this week, so once again my thanks to Irresistible Reads and Bibliophile Brouhaha and everyone taking part for their support.
In addition to the guys I mentioned previously, there will also be reviews from Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing, Fiction Folio, and a really moving review of Raw Blue is already posted at Buried in Books. Reviews are always scary to me, but reading about Raw Blue makes me oddly homesick, just because I miss the characters (which probably makes no sense, but there you go).
In addition, Steph Su Reads will be talking about Older YA, and Nomes at Inkcrush will be talking about Aussie YA, so definitely a few things worth checking out there. Anyway, don’t listen to me, head over to Irresistible Reads and see if you can snag yourself a giveaway.
Mayjune being this new, extended month I’ve made up, on account of my not keeping up to date …
Firstly news - I panelled at the Reading Matters 2011 conference back in May. It was a fantastic experience, particularly listening to the other authors talk. A huge thank you to the Centre for Youth Literature team, Express Media and the State Library of Victoria for an incredible couple of days.
Also in news – a big thank you to Irresistible Reads for coming up with the Aussie YA Reading Challenge 2011, and to inkcrush, who helped get it off the ground. In a similar vein, thanks to The Unread Reader, who came up with Go Aussie Book Tours and is very generously sharing Aussie writing around on the other side of the pond. To all those participating – a huge thanks from me (and all Aussie authors me thinks). If you haven’t heard about all this, check out any of the links to the sites above to find out more.
Reviews. Everything this special double month is about Raw Blue. (I should interrupt myself here and mention that I don’t have Google Alerts on, I only become aware of things when other people point them out to me – so, if you’ve reviewed something and you want to see it mentioned, drop me a line):
The Book Nerd Club: All my life I’ve lived within five minutes of the ocean, so for me this book is set in ‘my’ Australia. The cleansing power of the ocean is something I totally get. I don’t surf, but you don’t need to personally know about it to understand the power and freedom it gives Carly …
Book’d Out: It is wonderful to have a book that is so naturally, authentically Australian, and so gloriously, beautifully written …
The Perpetual Page-turner: I would definitely recommend this for readers who are looking for a little bit of more mature YA read … There was just the right amount of “drama” and love and growth…
Angieville: I loved this book from start to finish. It dropped me into another world, full of surfing lingo and weather reports, charmingly different speech patterns, and the ubiquitous word “mate.” … But even more than surfing, this book is a love story.
Musings of a YA Reader: A novel I’m going to recommend to anybody and everybody, Raw Blue will leave readers with a lasting impression and the indelible gift of hope.
Book Harbinger: Raw Blue hooked me from its portentous beginning to it’s chillingly perfect and poignant ending. Highly, highly recommended.
Thanks to all reviewers for taking the time to read the book – I know some of you had to buy an e-book to do it. And, as ever, thanks to bibliophile brouhaha for passing it on.
H’okay, for me this month has been all about the Somerset Celebration of Literature. A massive thank you to all the parents, volunteers, organisers, students and the other authors for making it The. Best. Time. Ever. And special thanks to my student helpers Nathalia and Kumiko!
While I was up there, I found out that Saltwater Vampires had been shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards – Ethel Turner Prize. This was The. Biggest. Surprise. Ever. (I thought they’d chuck it in the bin when they saw the ‘V’ word in the title). Congratulations to the other shortlisted authors: Michelle Cooper, Cath Crowley, Belinda Jeffrey, Melina Marchetta and Jaclyn Moriarty.
And finally, some lovely reviews have come in for Raw Blue from the States (thanks once again to Linds from Bibliophile Brouhaha who is the driving force behind a blog tour over there).
And separate to this, a nice one from Chachic’s Book Nook in the Philippines. What a lucky story, getting to travel around like that …
Well, I owe a huge thank you to Linds at Bibliophile Brouhaha who has sent Raw Blue on a blog tour in the States off her own bat.
Three reviews have come in as a result.
One from The Unread Reader: [Carly's] bravery, when revealed, was silent, but it was hers and it was full of heart and hope.
And one from Supernatural Snark: Raw Blue … handles personal anguish in a delicate and unassuming way so we don’t even realize the strength of the connection we’ve developed with Carly and Ryan until we find ourselves unable to let them go, clinging to our memories of their interactions for days and weeks afterward.
And one from Forever Young Adult (which was really funny!): And when the fire department asks who started it, tell them it’s all Ryan’s fault because he’s too damn sexy and understanding and enigmatic and GAH HERE COME THE FLAMES AGAIN. Seriously, though, one of the things I love about the swoon in this book is that the mysterious loner dude is actually a girl– Carly– and therefore, Ryan is trying to reach out to her and that just makes him even hotter, IF THAT’S EVEN POSSIBLE.
It’s still hard to get a copy of this book for those of you who are readers in the States, the two options at the moment being E-book, or shipping from Australia, so my apologies!
(And thanks to Amelia from Better Read Than Dead for letting me know about the FYA review!)
Linds from Bibliophile Brouhaha is hosting a Raw Blue giveaway as an adjunct to an interview I did with her. This is very nice of her, as the book hasn’t been published over there, so if you’d like to enter, you can do so by clicking here … The comp closes on 12 January, 2011.
Obviously, you don’t have to be from the States to read the interview. It’s pretty in-depth, covers fresh territory with regards to Raw Blue, and was a pleasure to do. You can check it out here …
Linds at Bibliophile Brouhaha recently posted a review for Raw Blue that left me floored (in a really good way). You can check it out here … This review also clarified something for me; an issue that I have struggled with since the book was first published. That being – how much detail to go into when asked to describe the book. Linds very articulately deals with this issue in her review, saying:
Carly is a survivor of rape. I don’t feel it’s possible to adequately talk about the book unless that fact is present. The fear, shame, rage and bravery Carly shows is directly related to the crime committed against her.
Bibliophile Brouhaha is fairly new on the blog scene but contains one of the most energetic round ups of what’s going on in the world of Young Adult literature and the general publishing world that I have come across. Check it out.
I was also stoked to see a review for Raw Blue up over at Spellbound By Books. I’ve been lucky enough to hang out at this blog on two occasions, once in an interview with Melissa, (which you can check out here …) and once to give my top five unsettling reads (see here …)
And great to see a review of Saltwater Vampires up at Escape in a Book. It’s lovely to know that your stories get to travel …
Finally, I just realised I had forgotten to mention this (in case you are lying awake at night wondering about it) – I will be appearing at the Somerset Writers’ Festival in March next year … Will post more details soon.
That’s probably all from me for a wee while, so Happy Christmas and Merry New Year, take fun and have care!!