A competition! With books! But what ones?

The daily heap of packages from Australia Post Courier have arrived, and after not having gotten post since Thursday, I was in utter need of these parcels! And guesses of guesses what? A competition arrived in the post, a competition for this very blog! You lucky things!
You remember how I told you about an amazing book competition I would be holding? Well, now is the time, to open this amazing book competition.. but I should tell you what you will be trying to win otherwise, it would be slightly strange... so without further ado (though I'll probably be able to find a way of adding some more ado... what ever that it...) I will tell you about this amazing filled competition! YAY!

A little time ago I asked the very amazing filled S.D. Gentill (whom I did a Q&A with a little while ago and which you can read here) if she would mind donating some copies of her novel Chasing Odysseus (which I did a sort of review(because I was still reading it) of  here) and she very kindly sent me two copies of her book, just for me to use as a competition for you! How exciting!
Thank you so much Sulari, it means a lot!
This is what you'll be winning!

Aren't they prettyful?

Now, one copy will be won by someone in Australia and one will be won by someone Internationally.
I welcome all entries and this is how to enter:

*Email me and tell me-
Why you love books
What they mean to you in your life
Why you want to read Chasing Odysseus  and
a brief description of what your life would look like without them.

Please don't enter by commenting at the bottom of this post! Because then there is the chance that you could get your idea taken and then you may not win yourself but be beaten by your own idea, which would be awful. (but you can comment to say how wonderful this competition is ect.( :)


I will choose one winner from Australia and one Internationally and my choice of the best and most mind capturing and inspiring entry is the final choice and I won't dispute why I chose them with anyone but the winner's as I see fit. (This may seem harsh, but sorry.)
I will contact the winners by email and ask for their addresses once they have been chosen and then will publish their winning entries on this very blog, for everyone to see too! YAY!


Now, just a few more things you need to know:


The two lucky people who win will have to do a review, once they've read Chasing Odysseus, which will be published on this blog and will be used on the publishers website also. (but I'll sort that out when they win)
Email them to me when you've finished the novel. This is a MUST for the winners.




Now, that all the formal bits and bob's and odd's and sod's have been throughly gone through, get creative and remember ONLY ONE ENTRY PER WINNER... BECAUSE GETTING HEAPS OF ENTRIES FROM THE SAME PERSON WOULD BE SLIGHTLY ANNOYING AND I COULD DISQUALIFY YOU FOR IT.
Oh, and just one more thing, well, no, two actually:
Tell fellow bloggers about this competition and spread the word about it please, but I would prefer it if people who enter do/will be actually reading my blog afterwards.
Because otherwise it's not fair.
So just remember that.
And only enter if you actually want to read this novel, because that would be not good if you didn't.



Competition closed!


So my friends, enter and remember to have lots of fun!

Lovingly,
Romi.xxxxx
P.S. Due to this competition, I will not be posting until it's finished. AAGH! Sheer desperadoes!
P.P.S Who here goes on Etsy.com? I'm starting a shop on it soon, so I'll link a post after the 3d to it for you all to see! YAY! Excitement!

A fantastically artful Q&A with the amazing...WHO???

Kate Knapp, the author of the Twig Seeds series (like the Nest Eggs book I got for my birthday and The It's not always Black and White book, they've got such lovely quotations and artwork in them.....) you can see her website Here.

Here is the Q&A, I hope you enjoy it!

*How did you first start out with your art?

I began drawing and writing when I was quite young then after studying art at school went to the Queensland College of Art and studied Graphic Design. After years of trying lots of different jobs I began to focus on my art. I made decorative papier-mâché articles and painted on anything I could find.  At first I sold my original art at markets then opened a gallery of my own work.  Then as it grew in popularity I began to license my work on to items such as greeting cards and books so it found a larger audience.

*Did you always want to be an artist?

Not really I wanted to be a nurse. But I’m very happy now to be an artist!

*What was your first job?

My first job was working in a juice bar. 

*What are some of your hobbies?

Going to coffee shops, travelling, playing squash. 

*How did you start getting your work published?

I approached a publisher I admired and though was a good fit for my work. It has been and still is a tremendous relationship.

*Where do you get your ideas from?

I get lots of ideas from observing life and the emotions of people and animals. Nature is so beautiful it is great inspiration.

*Do you remember what the very first thing you ever drew was?

I have many of my childhood drawings and one of my first was a girl in a red dress sitting on a hill under a rainbow. I was about 6 when I painted it but it’s quite sweet.

*What is one of your favourite things to draw?

Spotted dogs.

*How do you describe your work?

Whimsical and naïve. 

*Do you have a very arty 'drawing in' room?

It’s a very nurturing room with computers on one side and painting on the other.  I look out into trees and have lots of plants on my windowsill.

*What most recently inspired you?

Today I was in my local coffee shop and the most adorable native marsupial, which I think was a common Planigale, turned up to nibble on a breadcrumb. It was the size of a strawberry and seemed to enjoy an audience. I could have watched it all day!

*What artists/illustrators do you look up do?

I think Mirka Mora is extraordinary.

*In five words, how can you describe the feeling of starting on something new?

Scary, challenge, duty, love and excitement.

*Do you have a favourite quote?

Many but here’s one that’s special …

‘Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.’

Winnie-the-Pooh

*Do you have a favourite animal or creature?

I love all animals but dogs and birds move me enormously.

Thank you very much Kate! 

Keep being inspired,

Romi.xxx

Conversations of Converses... maybe it's a flock???

What follows is a totally new breed of.. well... shoe.
Enjoy!

hmmmm...

Up or Down?

Up and Down!

Blue ones...

Green and Pink ones.

And grubby ones.

Red ones.

More red.

These are my sisters.

But I can use them.

Red high tops.

And different lengths of laces...

I took one off to use as a harness for our cat.

Which is weird. But True.

I won a book competition! YAY!

Yellow ones.

My dream converses.

I designed them myself and I heart them! One day....

I hope that was inspiring and you loved it!
Romi.xxx
P.S. I adore my new little picture on my side board thingy... get one!

Q&A filled with awesomosity with.....

The very nice Broede Carmody (and the one who wants my Converses) did a Q&A with me and I did one with him; Broede is an aspiring writer and is writing a novel during his gap year, this is the amazingly fun and funny Q&A I did with his! It was such a larkity lark!
ENJOY and Thanks Broede! I had a great time, and you can't have my Converses, absolutely not!

Q1.What was it like being a judge at the 2010 Inky's?


It was fantastic to be one of the judges for the 2010 Inky Awards. I was in the midst of Year 12 last year, and so to have something like that I could escape to was really important for me. There's nothing like running away from the world through a good book--and I met so many nice people and authors. When we received the books in a big cardboard box, it was like having another birthday or an early Christmas! In terms of a favourite book, I honestly didn't have one. But in saying that there were some that I enjoyed better than others, but I also tried to keep in mind that I was judging on behalf of a wider audience. So basically I just loved them all.




Q2. How is your book going?


I'm working on a YA novel this year, mainly as it's my GAP Year and I don't have schoolwork in the way all the time, and also partly because I got a laptop for my birthday earlier this year. It's going great: I decided to drop all expectations, all previous novel ideas, and just start with something fresh and exciting. I also (right from the outset) decided to aim small; two pages a night is great, one page a night is the minimum. I know this is a really lowly goal, but I work full time at a law firm and Saturdays I teach swimming, so on one hand while I don't have Year 12 to worry about anymore, I probably have less time overall to write creatively. Plus it's nice to achieve any sort of goal, no matter how small, and knitting up those chapters slowly has given my time to think about it deeply, think of new directions that it could flow to. It alternates between the perspectives of two teenagers (like some of my favourite YA books). To sum it up for you I would say it's about a girl with amnesia, who just wants to remember, and a boy surrounded by personal tragedy, whose only wish is to forget




Q3. When you started writing, what age group did you expect your novel to go for?


I've always written, for as long as I can remember. When I started writing the YA novel that I'm workin gon now, though, I guess I expected it to be just that: a book about young adults for young adults (consequently, also written by a young adult). But as I progress I'm not so sure. I know plenty of older people who adore YA, and plenty of young people who adore books for an older market--so I guess we'll have to wait and see.


Q4. What makes you want to blog?


Basically I started my blog to post up interviews with authors from the 2010 Inky Awards. But I also maintain it in order to read what other writers are doing and saying, so I guess a major part of it is also feeling part of the Australian literary scene. It's great to read an author's latest book, but it's even better to see what they have to say about ordinary, mundane things as well. It reveals a lot about the person. 


Q5. What is the best thing about being published (the thought) to you?


I think the best thing about being published would be having people read (and hopefully enjoy) my work. But mainly I write for enjoyment--whether I publish or not I will still be the same person, and I will still write. I think if I got to choose a second best thing about being published it would be the opportunity to (hopefully!) present at writers' festivals. That would be neat because you would meet so many like-minded people




And lastly Q6. If your book was made into a film, who would you want acting the mains?

I have no idea who I would want to act in the main roles! But I think it would be exiting to have some fresh faces, say a pair of Australian teens who have never been in a lead role before, but have an abundance of talent.

I had a really fun time doing this Q&A, so thanks again Broede!

Keep writing (I've basically finished my VoiceWorks submission and I've finished the Double revision on my text entry!) and Reading,

Romi.x

P.S. The internet is better due to more gig or something like that being bought.

R.x

Ooh! Lookie!

My dear readers and buddieos,

Firstly you ought to know that I may not be posting until around the 22nd because the internet connection is appallingly slow paced at the moment (due to to many little monsters sucking out all the power from my very computer... or maybe that's just what I think..?) so beware... and I can't get to my emails with out lots of tiresome waiting waiting waiting, so I'll get back to your comments around about a soonish time... hopefully! Or maybe I can do it another way... we'll see.
Now, to business-

I am extremely excited about this amazing thing that has occurred! I've had my very first Q&A! I was asked a few very extrodainaryly (um... spelling error maybe?) amazingly spiffy questions by the awesome Broede Carmody from Listening to the Ants Scream  which I implore you to look at, it was such a larkity lark! Broede is also the one who has said he will steal/borrow my converses, which I note are now in a high security bank, so that's a no go.
Well, they're not really, but let's just not mention them again... agreed?
So my very first Q&A, I'm so excited about that! Thanks for asking me Broede! I had a lot of fun!

I am very pleased with how my second and final revision is going, the Text entry's open on the 2nd of May and I'll be finished revising soon, which is fantastical!

I've got an idea for my Voiceworks magazine submission, so hopefully I will be able to start on that today! It'll be grand to be writing new again, I haven't for an age!

And I've something very excitement filled for you, but I'm going to actually let you guess until I publicly announce it... fully.
Well I've got a very exciting and bookish competition on the way, so grab all your friends and school teachers and dog owners and people who like books, reading and writing and please spread the word, because I would adore this to be as huge as possible, to be all the more fun!
Get ready for a marvy competition! It's going to be so fun!

Well, I best be off!
More writing soonish!
Toodles,
Romi.xxx
P.S. Thanks for all the comments on my Nerds post glad you liked it! I heart it myself personally! Wootitioot!
Now, if anyone calls someone anyone else a nerd in my hearing I'll be like "Oh don't you know? Nerds like are are allowed  to me unironically enthusiastic about stuff. You see, nerds are allowed  to love stuff, like jump up and down in your chair can't control yourself love it. So when you say we're nerds, what you're really saying is that You like stuff. Which is honestly not a good insult at ALL  that's like saying, look, you're too enthusiastic about the miracle of human consciousness, and that's rubbish... and anyhow, it's up to me!" Yeah!

This is a really fantastic picture!

I was searching the internet for some really cool pictures and quotes (if you know any good ones, can you post a link? I love pictures and quotes!) and I found this- it's funny because I'd listened to the youtube post thingy where the guy said the whole thing and thought that he had pretty good reasoning.
I hope I'm this kind of Nerd!

I'm so printing this out and posting on on my walls! Well, maybe I'll laminate it and hang it from the beams in my WR (Writers Retreat).

I will.

I'm positive.

And I'll show you the picture.

When I take it.

Ta-rla,

Romi.xxx

P.S. Finished Romeo and Juliet a few days ago, then tried White Fang but didn't like it...... R&J was just an amazing story...

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne review...

Synopsis:

Well, the book is about life, a world at War and what happens when two little, alike but so very different, meet and try to form a friendship.
It is about what happens when trust to a friend is put up against your family's wishes.
What happens when it's either you or your friend who will get beaten for saying the wrong thing, except the friend isn't thought of as human, he's not even thought of as a child.
And it's about a world, where people are rash and don't do things at all right, not older people anyway, the children are the only ones who seem to have any sense left.
It's about our world.
In a War.
A boy's family moves, near a concentration camp.
He and his family are safe though...
The boy sees another little boy, on the other side of the fence and they talk, they play as well as they can, from either side of a wire fence.
And neither know just what's going on.
It's about something that should never have happened.
But it did.
All too often.
It's about injustice.
Wrongdoing.
War.
Evil.
And friendship.

What I thought:

When I read the boy in the Striped pyjamas I don't think I was as affected by it as I would be now, and as I was by the film.
It is an amazing book, very emotional and really, the sort of book you almost wish hadn't been written, because of the themes and what it makes you feel and think.
It is a beautifully heart wrenching work of writing, and truly is one of the saddest books I know of.
The film is terrible, in it's feel, performances and how well it followed the storyline, it is amazing, brilliantly acted and beautifully thought out.
It is the closest I've gotten to crying while watching a movie, I was so glad of the lights being out, but when I looked around, I saw that I wasn't alone.
I've never cried in a movie, I've got very lightly damp shiny eyes.
But never has a tear rolled down my cheek when watching a movie.
That was absolutely the closest; my eyes were filled to overflowing, but they didn't.
Not Quite.
It is almost a nesscity, to read that book,  and see that movie.
But beware.
They are heart breaking.
And you won't feel the same afterwards.

Romi.x

Everything's going swell!

Hi,
I thought I'd update you on how my writery things are all going... so I shall right now! ...ish...time...  ok, I will in a second.
First I want to thank you all for coming and looking at my blog all the time, it means an awful lot to me and I always adore hearing from you, especially all the time! So lovely that I want to shower you with cakes and lovely things, though that might be hard for me to do... especially those who live in the USoA. (United States of America- because the of shouldn't have to miss out on all the fun, should it?)
So I've done this instead, a game!
What happens when you add a...

Packet of Washable Crayola markers...

a...

Picture of the weather in Rio I think...

and a ...

Crazy child... i.e. me.???

This!!!!!

(You'll have to be good at reading it backtofront...as I don't quite know how to flip the picture...

THANK YOU ALL! I AM full OF HEARTS towards YOU all!

Now, my writing is all done at the second, though I'm finally and spiffily beginning to have ideas once again (I think my mind held off for a while whilst I had the TEXT entry going through my head.
I've started doing my last revise on my novel, got my entry money all ready and have posted off my picture to Good Reading for the article I'm doing.
And I'm planning on entering some of my writing into a magazine called Voiceworks soonish! It's all amazingly fab!
I saved a little mouse and took it outside this morning, Bob and Hessy are looking amazing (though my WR got too cold so they are now on my desk... did I mention the factor that we have a lot of animals... particularly 2 cats? They are actually more interested in the fish food then the fish... thankfully!
My booklist is going smashingly (Romeo and Juliet is what I'm currently reading) and I'm super pleased with that, and today something marvy happened.
I am wearing: Eco Shorts, grey stockings, a top (as pictured) and converses (as pictured below) and I suddenly though... "I like this... I'm going to wear not what I think others wouldn't like, but what I like." I don't wear outrageously out there clothes, but I probably wouldn't have worn this outfit in town, where as, I will now! YAY!

I love Converses!

Keep on going,

Romi.x

P.S. Make sure you watch the video in my last post...

Agreed?

It is a truth universally acknowledged that anybody, in possession of a right mind, must be in awe of a BBC Masterpiece girl and her luck.

                                        

I mean, come on! How lucky are they?

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson review...

Synopsis:

The (surprisingly scary.. but he (RLS) was a horror writer, anyone heard of Jekyll an Hyde? That's another of his) story of a poor boy who lives with his mother at their inn.

Soon after a slightly unusual, lets's say, seaman comes to stay and suddenly dies after giving Jim something  in the shape of a map, odder things start to happen, like more very scary and not nice at ALL seamen come along and start causing havoc.

Jim is smart enough o take some harty advice and takes the map to a sea captain in town, who makes a crew to sail to the strange island on the map.

The Mystical Treasure Island.

What happens next, it up to you to find out.

Yes, I am slightly obsessed with this series.

But it's awesome!

What I thought:

Well, I did find it quite a scary book in parts, unusually scary, especially as it is publicised as this amazingly awesome book and little boys in years gone by were all totally (almost spelt totoro...mmm) obsessed with it.. but I suppose, they wanted adventure, action and that jazz as we jazz folk say.

I liked it, yes, it's an amazing story, imaging writing something that became a classic... gosh, that would be a dream come true to so many writers these days... can you imagine writing a novel, either never publishing it or it not doing fantastically when you're alive, then it becomes this massive phenomenon after your death.... imagine that.

Tragic, but it makes me smile for some reason.

Books and writing do that to me.

I liked it, but it was a surprise.

Keep Reading and Writing... and reviewing your work!

Romi.x

Here I've got a lovely dovely Q&A for you to enjoy and nourish your selves on, with...

Well, even though I've had a relapse of tonsillitis  (humph) I haven't lost my touch! (except now it's better, I was planning on posting this ages ago)
Here is a Q&A with Gayle Forman, author of (just to note a few) "If I stay" and follow on/up-coming novel "Where she Went."
This is your local does of Q&A for the week, enjoy!
So, here is the Q&A! Enjoy!

*Why did you become a writer?

Because I had stories to tell. I've been telling them since before I could write, writing them down long before I ever thought I'd become a writer. I became a journalist in my twenties, which is a different kind of writer. And then, after I had my first child, I wound up writing a novel, sort of out of the blue. 

*Did you always want to write as your profession?

No. I started college when I was 21. Initially, I was pre-med, but that didn't pan out and I started taking random classes, a few of which were journalism classes, which I loved. It was then that I realized I could travel and talk to people and write for a living. Wow! I'd always written but never really thought of doing it for a job! And as I mentioned before, I never considered writing a novel until I wrote one.

*What inspires you?

Everything. Love. Loss. Music. People I've known. Things I'm curious about. Teenagers. Life. Stuff in the news. Sounds. Smells. Feelings. Feeling. It all goes into a big stew and comes out a book, don't ask me how.

*How long did it take for your first book to be accepted and selling in bookshops?

My first book was actually a travel book called YOU CAN'T GET THERE FROM HERE. But the process was about the same for that and my first YA novel SISTERS IN SANITY, about two years from writing to accepting to publication. 

*Did you use an agent?

Yes.

*What tips can you give to aspiring authors?

This might sound hooky but if you tell the story you believe in, the one that is coming from that deep, true place in you, I believe you stand a better shot at success than if you write for the market. A story that is just bursting out of you, impatiently jumping onto the page—which isn't to say you should rush your way through a manuscript—will more often than not, read the same way, which is to say, compulsively. Compulsively readable=good. Emotionally authentic=good. Worry about that first. The work first, the selling, marketing, platform, etc. after. Cart before horse.

*What are your favourite books?

I can't answer that—it's too hard and then I always forget other favorite books. I can only say which books I've read recently that I'm gaga over. So I'll say that after being sick of paranormals, I've recently read a bunch of fantasy YA that I've loved, including Holly Black's WHITE CAT and  Frannie Billingsley's CHIME. Nova Ren Suma's  upcoming book IMAGINARY GIRLS blew  me away, too. On the adult side, I finally read Patti Smith's memoir JUST KIDS and wanted to live in that book. But those are favorites  from the last three months.

*In a film version of If I stay, who would you ideally choose to play the main characters?

That would suppose I have a clue of young actors today, which I don't beyond the obvious ones. What I'd love would be for unknowns to play Adam and Mia (and to have them become huge as a result of the movie, natch) and to see cool actors in the parent roles/grandparent roles. Ryan Gosling as dad. Robert Redford as grandpa. Marisa Tomei as mom.  A girl can dream, right?

*What was one of your first jobs?

I was a cashier at a healthfood store in high school. Then I was a maid in a backpacker hotel in Amsterdam. Then I waited tables, with a brief turn as a shop clerk in a vintage clothing store, right up until my first journalism job.

*What does writing mean to you? What does it do to you?

It opens up whole worlds to me. It creates characters who, though fictional, become real to me, so real I feel a responsibility toward them, so real that they keep me up at night. In the rest of my life, I'm a mom to two young kids, so the writing is also an escape from the, well,  tedium of the soccer mom, cook-driver-butt-wiper part of my life.

*Has becoming a well known author opened up a new world to you?

Mostly it's allowed me to devote most of my non-parenting hours to writing novels, which is a huge privilege, and it's allowed me to work only the hours that my kids are in school. And of course,  I've met lots of great YA authors and librarians and readers! 

Thank you so dreadfully much Gayle! I had a great time!

Keep reading, just like me!
And don't stop writing either! I'll be posting more soon!
Romi.xxx

Finished!

Hello!

After about two and a half hours of basically straight writing, editing, transcribing ect. I have finally transcribed by Text entry onto my computer! YAY! I'm exuberantly happy! I actually completed this feat of amazing skill (oh yes!) yesterday, but having spent a lot of time on the computer, didn't feel like doing any more.
My word count is brilliant, better than I could have ever hoped! Almost 30, 000! Precicesly  29, 518!!!!! I'm excited excited excited! So is Totoro, and my beanie.

As you can probably tell, we were happy...though, that picture was taken before I finished... so I was even happier! 

So, collage of happy pictures! Yippie! Yay! And then cake! MMMMM>>>>>>

Yes, I went on a special vacation to relax after all my hard work..... um, it was tranquil and beachy... and treey....and watery and sandy and it was weird, because when I opened my mouth the sea would pour in...not able to capture that in a picture though.

Oh Well.

Lots of exciting posts of book reviews, Q&A's, information, randomosity and lots more will be up next week... hopefully!

Lots of love,

Romi.x

Quite Simply... WOOT! Or Hoot, I never really know...?

And it is a tad hard to get this to play, but play about and you should work it ou!

Romi.xxx

My entry into an awesome competition! Yay!

There are amazingly awesome prizes, I hope you enjoy this, and enter yourselves!




1.My favourite season: I don't have one, they are all so amazingly beautiful and unique...I couldn't have just ONE!

2.My personal style: would be unique, some would say slightly odd, but I say unique-if I love something, I'll wear it, as in with my new Totoro beanie, I adore it!

3.1 weird thing I can do: Sing! It's weird because I never really knew that I could!

4.Rain or shine: a sun shower! Best of both worlds!

5.A flaw of mine: I get annoyed and cranky really easily...which I hate.

6.Favourite Music: Taylor Swift most absolutely!

7.Have you made a decision you instantly regretted?: No... I wouldn't want to regret something I did that much.

8.Who do I admire: Taylor Swift, Gerald Durrell and Jane Goodall.

9. Won an unlimited supply of: Books!

10. If I were an animal what would I be: either a totoro, a bird of some sort, a tiger or an orang-utan.

11. If I knew I was going to die in a year: I would make sure I became all the things I wanted- no, did all the things I wanted. And never be crotchety!

12.Your now very rich, what would you buy/spend your money on?: Firstly a house in Corfu for me to live in, then I'd donate tonnes of it to different nature organisations ect and conservation societies and projects.

13. Classical music- love it!

14. Phobias?: Heights and Darkness vaguely.

15. Go somewhere for a year?: Corfu!!!!

16. Extrovert/introvert?: huh? maybe a bit of both.

17. Perform on stage?: Yes! I used to HEAPS!!!





The site where you can enter is:http://ofhorsefeathers.blogspot.com/2011/04/liquid-sunshine-giveaway-blog-party-is.html


Keep Writing,
Romi.xxxxxxxx

My Word count is almost there!

I just wanted to update you on the word count status; I'm upto 20,000 words and am thrilled, as 25,000 is the minimum! I'm so happy! Yay! Yippie!
Now, before I go out to commence writing again, I thought I'd spread the word; I've officially finished the Odyssey! by the time I got back into it, I mostly really enjoyed it, which is grand!
So now, I'm reading The Garden of the Gods, the third and final instalment in the Corfu (G.Durrell) trilogy!
It's all mine and has such a fantastical fabnostic cover, I think it's called Cover Love what I'm feeling right now for that cover, it's pretty amazing! I love it! And so will show it off, though I think I have already! ( :

Ooh I love it!

Now, back to writing!

Love lots,

Keep reading and writing,

Romi.xxx