A few photos from the Burn launch
As you’ll see from the photos below, I had an awesome night when Marianne de Pierres and I launched Burn at Riverbend Books in Bulimba with another of our annual chats.
We had a great crowd and the buzz was fantastic. Thank you again to Marianne, the team at Riverbend Books (especially Vicky, Pauline and Lachlan), Text Publishing (especially Steph Speight), and everyone who came along and made it such a great night.
And I got to meet fellow Brisbane writer Christine Bongers 🙂
Some more shots from the night:
All things Burn (so to speak)
This is it, the day the fourth and final book of the Rephaim series steps into the wild. Australian readers get to have Burn first, with the UK edition releasing on 5 August (the North American edition is out next year).
There’s a lot I want to say about this series and my journey to get to this point, but I’ll save that for another post in coming days. This post is all about the launch, signing events and other bits and pieces you might be interested in. 🙂
The launch – 2 July 2015.
There’s still time to book if you’d like to be part of the Burn launch. It’s at Riverbend Books in Bulimba, Brisbane, on 2 July. It’s a free event, and open to everyone – you just need to book by 26 June. Huge thanks to the wonderful team at Riverbend Books at Bulimba for hosting all four launches, Text Publishing for making these launch events possible (in every sense), and to my friend (and award-winning writer) Marianne de Pierres for again officiating. Here are the details:
Signings
I’ve been fortunate to have the support of a host of wonderful booksellers, particularly in and around Brisbane. The following stores will be hosting me for signings over coming weeks. Come say hi!
Dymocks Chermside
Westfield Shopping Centre
Chermside, Qld
27 June 2015, 10.30am
Angus & Robertson
Riverlink Shopping Centre
Ipswich, Qld
18 July 2015, 10.30am
Angus & Robertson Victoria Point
Victoria Point Shopping Centre, Qld
25 July 2015, 10.30am
Dymocks Carindale
Carindale Shopping Centre
1 August 2015, 10.30am
#OzYAChat on Twitter
25 July 2015
7.30pm-8.30pm
I’ll be answering questions on Twitter during the next OzYAChat, which is hosted by the lovely Shaheen from Speculating on Spec Fic. To follow the conversation (and ask questions), simply search the hashtag #OzYAChat (or follow me @PaulaWeston, or @speculatef) and be online during that hour.
Early reviews
Some early reviews for Burn are in:
Aussie readers: matching set of Rephaim books now available!
Shadows (Rephaim #1) has now been re-released with the international cover art concept, so Australian readers can now have a matching set. Check with your book store to see if they’ve got the new stock available, or order direct from Text Publishing (www.textpublishing.com.au). Of course, this now means the original covers are collectors’ items. (Assuming, of course, there will one day be collectors of Rephaim novels!)
And just to wrap up a HUGE month, I also received hard copies of the Turkish edition of Shadows, complete with gorgeous bookmarks, from my Turkish publisher Yabanci. 🙂
Supanova Gold Coast 2015
I’m back from two days on the Gold Coast after participating in Supanova 2015, my first gig at a pop culture convention. And I had an absolute ball.
I saw brilliant cosplay characters, met lovely and talented actors and artists, and spent the weekend with a fantastic bunch of authors: Peter F Hamilton, Traci Harding, Kim Wilkins, Alan Baxter, Justin Woolley, Lynette Noni, and Marianne de Pierres.
I saw stormtroopers, Jack Sparrow, Ripley (complete with alien bursting out of her abdomen), Harlequin and Poison Ivy, Thor and Loki, hordes of zombies, Street Fighters, Super Mario Brothers, Kick Ass and Hit Girl…and expanded my fledgling knowledge of Anime. I watched professional wrestling and high energy, full-band lip-syncing/air guitar/drumming (Rockstar Entertainment), visited the Weta exhibit and browsed the most eclectic and fascinating collections of artwork, memorabilia and medieval warcraft. There’s so much to see and do at Supanova, it’s almost overwhelming.
But what struck me most was the atmosphere. As well as the sensation of entering a different world, there’s the unmistakable sense of fun and camaraderie. People are there to enjoy and express themselves: it’s an inclusive and eclectic tribe coming together with a shared passion for pop culture.
The Gold Coast Convention Centre buzzed for two days, inside and out. Huge congratulations to all involved for such a well-run event that remained true to its vision to be family-friendly. The crowds were thick on both days, but – from my experience at least – there were no dramas. And thank you again to Ineke for inviting me to be part of the writing contingent this year. It was a blast.
A few highlights:
As a die-hard Buffy and Angel fan, it was a treat to meet Charisma Carpenter, a dear friend of Marianne de Pierres:
My spot on the signing table was between the lovely Traci Harding and Peter F Hamilton. Peter is not only a legendary and much-beloved science fiction writer, he’s also one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. It was a pleasure to watch his interactions with fans, and to get the chance to chat with him for two days. (Plus, I got a book signed!)
Two actors who caused a fair bit of excitement (especially among teens) were Tyler Hoechlin (Teen Wolf) and Aussie actor Bob Morley (The 100). They were both pretty cool guys, so when they sat behind Marianne and I on the bus to the cocktail party, I thought I should capture the occasion. They kindly hammed it up.
Here’s a snapshot of my experience at Supanova Gold Coast 2015:
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- Kim Wilkins getting into the spirit!
Must be time for an update…
It’s been a while between meaningful posts, so here’s a quick update on what I’ve been doing.
First up, Burn (Rephaim #4)Â is done! And by done, I mean the draft has been tweaked and polished and is almost print-ready. That doesn’t mean release dates are any earlier, it’s just a reflection of the lead-in times required for publication – and the fact that the draft will be further tweaked with those small word changes for overseas markets by my respective publishers (e.g. ‘doona’ becomes ‘duvet’ in the UK).
Burn will be released in Australia and New Zealand on 24 June and in the UK on 5 August. Shimmer (Rephaim #3)Â and Burn will both be released in paperback in the US and Canada in 2016 (Shimmer in March and Burn in June).
Romancing the Stars
On Thursday night, I was one of 20 authors invited to participate in Romancing the Stars 2015 at the State Library of Queensland. This is a fun event hosted every year by Book Links and the Centre for Children’s Literature at which writers and illustrators get to update booksellers, librarians and teachers (and anyone else interested) on their latest works.
It’s a great format, promoted as ‘speed dating’ with authors and illustrators. Guests sit in circles of eight, with two chairs spare in each group for authors/illustrators. Each of the two visiting author/illustrator gets three minutes to speak, then, when the six minutes is up, they move along to different groups (heading in different directions so authors/illustrators get to mix it up too).
This year’s event was on The Terrace at SLQ (my favourite venue at the State Library). With Cyclone Marcia coming down the coast and the threat of heavy rain, strong winds and flooding on the cards, we were all braced for bad weather, but the rain and wind held off and the night went smoothly.
There was so much energy and support in the room. I connected with wonderful people and had a chance to meet talented authors and illustrators, including Sue Wright (AKA Tiny Owl Workshop), Lucia Masciullo, Alison Rushby, Peter Taylor, Kim Michelle Toft and Caroline Magerl.
Congratulations again to Jenny Stubbs and her team for putting on such a well-organised event. Here are a few photos taken on the night by official photographer Peter Allert. You can view the whole collection here.
North American blog tour for Haze
I’m coming out of the writing cave for a few days because it’s the North American blog tour for Haze!
There are guest posts, interviews, reviews and giveaways. Here are all the links, now live:
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2014
Wendy at The Midnight Garden (Setting inspirations – including locations inspired by random Google images)
Jo Ann at Journey of a Bookseller (review)
Lee at Rally the Readers (review)
Stephanie at The Bevy Bibliothèque (review)
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2014
Lynne at Words of Mystery (a guest post, in which I talk about fear – including my own)
Alexandra at Collections (review)
Leslie at Michelle & Leslie’s Book Picks (an interview with Gaby)
Ashley at Book Labyrinth (review and giveaway)
Jen at The Starry-Eyed Revue (some thoughts on casting/how I picture characters)
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2014
Summer at MissFictional’s World of YA Books (guest post: my musical inspiration for Haze)
Jillian at Centre of the Universe (review)
Jen at Perogies & Gyoza (review)
Crystal at WinterHaven Books (review)
Lisa at Turning Pages (review)
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2014
Bethzaida at Bookittyblog (review)
Krystal at Krystal’s Stellar Book Blog (review)
Jaime (and her sister Erin) at FictionFare (an interview about cut scenes, weird google searches, characters who surprised me – and more!)
Marianne and Bec at Escape Club (an interview, in which I talk about Rafa’s appeal)
Christina at The Paperback Princesses (review)
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2014
Joy at Joyousreads (review)
Crystal at Crystal in Bookland (review)
Andrea at Cozy Up With A Good Read (review)
Kristen at My Friends Are Fiction (guest post: what Gaby and I have in common)
You can also check out the Tundra Books blog for more information on how to win a signed copy of Shadows (hard cover) and a brand new hard cover copy of Haze.
Massive thank you to all the bloggers who so kindly participated in the tour, and to Sylvia at Tundra Books for again organising. It was great fun! 🙂
