Patricia Leslie

Illustration by Erin-Claire Barrow Stories to Read by Candlelight is a collection of eight short stories written by Jean Lorrain a 19th century French poet and novelist working within the school of symbolism and a dedicated disciple of "dandyism". Symbolism was a late 19th century literary and art movement in Europe. According to The Art Story Symbolism suggested ideas through symbolic form. Symbolists could take the ineffable, such as dreams and visions, and give it form. T

It's #weloveourauthors month at Odyssey Books and I've been holding on to this review of The Dark Poet until it was Kathryn Gossow's turn to be the featured author. If you would like to know more about this special October author promotion, tune in to my Facebook event on Saturday 26 October (my day of being the featured author). I'll be talking about the promo as well as sharing news, articles, and posts from the Historical Novel Society Australasia Conference. I may even at

Heart of Brass is a fun, historical steampunk fantasy set across London and Australia in the 1850s. Author, Felicity Banks has managed to combine all the elements of a great story in such an innovative way, the series as a whole is destined to take pride of place in everyone’s family fantasy collection. Emmaline Muchamore is a well-bred young woman from an eccentric London family. Determined to move past the stain on their reputation (and economic status) brought about by the

It is with great pleasure that I announce that my new novel, Keeper of the Way, is nearly here! The cover was revealed last week and the book will be available for purchase next week. Pre-orders are available now from my publisher, Odyssey Books. Keeper of the Way is book one of a three book series collectively title, Crossing the Line, which explores history, time, women’s magic, myth, journey, and connection; wrapped up in a fictional adventure in Sydney of 1882. Book one b

Catching up on my reading and reviewing, I'm currently reading The Awakening by Kate Chopin, but I recently read Cassandra by Kathryn Gossow, and finally have a review. Cassandra by Kathryn Gossow is published by Odyssey Books. The magic of childhood imagination comes to life in this story by Kathryn Gossow. Cassandra is a young girl learning about life, truth, and acceptance as she grows up on her family’s insular farm. Cassandra can also predict the future. Not a bad talent

In May 2015, I sat down in an Edinburgh pub with a fresh notebook and a pen, and started my third novel. With a nod to future history, I penned the working title and a few lines on character and opening scene. I’m happy to say that last week I signed the contract that, hopefully, will see Crossing the Line (book 1) published later this year. I’m also happy to say that the title and main character have survived time, numerous edits, and months of research to make it to the pri

A perfect square is a number that can be expressed as the product of two equal integers mathwarehouse.com I had the great pleasure to be offered a copy of A Perfect Square by Isobel Blackthorn in exchange for an honest review. Having loved Isobel's last release, The Drago Tree, I was only too happy to oblige. A Perfect Square is published by Odyssey Books, an independent Australian publisher and is now available for purchase (I recommend it!). Set amid the fern glades and tow

Review: Asena Blessed by Tracy M Joyce Publisher: Odyssey Books, Canberra Epic fantasy book 2 of a series and before you start, book 3 isn't due out until 2017. If you're reading this review and it is 2017; perfect! You won't have long to wait. If you're in 2018, even better, no wait at all. You may as well buy book 3 at the same time as no. 2 because waiting is terrible! You are not going to want to wait. I'm starting with the end in this review. I approached the last few ch

Isobel Blackthorn is a fellow Odyssey Books author and it is my pleasure to start off her book blog tour promoting her latest offering, The Drago Tree. In today's post, Isobel talks about how The Drago Tree came to be written... Five years in the making, The Drago Tree is my second novel. I’d long wanted to write a story set on Lanzarote, after having lived there back in the 80s. I adored the island and was sad to leave. With my life now firmly in Australia, writing a story

I’ve just read an article about the short and long term marketing advantages/disadvantages of social media: Playing The Long Game In Self Publishing. Being very much a short term strategy, social media can take up a lot of good writing time. I knew that, but if you’re not active then you’re not seen. This is still true, but the level of activity is what needs to be assessed. Is it worth constant updates when those updates have a shelf life of only a few hours (or minutes in t