Patricia Leslie

The Olive Sisters by Amanda Hampson Penguin Books 2005 To write fantasy fiction, especially historical fantasy fiction, reading a wide variety of other genres set in related locations or using related themes, characters types can be helpful. For me, The Olive Sisters, by Amanda Hampson, is one such read. Set in country New South Wales, Australia, the novel is the story of one woman’s changing circumstances and a forced reconciliation with her past. Along the way she discover

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

Review of The Stars in the Night by Clare Rhoden Harry Fletcher is a confident young man. Harry’s sure that he will marry Nora MacTiernan, no matter what their families say. He’s certain that he will always be there to protect Eddie, the boy his father saved from the gutters of Port Adelaide. Only the War to End All Wars might get in the way of Harry’s plans… From the beaches of Semaphore to the shores of Gallipoli, the mud of Flanders to the red dust of inland South Australi

I always have more than one book on the go. Last month, I wrote about my Chocolatey book-binge. Since finishing the Chocolat series, I’ve another handful of books. I've included Amazon affiliate links to each of the books below. This means, that if you click on those links and then purchase the product, a few coins drop into my account. Shatterday by Harlan Ellis Come Let us Sing Anyway by Leone Ross It started with Paris by Cathy Kelly Antiques and Alibis by Wendy H Jones Ri

What do chocolate, lollipops, and strawberries have in common? We came on the wind of a carnival. Chocolat (the movie) is a favourite in our household. We’ve watched it many times, entranced by the hint of magic, romance, conflict, and of course, chocolate. Armand’s birthday feast is one of my favourite scenes. Recently, The Strawberry Thief by Joanne Harris popped up on one of my newsfeeds. It sounded interesting so I bought it. I knew it was by the author of Chocolat, but I

This week's Writing Tools Tip: Planners Book review: If Cats Disappeared From The World Author: Genki Kawamura Translated by: Eric Selland Published by: Picador (Amazon affiliate links used on this page) What would you sacrifice for an extra day of life? This young man’s days are numbered. Estranged from his family, living alone with just his cat for company, he is unprepared for the doctor’s diagnosis that he has only months to live. But before he can set about tackling his

#bookreview Fading #author Cindy Cipriano Published by Clean Teen Publishing Leath Elliott is a seventeen-year-old competitive shooter living with her mother in Woodvine, North Carolina. Leath's father was killed in a tragic accident when she was fourteen, and her friend Victor Santana has been there for her every step of the way ever since. But the friendship starts to change when Victor develops deeper feelings for her. If that wasn't complicated enough, newcomer James Turn

I have a problem; reading. I love to read, preferably fiction, but anything that catches my attention is fair game. I like reading more than nearly anything else including writing. There. I’ve said it. It’s off my chest and I feel better. Now I’m off back to the book I’m part way throwing the… just kidding. I’ve just finished reading a novel, which is why I felt the need for this confession. I was meant to be writing this afternoon, not reading, and I can’t use my well worn e

One day, two women decided to leave a trail of books to read on trains for other people to pick up and read for free! They decide to blog about it, upload pictures of their Secret Book stashes to Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. It catches on and other people start doing the same thing. The founder of @BooksontheRail creates stickers and some loose guidelines. People love the stickers and a new movement is born. Similar bookish undertakings have been doing the rounds for sev