Quirky humour

It happened a while ago, but I thought I’d share with you. When I told my daughter that my sixth book was titled Fatal Flaw, she quickly came back with, “And I guess the sequel will be called Treacherous Tiles, or Lethal Linoleum, or …” You can probably gather from that that her mind works in a rather quirky way.

It set me thinking about book titles and how they can be interpreted by readers and whether they play a part in why a reader selects a book to peruse and perhaps to purchase. After my first book, Dance with the Devil, was published, I was shopping in Target and, naturally, checked out the book department. To my surprise, Dance with the Devil had been placed in the Horror/Supernatural section. Another surprise was that my friend Louise Cusack’s first book, Destiny of the Light, a fantasy, had been placed in the New Age section.

What had made the Target employee decide where to place the books? The title? The cover? As the cover of Dance with the Devil gave no indication that it had any horror or supernatural elements in it, I could only assume it was the title. And I’d thought Louise’s book looked like a fantasy.

So what makes you, as a reader, pick up a book? And does the title influence what you think the book might be about?

Congratulations to a friend

It was one day after Valentine’s Day, but my friend Louise Cusack‘s life was full of rose-tinged thoughts when her fantasy romance trilogy was epublished by Momentum Books on 15 February. Although the books had been previously print published in Australia, epublishing meant they were now available internationally.

Epublishing is a wonderful avenue for Australian authors to get their books out into the world. My books have Australian settings, which can make them difficult to sell overseas, and particularly into the USA, but with the growing trend towards readers purchasing ebooks it means my stories can now reach a greater audience and show readers from other countries aspects of Australia, and particularly Queensland, they won’t find in most travel brochures. For example, the amazing Amphitheatre at Carnarvon Gorge in Central Queensland is a wonderful example of nature’s force and I knew I had to use it when writing Dangerous Deception. The opening to the Amphitheatre is high up on a cliff face and can only be reached by climbing a series of ladders.

 

When you get to the entrance of the tunnel (which is formed by an enormous slab of rock splitting apart and creating an opening), you then have to traverse about 40 metres of uneven rock as well as concrete steps made by the Park Rangers. This photo was taken from almost inside the Amphitheatre looking back to the entrance in the cliff face.

When you step inside the Amphitheatre, it’s like walking into a massive cathedral. You gaze up the vaulting slabs of rock to the tiny opening at the top where sunlight enters. The floor is grey dirt, and amazingly ferns grow in abundance, perhaps watered by rain seeping through fissures in the rock. They certainly wouldn’t get much rain through the small top opening.

When we were there a young couple joined us, and the woman took out a flute and began playing. Magic. It was the only word to describe it. Pure notes lingering then rising to the tiny patch of sky above. The acoustics are so good they have had choirs perform there for the fabulous resonance.

There’s something spiritual about Carnarvon Gorge, and even more so about the Amphitheatre. It was something I felt just driving from the highway to the Gorge and became stronger the moment I walked into the Amphitheatre.

Aboriginal rock paintings adorn the cliff walls further into the gorge, and it’s easy to visualise them living here and enjoying the abundant wildlife. With a creek traversing the length of the gorge, there is ample water and lush grasses to attract wallabies, goannas and birds.

Unfortunately, feral pigs have also made the gorge their home, and their habit of rooting up plants for food has led to some destruction of the creek banks. The Park Rangers try to keep their numbers under control, but eliminating them entirely would be almost impossible.

What a night!

What a lovely evening! I’ve had book launches for my previous five books but this was the first time I’d had a book signing in Dymocks at Bundaberg. It was great to have the support of friends that I haven’t seen in a while – our lives sometimes get too busy, don’t they, and we need a reminder that time slips by far too fast. Some family members couldn’t make it, but those that could enjoyed themselves immensely, especially my four-year-old grandson Alex, and definitely my daughter-in-law, Cheryse Durrant, who snapped away madly with her trusty camera – the results are on her website.

Dymocks Booksellers Bundaberg owner, Phil Freeman, said he enjoyed seeing so many people in his store who were book-lovers. I definitely agree with him – love those book-lovers 🙂

I think I’m almost brain-dead after over two weeks travelling and constant sinus problems. Everything in Victoria was flowering – a pleasure to see but a disaster for my nose. Our grand-daughter turns one today so all the relatives are gathering to celebrate, so it looks like another busy weekend. Guess I won’t have any time soon to do a re-read of Grievous Harm, the next book after Fatal Flaw. I finished writing the story some time back but want to have a re-read. Don’t know if I’m a perfectionist or just plain picky 😉

I’d like to thank everyone who came to the signing. I very much appreciate your support and friendship.

Sandy with romance author Helen Lacey and fantasy author Louise Cusack
Sandy with Phil Freeman of Dymocks Bundaberg
Sandy with Phil Freeman of Dymocks Bundaberg
Sandy with Cheryse Durrant
Sandy with Cheryse Durrant
Laree Chapman, Di Esmond, Jan Sullivan, Jenny Duffy, Pascale Osanz