Rebecca Bowyer | Blogger
Rebecca Bowyer
Reviews
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24.01.2022 Okay, folks, it's time to cheer up a Melbournite. Every day, until I run out of books, I'm going to give away a book to a locked down Melbournite. Simply tag a Melbourne friend who needs this book in their life right now and I'll choose one at random on Sunday 13 September. Today is a gorgeous new release for Father's Day from the good folk over at @uqpbooks - The hilarious new picture book in Dave Hackett’sTime forseries that’s perfect for encouraging the whole family to ...go exploring. ‘Come on, Daddy, it’s time for an adventure!’ ‘But I have more jobs to do,’ says Daddy. How can a little girl get her daddy ready to go on an adventure when he doesn’t want to leave the house? When the sun is shining, and there’s the promise of a picnic, the best thing to do is to head out into the big yellow day.Time for Adventure, Daddyflips the fun on leaving work behind and adventuring into the world, celebrating the special relationship that fathers share with their children.
24.01.2022 This week in online learning the kids and I have actually been doing really well. Gold stars all round. TODAY, however, this song really sums it up... https://youtu.be/Zy_y9yOrgxk
23.01.2022 The problem with binge-watching #Bridgerton is that one's own life does seem awfully dull when the season concludes, do you not think? Thankfully, there is always next season to look forward to.
22.01.2022 The Dec/Jan round up of reviews of books by Australian women from diverse backgrounds, or including themes of diversity, is now up! It also includes a full round up of all of 2020, with a reading list for you to add more diversity to your 2021. Thanks to everyone who continues to read and review!... Remember you can sign up for the Australian Women Writers Challenge at any time, but the start of the year is a perfect opportunity! https://australianwomenwriters.com//diversity-round-up-de/
20.01.2022 I loved this story so much. We're all conditioned to believe that if we follow 'the rules' we'll be safer and our lives will be happier. It's not necessarily a bad thing, it's literally the fabric that glues society together. Of course, the problem is, it's seldom true. Bad things do happen to good people. Even if you strive every day to reach your goal and do everything you're told to do, you still might fail. Peta Lyre finds it harder than others to follow the unwritten rul...es of society. The 'Alphabet Girl' with ASD, SPD and ADHD, she's been explicitly taught 'the rules' by a series of therapists who try to help her to fit in. They've served her reasonably well so far, but up against the complex grey issues of the teenage years, they're not working so well. In fact, they're sometimes making things worse, especially when other people don't play by the same rules. Anna Whateley's debut novel is full of warm, loveable, imperfect and funny characters. I wanted to spend more time with Peta, her aunt and school friends Jeb and Sam.
17.01.2022 Working on my manuscript (which I haven't touched since February) and found this passage. I wish even more, now, that it was like it is in the movies! "Why couldn't finding a cure be like it was in the movies, when an antidote to a viral pandemic could be developed in just two days, before the heroine had to suffer the pain of losing the newfound love of her life? Instead, this curing process took months of painstaking trial and error, scanning and logging samples, analysis, running it through machines, waiting for growth and mutation. Then failing and starting all over again. Hours and days and weeks and months and years. So much time, so little progress."
16.01.2022 The universe appears to have gifted me a book. It just appeared on my bookshelf and nobody in my house has any recollection of buying or otherwise procuring it. *cue creepy music* Should I exorcise it before I read it, or just take my chances?
16.01.2022 I'm working my way through my lovely box of library books in #MelbourneLockdown and finally got around to reading this much-raved-about book. I couldn't put it down, even though the subject matter is devastating and confronting. Sofie Laguna's simple writing style evokes simple, yet complex, lives and beautiful Australian landscapes. The theme can be summed up as 'One man's lasting trauma from WW2 screws up his own family, and anyone who comes near them, for 3 generations.'... Highly recommend, but all the trigger warnings.
16.01.2022 Today's giveaway for locked down Victorians is "Finding Eadie", by Caroline Beecham! To enter, either: 1) Tag a friend in Melbourne or regional Victoria who would love to win this book. 2) If you ARE a Victorian, simply drop a comment below telling me you want this book!... I'll draw a winner at random on Sunday 13 September. More about this book, gifted to me by @allenandunwin : London 1943. War and dwindling resources are taking their toll on the staff of Partridge Press. The pressure is on to create new books to distract readers from the grim realities of war, but Partridge's rising star, Alice Cotton, leaves abruptly and cannot be found. Alice's secret absence is to birth her child and although her baby's father remains unnamed, Alice's mother promises to help her raise her tiny granddaughter, Eadie. Instead, she takes a shocking action. Inspired by real events during the Second World War, Finding Eadie is a story about the triumph of three friendships bound by hope, love, secrets and the belief that books have the power to change lives.
16.01.2022 Look what the postie brought on Christmas Eve! A real life copy of my next book, Stealing Time. Top that, Santa! I hope you have an absolutely fabulous Christmas, and I hope you get to spend it with at least some family and friends, if not all of them. Take care out there, and may your time be plentiful xx... P.S. Stealing Time can be pre-ordered from the Story Addict store from today . Use coupon GIVEMETIME for free shipping within Australia! >> https://www.storyaddict.com.au//stealing-time-by-rebecca-/ The ebook pre-order is up on Amazon. Both formats will be available for pre-order from all the usual online retailers in January, for a 23 March release!
15.01.2022 Happy End of Term 4, Victoria. We made it. xxx
15.01.2022 I had a few months there in the middle of 2020 when I couldn't focus on a novel at all. I've read fewer books than I have in a long time. But the books I have read have been such a wonderful, welcome escape from the trash fire of 2020. Thank you so much to all the talented writers who have created mini portals for readers to step through. It's been a relief to be able to cross over into your worlds this year. ... (Also: It's awfully helpful when Goodreads creates an image of all the books you read in 2020, so all you have to do is screenshot it )
12.01.2022 Today's giveaway is The Clergyman's Wife, by Molly Greeley, from the lovely folk at @allenandunwin To win, simply tag a locked down Melbourne friend who needs this book in their life right now and I'll choose a winner at random on Sunday 13 September. A moving story of unexpected love featuring Charlotte from Jane Austen'sPride and Prejudice. 'Poignant, pensive and brilliant ...' Laurel Ann Nattress, editor ofJane Austen Made Me Do It.... In thisPride and Prejudice-inspired novel, not everyone has the luxury of waiting for love. Charlotte Collins knows this well . . . Charlotte Collins, nee Lucas, is the respectable wife of Hunsford's vicar, and sees to her duties by rote: keeping house, caring for their adorable daughter, visiting parishioners and patiently tolerating the lectures of her awkward husband and his condescending patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Intelligent, pragmatic and anxious to escape the shame of spinsterhood, Charlotte chose this life: an inevitable one so socially acceptable that its quietness threatens to overwhelm her. Then she makes the acquaintance of Mr Travis, a local farmer and tenant of Lady Catherine. In Mr Travis' company, Charlotte feels appreciated, heard and seen. For the first time in her life Charlotte begins to understand emotional intimacy and its effect on the heart-and how breakable that heart can be. With her sensible nature confronted and her own future about to take a turn, Charlotte must now question the role of love and passion in a woman's life, and whether they truly matter for a clergyman's wife.
12.01.2022 If you're locked down in Victoria and need this noir crime thriller book in your life, comment below and tell me the best book you've read recently (I'm in need of inspiration!). I'll draw a winner at random on Sunday 13 September Death in the Ladies' Goddess Club, by Julian Leatherdale:... Murder and blackmail, family drama and love, all set within the shady underbelly of 1930s Kings Cross and its glamorous fringe. 'Crime's not a woman's business, Joanie. It's not some bloody game.' In the murky world of Kings Cross in 1932, aspiring crime writer Joan Linderman and her friend and flatmate Bernice Becker live the wild bohemian life, a carnival of parties and fancy-dress artists' balls. One Saturday night, Joan is thrown headfirst into a real crime when she finds Ellie, her neighbour, murdered. To prove her worth as a crime writer and bring Ellie's killer to justice, Joan secretly investigates the case in the footsteps of Sergeant Lillian Armfield. But as Joan digs deeper, her list of suspects grows from the luxury apartment blocks of Sydney's rich to the brothels and nightclubs of the Cross's underclass. Thanks to the lovely folk at @allenandunwin for gifting me this book!
12.01.2022 I watched an interview with Jane Rawson on ABC’s The Mix recently and was struck by her comment that she tries to insert humour into climate fiction, which is not an easy thing to do. After reading her novel, A Wrong Turn at the Office of Unmade Lists I can happily attest that she absolutely succeeded. This book is so wonderfully different and so fabulously Australian. Set in Melbourne a couple of decades into the future, it starts out pretending to be a fairly stand...ard post-apocalyptic story and then somehow bleeds into Jasper Fforde-style humorous madness. It is 1997 in San Francisco and Simon and Sarah have been sent on a quest to see America: they must stand at least once in every 25-foot square of the country. Decades later, in an Australian city that has fallen on hard times, Caddy is camped by the Maribyrnong River, living on small change from odd jobs, ersatz vodka and memories. She’s sick of being hot, dirty, broke and alone. Caddy’s future changes shape when her friend, Ray, stumbles across some well-worn maps, including one of San Francisco, and their lives connect with those of teenagers Simon and Sarah in ways that are unexpected and profound. There’s never been a better time to retreat into a world of imagination. I very much enjoyed escaping into Jane Rawson’s world for a few hours.
12.01.2022 First weekend of Stage 4 Melbourne lockdown. So far we have: * Made chocolate crackles for Mr 7's upcoming birthday. ... * Invented a version of table soccer using knitting needles as goals. Currently deliberating when we'll do our 1hr of exercise, and whether we'll walk the dog or go for a bike ride. How are you going?
11.01.2022 Sitting on the riverbank at Harrietville, watching the water wash over the coloured rocks. Listening to my husband teach the boys how to skip stones. Blue sky, gentle breeze. No smoke, no fires, no masks and no lockdowns. This past year has taught me to cherish these moments more than ever. ... Stay safe x
11.01.2022 In case you're after a bit of catharsis in these dark times, I've written you a reading list. https://www.storyaddict.com.au/dark-dystopian-stories-that/
08.01.2022 Even the weather in Melbourne is celebrating today.
08.01.2022 Whoop whoop! My library box arrived today . I'm so looking forward to getting tucked into this lot. They even included a stack for the kids.
08.01.2022 Stage 4 lockdown sucks, not gonna lie. But our local Spoonville is pretty awesome. We walk past it regularly and it seems to grow each time! I still haven't managed to persuade the boys to decorate a wooden spoon person, but my nieces' artwork is here!
07.01.2022 Oh wow. Just wow. A Lifetime of Impossible Days is, at its core, a heartbreaking love letter to therapy after childhood trauma. I adored the writing, I miss the characters already and I wholeheartedly endorse the argument that you can't change your past. But if you focus on healing yourself in the present you just might manage to change your future.... Super Gumboots Willa is 8 years old. She lives with her violent father, selfish mother and tells her little sister stories about babies with wings to distract her and protect her. Middle Willa is 33 years old. She keeps her husband at arm's length and prowls the house at night, cleaning and cleaning, while her two small sons are sleeping, to avoid facing her past. Silver Willa is 93 years old. On 1 June 2050 she posts two soggy cardboard boxes to her 8 year old and 33 year old selves. Inside the box is an ocean which must be planted in the garden under the mango tree. The magical ocean forms a bridge between the Willas so they can visit with each other. All the Willas are in a race against time, although only Silver Willa knows what the stakes are. But Silver Willa is fighting dementia and must gather together the tangled threads of her thoughts for long enough to do what needs to be done. This is an absolutely incredible story - impossibly funny, heartwarming and wonderful to be immersed in. Yet heartbreaking and traumatic. I wanted to reach through time and reality to pull Super Gumboots Willa out of her life and bring her somewhere safe. I also want to be as lively as Silver Willa when I'm 93 - insisting on wearing bright yellow gumboots down the main street while shuffling along on my walking frame.
06.01.2022 The print galley has arrived for final proofreading! Now I just have to steal some time to actually read through it . #stealingtime #proofreading #speculativefiction #outinmarch2021
06.01.2022 Bought a new stylus. Son decided to use it to design a family lockdown flag on the tablet. I like it. #lockdownmelbourne
05.01.2022 "I reckon we have to wring every last drop of enjoyment and pleasure out of life that we can. Picture life like a tube of toothpaste that the kids have been at. You know what I mean; the little buggers have been squeezing from the top of the tube. It’s up to you to grab it and squeeze like a mofo from the bottom up to get those last bits." www.handbagmafia.net/find-some-fun-in-2020/
04.01.2022 GIVEAWAY: India, 1922: "The delightfully clever Perveen Mistry, Bombay's first female lawyer, returns in an adventure of treacherous intrigues and suspicious deaths." Today's giveaway for locked down Victorians is The Satapur Moonstone, by Sujata Massey. To enter, either:... 1) Tag a friend in Melbourne or regional Victoria who would love to win this book. 2) If you ARE a Victorian, simply drop a comment below telling me you want this book! I'll draw a winner at random on Sunday 13 September. Thanks to @allenandunwin for gifting me this book!
02.01.2022 The Charleston Scandal by Pamela Hart was deliciously good fun. It has all the trappings of 1920s lords and ladies but with a modern spin that's still believable in an historical setting. And also - just plain good fun. Something we definitely need these days!!... From the back cover: London, 1920s: Kit Scott, a privileged young Australian aiming to become a star, arrives in the city to find the Jazz Age in full swing. Cast in a West End play opposite another young hopeful, Canadian Zeke Gardiner, she dances blithely into the heady lifestyle of English high society and the London theatre set, from Noel Coward to Fred Astaire and his sister, Adele. When Kit is photographed dancing the Charleston alongside the Prince of Wales, she finds herself at the centre of a major scandal, sending the Palace into damage control and Kit to her aristocratic English relatives - and into the arms of the hedonistic Lord Henry Carleton. Amid the excesses of the Roaring Twenties, both Zeke and Kit are faced with temptations - and make choices that will alter the course of their lives forever.
02.01.2022 David and Patrick are quite possibly the best TV series couple ever. (And yes, I am now totally hooked on Schitt's Creek. S4 Ep9 and counting).
