Good Reading Magazine Blog

It's Still Winter!

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:07:00 -0700

I’ve been watching with interest the furore in the UK over the plan by publishers to place age guides on children’s books. Authors are being very vocal in opposition, taking out advertising to lobby against it. In an earlier poll on our w...

It is Winter!

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 23:56:00 -0700

Winter has certainly set in where I live. The trees are bare and I am having to rug myself up with a scarf and beanie on my walk to work. I’m very lucky to be able to walk to work, and although I get to talk to neighbours as I walk through the ...

It's almost Winter!

Thu, 22 May 2008 15:29:00 -0700

So now you’ve met Kaala, who owns the piecing blue eyes on our front cover. She’s the main character from The Promise of Wolves by Dorothy Hearst, which features as our cover story this month. This book reminds me of the release of The Cl...

What to read next?

Sun, 04 May 2008 16:34:00 -0700

Food is a wonderful thing isn’t it? It brings us together and provides tastes, smells and experiences that stay firmly in our memories for all our lives. Mary Moody’s new book The Long Table certainly brought memories back to me. My mothe...

Hello!

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:41:00 -0700

Well here I am, after seven years behind the scenes in my role as publisher, now sitting in the editor’s chair. I’m certainly stepping into some very big shoes; Caroline Baum, Kathy Mossop and most recently Alison Pressley, three very ded...

OzLit Mashups 4

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 00:11:00 -0700

A profound and moving story of manners, morals and the mysteries of youth. A group of Victorian schoolgirls get lost in the western suburbs and experience an enchantment unlike any other. Soon to be a four-part miniseries.

Aurealis Awards

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 22:46:00 -0700

I've just learned that Heart of Gold has been shortlisted for the Aurealis Awards in TWO categories! Doubleplus excitement!

Strong fields, as always, in every category of the AAs, and it's an honour to make it. Congrats to all the shortlistees!

John Wentley Takes Charge 8

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 15:27:00 -0700

JFC Westerman, confident, assured, steps up the pace as the end of the chapter looms! While John was getting his car out, his brother slipped into his laboratory for a few minutes, locking the heavy door carefully as he left. Then he took his seat...

How I Write 3 - Music

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 23:19:00 -0700

One of the things about writing on a computer is the ease of slipping in a CD and having music to write by. But it can be a trap. If play songs with lyrics, I find it distracting at times. The options, though are neat. Sometimes I like playing...

John Wentley Takes Charge 7

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 03:19:00 -0700

I know you're on the edge of your seats, so here it is: “What can you do about it?” he asked. “You don’t stand a chance of getting any satisfaction.” “Don’t I?” was the retort. “You’...

How I Write 2

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 02:56:00 -0700

Continuing the business of the concrete side of writing, I'm a word processor writer. In my early days, I did write some short stories by hand, with a ball point, but I soon realised that I can type faster than I can write, and I have a constant need...

Films From Books

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 18:08:00 -0700

Good films can be made from books, despite the default stance that the process is always a let down. Here's my list of good films from books: The Big Sleep, dir. Howard Hawks. Terrific Raymond Chandler detective novel made into a cracking movi...

How I Write 1

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 19:48:00 -0700

I often get young people asking questions about how I write - in a very concrete sense. They want to know about my computer, my workstation, my chair. It's almost as if they feel that if they can reproduce the physical surrounds of a practising write...

John Wentley Takes Charge 6

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 03:20:00 -0700

What are those two rascals up to now? Bill laughed. “I had the same trouble when I first came here,” he explained. “However, to resume – I sat back and waited for two solid months after putting in my application to build, and...