Review: Breathless by Dean Koontz

Grady Adams lives on his own in the Colorado mountains together with his massive Irish Wolfhound named Merlin and the book takes off when they come across a pair of animals Grady has never seen before. Grady asks his friend Cammy Rivers - a vet - to come and take a look, and she names the unique, gentle, inquisitive creatures Puzzle and Riddle, and it soon becomes apparent that these creatures will change the world.

Meanwhile there are two sub plots taking place that eventually link up at the end to make for a great climax. I've said it before, but Koontz loves to write about dogs and animals and Breathless carries on this theme.

There was a particularly good section of writing that made me laugh and is a good example of why I keep returning to Koontz. The excerpt comes from Page 216:

"If Northcott's smile looked like a grimace, then his grimace was more like the expression of a man who found a live cockroach swimming in his soup at the very moment he broke a tooth on a ball bearing spooned from the same bowl."

Classic! All in all, this was an easy read and highly recommended for animal lovers everywhere.

My rating = ***

Carpe Librum!

Author Interview with Robin Baker, author of Killing Richard Dawson

Robin Baker

Today we're joined by Australian writer Robin Baker, author of Killing Richard Dawson, published by Pantera Press and recently reviewed and given four stars.

Thanks so much for joining us Robin. When you were writing the characters within Killing Richard Dawson, did you feel they were representative of Generation Y in Australia?
I wouldn’t want to speak on behalf of an entire generation, but the characters and their attitudes were certainly accurate to what I experienced at that age. I have had feedback from readers of various generations saying how much they related to the themes of hopelessness and uncertainty in the novel, which are feelings a lot of us deal with when we’re that age, so I’d suggest it speaks more about being a certain age than a particular generation.

Being a young writer and belonging to Gen Y yourself, what would you like people belonging to other generations to know about Gen Y? Did you intend to communicate any of these in Killing Richard Dawson?
I don’t agree with art that ‘preaches’ or tries to convey a particular message or point of view, so I make a point not to tell anyone how they should feel about a given topic. I try to be as emotionally honest as I can and let the work speak for itself.

There's a paragraph on page 144, where Mel – who has a crush on the narrator – is introduced by him to Jade, with whom he has a romantic interest. There is an awkward stretch of silence between the three characters, and you describe the sequence of meaningful glances between each of them so perfectly that it was one of the funniest moments in the book for me. What motivated you to write in such a way? Were you simply trying to highlight the tension between the characters or were you trying to make us laugh?
I like to tread the fine line between comedy and tension/horror whenever I can, so this seemed like a good opportunity. Embarrassing situations are always funnier when they involve someone else! Comedy is good way to get people to lower their defences; I think people are much more willing to go to very dark places with you if you can make them laugh along the way.

Characters discussing nightclubs over several pages in Killing Richard Dawson reminded me of characters talking about restaurants in American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. Was this a silent nod to the classic or completely unintentional?
I’m not sure if I had read American Psycho when I wrote that scene (but have since read it and loved it) but the joke here was that, throughout the book, whenever a character discusses anything serious, or emotional, or indeed anything that actually matters, they are quickly dismissed and the subject is changed. This particular scene is possibly the longest dialogue exchange in the entire book and is about the most vapid of subjects, which I thought was a nice irony.

Do you have any literary influences?
I admire Don DeLillo very much. Each of his works is unique and I think Underworld is one of the greatest novels ever written. Stephen King was a big influence while I was growing up and I still enjoy his novels today. I very much admire writers of believable dialogue and character who offer moments of truth or insight into ourselves and each other.

When asked if he's ever delved into the world of Dean Koontz, Robin had this to say:

I've read three or four Dean Koontz books (not sure of the titles now, it was a long time ago) but never really got into them - they felt too much like Stephen King Lite. One of the things I enjoy most about King (and something I feel he's very underrated for) is the human element of his books. His characters are so believable and he offers some great insight into people, which I never got from Koontz. I may have to try some of his newer stuff and see if it changes my mind. 

I find it fascinating that you decided to leave your career as an English Teacher and take up work as a Funeral Director. Is the funeral industry what you expected?
I’m not sure what I expected when I first started, but it was definitely an eye-opening experience! It’s an industry that tends to be shrouded in mystery, so it was interesting to see what really happens behind the scenes, so to speak. It was challenging, rewarding, confronting and strangely fascinating. I have no regrets about my time there; I met some wonderful people, saw some things I will never forget and gained some interesting insights into life, people, grief and death, among many other things. It’s certainly not for everyone, but it was a great industry to be a part of and I enjoyed my time there very much.

What prompted this career change and how has the experience shaped or enriched your writing?I had always been curious about the industry and an opportunity arose just after my current teaching contract expired. I wasn’t enjoying teaching at the time so decided to take a chance and ended up staying there for nearly six years. It taught me a lot about myself and others and is a job that really makes you reassess what is important in your life. My next novel, Chasing the Sun, was written during this time and deals with themes of mortality and belief and what we leave behind.

Some writers have a particular writing regime or preferred method of writing. How do you prefer to work and do you have any habits?
I write on a laptop but always carry a notebook with me (or a note-taking app on a phone, if a notebook is not appropriate) where I’ll write scenes, ideas, or even just single lines of dialogue. I will either work in silence, or find one particular piece of music that suits the tone of the scene I’m working on, then play it on repeat until I drive everyone else crazy.  I prefer working earlier in the day and into the afternoon when possible, so I usually do the majority of my writing on the weekends or days off and use evenings for editing.

As a former English Teacher, are you also a voracious reader and do you have any favourite authors or books you'd like to share?
I’m always trying to read more. I write book reviews for a local newspaper so I’m lucky enough to get new releases fairly regularly, which is nice! Some of my personal favourite authors are Stephen King and Don DeLillo, as I mentioned, but I’m also a fan of clean, stripped-back, minimalist writing such as Amy Hempel, Bret Easton Ellis, Cormac McCarthy and Chuck Palahniuk. If you want something completely unique, I can recommend you check out Mark Danielewski’s House of Leaves, a true one-of-a-kind that you won’t soon forget.

I understand that you're working on your next novel Chasing the Sun. What can you tell us about it?
Chasing the Sun is “a twisted tale about Feng Shui, vampires, drinking, pet psychiatry, genocide, belief and mortality” and will be available in October this year from Pantera Press. I think it shares a similar tone and style with Killing Richard Dawson but tells a very different story and deals with different ideas and themes. I’m excited for its release and really hope you enjoy it!

Anything else you'd like to add?
Thanks for reading Killing Richard Dawson, I’m thrilled you enjoyed it! Thanks also for inviting me here today!

Review: My Hundred Lovers by Susan Johnson

* From Publisher for Review *

My Hundred Lovers is written by Aussie author Susan Johnson and I've been reading it as part of an Allen & Unwin read-along; you can read my previous two posts about the experience here and here.

The premise of the book is a woman turning fifty who reflects on her life and sorts through her body's memories.  In 100 chapters, the woman - who refers to herself throughout the novel as 'the girl', Deb and 'the Suspicious Wanderer' - gives us her one hundred lovers; in essence one hundred sensual memories.  

From first glance at the title, a potential reader might assume the main character to have had one hundred sexual lovers, however this is not the case.  Deb's sensual memories do include lovers, however they also include other physical memories such as the love of croissants, riding a horse, the sensation of her mother's red fingernails scratching her back or the feel of raindrops on her face.

Each chapter is a vignette, a glimpse into Deb's life and the chapters are not always in strict chronological order.  This is a personal and at times revealing piece of fiction and Deb is very open and honest when reflecting on her physical intimacy with her lovers; men and women.  At times sexy, at times a little confronting but nevertheless it was moving throughout as it followed the path of Deb's exploration of self.

While reading this book I couldn't help but begin to think of my own physical memories, what would my own list contain if I were to create one in the same style?  I would definitely include the smell of fresh cut grass, and the glorious sensation of getting into a bed warmed by an electric blanket on a chilly night.

Deb left one of her most important relationships until the very end of the book, the revealing of which drew a surprised and sad groan from me.  This was clever writing and left me wanting more.  The read-along definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the book and if the above has piqued your interest I definitely recommend My Hundred Lovers for your reading pleasure.

(This book also qualifies for my Aussie Author Challenge 2012)

My rating = ****

Carpe Librum!

Big Books To Get Stuck Into This Winter

Are you looking for a chunkster to get stuck into?  Do you relish the heft and challenge of a juicy long book? Do you enjoy the odd doorstop here and there to break up your reading list?  Look no further!

I've put together the following list of all books greater than 700 pages long from my GoodReads list to satisfy these needs and linked them to my own reviews where possible:



Clarke, Susanna (Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell)

Dumas, Alexandre (The Count of Monte Cristo) 

Falconer, Colin (When We Were Gods)

Follett, Ken (The Pillars of the Earth)

Follett, Ken (World Without End)

Follett, Ken (A Column of Fire)

Follett, Ken (The Evening and the Morning)

Follett, Ken (Never)

Follett, Ken (The Armour of Light)

King, Stephen (Bag of Bones)

King, Stephen (Duma Key)

King, Stephen (Insomnia)

King, Stephen (Under the Dome)

King, Stephen (11.22.63)

King, Stephen & Owen (Sleeping Beauties)

Koontz, Dean (False Memory)

Kostova, Elizabeth (The Historian)

Lewis, C.S. (The Chronicles of Narnia)

Paolini, Christopher (Brisingr)

Paolini, Christopher (Inheritance)

Paolini, Christopher (To Sleep In A Sea of Stars)

Rice, Anne (Blackwood Farm)

Rice, Anne (The Witching Hour)

Rowling, J.K. (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)

Rowling, J.K. (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)

Rowling, J.K. (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)

Sansom, C.J. (Tombland)

Stephenson, Neal (Cryptonomicon)

Tolstoy, Leo (Anna Karenina)

Happy reading and feel free to tell me the longest book you remember enjoying, or perhaps the longest one you never finished.

* Last updated 18 May 2026

My Hundred Lovers Read-Along Finishes

The Allen & Unwin read-along began on 1 June 2012 and  each Friday a bookish discussion has been going on over at 1 Girl, 2 Many Books who has been doing a fabulous job of hosting the read-along.  Thanks Bree!


It all ends tomorrow and I've thoroughly enjoyed reading the different comments and responses from the range of other book bloggers. So much so that it has changed the way in which I read this book; slowing down from my usual pace and paying more attention to the content knowing that we would have the chance to discuss it online together in a book club type of environment.


Here are my comments from Week 1 and 2 of the read-along.


Week 1

Hello all, many of you have commented on the segments of My Hundred Lovers I have enjoyed, so instead of repeating them here, I’ll share what I found surprising or confronting that hasn’t been raised yet.


The first is the girl’s relationship with Nina Payne. (I love the author’s use of ‘the girl’ too by the way). On pages 20-22 she has Nina walking around in a skirt without any underwear and then makes her sit on the ground with her legs apart says: “the girl would have stuck her finger in except that her friend stood up and ran away.” Am I the only one that found this a little confronting?


Even though I didn’t do it myself, I know girls practice kissing with each other, but I found the girl’s sexual curiosity went further than most and I want to know why. Perhaps this will be revealed later in the novel.


I was also shocked at the mother’s cruelty on page 18 when she says to her naked daughter in the bathroom: “I don’t remember my inner lips being so exposed when I was a girl.” I mean, way to give a young girl permanent body issues, and what loving mother would be comparing their daughter’s body to their own anyway?


How did other readers respond to these two sections? Were there raising of eyebrows, quickening of pulses or did you all take it in your stride?



Week 2

I’ve been looking forward to our discussion this week, because often I don’t have the chance to discuss the books I’m reading with others on such a detailed level, and when I read Chapter Thirty-Eight, I was confused and desperately wanted to discuss it with you all.


I understand her husband wanted to make love to Debbie although she had fallen out of love with him; that is straight forward and I’m sure many of us have been at one or both ends of unrequited love. However, is she using the slam of the coffin as an analogy for the death of the love she had for her husband or something more? Does she feel dead inside?


Debbie’s reluctance to tell us about her husband and the circumstances surrounding their relationship tells me there is something quite significant there. She is protective of this relationship in particular and open about other passing liaisons. We’re now 3/4 of the way through the book and I’m hoping she will open up to us soon. I can certainly feel the tension building, can you?


So, with that said, I'll be posting my review of Susan Johnson's My Hundred Lovers separately, as the read-along draws to a close.  But it's been a lot of fun, and thanks go to Allen & Unwin and to Bree at 1 Girl, 2 Many Books.


That's my four bucks!

Review: Killing Richard Dawson by Robin Baker

* From publisher for review *

Killing Richard Dawson is narrated by a uni student with a tragic back story now living alone with his Gran.  He's visited once a fortnight by a young social worker who checks on his Gran's welfare as well as his own, although he's been keeping his real thoughts and emotions well hidden from her for years.

Lonely as a child until he met his best friend George, the narrator has never had much luck pursuing girls or socialising.  He makes a friend at University - calling her Fatty Mel - and soon falls into a wider group of friends who go to nightclubs, get drunk and hang out.  He is depressed, directionless and unmotivated until he meets Jade, a turning point in the book.

The friends belong to Generation Y, and whilst we've all heard countless stereotypes of Gen Y, this conversation between the narrator and his friend Beau on page 160 really stuck with me:

"Why can't we fix it? If we're all so depressed, why can't we do something to change?"

Beau shrugs. "Because we're all so fucking lazy? I mean, where do you start? Changing the world isn't easy. It's a scary thought. Most people would much rather bury their head in the sand and wait for it to fix itself."

And there you have it, although Beau's answer can apply to anyone too lazy to change.

Back to the story, and Robin Baker brings a fresh new voice to Australian writing.  In one particular beach scene it was set up so logically I believed the outcome was 100% predictable until the joke was on me, the author flipping the plot on its head.  Similarly, I had a feeling I knew what was happening with a particular character during the novel and then wham, towards the end I found myself scrambling back through the pages scouring for clues.  

When it was all over, I turned straight back to re-read Chapter One - which serves as a prologue - with an entirely new appreciation.

Killing Richard Dawson is the exploration of a young man with a sympathetic and difficult past trying to find his place in the world, depressed, confused and falling in love.  It's dark, it's surprising and it's strangely comic.

My rating = ****

Carpe Librum!

Robin Baker speaks to me about his writing and more, click here to read the interview.

Author Patrick White

Author Patrick White

Today I watched a documentary which aired on the ABC on 22 May 2012, entitled: Patrick White: Read Me When I'm Dead? and have been thinking about this Australian author since.

I've always known he was the only Australian writer to have been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature (which took place in 1973) however I haven't been an active reader of his work.

I studied A Fringe of Leaves at University, but I remember finding it really hard to get into and I don't think I read it right through to the end to be honest.

Patrick White at Centennial Park
by Brett Whiteley (1979-1980)

One opinion expressed in the documentary is that White's work is inaccessible to the average reader, too intellectual, and consequently he is widely unknown to the general public. 

As a lover of books and supporter of Australian authors I find myself wondering if I should give White's work another chance.  It's been a significant number of years since I failed to engage with A Fringe of Leaves and he wrote 12 novels in total so there's bound to be something more to my liking isn't there?  And of course, there's the recent posthumous publishing of The Hanging Garden this year, albeit unfinished.

I'd love to hear from others about their favourite Patrick White novel, or any advice for first timers like myself, about the best place to start.

Review: Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

Background
American author Jonathan Franzen's contemporary novel Freedom was published in 2010, picked up by Oprah Winfrey and added to her selection of book club books and entered many Top 10 Bestseller Lists around the world.

My friends and family know that the trendier a book gets the less likely I am to want to pick it up; I just don't like reading what everybody else is reading.  But now that all the fuss has died down, and I was able to pick up a copy of Freedom for $4.95 I thought I'd judge for myself whether the claims of 'masterpiece' and 'great American novel' were justified.

Review
At 597 pages, Freedom is slightly longer than your average paperback novel and covers a time period of 30 years.  It is essentially the story of Patty and Walter Berglund and their marriage together.  We spend time with Patty narrating her childhood, courting with Walter, meeting his best friend Richard Katz, having two children and experiencing marriage problems.

We also spend time with characters Walter, Richard, and the Berglund son Joey.  Much time and effort is devoted to character development in great detail with back story - emotional insights included - and the reader soon has an in depth understanding of the Berglund circle of influence.

All of this is played out against two major environmental backdrops through Walter's character; the first being the conservation of the Cerulean Warbler bird through a process of mountaintop removal and the second being overpopulation.

Did I like it?
I honestly admired the author's ability to create such a depth of character in a fashion not seen a lot in contemporary fiction.  (Perhaps this is why it is referred to as 'the great American novel'). But did I care?  No, not really.  These were ordinary people doing ordinary things and broadly speaking this story could be a book about love; or a love triangle.

I also struggled with the long paragraphs and especially the long chapters.  Some chapters were 50 - 70 pages in length, which meant reading for two nights before reaching the end of a chapter, argh!

I did feel a little 'tricked' reading this novel, as if the author had used the love story in which to park his real environmental agenda and I couldn't help getting my back up about this.  They just didn't fit together.  I also resented the length of the book and was glad when it was over.  So, my rating will reflect this: three stars in admiration of the effort, minus one star for the resentment and lack of care factor.

My rating = **

Carpe Librum!

Review: Help! For Writers by Roy Peter Clark

I had reserved Help! For Writers - 210 Solutions to the Problems Every Writer Faces by Roy Peter Clark at the library for so many months that I forget now where I saw the recommendation for it, but having read it now, I'm a little disappointed.

The book promises 210 solutions however I found that Clark really just described them and talked about himself, and his own writing a whole lot of the time.  His insistent reference to the writer as 'she' and 'her' all the time was both puzzling and annoying and I found most of his hints and tips were common sense and nothing new.

Clark seems to love his typewriter, index cards, drop files, folders, notebooks and archive boxes (especially his drop files and index cards) but didn't once mention different applications or modern methods of writing on a laptop.  Nor did he make mention of any websites or online communities for writers; presumably because these can become out of date so quickly, however this book was published in September 2011.

If you want old school advice on writing peppered with the occasional reference to Shakespeare, other authors and Clark's own writing, then this is the book for you.

My rating = *

Carpe Librum!

Review: The Car Thief by Theodore Weesner

* From Publicist for review *

Alex Housman is sixteen and when he's not at home with his divorced alcoholic Dad, he's at the 24 hour movie theatre or out driving a stolen car around the city following girls.

This is a coming of age story about Alex as he tries to navigate his way through school with the shame of living where he does and having a father who drinks way too much and too often.  Separated from his brother and then sent to a boy's home for stealing cars, Alex is wrenched from the only home he has ever known.

Whilst I found the story rolled along quite well, I don't believe it quite lives up to the following quote from one enthusiastic critic: "one of the great coming of age novels in the twentieth century."

What I enjoyed most from Theodore Weesner's The Car Thief was the relationship between Alex and his father.  It was complex and painful, layered and superbly written.  Alex is torn between loving his father, being proud of the way he dresses and presents himself, ashamed of his drinking, and feeling pity for the way in which his wife (Alex's mother) left him.  Their interactions are mostly sparse but seem to communicate so much, and for me these were the richest sections of the novel.

Second to that was the relationship Alex has with his younger brother.  Again this relationship is precious to Alex and deeply layered and Weesner is able to paint the tension and hurt onto the page in a scene as benign as a boat ride and a game of pool.

These two relationships were rich and moving and I enjoyed being in them more than I enjoyed reading the scenes where Alex was on his own.  Reading the author's note at the end, it seems most of this novel was autobiographical which makes this reader wonder if this was a restriction when writing The Car Thief.  

What I'll take away from reading The Car Thief is one of the best father son relationships in fiction I've read in quite a while, however this is secondary to the coming of age story of Alex Housman.

My rating = ***

Carpe Librum!

My Hundred Lovers Read-Along

I'm very excited to be participating in the Allen & Unwin My Hundred Lovers read-along being hosted by 1 Girl, 2 Many Books.  

The read-along commences on 1 June and I'm just one of many book bloggers participating in the event.  We're all very excited to be taking part, and many of us have been visiting each other's blogs, saying 'hi' on Twitter and leaving comments here and there.  

Incidentally, I noticed that Cheryl Akle has selected My Hundred Lovers by Aussie author Susan Johnson as the June book club book on The Circle, and I'll be looking forward to watching the segment online after the read-along.

So, what's the book about you might be wondering?

Blurb:  A woman on the eve of her fiftieth birthday, reflects on one hundred moments from a lifetime's sensual adventures.  By turns humorous, sharp, haunting and wise, this is an original and exhilarating novel from one of Australia's premier writers.

If you'd like to join me in the read-along, leave a comment below and I can post updates on my progress.  Counting down now until 1 June.

That's my four bucks!

Review: Horseradish - Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid by Lemony Snicket

This little book is a collection of quotes, phrases and stories divided up into categories, and as the title suggest, some are bitter truths tinged with humour whilst others are steeped in simple wisdom.

For those that don't know, Lemony Snicket is a pen name and some will have heard it associated with A Series of Unfortunate Events, a children's series narrated and penned by Lemony Snicket.

This book, Horseradish - Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid is a collection of short writings, each confined to a single page and each amusing whilst delivering advice or imparting wisdom at the same time.

I've chosen two of my favourite excerpts to share for the purposes of this review, to give you just a taste of the content, after which I'm sure you'll want to discover the rest for yourself.

"Deciding whether or not to trust a person is like deciding whether or not to climb a tree, because you might get a wonderful view from the highest branch, or you might simply get covered in sap, and for this reason many people choose to spend their time alone and indoors, where it is harder to get a splinter."  Page 84, Chapter 7, TRAVEL

"If an optimist had his left arm chewed off by an alligator, he might say, in a pleasant and hopeful voice, "Well, this isn't too bad. I don't have my left arm anymore, but at least nobody will ever ask me if I am right-handed or left-handed," but most of us would say something more along the lines of "Aaaaah! My arm! My arm!"   Page 92, Chapter 8 EMOTIONAL HEALTH

I really enjoyed making my way through Lemony Snicket's pages, laughing and pausing to reflect along the way. Highly recommended for all ages, and best enjoyed with others.

My rating = *****

Carpe Librum!

Interview with John M. Green, author of Nowhere Man and Born To Run

John M. Green

Thanks to John for joining My Four Bucks today.  John is the author of two novels reviewed on My Four Bucks, Nowhere Man and most recently, Born to Run.

In your bio, we learn that during your 30 year career you were a very successful banking executive and partner in 2 major law firms before deciding to leave the business sector and become a writer.  What gave you the courage to leave all that behind and plunge into the uncertainty of being a writer?
My wife was the trigger, my role-model. She gave up a successful business career to follow her artistic passion, sculpting, and encouraged me to do likewise with my own passion for writing. It’s a thrill to be able to inhabit two entirely different worlds, the business and the artistic, and to get to do it together is pretty rare.

What can you tell us about your writing habits?  Do you ever like to write outside or in public? 
When I’m in ‘the zone’ I’m fairly oblivious to my surroundings (unless they’re part of a scene I’m writing), so I’m not prissy about where I write. My third novel, The Trusted (out in November 2012), was written at home at my desk, in bed, in the garden, on boats, trains and planes, in airports, hotel rooms, and in places where I’ve set it, such as Saint-Petersburg, Paris, Venice, Athens, New York, Boston – even North Narrabeen beach in Sydney. 
But my main routine – how I write mostly – is by hopping out of bed around 4am when the world around me is dead quiet, and sitting at my computer for as long after that as I can. Some days I’ll write for a couple of hours, some for 16 hours, sometimes I’ll write nothing – perhaps fiddling, plotting, researching. Other days I’ll write maybe 1,000 or 2,000 words and there have been days when the characters won’t stop doing what they do and they’ve given me way more.

Do you listen to music when you write?  Do you take any handwritten notes?
Because I wanted to get into Tori Swyft’s head—she’s the hero of my 3rd novel, and will be the mainstay of my new series—and she was world junior women’s surf champion at 13, I wrote a lot of The Trusted with surf rock instrumentals crashing over me: classics like the Atlantics (Bombora, Pipeline) and the Surfaris (Wipeout) and more recent works like The Break’s Church of the Open Sky – The Break’s members are from Midnight Oil and Violent Femmes, and one is a mate.
Thatcher, another character in The Trusted—a professional hacker – has a thing for Brandenburg Concerto No 4, so that was another course of my musical diet for this book.
My first novel, Nowhere Man, was driven quite a bit by Midnight Oil’s Power and the Passion (and there’s a chapter set to it) and Puccini’s Nessum Dorma.

One My4Bucks reader would like to know how you came up with the idea for Nowhere Man and why it took so many years to publish after you completed it in 2001.
I started with a question ‘What if I were the Time Traveler in the HG Wells classic, where (or rather, when) would I go to live an enjoyable life?’ And I decided it would have to be in Australia, and today. Despite the politicians, we Aussies do live in a postcard, right?
Why so long? I finished it in August 2001, but in that original version of the story, my fictional terrorists destroyed the World Trade Centre in New York. And when that terrible event actually happened a few weeks later, it was also literally the end of the story. I had some strong emotional connections to that horror, which I explain in my Author’s Note in the book, so it took me quite a while to come back to the manuscript to find a new catastrophe and embark on a rewrite. Funnily enough, I settled on a global financial crisis, and ‘finished’ in 2006/7, just before it happened, so when it actually happened, once again I had to rewrite the book before it got published.

A second My4Bucks reader would like to know if you're planning to write a sequel for Nowhere Man, as she'd like to know more about how the program works, how people can travel through time using it and what happens to Sam Sing.
I’d like to know, too! A lot of readers have asked me about a sequel, and it may come, but I’m not working on it yet. I’ve got too tied up with my new character, Tori Swyft.
One reader even emailed joking that his copy of Nowhere Man was defective because the stock price chart on page 104 stopped too early, and he wanted the copy that showed the share prices going forward a couple of years from now so he could use it for stock trading.

I imagine being a co-founder of Pantera Press requires you to read submissions from writers much of the time.  How do you decide when a writer is worthy of being published by Pantera Press?
Because it’s so tough even for great writers to get published, we expressly set up Pantera Press to focus on debut authors, with the aim of nurturing and continuing to publish them, and building their readership over time. What we’re on the lookout for are great stories – plot is critical to us – with characters who readers will care about, and strong writing. We also need to ‘click’ with the writers; developing personal relationships with our writers is critical to us.

When you're not reading for work, what are some of your favourite books/authors?
I have an eclectic taste. I happily go from Kate Grenville, Geraldine Brooks, Edmund de Waal to Michael Crichton, Marele Day and Harlan Coben (and Pantera Press’s other authors, of course, who I read for the pleasure as much as for work). I read loads of non-fiction too.

My favourite character in your political thriller Born to Run was the little boy Davey, and my favourite part in the novel was when Davey was telling the King Kong joke in ASL (sign language).  It really had me laughing out loud, can you tell me your inspiration for his character?
I’m thrilled you loved Davey, and the humour. Because I had a seemingly “ideal” couple – Isabel, hot favourite for the White House and her ex-general war-hero husband – I didn’t want it to be a plastic set-up, I needed tension at home, so I used the humour for lightness, to contrast with the darkness that Davey’s disability stemmed from psychological distress over his father’s first marriage break-up. 
One of my favourite actresses is deaf actress Marlee Matlin, who won an Academy Award for leading actress in Children of a Lesser God and was also fabulous in The West Wing. Subliminally, she might have inspired me. To paint Davey as realistically as I could, I consulted a US expert on hearing-impaired kids.
By the way, because I needed a US president in my next novel, The Trusted, little Davey and his mother, President Isabel Diaz, get a small role, but it isn’t a sequel to Born to Run.
I really like it when authors have a crossover of characters in unrelated novels; it's like a little treat for loyal readers who have read all of their work.

In Born to Run, you were able to write about your love of US presidential elections, do you have any other interests that you'd like to explore or focus on in your next book?
Saving the planet is a justifiably hot topic. So in The Trusted I pitch light green against very dark green. The story is about brilliant eco-terrorists, PhDs, who spend ten years as sleepers, getting themselves into positions of great influence and power from where they hope to turn back the planet’s gas-guzzling clock – by destroying the financial system, food supplies, shipping, you name it. They’re trying to save the planet, though their methods are extreme. When I started researching this, I discovered there are many extremist green groups, though none as sophisticated as my fictional one – at least none I’ve found so far, and fingers crossed, it will stay that way.

Having now published two books, do you have a favourite?  Has one sold more than the other, or is that akin to asking a parent which is their favourite child?
I think that’s right. Maybe when I have a few more books under my belt, I might have more perspective to answer that question.

What do you have planned for the rest of the year?
I’m going to be overseas for a bit of it, mainly in NY so I can enjoy the run-up to the presidential elections, but also to get the vibe for the novel I’m just about to start. It will be the second Tori Swyft thriller.

Anything else you'd like to share with your readers?
A surprise for me, a pleasant one, has been how readers can sometimes read what you thought you’d written quite differently to how you see it. For example, a few readers have told me they wished Nowhere Man had a happy ending, but for me it is a really happy ending. I won’t explain that to your readers, Tracey, since it gives the ending away, but I suspect you know what I mean.

Thanks so much for joining us here at My Four Bucks John, it's been a pleasure having you.
My pleasure, Tracey. Thank you for the opportunity, and also for taking the time to read my stories.

Review: The Midnight Club by James Patterson

First published in 1989, I somehow missed reading The Midnight Club by James Patterson, not to be confused with his series the Women's Murder Club.

The protagonist in The Midnight Club is John Stefanovitch, a New York cop confined to a wheelchair after being shot and left for dead by the Grave Dancer. Despite losing his wife to the Grave Dancer on the same chilling night, and undergoing years of rehabilitation, John is still on the force and as determined as ever to get his man.

While John was fighting and clawing back his life, the Grave Dancer was climbing the ladder of success, and is now part of an elite and secretive international unit of organised crime lords, otherwise known as the Midnight Club.  

I thoroughly enjoyed having a male protagonist in a wheelchair who was attractive, strong, protective and driven without feeling sorry for himself or drinking himself into oblivion. Patterson steers clear of all the possible traps and cliches here, which makes The Midnight Club feel like a fresh piece of writing, despite it being 23 years old.  

There are references to the twin towers and a few other things that remind the reader of the passage of time however on the whole, this was an enjoyable crime novel with a very likeable good guy in New York cop John Stefanovitch and an equally well written bad guy.

My rating = ***

Carpe Librum!

Review: Before I Wake by Robert J. Wiersema

Before I Wake from Canadian author Robert J. Wiersema is a story about young Sherry, a 3 year old girl who is seriously injured when she is involved in a hit and run accident on a traffic crossing by a pickup truck driver.

Sherry's parents Karen and Simon Barrett face their worst fears when their only child won't wake from her coma and unfortunately their marriage fractures under the pressure.  Karen takes Sherry home, hires a nurse and settles into a steady routine with daily visits from Simon.

The plot really starts to pick up pace when Sherry's nurse Ruth begins to suspect that Sherry has had a role in curing the painful arthritis in her hands.  Ruth's sister is dying of cancer so she brings her to Sherry's bedside and places the comatose little girl's hand on her chest in an attempt to heal her.

Before long, news crews, journalists and pilgrims are outside the front of Karen's house asking for statements about the reported miracle healings and asking to see Sherry.  However, along with them come religious protestors led by a shadowy figure, Father Peter who claims Sherry is a false idol.

He threatens the Barrett family and is never far away when bad things start to happen.  Father Peter travels all around the world, following reports of miracle healings, and shuts them down by whatever needs necessary.  Father Peter believes he's doing God's work and clearing the way for the return of Jesus.  However as one character put it, "how do you know you haven't already met Him?"  Wiersema has given us an interesting look here at religion, in terms of the Church, faith and miracles.

Meanwhile the driver of the truck is consumed with guilt, but when he decides to take his own life, he jumps from a cliff only to find a mysterious hand pulling him back.  The driver finds himself living in the 'in between' and must find himself and his purpose.  I enjoyed the supernatural/fantasy element to this novel and the so-called true identities of the truck driver's mentor Tim, and Father Peter.

Before I Wake isn't a sunny, bright story.  This is a 'what would you do' story, and a thought provoking tale that makes you think about bigger issues.  I especially liked the identity twist and the men living in the 'in between' at the library. I was really curious to know their stories and to be left wanting more at the end of a book is certainly the mark of a great read.  

My rating = ****

Carpe Librum!

Kate Morton's novel The Secret Keeper is coming soon

It's no secret that author Kate Morton is one of my favourite Australian authors. Her novel The Forgotten Garden (5 stars) is one of my Top 20 favourite novels and I also enjoyed reading The Distant Hours (5 stars) and The Shifting Fog (4 stars).

Well, I'm very excited about Kate Morton's latest book The Secret Keeper, due to be published later in the year.  

Until now, the cover designs for The Secret Keeper have been a well kept secret, but they've just been released so I thought I'd share them on My Four Bucks.

Which cover design do you like the most? I prefer the green and blue design best, but that's just me. I can't wait to read The Secret Keeper when it's published in October 2012. Will you be adding it to you your TBR pile too?

Carpe Librum!

Review: The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory

The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory is the second book in the Cousins' War series and follows on from my reading of The White Queen which completely swept me away a few weeks ago, earning the novel four stars here on Carpe Librum.

The Red Queen of the title is Lady Margaret Beaufort, devout from a very young age she takes pride in her saints' knees, calluses on her knees from the hours spent in prayer on hard surfaces.  Pious and determined to devote her life to God and be as influential as Joan of Arc, she is horrified when her Mother tells her that her lineage as descendant of Edward III and her being a girl means she has no choice but to be wedded and bedded, her sole duty to produce an heir for the throne.

Her dreams of being an Abbess now destroyed, Lady Margaret marries Edmund Tudor and gives birth to Henry Tudor at the tender age of just thirteen.  She is lucky to survive the birth at all; at one point the mid wives even toss her in a blanket ten times making her vomit.  The birth is so hard on her little body she will never be with child again.

The houses of Lancaster and York both fight for the throne and Lady Margaret plots for years to place her son Henry Tudor - in exile for most of his childhood - on the throne for the House of Lancaster against Elizabeth Woodville aka The White Queen and her King Edward IV and later against King Richard III and the sickly Queen Anne Neville.

Lady Margaret is punished for a failed uprising and we experience her hopes, disappointments, plans for rebellion, secret alliances and historical events from the Red Queen's perspective this time; whereas in Gregory's previous novel The White Queen, we viewed this dangerous and exciting period in history through the eyes of Elizabeth Woodville.

Lady Margaret Beaufort and Elizabeth Woodville were both powerful women in their own right although incredibly different from each other; Lady Margaret was pious and devout with a lineage directly from Edward III whilst Elizabeth Woodville was a commoner, a widower prior to marrying the King, a fertile woman of infinite beauty and reputed to be the daughter of a witch.

I thought it would be difficult for an author to write a book and character that was at such odds with their previous heroine so to speak, nevertheless, Philippa Gregory was able to remain unbiassed and create two completely different voices, overlapping in time and place but without favouring one or the other.  Quite a feat of writing actually.

Historical fiction is my favourite genre and I'm excited to say that I've found my new favourite author in Philippa Gregory!   The next in the Cousins' War series though is The Lady of the Rivers, which is the story of Elizabeth Woodville's mother Jacquetta.  And after that she has a back catalogue of 20 books for me to choose from, phew!  Do you have any recommendations?

My rating = ****1/2

Carpe Librum!

Dark Tower series has arrived!

The Dark Tower series by Stephen King

Last week I won the Hachette Australia competition on Twitter, and was the lucky recipient of Stephen King's entire Dark Tower series!

Well, today my books arrived and I just had to take a photo of them all.  The spines look so beautiful lined up next to each other, don't you agree?  The last one you can see on the end is the most recent of the series, The Wind Through The Keyhole. 

This is my best competition win ever and I'm looking forward to reading them all.  A huge thank you to Hachette Australia!

That's my four bucks!

Review: Born To Run by John M. Green

* From publisher for review *

After reading and reviewing Nowhere Man by John M. Green, I received a personal email from the author and Pantera Press - an Australian publishing house - asking if I was interested in reviewing his second book Born to Run.

Nowhere Man is an economic thriller set in Australia and Born to Run is a political thriller set in the USA so I knew before opening to the first page that I was in for a very different ride this time.

Plot Summary
Isabel Diaz had a poor childhood - with the scars to prove it - and is now a philanthropist and America's favourite in the lead up to the presidential elections.

She is set to become the first female US President in history until it is all ripped from her grasp in a carefully researched and live TV show.  Also happening at the same time is a carefully plotted terrorist attack on New York City that has the potential to bring the city to its very knees; but how are the terrorists connected to the politicians and who's pulling the strings?

Analysis
What was noticeably different between Nowhere Man and Born to Run was that Nowhere Man had an identifiable destination in terms of plot; there was a mystery that needed solving and therefore the reader was aware of the direction the novel was heading.  This isn't the case with Born to Run.

In Born to Run, you are never sure what is going to happen next; events take place but the reader is never permitted to peek around the corner or even get half a step in front of where the author wants you.  This had the effect on me of a slow burn thriller, and I found that the last third of the book went by in an absolute rush and the heady climax was reached.

My favourite character in the novel was Isabel's deaf son Davey who added such dimension to the plot and a fresh perspective on parenting when one parent understands ASL (sign language) better than another.  Davey even had me laughing out loud when he tells a King Kong joke in ASL.

I was also surprised at the Australian author's ability to fall into US politics so seamlessly despite his comment in the Author's note that he's: "...addicted to US presidential elections..." I must've tried at least half a dozen times in my life to understand how US government operates and then six months later, I've forgotten it all again.  (This also happens to me with the rules of cricket).

Nevertheless, you don't need to be an expert in politics to enjoy Born To Run, but if you have an interest it may enhance your enjoyment of this political thriller.

Stay tuned as I'll be interviewing the author John M. Green very soon.

My rating = ****

Carpe Librum!

Author John M. Green talks to My Four Bucks about his two novels, his writing and more, click here to read the interview.

New Design & New Pages

I thought it was time for a design change so I hope you like it!  The first thing you'll probably notice is that the old wallpaper has gone and it's in with the new!

I've created a new Challenges page to incorporate the reading challenges I'm participating in at the moment and I'll be keeping them up to date as I progress throughout the year.

A short while ago I also created an About Me page to the blog to add to the reader experience.

In addition to the new pages, I've added a 'Follow Me on Pinterest' button and a new GoodReads window together with a few minor tweaks here and there to fonts.

If you have any suggestions on things you'd like to see or articles you're interested in, please let me know.

That's my four bucks!