supernatural

by

Madigan Mine: launched!

kirstyn mcdermott at the launch of her novel madigan mine

Madigan Mine has been officially launched! A most excellent crowd attended at Melbourne’s Carlton Library (three cheers for the brilliant staff) to see a metaphoric bottle of bubbles broken over the bow of Kirstyn McDermott’s debut novel. Lucy Sussex (who has her own launch coming up) did the honours, fitting the Melbourne-set thriller into the wider context of Australian Gothic and saying some very nice things about Kirstyn’s prose.

It was grand to see such support for a local writer, with publisher Pan Macmillan sending representatives, including the artist who designed the superb cover.

Kirstyn provides the author’s perspective of the event, and there are more pictures here.

Lucy Sussex launches Madigan Mine

by

Addendum to books of 2009: The Infernal and Poppy Z Brite

The little bird twittering about a new release of Kim Wilkins’ debut novel The Infernal has come home to roost — at this online bookseller, to be precise, where you can order a limited edition, rather cool-sounding copy for the princely sum of $100.

At time of writing, the website is giving a percentage of sales to a Western Australia bushfire appeal.

lost souls by poppy z brite

To end the new year, I’m revisiting Lost Souls by Poppy Z Brite. She’s one of my favourite authors. I love her ability to inhabit her characters, to draw that shadowy, downcast world, and her depictions of beloved New Orleans. I’ve uploaded an interview conducted with Brite in 2005, just months before Hurricane Katrina devastated her home town.

I’ve been back to New Orleans twice since Katrina, and found the city tooled up for tourists, but Katrina’s bite is still deep and tenacious for residents, and Fema remains a dirty word.

Keep up to speed with Brite, and her engagement with her home town post-K, as she puts it, at her blog.

Meanwhile, Wilkins, another of my favourite authors, has just returned from a month’s research in England in pursuit of a tasty historical fantasy tale. Something to look forward to on the cusp of a new year.

Have a good one.

by

melbourne horror con

Just found out about a convention in March in Melbourne featuring a swag (well, four) actors, who’ve appeared in horror movies and TV shows, and for some inexplicable reason, Suicide Girls. I guess for a certain demographic horror and T&A go together. Pity, that. Anyhoo, the Hub horror con reads like one of those Star Trek-style cons where the guests parade through a Q&A panel or two and sign autographs for a fee, and certainly the talent is attractive (Suicide Girls not included, attractive yes, talent… debatable): Robert Englund, Brad Dourif, Jeffrey Combs and Tony Dodd, and a promise of more to come.


Also of interest is the Supernatural con they’re planning for April, with the stars of the TV show Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. Incredibly, tickets costing $1400 and $800 have sold out. Are these boys hot or what?

There is also some do related to Twilight, but I think both the book and movie are naff, so I didn’t check that out 🙂