Breakfast with Michael Robotham & Malla Nunn

This morning I've had breakfast with one of my very favourite authors, Michael Robotham.

He and Malla Nunn have been touring Australia for GET READING AUSTRALIA since the middle of last week, and just now they are in South Australia. On Friday they go on to Hobart, and then they'll have done 13 places in 10 days.

Michael began this touring madness in the name of adult literacy back in 2008 when he became the Books Alive ambassador, and undertook a similarly gruelling schedule.

Michael's next novel, THE WRECKAGE, to be published in May 2011, will see the return of retired detective Vincent Ruiz and introduce a new character, crusading journalist Luca Terracini.

Michael and I were joined at breakfast by his travelling companion on this tour Malla Nunn.  Her debut novel, A Beautiful Place to Die, was published to international acclaim, winning the 2009 Sisters in Crime Davitt Award for Best Adult Crime Novel by an Australian female author and, in 2010, was shortlisted for an Edgar Award (USA). Her latest book in the Detective Sergeant Emmanuel Cooper series, Let The Dead Lie, has just been released. 

I was embarrassed to admit that I haven't yet read A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO DIE, but I do have a library copy next to my bed, and I have promoted it ot the status of TBRN (to be read next).


The breakfast conversation was great: ranging in topics from the worst books I have ever read and reviewed on my blog, to Adelaide's claim to be a crime capital, to anecdotes about plane flights, to television shows, to discussion lists, to whether crime fiction is literature.


What a great way to begin the day!

So what do crime fiction writers and readers eat for breakfast?
Rather surprisingly perhaps: Bircher muesli and coffee.

My book reviews on this blog of Robotham titles

• BOMBPROOF
• SHATTER
• SHATTER (audio)
• BLEED FOR ME

Some links of interest

• Listen to some radio interviews with Michael
• Watch some interviews with Michael
• Kiwi Crime Watch interviews Michael
• Authors featured by Get Reading Australia
• Review of A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO DIE on Australian Crime Fiction Database

Bleed For Me	Bombproof	Shatter	The Night Ferry
The Drowning Man (aka Lost)	The Suspect

BBAW Interview Swap - BermudaOnion

BermudaOnion & Milou

I've seen BermudaOnion's name on many of the blogger places I visit, even occasionally wandered into her blog, but never had the chance to talk to her before.

The first thing you notice on her blog, when you look at the comments, and the ClustrMap she has on display, is how immensely popular her posts are.
I've discovered she also has an enormous following on Twitter.

Sometimes her reading tastes and mine coincide, when she reads crime fiction/mystery, but she appears to read a lot more widely than I do.

Here are the questions I asked her

How would you describe your tastes in reading?
I like a variety of genres, so I'm not really sure how to describe my taste.  I think I tend to read women's fiction, memoirs, chick lit and literary fiction the most, but I might find that I'm totally wrong if I took the time to evaluate my reading list.  I do know that I mostly read fiction, but don't object to the occasional non-fiction book thrown in there.

Why do you blog?
Before I started my blog, I read a few personal blogs from time to time.  When I would look at them, I would always think, "I can do that."  My son was home for summer break and he encouraged me to take the plunge.  At the time, I knew I would write posts about books, since I love to read, but I had no idea my whole blog would go in that direction.  I didn't even know book blogs existed and that people were actually interested in reading them.  Once I discovered book blogs and the book blogging community, I was hooked.  I think I continue to blog because I love the people I've met - virtually and in real life - through my blog.  It has been such a joy to get to know people - bloggers, authors, and publicists - with such a passion for books.  I've finally found people who are like me!

Does your blog have regular features?
I host the meme, Wondrous Words Wednesday and generally participate in one other meme, Mailbox Monday.  I also try to link to the Weekend Cooking and Kid Konnection features as often as possible.  For the Literary Road Trip, I represent my adopted home state of South Carolina.  I host the Reagan Arthur Books Challenge, along with Booking Mama, but we've set up a separate blog for that.

What determines what you read?
Sometimes obligation - an upcoming book tour, book club meeting or author interview - will make the decision for me, otherwise, I just go with whatever book is calling my name the loudest.  I wish I had a better organized system for my TBR pile, but I don't.

Where are best places to go to meet up with people who read the same genres as you do?
My first thought was Book Expo America.  This year I was lucky enough to share a room with Julie of Booking Mama and our taste in books are remarkably similar.  Since BEA is only once a year, though, I'm going to say Twitter - I think it's a great place to find kindred souls when it comes to reading books.


Many thanks BermudaOnion!

Check the other interviews

BBAW: Interview Swap

My interview partner was The Story Siren.
Kristen and I exchanged questions and answers some weeks ago. Although we read and review very different genres, we share many ideas about why we blog.

Kristen's blog is one of those with many different features to look at. You can also follow The Story Siren on Twitter where she has an incredible number of followers.

What led you to create your blog?

My blog was created mainly just for me to keep track of what I was reading and what I thought about it. I never intended for it to be a “review” blog. It sort of evolved into that as time went by.

What are the main objectives of your blog?

The main objective is spreading the word about YA titles. Most of the time it’s upcoming YA titles. I do read older titles at times, but it’s usually fairly new novels that I post about and review. When I used to do challenges I’d read some older titles, but I just don’t have the time for those now, that must of the books I read are review titles.

What are the greatest pleasures in blogging?

The greatest pleasures is “meeting” fantastic people that enjoy reading as much as you do! I love being able to chat with other bloggers and authors. It’s something that I never anticipated and it’s one of the things that I enjoy the most.

Is there a blog post or meme that has been far more successful than anything else you've done?

In My Mailbox is one of my most popular meme. It’s a meme about sharing what books you’ve received that week, via your mailbox, bought, or library. It’s a really great way for me to give all the books I receive a spotlight on the blog even if I may not get around to reviewing them all. Plus it a great way to network with other blogs and find new blogs to follow! And I always like to see what books other people are getting so I can add new ones to my wish list!

My most popular post was a recent post I did entitled The Dark Side (of blogging) that struck a chord with a lot of people.

What new skills have you learnt through blogging?

Well, my writing has improved a lot. I still think it need a lot more, but I can see how I’m able to write my reviews with a little more ease. I’ve also had been able to get over some of my apprehensions about voicing my opinion. Usually I just like to agree with other people to keep from making any sort of confrontation, but I’ve learned that voicing my opinion isn’t a bad thing, it’s something I have a right to do!

Are you a book reviewer who happens to blog, or a blogger who happens to write book reviews?

I’m most definitely a blogger who happens to write book reviews. My reviews are very personal, rather than professional.

What is the best YA book you've read this year?

Wow, I don’t think I could narrow it down to just one. I’ve read a lot of fantastic books this year. There are just too many to name. YA authors never cease to amaze me.

What do you think are the main elements of a good book review?

I like reviews that are honest and to the point. If you don’t like something, or if you do, be sure to state why. That way your readers can make an objective decision.

What are the best features of a good blog?

I guess that depends on what type of blog you have. With a review blog, obviously some reviews would be a good feature. But it always nice to vary things a little bit too. You want a good representation of interesting content.

What are the regular features of your blog? Which have been the most successful?

Interviews, book tours, reviews, contests, In My Mailbox and Books to Pine For are my regular features and the last two are my most popular too. I think I have the most fun doing them too!

The contests are always popular, which isn’t all that surprising since everyone loves to win things, especially free books when you’re a book lover!

Interviews just depend. Some are more popular than others, I’m not sure if it’s a lack of interesting questions on my part, a lack of interest in the author, or perhaps a combination of the both.

Many thanks to Story Siren for her frankness.

BTW The Story Siren has won the BBAW Award for The Most Extravagant Giveaways. Well done!

MiP's BBAW Giveaways
Put your hand up for a free book - 2 restricted to Australia/New Zealand and 2 for world wide eligibility.