53. Newsletters

Newsletters are a wonderful way for an author to stay acquainted with their readers and are becoming increasingly popular. They contain current information, book news and release dates, and anything else the author wants to share. It’s a targeted, and possibly more mature, version of a blog. And there seems to be an increasing demand from publishers and editors for authors to have one. So, keeping that in mind, is it silly to be excited that a popular author kindly mentioned my blog in her latest newsletter?  Consider me for one of those hug-me-tight white jackets then. Mrs Harvey gave me permission to share this, but the highlighting to the ‘good bit’ is all mine. ;)

Unfortunately, my blog page won't support all her wonderful photos at this time, (which means I'm either not clever enough to work out how, or it truly doesn't support embedded pictures due to copyright issues) so I apologise for sharing a text only version. It's disappointing considering the impact the images made. However, if you'd like to link to Jacqueline's page, you'll find her photos and artwork there.

Dear Dannielle From the desk of Jacqueline Harvey Hello Everyone, Welcome to the August Newsletter. It’s a huge book month in Australia as we celebrate Children’s Book Week with lots of schools having visits from authors and illustrators. There are numerous festivals and launches happening around the country too. The theme for this year is Australia: Story Country. I’m involved with a number of activities starting this week with the Abbotsleigh Literary Festival, and ending mid-September with a fabulous High Tea in Queensland. I'm also thrilled to announce Sydney launch details for Alice-Miranda in China this month too!  I’ve been busy writing Alice-Miranda’s 15th adventure, which at this stage is still in need of a title. I’m almost finished the draft so no doubt something will leap out soon. I must admit that there is a scene early on that had me in floods of tears while writing it, but rest assured everything will work out in the end! The celebrations to launch Clementine Rose and the Paris Puzzle continued with a great High Tea at the Tea Salon in Sydney. Once again, Jill and her team did a brilliant job. On the other side of the country, we made a speedy trip to Busselton - our event at Dymocks was quite simply, fantastic. A big thank you to those who came out in such inclement weather (it was raining cats and dogs!). The Busselton Guest House was an absolute highlight, too. It was lovely to meet so many big fans.         In July I got to visit the fabulous team at Kids WB. For those of you who missed our interview and challenges (how did they know what my favourite sport was!), click here to go to my special blog post which links to the clips on Nine GO. You won't believe who Crawf dressed up as for his challenge! Gladstone's Curtis Coast Carnivale certainly delivered on the warmth and warm weather. The festival was fabulous and I loved sharing the stage with Dave Hackett (aka Cartoon Dave), Gregg Dreise, Lucia Masciullo and Kathryn Apel. Sadly, this was to be the last CCLC as the organisers have decided after 14 years and lots of hard work that it’s time to move on to new challenges. A huge congratulations to Dr Robyn Sheahan-Bright and her team for giving the children of Gladstone and surrounds so many wonderful years of visiting authors and illustrators. There were many highlights during the four days including a wonderful workshop for adults (one of my participants, DD Line has written a terrific account of the events on her blog here) a fabulous exhibition opening at the Gladstone Art Gallery and the opportunity to meet and present to loads of students and teachers. We had a gorgeous launch party at Tannum Sands State School for Clementine Rose and the Paris Puzzle and Hattie was the most perfect Clementine – she’s thrown out the challenge for Book Week Dress Ups that’s for sure. I also loved that I got to catch up with a friend and former colleague, Gilly - who I hadn't seen in ages!         However you're celebrating Book Week (or month), I hope you do it in style! Best wishes, Jacqueline Big Events Coming Up Alice-Miranda in China Yum Cha Launch in Sydney Alice-Miranda in China is only weeks away from release and we are hosting a YUM CHA launch party in Sydney on Sunday 28 August at Zilver restaurant in Haymarket. Bookings are strictly limited, although we will be considering a second event once the first is filled. For details go to https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/sydney-yum-cha-launch-of-alice-miranda-in-china-tickets-26962818516 Tickets are selling fast! Gold Coast - Brisbane High Tea at Brookwater Golf Club We are thrilled to be hosting a wonderful high tea at Brookwater Golf Club, situated between Brisbane and the Gold Coast and just 20 minutes from Ipswich. There will be a scrumptious High Tea, a talk and book signing and of course lots of questions from the audience. Don’t miss your chance to be part of this event. For booking details click the link to the EVENTS page on my website. Book Week and Beyond I’m heading to the Central West for Book Week and looking forward to meeting kids in Dubbo and Narromine. We will be having a public event at The Book Connection Dubbo on Wednesday 24 August – for details check the events page on the website. Melbourne Writers' Festival School Days and Roald Dahl Day Tuesday 30 August School Days Program 10am and 12.30pm - Bookings are still available. Click here for details.  Sunday 4 September is Roald Dahl Day! I am so excited to be part of the Roald Dahl Day celebrations at Federation Square in Melbourne. Roald Dahl is one of the most loved children's writers in history (and an absolute favourite of mine!). This year, he would have been celebrating his 100th birthday. Although sadly, Mr Dahl is no longer with us, thanks to Penguin Random House and the Melbourne Writers' Festival, some of Australia's favourite children's authors will be appearing at this very special event to commemorate all things Dahl. Come and join Felice Arena, Tristan Bancks, Gus Gordon and me as we weave a day of magic with special readings and events, face painting, an exhibition and much, much more! From 10am in Federation Square - FREE but please register your interest here Dymocks Top 51 For the past few years I’ve been thrilled to have Alice-Miranda or Clementine Rose (or both) on the Dymocks Top 51 Favourite Children's Books. Voting is now open for the 2016-17 list. If your favourite book is not listed, just type in the title and it sholud come up. I’ve already voted for my favourites! https://www.dymocks.com.au/Votes/Kids-Top-51-Voting There are plans afoot for tours in other states in Australia later in the year, along with the October/November tour of the U.K., Hong Kong and Singapore. For more details of where I will be in the coming weeks and months, go to the Events page on my website. New Releases Alice-Miranda in China Alice-Miranda and her friends are on a school exchange in China! There's so much to see and do, and plenty of new people to meet. Among the whirlwind of sights is a breathtaking circus show, a hair-raising feat and an encounter with a family of acrobats. While some are having a great time, others haven't quite landed on their feet. Throw in clashing personalities and the theft of a priceless antiquity, and sparks are set to fly. There may be more than just fireworks in store for Alice-Miranda and her friends . . . In all good bookshops and retailers from 29 August 2016. 2016 Alice-Miranda Journal The Alice-Miranda Journal is the most positively perfect place for writing. Keep track of your thoughts and ideas, make notes about your day, write down your absolute favourite things and maybe even your secret hopes and dreams. In all good bookshops and retailers now. Clementine Rose and the Paris Puzzle Clementine Rose and her family are off to Paris! It's Clementine's first big trip and there's so much to see and do. She's been practising her French and can't wait to say bonjour to her friends Sophie and Jules. Exploring the city is lots of fun and, with the help of Lavender, Clementine encounters some rather curious characters. After a series of strange coincidences and a last-minute disaster, Clementine begins to wonder if it's all part of one very tricky puzzle! In all good bookshops & retailers now. July 2016 Competition Winners We were inundated with brilliant trivia questions for the July Competition. Congratulations to the winners who will receive a copy of the brand new Alice-Miranda Journal which is completely gorgeous!  Paige Jessop Solveig Johnston Rachael Seaton August 2016 Competition This month in honour of Book Week, we’re running TWO competitions. August 2016 Competition PART 1 The first is a game of skill and luck. Answer the following three trivia questions (from the winners of the July competition) correctly and your name will go into the draw to win a choice of two books from either the Alice-Miranda or Clementine Rose series'. What is the name of Stanley Frost’s property? What toy belonging to Jasper, does Lucas destroy in Alice-Miranda on Holiday? What is the age difference between Alice-Miranda’s mother, Cecelia and her younger sister, Charlotte?  To enter August 2016 Part 1 competition click here.  ~~~~~~~~ August 2016 Competition PART 2 Many schools will celebrate Book Week from 20-26 August with special dress-up days and character parades. This year, the theme is Australia! Story Country. Once again, because I never cease to be amazed by the imaginative efforts and fabulous costumes the readers come up with, we are doing it all again for the August Competition! Dress up as one of the characters from the books (it doesn’t have to be for school – you could just dress up at home - especially for those who do not have Book Week at this time of year!) and send in a photograph to go into the running to win your choice of any two Alice-Miranda or Clementine Rose titles. To enter August 2016 Part 2 competition click here.

Australian Events August/September 2016   Jacqueline will be having events in NSW, Victoria and Queensland during these months. Please click here to view Events on the website.     International Events October/November 2016 Jacqueline's next scheduled overseas trip is in October/November 2016 visiting: - Hong Kong - Singapore - United Kingdom If you would like to arrange a school visit, please send an email to: jacqueline@jacquelineharvey.com.au

Copyright © 2016 jacquelineharvey.com.au, All rights reserved. You're receiving this email because you signed up to our newsletter at http://jacquelineharvey.com.au. Our mailing address is: jacquelineharvey.com.au Level 3, 100 Pacific Highway North Sydney, NSW 2060 Australia Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences

Yes, I know, blink and you’d miss it, but it’s good to know someone thinks something you wrote was worth sharing.  Which is why when I have the opportunity to share something with other aspiring writers, I’m only too happy to do so. :) 

For example, here’s a snippet from another local writer. :)

http://www.mysub3hourjourney.com/riding/fundraising-group-rides/

Mr Roby is beginning to bother me. I’ve mentioned before on another blog that he’s a great story teller, is funny, artistic and can most definitely sing. (He’s the President of the Performing Arts Group to which my oldest child belongs.) But now it seems I have a fitness freak to deal with who makes my clinging to the computer chair in order to shout out about other people’s achievements seem more like a lazy excuse. Hmmm.

I will share a newsletter from another author next month to show different ideas. Meanwhile...

Reviews

If you could see the grin on my face you’d know whose latest release I’m about to share. :) That’s right, the next in Ms Schwartz’s Collegium series – Hollywood Demon. Here’s the blurb.

Feel the Earth move!

A camera can’t steal your soul—but a demon can! Mark Yarren suspects a demon has found a way around the spell his great-grandfather cast to prevent demons sucking souls through the camera’s lens. Digital photography dangerously omits the silver wash that was photography’s century-old defence against Hell.

Mark is Hollywood royalty, descended from the early Hollywood stars: the studio bosses and directors, the producers and actresses. Now he lives alone in his palatial Beverly Hills estate.

Well, not quite alone.

Clancy Ramirez is back! She’s tried life in New York, in Iceland, and in Hawaii, but she missed California. She missed the grumbling roar of the San Andreas Fault with its leagues-deep molten geology. Clancy is a geomage and she can make the earth shake—or grow still. But California isn’t her territory. She has no place intruding or tapping its energy.

But a demon shackled for a century is breaking free, and Collegium rules, old heartaches and strained family loyalties will break, too.

The Big One is coming.

Disgraced and dismissed due to circumstances beyond her control, Clancy Ramirez left the Collegium and her career behind for the solace of her home in Hollywood, California. She can control herself long enough not to overstep the rules of the territory, can’t she? That promise waivers when she’s barely stepped on home turf and senses a demon lurking near the front gates. Duty bound to follow its trail, Clancy runs into her old teenage crush, missing the demon by seconds. She soon learns Mark, whilst not strong enough magically to control the demon, has crossed paths with it before – in the accident that took his fiancée’s life. When Clancy discovers the truth behind the accident, she understand Mark’s obsession with trapping the demon, but a man with very little powers of his own and a geomage who can’t control her magical strength have little chance of capturing a high level and very powerful demon, one that believes manipulating Clancy and Mark all but guarantees its freedom. And it will use anyone and anything to get what it wants.

Now I’m not a geomage, but I am an earth sign and I found it quite eerie in the first couple of chapters to discover how similar Clancy was to myself – to the point where I wondered if there was a hidden camera around. Not that I’m going to admit to which aspects of Clancy’s personality traits I claimed.  J What I will admit to is how much I loved the story and the characters. Flawed, yet humble and caring, I loved the family dynamics played out between Clancy and her brother, the geomage in charge of California. Once again, Ms Schwartz made me change my mind regarding how I felt about certain characters, especially when Clancy literally ran into her teenage crush, Mark.  I love the way both Clancy and Mark faced their personal demons to claim their true selves.

Hollywood Demon has just been released, but I know Ms Schwartz is already working on the next in the series, which is due out at Halloween – such a long wait. ;)  But while I’m waiting for the next book, you can learn more about Jenny and her stories here. :)

http://authorjennyschwartz.com/

News

I attended a book launch a couple of weeks ago in support of another local indie author. Ms Higgins certainly put in plenty of work behind the scenes to ensure the release of the third book in her trilogy was a complete success. There were plenty of smiling faces at the venue, all keen to have a chat with the author or pose for a picture and everyone who bought a copy of her book waited eagerly for her to sign them, all of which Ms Higgins graciously did. She also gave a speech and read from her novel and considering I knew how nervous she was; she did a wonderful job. I’ve no doubt I would have shredded my notes, my hands would have been shaking that much. ;) Now I have two new books to read as I bought the set. (I reviewed her first book in the previous blog.)

https://ljhiggins.com/

I also took part in a paranormal / supernatural speculative fiction competition so I’ve ‘met’ a plethora of authors and have more books to read. The pile is growing again. I’ve also been asked to read and review an advanced copy of a story, which is the second in a trilogy. I loved the first book so lucky me. Although I kept asking the author when the next one was coming out so perhaps she shared her ARC with me so I’d stop nagging. There’s also a couple of debut novellas on my list from authors in the Aspiring Group from RWA, so I have new authors to cheer on too. :)

I will have more news next month of what I’ve been up to and it will explain why this month’s blog is late (and shorter.) My apologies for that. And if my blog makes less sense than usual, it will explain that too. How do people function with little sleep again? Anyhow, busy, busy, busy with books to read and review.

Until then, follow your dreams and may happiness be a constant companion. :)