Sweet Valley High, Saturday’s book launch, and ‘The Murder of Mr. Wickham’

The giveaway is ‘A Novel Love Story’ by Ashley Poston

On Saturday afternoon, I reached a new milestone in my writer life – attending my first launch for a book in which my words appear. Published by Glimmer Press, FUTURES is an anthology featuring short stories of what is to come – shortly and in far-away imagined worlds.

The story I contributed is a flash fiction piece (ie a very short short story) called ‘Neverland and Nirvana’. It is decidedly on the ‘near future’ end of the above spectrum, fitting more into the realms of contemporary fiction than the speculative genre. It’s dark, though. Sometimes I set out to write a story that will brighten lives – mine and anyone who happens to read it. Funny. Quirky. Bright. ‘Neverland and Nirvana’ is the other kind – one that expresses an unhappy situation. Hopefully readers who recognise such a situation will feel a sense of connection – that they aren’t alone. I don’t want to depress people for no good reason.

Anyway, I felt like it was a story that deserved a guernsey somewhere, so I’m pleased it found a place in this anthology. From what hints I heard at the launch of the included stories from the other 27 writers, there are some intriguing story premises involving zombies and aliens and all sorts of other creatures. The monsters in my story are human, but it sounds like they fit right in.

There were some prizes on offer at the event from the publisher – a first, second, and third, plus a few highly commended. I was not on the receiving end of these, but a chick at our table won first prize. I was so pleased, as she is a truly lovely person from what I saw. She’s written a far-future tale about aliens – I’m eager to dive into it.

Anyway, here’s me with the book. My friend tried in vain to catch one of me looking normal while holding the book. (My fault, not hers – I usually look strange/bad in staged, formal photos and tend to present better when caught off-guard or being deliberately weird. It’s a me thing.) This one where I’m laughing has come out much better (see her other work here).

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News

1.     I was saddened to hear of the recent death of Francine Pascal. My childhood was made infinitely merrier by the existence of Sweet Valley High, along with other series such as The Gymnasts by Elizabeth Levy and The Baby-Sitters Club by Ann M. Martin. They were my escape into an idealised world of female friendship and fun. I didn’t know Pascal had a stable of offsiders to keep churning out the books after the initial 12 she wrote, but it makes sense given the number of novels in the series. She had also been a writer for soap operas before turning her hand to Sweet Valley. This checks out too – they definitely had a whiff of soap opera about them, in the best possible way. Thanks for creating that delightful Valley Girl world for us Francine. You made the real world better for it.

2.     I keep it on the down-low (otherwise if I start talking about it, I won’t stop for a while), but I’m a huge fan of Korean music, food, and television. So this tickled me when I came across it this week: Koreans are fond of a seafood dish called ‘Toowoomba pasta’. Apparently, US chain Outback Steakhouse introduced it as a concept to the country and they’ve embraced it ever since as a popular takeaway meal available in convenience stores and as a menu item in pasta restaurants. I’ve never heard of it, but I hope to experience it on a trip to Korea at some stage. Kooky. I love it, though.

Reviews

1.     The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray has me written all over it – a murder mystery in a setting populated by Jane Austen characters? There is nothing about this I don’t like. Fortunately, the novel lived up to its promise. After I’d started reading it and already knew I liked it, I found out it now has two sequels, even though this first volume was only released in 2022. Quick work! I’m tempted to immediately seek them out, but my TBR pile would be throwing me some massive side-eye if I did. Anyway, this first in the series gathers characters from Austen’s novels together in a house party hosted by Emma and Mr Knightley. Mr Wickham intrudes to weave mischief and malice and is swiftly dispatched. The question is: how do you work out who killed him when he’d given almost everyone a reason? If your knowledge of Austen novels is rusty, it really doesn’t matter – I’m really only familiar with Emma and Pride and Prejudice. This novel focuses on the characters from these two novels, since readers are likely to know them best, but reminds us of who everyone else and does a good job of intertwining them in a convincing fashion. Without giving anything away, I like where the mystery plot went in this one, with some nods to the sensibilities of modern readers while remaining in keeping with Austen’s times. Highly recommended!

2.     I wasn’t sure what to expect from ILIA Limitless Lash mascara from MECCA ($22 for 3g size). Given I’m into chunky, in-your-face lashes, I’m not its target audience, as it aims to ‘lift’ and ‘separate’ lashes rather than ‘volumise’ them. I can 100% endorse that it delivers on its promise to resist clumping and smudging – I forgot I was wearing mascara and rubbed my eyes and it stayed put without a trace of trouble. Aside from this, after many hours of wear, I came home and there weren’t any flakes under my eyes. It also glided on smoothly initially. It’s subtle at first, but several swipes of the wand build its presence on your lashes. The mascara is also cruelty-free and boasts some nourishing ingredients such as shea butter and beeswax. It’s not exactly my style of mascara, but it’s good at what it (subtly) does.

What I’m Feelin’ Right Now

• A white shirt trimmed with black lace

• Pickling beetroot like this

• ‘Joyride - Radio Edit’ by Kesha

• Cobalt/royal blue making a fashion comeback

• Doughnuts dusted with flavoured sugars

• A silver cuff bangle worn over a black long-sleeved top

• Coffee-flavoured make-up products

• Little short-sleeved cardigans for spring/summer

• Making focaccias with offbeat topping combinations like grapes and rosemary

Giveaway

The giveaway this week is A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston. Enter your name and email address here for a chance to win.

Playlist of the Week

Paris making an impression(ist):