Category Archives: Special Features

Quotes Collection Part Nine

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You only have to have been following me for a minute, to know i’m a SAGA fan. I read issue #44 back in July 2017 and was immediately drawn to the above text. It struck a chord in me and made me sit back as go “Shit, that sounds about right”.

I sat back and thought about all the things I was passionate about, and all the times I’d done stupid don’t-do-it things, and came to the conclusion that Brian was 100% on the money.

I’m lucky that this fact doesn’t bother me. I like to think I have to pretty open minded and compassionate parents who taught me good values and morals – even if I didn’t always follow them.

I found it interesting to ponder and the more I thought on it, the more I could see how the lives my parents lived with their parents had shaped them to be who they are.

SAGA, always providing food for thought! Seriously, if you haven’t picked this series up yet you really should. Here is another SAGA tidbit from back in late 2015.

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

Me, Myself and Thrive: Product Review

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I’ve felt further and further under the weather for years now. You might remember when I was chasing down all my aches and pains and trying to self-manage with essential oils. A while back I finally broke down, gave up and went crying to my GP. My doctor then sent me for numerous tests and to multiple specialists. In the end I got a diagnosis of spondylo-arthritis, sleep apnoea and high blood pressure. Yay me! Not! But hey, it could be much worse. I’m on meds for the arthritis and blood pressure and have been seeing a Chiropractor and Remedial Massage Therapist regularly.

I’ve had all of the above compounding on me for years and the births of two children to add to it. But I’m not here to bitch and carry on about health issues. I’m here to talk about something proactive I’m doing to better my overall health.

I’ve got a friend who’s been harping-on, all over Facebook, about how she is now “Thriving”. She’s been doing this “Thriving” thing for quite a while now. Her name is Jody and I love her to pieces. So, SHOUT OUT TO JODY! Anyways, Jody sent me a ten-day sample of the health supplements she’d been using and being the super-special-critter I am, I wasn’t holding out much hope that I’d feel any different. I read a shit tonne of testimonies on the products and couldn’t see any reason not to give it a go.

What the heck is thrive you ask. Essentially you are taking a vitamin and mineral super bomb, with an appetite suppressant. So, think of it as going into the chemist and buying every Blackmores product there is and taking one of it each, every morning.

From day one I had more energy and my hunger was decreased. But from what I’ve read you are either a first day Thriver or don’t feel it kick in to around day ten.

This is a word for word message I sent to my friend Jody after a week Thriving.
“I got up at five this morning and did some light exercise before my shower/get dressed/get the kids up morning ritual. It’s the first time since having kids that I’ve managed to do this. I used to do yoga or go for a walk early in the mornings before I had the kids. So that feels like a step back in the right direction.”

I’ve been using it for over four months now and am still finding I’ve got more energy and am less hungry then I was pre-Thrive. I struggled to get out of bed pre-Thrive, constantly felt I was dragging myself through wet concreate, now I hop out and head off to do my stretches, computer work or catch up on some reading before the boys wake up. I hardly drink coffee anymore, only as a treat, not a way to survive. I don’t feel like I need it. And I was drinking two large cups just to get my brain functioning each morning pre-Thrive. There are still some days where I’ve had a bad night apnoea wise and all my efforts are destroyed for the day until I can get some rest. But that’s on a ratio of like, one to eight, so I can deal with that.

The biggest rule on Thrive is to make sure you drink heaps of water. At first your body is detoxing and will NEED plenty of water – that’s what I was told, and that’s how it felt. I was smashing down five plus litres of water a day during my first ten days, but that super thirst has calmed down now. Most days now I drink around four litres total.

Cost: It seems super expensive when you pay for a month’s supply but boils down to about $8.00 a day with the American dollar change over, once you add it into the auto-ship set up. It’s not financially sustainable for most people unless you’re flush with cash or have friends you can sign up with and share around the credits you receive. Yes, it is a business, so of course they offer you benefits for signing people up, it’s just like what I’ve encountered with doTerra and YLEO etc.

I’m not sure for how long I’ll keep the program up for, but even in the short term it has given me a well needed boost and got me living again.

The THRIVE 8-Week Experience is the fastest-growing health & wellness movement in the world. THREE premium nutritional based products have changed the world and created millions of success stories!
The THRIVE Experience is SIMPLE, FUN and it WORKS! Check it out…
That’s it! You’re set to THRIVE all day long! Learn more about the THRIVE 8-Week Experience [CLICK HERE]… a simple system with powerful results designed to fill in your nutritional deficiencies!

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

Bookish Babble: Quotes Collection Part Eight

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I laughed out loud the first time I read the above two sentences. I’d never really thought about it. What does happen after they ride of into the sunset?

I read Steph Bowe’s Night Swimming back in May 2017. It is an LGBT friendly, adorable #LoveOzYA feel good romp about growing up, first love, true friendship, finding your inner strength and place in the world and finding the courage to move forward. It’s well worth a look.

33128455Night Swimming by Steph Bowe

Published April 3rd 2017
by Text Publishing

[Add to Goodreads]

Imagine being the only two seventeen-year-olds in a small town. That’s life for Kirby Arrow—named after the most dissenting judge in Australia’s history—and her best friend Clancy Lee, would-be musical star.

Clancy wants nothing more than to leave town and head for the big smoke, but Kirby is worried: her family has a history of leaving. She hasn’t heard from her father since he left when she was a baby. Shouldn’t she stay to help her mother with the goat’s-milk soap-making business, look after her grandfather who suffers from dementia, be an apprentice carpenter to old Mr Pool? And how could she leave her pet goat, Stanley, her dog Maude, and her cat Marianne?

But two things happen that change everything for Kirby. She finds an article in the newspaper about her father, and Iris arrives in town. Iris is beautiful, wears crazy clothes, plays the mandolin, and seems perfect, really, thinks Kirby. Clancy has his heart set on winning over Iris. Trouble is Kirby is also falling in love with Iris…

Dreaming Big: Guest Post by Brian Wilkinson

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Brian Wilkinson attempts to juggle multiple careers as an author, high school teacher, and librarian. He currently lives in East York, Ontario, with his wife, Catherine, and his two children, Owen and Nora, who served as the inspiration for the main characters in his first novels, Battledoors and Paramnesia.

Brian Wilkinson

Once I finished writing my first novel, Battledoors, my mother eagerly read it and then said, “Wow, this would make a great movie!” I’ll admit, I got pretty excited at the notion and immediately started dreaming up all sorts of scenarios that culminated in my characters showing up on screen. I remember a few times when I was in a movie theatre and looking up at trailers playing on giant screens and all of the cardboard standees and posters and thinking, “That might be my book someday.” 

At that point, I didn’t even have a publishing contract for the book. That in and of itself would be a major success, and yet there I was, aiming for the 1% of books that are lucky enough to be translated into film.

That led me to wonder why the book alone wasn’t good enough. It’s a strange thing, when you really think about it, that the ultimate goal of your artistic creation is to hand it off to someone else to create, potentially, a more popular and consumed version of what you came up with. Maybe it’s because we equate that kind of visibility with success.

And there are lots of examples we can pull from. Twilight, The Martian, Ready Player One, Hunger Games, Divergent, Lord of the Rings (masterful works in both cases), heck, even the Avengers, X-Men, and Batman are all more popular because of the films, while the source material is left over for those who are willing to take the time to read them. And before you mention it, yes, there is the case of Harry Potter, which was a book phenomenon long before it became a film phenomenon, but I’ll tell you now that as a teacher and a librarian there are a lot more kids these days who have seen the films but not read the books.

For me, books are the best form of entertainment out there. My mind gets to create voices, imagine the landscape, and see in greater detail and more depth than the typical film run time allows for. There is a patience that is required and a level of focus that is all too often easily lost by an audience passively taking it in. At a theatre, I can pay attention. At home, I’m often distracted by some device or another. With a book, I have to really be present. 

And considering how much time it took me to write the things, I’d like any audience I’m lucky enough to have to be able to take their time with it and see it, hear it, and feel it for themselves however they might choose. 

All of that said, I wouldn’t argue if Hollywood came knocking on my door.

I know; I’m a terrible hypocrite. “But you just said that books are better!” you’re shouting at me. And yes, they are. Still, one can’t deny the awe and splendour of seeing someone else’s imagining of the same thing you read and comparing notes. Harry Potter, for the record, was pretty spot-on in its translation. For all of its deviations, Lord of the Rings is a stunning achievement. The Hobbit… not so much.  Still, those are books that earned their place on the silver screen by building an audience and by rising to meet the lofty standards that the books set up. It’s exciting to see a great filmmaker do something special with your work and hold it up as the gold standard. I mean, seriously, Ernest Cline got Steven Spielberg to adapt his first-ever novel! How cool is that?

So, yes, I’ll dream big and stare at the movie poster on the wall. And yes, it would be cool. No, I’m not about to put together a “dream cast” for my books, as I would get it all totally wrong. The only actor I ever pictured bringing any of my characters to life was Patton Oswalt in the role of Dr. Westlake from my second novel, Paramnesia. Don’t know why, either. The rest of the characters I’d leave in the hands of others. Why? Well, I never would have tapped Chris Pratt for Starlord. I cringed at Chris Evans as Captain America. And who the heck is Gal Gadot?

See? All of those people are amazing in their roles to the points where the comic characters are adapting to match up. Now that’s something special. Nope. Leave the casting to someone else.

But look, you’ve caught me dreaming absurdly big again. I’m already doing that just by getting published in the first place and hoping, just hoping, that someone finds my books, reads them, enjoys them, and watches the movie versions play out in their own heads. Isn’t that amazing? Isn’t that the definition already of a huge amount of success?

It’s more than good enough for me.

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Battledoors: The Golden Slate

Life constantly seems to be wavering between really good and really bad for Owen, a lonely sixteen-year-old still reeling from the unexpected death of his mother and a fresh move to Toronto. After ducking into an old bookstore to escape high school bullies, Owen discovers that he can travel to a parallel, twisted version of the city with a magical tablet called a Battledoor, where he encounters new allies, bizarre creatures, and the ultimate antagonist who will stop at nothing to procure the magical Golden Slate for himself. 

Forced to work together with friends and enemies in order to return home, Owen is faced with a series of choices that will prompt him to find courage he never knew he had, explore the possibility of romance, and try to find a way to let go of his painful past and move on. But is Owen ready to finally take control, and become the protagonist of his own story?

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Paramnesia: The Deadish Chronicles

Nora Edwards finally had everything she wanted out of life, including the boy of her dreams, Andrew, until one night that dream turned into a nightmare. On their way home from prom, Nora and Andrew are attacked by a supernatural creature called the Revenant that sucks the souls out of the living in order to feed itself. Nora manages to escape from the creature, but tragically, Andrew is not as fortunate.

Although Nora suffered loss that night, she gained something, as well: the ability to see the dead. Whether the skill is a gift or a curse is yet to be determined, as those around her assume Nora has developed “paramnesia,” a disorder where one confuses dreams with reality. She’s also attracted the attention of the Revenant’s masters, who need to preserve the secret of their supernatural existence. Nora, along with Andrew and her living and dead allies in the Deadish Society, quickly finds herself in a battle for the souls of her city—and her mind.

Links to Brian’s Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram 

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

Beau Kondos: Author Q&A

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38413033The Path of the Lost (The Path of the Lost, #1) by Beau Kondos

Published July 2nd 2018 by KoHR MEDIA

The first book in a timely fantasy series about discovering the power of representation and perception in a world without art.

Zynthia is a Delver of the Cosm, one of the last of her kind. She has the ability to unleash the power of art, melody and narrative in a world that has outlawed creative expression. After her grandmother’s death, she is left to Delve on her own in the hope of discovering a lost ‘key’ that could preserve the Cosm’s light and save her world from fading into oblivion.

A single painting leads her to James, a man who is caught between two worlds.

After forming a fragile alliance with a Guardian and a rebel, Zynthia and James embark on the Path of the Lost. This ever-changing trail is haunted by forgotten creatures and secrets of the Cosm’s past.

Is James really the key Zynthia has been searching for? Can he learn to harness the power of his art to help in the battle against the Lost? Or has Zynthia’s Delving initiated a chain of events that will plunge her world into darkness forever?

Capturing themes of imagination lost, sexual awakening and coming to terms with the psychological anxiety of becoming independent, The Path of the Lost explores how the power of creativity can be used to unlock the colour caged inside a seemingly grey world.

The Interview

THE PATH OF THE LOST HEART WAS PUBLISHED ON THE 2ND OF JULY, FIRSTLY CONGRATULATIONS! CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE INSPIRATION BEHIND IT, OR HOW THE STORY CAME TO BE?

Thanks so much, Sarah! Inspiration tends to always flow in from multiple directions but I guess the main one was witnessing the rapid evolution in technologies and the consumer habits that formed around them.

Back in high school mobile phones only sent texts and made phone calls, so I’d rarely see anyone enthralled by a screen on the train home after school. Now you see mobiles, iPads and Kindles everywhere on public transport. I’m all for technological advances, but it got me thinking of some of the consequences of the decrease in ‘dead time’ we once had so much of. If there’s always an app or a group chat that can easily distract us, where do we find the free time to really process the day’s events, and just tune out and experiment with our imagination?

My storyworld is based in the Cosm, and it was inspired by this dilemma. The Cosm is a world where creative expression has been outlawed where most people have the time to explore their imaginations, but they don’t want to. The story asks some pretty big questions about what could potentially happen when we don’t make the time to explore what’s going on in our heads and the world around us.

CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR PUBLISHING JOURNEY WITH THE PATH OF THE LOST?

It’s very hard to get picked up as a debut author. Usually the big Aussie publishers won’t look at your stuff unless you have an agent and unfortunately for Aussie writers, young adult fantasy has a bigger market abroad than at home. I couldn’t find an agent to take me on to sell the novel locally, so it felt like my hands were tied. Publishing locally was something that was very important to me, so I created a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to plead my case. Fortunately there was an overwhelming response to ensure The Path of the Lost was published on home turf first, so I was able to use the funds to have my manuscript professionally edited and printed in Australia. Now I’m currently working on finding a publisher abroad.

IF YOU COULD GO BACK PRE-PUBLICATION DAY AND GIVE YOURSELF ANY ADVICE, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Learn to say no. I’m a social animal and I find it quite difficult to say no to invitations to social events. Self-publishing has been an enjoyable challenge, but it does eat up a lot of my free time. Sadly I’ve been using my writing time to work on things a publishing house would traditionally do, when I should’ve left my writing time as is, and said no to social events instead. Friends mean a lot to me, and I feel terrible saying no to them haha.

ARE YOU WORKING ON ANYTHING AT THE MOMENT, BOOK TWO PERHAPS, CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT IT?

The Path of the Lost was originally double the size. Book one was the first half of the novel, however during my six years of writing it evolved so much, that the second half needs to be re-written. I hadn’t planned for the characters to take control and end the first instalment the way that they did. I discovered that one of the rewards of writing was witnessing the characters grow organically. They revealed that there was a bigger story to tell, and a different path I needed to take to do so. I can tell you that the second novel will deal with heavier themes but it will introduce a few new characters and highlight the complexities of what makes a villain.

WHAT ARE YOU READING AT THE MOMENT OR WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ?

I just finished Circe, which had been sitting on my TBR pile for so long. I’m a huge mythology buff and from the first chapter I fell in love with Madeline Miller’s writing. It’s really poetic and lyrical and she’s done such an excellent job of tying together some of my favourite Greek myths into a single narrative with a powerful protagonist. It’s quite beautiful.

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO BEAU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO ANSWER MY QUESTIONS!

It’s been a pleasure. Thanks, Sarah!

Beau Kondos

Beau Kondos grew up in Melbourne and was captivated by strong women kicking arse on TV. After realising he wasn’t cut out to save the world, he started training to be a geeky sidekick by soaking up the contents of Greek mythology and philosophy books.

He has a double bachelor’s degree in media and communications/commerce from the University of Melbourne and a graduate diploma in creative media from RMIT University.

One of the highlights of his career was working for a not-for-profit, where he met many undiscovered superheroes. When he’s not working at a publishing house, you’ll find him travelling the world on a food adventure or making big decisions at his local supermarket’s ice-cream freezer.

BEAU CAN BE FOUND ON TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK & HIS WEBSITE.

 

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

Quotes Collection Part Seven

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Nothing profound this month. Just a quote that transported me to my late teens and made me laugh out loud. Oh those pub rat days.

I loved the line, because as I read it, I could smell the exact smell the author was on about. You youngins will never get to experience this, what with the no smoking laws and modern metrosexuality – hey don’t get me wrong both of these things are awesome. But you will never experience the wall of STANK as you enter a dingy little pub or club. That mix of beer, B.O. and cigarette. Yes, this is probably a good thing, but for a second I was nineteen again and I was out on the town, drawing the toxic fumes into my lungs, and I loved it.

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The quote is from To Betray My King by Kayla Lavan, a book a read in May last year (2017). To Betray My King is set in a medieval world. There is forbidden love (a love triangle), elemental magic and war.

While I enjoyed stepping into Ms Lavan’s medieval world of Sol and meeting the magic weavers she filled it with, it was only a Three Star read for me all up. I found it hard to warm up to either of the male leads as love interests and the ending felt out of place, like I’d missed multiple characters. BUT I did enjoy the playful banter and friendship between Prince Roland and his bodyguard/best friend, Conrad :-).

To view previous Bookish Babble Quote Collections click HERE.

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

Pagan Malcolm: Guest Post

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The Inspiration Behind Stuck On Vacation With Ryan Rupert

Written by Pagan Malcolm

Pagan is the author of Stuck on Vacation With Ryan Rupert (Ryan Rupert Series) and Lanterns in the Sky (Starlight Chronicles Series).

I was inspired to write Stuck On Vacation With Ryan Rupert—a YA contemporary suspense novel—while on vacation with my friend back in Grade 9 (so I was roughly 14 at the time).

Like many young teenagers exploring the new, exciting world of being a teenager, having relationships, and growing into maturity, I was really wrapped up in the concept of romance and getting my first boyfriend. It just so happened that at the time I really liked this one guy (I thought he was cute, and that was the basis of my crush), but nothing ever happened between us. We had separate classes, there was no force pushing us together at all. So I never acted on it, or really attempted to get to know him. I thought he was way out of my league and he would never date someone like me anyway. But the fantasy was still nice, and as a creative, fantasies are something I always hold onto.

So as I mentioned above, at the end of Grade 9, I was invited by my best friend (at the time) to join her family on their vacation to Daydream Island. I’d been there before, it was very nice there, but I’d never stayed for a week, and even to this day I really value my privacy when it comes to sharing rooms. If at all possible, I like to stay with close friends or just by myself, so it was already uncomfortable to me that I had to share the room with my friend, her dad, and his girlfriend.

But my mum had raised me to be grateful and the trip had been paid for me, so of course, I didn’t turn it down or complain.

Another fun fact about me is that I really dislike the ocean and swimming in general—I was never a strong swimmer growing up and I hate being cold, so the appeal of going for a dip in the sea wears off pretty quickly once my legs get tired and I start shivering. And while on this island, I found that there weren’t many activities to be doing that didn’t require going into water, so I was quite bored sitting around at the pools and such. It wasn’t exactly hellish or a nightmare, but it was far from ‘fun’, to my personal standards anyway.

While sitting there, daydreaming, I came up with this idea. Just a thought—a funny thought at the time, as I imagined how weird and amusing it would be if I ran into my crush while stuck on this island. In my teenage fantasy, it would give us an opportunity to get to know each other better (with the ideal outcome being a sometime romance).

Of course, that was never going to happen, but slowly, I started to piece this story idea together about a girl with a mortal enemy (based on my crush) who is forced to come to this island paradise. I gave her an exaggerated fear of the sea, which helped create the same kind of conflicts I’d been facing. The concept was perfect!

Two people who hate each other stuck in an island paradise with no choice but to get along (as they were forced to share a room), or tear each other apart.

Not to mention that one is a coward when it comes to the ocean, and the other is adventurous, egotistical prankster who torments the main character at every opportunity he has.

By the end of the trip, I was itching to get the story down on paper, and I spent an entire week straight just binge writing the book. I rocked up to school on Monday to start the new term and dumped a manuscript at my friend’s table.

While the inspiration is a little weird, looking back, I don’t regret it. Maybe one day that guy will find out Ryan Rupert is based off of him (or at least, how I’d imagined him to be), but to be honest, I think I prefer my fantasy as just a fantasy. I get to have a lot more fun with it that way—like adding random psychopaths with a mysterious past to the mix, and creating a completely unique and adorable couple who always seem to captivate my readers.

My fantasy was just a fantasy, but my story is for everyone to read and enjoy.

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Stuck on Vacation with Ryan Rupert: There’s Trouble in Paradise by P S Malcolm

Aubany Winters’ life soon becomes a nightmare when her mum gets cancer and has to leave for California with her dad. Left with her neighbours, the Ruperts, and to her displeasure, their son Ryan, she finds herself forced to tag along on their family vacation to Nula Island. There’s just a few problems, like her fear of the ocean, her and Ryan’s mutual hatred for each other, and the psycho girl who is trying to kill them. Will Aubany overcome her fears? Will she and Ryan ever stop hating each other? Or will their flaws and disagreements lead them right into the enemy’s hands?

P.S.Malcolm (Pagan) grew up in Proserpine, Queensland— a small, Australian country town on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef. She was a storyteller from a young age and spent years perfecting her craft.

For two years, she juggled waitressing in tourist filled coffee shops while undertaking two degrees in Creative Writing online— one specializing in children’s fiction and publishing. She has always had an interest in writing, but never saw herself working in the industry until she made the choice to self-publish her debut novel, STUCK ON VACATION WITH RYAN RUPERT. Realizing that she loved the process of publishing her book, she pursued an internship at a publishing house and snagged a spot as Pen Name Publishing’s Marketing Assistant.

In between interning and writing, Pagan opened her first business working as a freelance Marketing Strategist for Paperback Kingdom— which helps indie authors with all aspects of their author careers.

Pagan is a cat enthusiast, tea lover, and floral fanatic. She keeps a well-stocked tea collection, and one of her favourite past times is rocking up to a cozy teashop in a worn pair of jeans and writing a few pages of prose. If the ‘florals’ weren’t a dead giveaway, she’s a proud Hufflepuff and is crazy about the colour yellow.

Pagan also enjoys reading— particularly fantasy and paranormal— and is a passionate blogger. She reviews books that she has read on her personal website, and indie books on her business blog. Some of her favourite and most influential authors include Amanda Gernentz Hanson, A.G. Howard, Marissa Meyer and Michele Jaffe.

Her newest book, LANTERNS IN THE SKY, is set to be released by The Parliament House Publishing in Spring 2019.

Pagan’s Links: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website & Blog | Goodreads

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

Quotes Collection Part Six

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I read Steven Herrick’s #LoveOzYA verse novel The Simple Gift in May last year (2017). It affected me way more than I expected it too. Below is one of the quotes I jotted down while reading it.

The Simple Gift is a story of friendship and second chances, of healing and new love. The characters Caitlin, Billy & Old Bill are three people from different walks of life brought together by circumstance, with the result being that they all end up making each other’s life better. It is a beautiful book and one I highly recommend.

The Simple Gift by Steven Herrick

I’m not proud.
I’m sixteen, and soon
to be homeless.

Weary of his life with his alcoholic, abusive father, sixteen-year-old Billy packs a few belongings and hits the road, hoping for something better than what he left behind. He finds a home in an abandoned freight train outside a small town, where he falls in love with rich, restless Caitlin and befriends a fellow train resident, “Old Bill,” who slowly reveals a tragic past. When Billy is given a gift that changes everything, he learns not only to how forge his own path in life, but the real meaning of family.

To view previous Bookish Babble Quote Collections click HERE.

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

Quotes Collection Part Five

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The below is a quote from a Q&A by transgender writer and activist, Nevo Zisin, that I shared on this blog back in May 2017.

Go back and read it again. When I first read that sentence I actually examined out loud something along the lines of: Yes Nevo, HELL YES!! And this quote is just from Nevo talking about their book! 

Meet Nevo: girl, boy, he, she, him, her, they, them, daughter, son, teacher, student, friend, gay, bi, lesbian, trans, homo, Jew, dyke, masculine, feminine, androgynous, queer.

Nevo was not born in the wrong body. Nevo just wants everyone to catch up with all that Nevo is.

Personal, political and passionate, Finding Nevo is an autobiography about gender and everything that comes with it. It is Zisin’s powerful and brave account of their journey to transgender, and all the stumbles, victories and life-changing moments along the way.

“A gorgeous coming of age story about one person’s journey to discover themselves. Zisin is a compelling storyteller with a delightful and exciting new voice.” Clementine Ford

Released on May 1st 2017 by Black Dog Books this book touches on the themes of transgender, queer, family, acceptance, self-discovery, bullying, weight issues, and change.

Links: Nevo Zisin full Q&A | Goodreads | Booktopia | Bookdepository | Black Dog Books

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves 🙂 .

Gabrielle Reid: Guest Post

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Gabrielle Reid is an Australian author based near Newcastle, NSW. She has previously worked as a high school English teacher and still does creative writing workshops in schools from time to time. Gabrielle has published short stories in a variety of literary journals and regularly posts on her website and blog at http://www.justkeepreiding.com. The Things We Can’t Undo is her debut novel, published by Ford Street. It is available from May 1st in Australian bookstores (links at the end).

Time to hand it over to Gabrielle.

If you ask me what the key themes are in my novel, The Things We Can’t Undo, top of that list has to be consent. It’s about other things of course – friendships, reputations, social media, secrets – but the primary issue from the very first chapter is: did Dylan (my main character) rape his girlfriend Samantha? And is it possible for justice?

“ – that no means no, drunk means no, off your face means no, and I don’t know/I’m not sure means no…
… And never forget, kids – sex is a joyful, integral expression of being human. It’s fun!”
– Fiona Wood, Wildlife, chapter 61

In the past five years or so, the conversation about sex and consent has shifted, as victims of assault and abuse are given more space to tell their stories and feminists work harder to repeat the message: this was not your fault. Thanks to this openness and the recent #metoo movement, it’s getting harder and harder for people to pretend that sexual harassment and assault is a rarity committed by strangers in dark alleys just waiting to prey on girls walking alone.

I think, however, the message is doing a better job of reaching women than it is reaching men. There’s a tendency for men to get defensive – either crying #notallmen or throwing up their hands and declaring it’s too hard to know where the line between flirting and harassment is anymore. And in a way, this is understandable. I’m not a man, but I am white, and if there’s one thing white Australians are good at, it’s declaring we’re not racist while simultaneously enjoying the privilege that racism gives us. It comes down to intention. We think that because we don’t mean to be racist, then we’re not. And I wonder, is it the same for men committing assault?

Ask a roomful of young men if they would ever rape someone. I doubt any are going to say yes. I doubt any are even going to think “yes, if I had the opportunity and knew I could get away with it”. But the statistics are frightening, and there’s no way all of these assaults are being committed by sociopaths who go out of their way to hurt people.

So I began to wonder, what would it be like to be a teenage boy who believes he is a “nice guy”, who is seen by others as a good person, who says and thinks he would never rape somebody, and yet, who does?

Enter Dylan West.

“Whatever else I might have done to be a bad boyfriend or to somehow hurt her, I know I’m not a rapist. You don’t accidentally rape someone.”
– Gabrielle Reid, The Things We Can’t Undo, chapter 7

In my book, Dylan and Samantha have a prior relationship. I needed him to genuinely care about her, so the accusation would be even more baffling to him and to those who knew him. If he was too evil, too irredeemable, then no one would relate to him. I also needed him to have redemptive qualities for my own sense of security in the world – I have to believe that it’s possible, with education and empathy, to prevent people from becoming perpetrators.

When you write about a topic like this, there’s constant questioning that goes through your head. Would people misread it as blaming Samantha for not being more confident? Was I silencing her voice by not giving her a first-person narration? Does Tayla, Samantha’s outspoken best friend, give feminism a bad name, or are her good intentions clear? Do boys like Dylan actually exist, or was I being naive to write about them?

The story was in my head for years before I put pen to paper. I had the opening scene and the ending so clear before I knew what was going to happen in the middle. In the end, I couldn’t not write this book. And I decided that if putting it out in the world meant some people would hate it or be angry with me, that was a risk worth taking to start conversations.

Because when it comes to consent, the conversation needs to be had – time and time again.

38402124The Things We Can’t Undo by Gabrielle Reid

There’s no backspace key for life’s decisions.

Samantha and Dylan are in love – everyone knows it. So it’s no big deal when they leave a party for some time out together. But when malicious rumours surface about that night, each feels betrayed by the other.

Will Sam make a decision she can’t take back?

Published: May 1st 2018 by Ford Street Publishing

BLOG TOUR:

Bookish Kirra 24th April (Review)
Better Words Podcast 25th April (Podcast)
The Literary Casanova 28th April (Review)
Genie in a Book 30th April (Interview)
#LoveOzYa 1 May – RELEASE DAY! (Summary and Q&A)
The Adventures of Sacakat 3rd May (Guest post) * You are here 😛 *
Of Wonderland 6th May (Review)
Infinity Reads 7th May (Interview)
Musings & Wanderings 9th May (Guest post)
Written Word Worlds 10th May (Review & interview)
One Bookish Girl 12th May (Interview)

GABRIELLE’S LINKS:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

The Things You Can’t Undo on Goodreads | Ford Street| Amazon AU

I will be reading and reviewing The Things We Can’t Undo a little bit later on, so check back in if you are interested in my thoughts 🙂
As always, thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat
and Until next time, enjoy your shelves 🙂