Well it’s time I filled you guys in on what’s been happening. After the first issue was published, I began talks with a comic publisher. They seemed interested and asked that I hold off on issue 2 while they decided. That took several months and in the end they came back with a no thank you.

Just as I was about to ask Brigitte to get going on the illustrations, another publisher showed interest. Thankfully, they made their mind up quickly (but also declined in the end). THEN it was nearly Xmas. I sent the issue to Brigitte to get cracking on, but after the Xmas break she told me that she now has full time work and simply doesn’t have the time to do issue 2. Naturally I’m delighted that as an artist, she has the job, but I am totally devastated that Peacemaker has been hamstrung.

I’m really not sure what to do now. Should I fold and chalk it up to experience? Should I try and find another illustrator? Brigitte created such a wonderful individual look in her work, I don’t know how anyone would go about replicating it. In fact I don’t think that’s possible. Which would mean re-imagining a whole new aesthetic.

I admit, I’m floundering now. What should I do? Issue 2 was 20 pages, double the size of issue 1. It’s written but may never see the light of day.

Someone talk sense to me one way of the other please!

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Reviewed by Mandy Wrangles

Tanyana is special. Her career as an architect – a pionner – makes her one of the most highly regarded people in society.  By manipulating pions, the particles that hold all matter together through a blend of ritual and innate talent, Tanyana and her team are working on a giant construction; a prestigious statue named Grandeur in the city of Movac-Under-Keeper. And then something goes wrong. Tanyana is left injured, humiliated and without the ability to see or manipulate pions. She is cast into a world quite the opposite to what she knows – that of a lowly Debris collector.

Tanyana is denied justice at every turn. No one wants to know or listen to her; no one wants to be the one to help her find who – or what – caused her fall from grace. Her critical circle, the nine skilled binders who worked below and in harmony with Tanyana have abandoned her, and sinister undercurrents sweep and still her every movement.  Money ebbs from her bank account, the mysterious collection suit (and its creator) she finds is now part of her physical being is without explanation or an instruction booklet. Blank-faced ‘Puppet Men’ are watching, but no one can tell her why, or who they are. Not only is she is shunned by the society she once knew, she’s not exactly accepted with open arms by the debris crew she’s allocated to. Tanyana is alone, lost and powerless.

Debris collectors are the lowest of the low in the country of Varsnia, but without them, debris – the waste product left behind by pions – threatens to cause some serious damage. It’s when Tanyana finds her feet as a collector that this story really amped up for me. The relationships between the collection team are cautious and real, they trust each other but are innately suspicious of Tanyana – she represents everything they’re not. Each team member is drawn extremely well, and it’s easy to care about them very quickly, particularly the mystifying and childish Lad. The relationship Lad has with his brother Kichlan is an especially beautiful and intriguing bond; one that I’m looking forward to learning more about.

Debris is an exceptional novel. I have to admit, it’s taken me a long time since I finished reading to write this review. There are so many layers (yep,
just like an onion only tastier) I wasn’t sure where to begin. The physical aspect of Tanyana’s fall is the tip of the iceberg; Anderton’s observations of society and class system – and then the layers within that system – are written in a way that stays with you long after the story is finished. This is a story that sits somewhere in between fantasy and science fiction with a good dose of steampunk thrown in, but the themes covered and revelations about humanity are decidedly real. I’m a huge fan of a well-built world, and Debris ticks every box. The reader is treated intelligently, there are no over explanations to the workings of this world, just enough to keep you questioning and looking for the drip-fed answers while the action moves at a fast pace around you.

Debris is the first novel from Australian Jo Anderton, but not her first published work; she has a serious sackful of short fiction credits to her name. I for one will be sourcing those short stories to tide me over until the next instalment in The Veiled Worlds (Suited), is available later this year. I can’t wait to see what else Anderton’s  remarkable imagination has dreamed up.

Debris by Jo Anderton

Published by Angry Robot

Paperback – 408 pages

ISBN – 978-0-85766-153-1

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Eugenie Markham never asked for any of this. Until now, she’s been content with her job as a freelance shaman, battling and banishing Otherworldly creatures. When a prophecy suddenly makes her the Otherworld’s most popular bachelorette, Eugenie finds herself fighting off unwanted supernatural suitors, as well as the evils that begin emerging from her past…

In volume one, as Eugenie is going about her normal business of banishing the Otherworldly creatures from disrupting people’s lives, she comes to discover several of them mentioning her by her real name. Not only that but they seem to be getting a little frisky. She seeks out the opinion of her stepfather who calms her down. He says that sometimes it’s a normal occurrence in the business. Then she tells him that she has been approached by a gentleman to travel into the underworld to rescue his sister who was kidnapped a year ago.  Her stepfather discourages her from crossing over because it’s dangerous on the other side and who knows what could happen to her there.

In volume 2

Eugenie Markham never asked for any of this. Until now, she”s been content with her job as a freelance shaman, battling and banishing Otherworldly creatures. When a prophecy suddenly makes her the Otherworld”s most popular bachelorette, Eugenie finds herself fighting off unwanted supernatural suitors, as well as the evils that begin emerging from her past…

A sexy night with a one night stand is interrupted by an Ice Elemental. Surprisingly it’s Kiyo who attacks the Elemental first, while Eugenie runs to find her purse containing her weapons in which she can help Kiyo banish the Elemental. At this point they realize that they really don’t know each other, and Eugenie becomes guarded deciding she does not know if she can trust Kiyo. The next morning she realizes the scratches on her back that Kiyo made during their night together are not healing. She also decides to take on the job of finding the guy’s kidnapped sister.

Volume 3

Eugenie Markham never asked for any of this. Until now, she”s been content with her job as a freelance shaman, battling and banishing Otherworldly creatures. When a prophecy suddenly makes her the Otherworld”s most popular bachelorette, Eugenie finds herself fighting off unwanted supernatural suitors, as well as the evils that begin emerging from her past.

As the story progresses in volume 3 trouble erupts when Eugenie crosses over and discovers more than she was ready for. She’s learning that everything she has ever known about herself and her family…and her job, may not be as is seems.

She also finds an unexpected friend.

Volume 4

Eugenie Markham never asked for any of this. Until now, she”s been content with her job as a freelance shaman, battling and banishing Otherworldly creatures. When a prophecy suddenly makes her the Otherworld”s most popular bachelorette, Eugenie finds herself fighting off unwanted supernatural suitors, as well as the evils that begin emerging from her past…

Things become way to intense for Eugenie. Her family is in danger and her world is falling apart. Now is time for her to find the power inside her and kick some Demon ass!

The integration of Richelle Mead’s Storm Born series into a graphic novel was really well done. It was the first time I wanted to read one volume after the other, just devouring the story and really enjoying the artwork as well. There is enough of the story line to really keep the reader engaged and anticipating what will happen next.

I give this series 5 stars, highly recommended!

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It’s good to be back in routine after what feels like an eternity away from writing.

Other news reminders are that I’ll be in Perth in April for SwanCon, and at Supanova Perth, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane. Unfortunately have to miss Gold Coast and Melbourne this for family reasons. I’ll also be appearing at WriteFest in Bundaberg and the Gold Coast Literati event.

This year, I’ll be introducing Graphic Novel reviews to this site. Reviews will done by Krista Mckeeth who helps me out on Burn Bright and Delacourt sites. So welcome Krista!

All in all it’s shaping up to be a busy year! On top of that, it’s my youngest’s last year at school, so a lot of focus is going on that.

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Am delighted to be interviewed by The Spotlight Report about the movie, Priest, and the rise of vampire fiction.

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The event I’m going to start with happened on NYE. It’s not particularly startling but I’m still bugged by it.

On the final leg of our epic train trip home there was a young guy sitting in our carriage. He was trash talking with four or five other young people, teasing them about their religion and and asking if God would forgive them for drinking on NYE. At first I though they were friends, and travelling together but the others got off and left him alone.

He became quite agitated after they’d gone (because, I think, being alone was an issue for him). He got off a few stops later. As he was waiting for the train to stop, he began to unbutton his white shirt. I noticed and wondered what he was doing. He was bare-chested underneath and it wasn’t especially hot in fact it was cooling off quickly.

When the doors opened he leapt out of the train and bolted down the station. When the train started again, we caught up to him. He was heading into the darkened car park and had taken his shirt off altogether and balled it up in his hand. It was after midnight, as I said, not especially warm, and no one was meeting him.

What the hell was he doing? Tell me what you think.

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Anyway, it’s been a little better this week by dint of many back excercises and swimming and rest. Enough so that I agreed to go to watch the GCBlaze play on NYE, down at the GC convention centre. That’s about an hour’s drive each way. Knowing my back wouldn’t handle all that sitting, I devised a crafty plan to lie in the back seat on the drive.

All was going swimmingly until, ten minutes short of our destination, the car blew up (literally – we were engulfed in smoke.) New Years Eve near Broadbeach … this is how it went. Waited an hour for the RACQ guy, who then rang the tow truck. Waited half hour for tow truck who took us to an all night servo in Miami. By this time we were late for the game but thought we’d go and try and catch a lift home with someone returning to Brisbane. Considered catching a taxi to the convention centre but couldn’t get through to the taxi number. Waited an hour for bus (several went past us already full – about 7pm at this stage).

We were surrounded by other revellers, three of whom stood out. Fourteen, dressed like a cross between Snookie and the local GC sex workers. Heels so high they literally couldn’t walk let alone negotiate curbs, not a cent between then, but a large bag filled with four bottles of booze. The thing that fascinated me was that they’ed totter off for a while then come back (clearly drinking in the shadows) and mill around us, discussing how they had no money to go anywhere. The bus finally came and I realised that they would spend their NYE at a Miami bus stop.

Anyhoo, the bus was lively and we got to the convention centre to discover barely anyone we knew there (very unusual), so no lift, we saw the last six minutes of the game and our team lost. We walked into Broadbeach, bought a kebab becuse it was the only food outlet without a thirty minute wait and hopped a cab to the Nerang train station from a taxi rank. Just missed the Brisbane train and waited an hour for the next. There was a very odd, older man hanging around the station dressed as a station guard – which he wasn’t – playing with the machines and phones. Another interesting way to pass your NYE.

The train when it came, was a like the worst of Jersey Shore meets a young Prisoner. Holy crap it was feral! Again, the overriding sense was that most of the young ones were actually going to spend NYE on a train, trash talking and drinking grog from soft drink bottles, swearing at each other. It wasn’t scary, or intimidating, more like a little shop of horrors.

Got to our interchange at 11 pm. Park Rd station was quietish but the (real) station guy told us he’d had an endless series of fights and people stealing from each other etc. He was out of his office sweeping the platform in between waves of people then would retire back to safety. We just missed our connecting train and waited another half hour – and the vending machine gobbled our money – no chocolate bar.

The final train leg home took an hour of which I stood most of it because my back had well and truly had enough.  A woman on the train gave us poppers then got off at a stop. We celebrated NY at Lota station with a girl on her way home from work. She looked up from her book and said “oops, I missed it.”

Finally, our station and a ten minute walk home under a half moon, into a cool breeze and I collapsed on the bed with chocolate and a re-run of Sabrina the teenage witch. Nick took a glass of red wine and checked his email – because that’s all you can really do after an evening like that. We’d left the car at the servo at 7pm, got home and 1pm. Jack Kerouac and Hunter S. eat your heart out!

So Happy New Year everyone! Hope yours was a little more … celebratory!

I’ve learned many things this year but mostly how to better appreciate family and friends. A special shout out to my MDP Staff. Our continued connection gives me much pleasure and sense of belonging. To my dearest, oldest friend Robyn Smith, who came to stay and cleaned, carried my shopping and treated me to to a pedicure because I was miserable and unable to do anything. To my Supanova family who provide me with life-nourishments (especially Missy and Fel). To my agent and friend Tara who keeps me positive, and doesn’t let me get too self-absorbed. To my sister and brother who will always be my home-base. To my boys, for helping old Mazza by keeping me company and helping me get in and out of the car and bed and … everywhere. To my husband for putting on a splendid Xmas lunch without a whisper of help from me, and for carrying my handbag in front of a train full of foul-mouthed, drunken gits.

Love you all!

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PRIEST (the movie) press release from Sony

Australians crave an escape from tough economic times – to the land of supernatural Australians seek break from reality to world of vampires and the supernatural Priest is available on Blu-ray and DVD from 23rd December 2011.

Australians are increasingly seeking an escape from economic uncertainty through the consumption of supernatural films, TV shows and novels. Ahead of the launch of Priest on Blu-ray and DVD this week, supernatural expert Marianne de Pierres has examined Australia’s vampire obsession.
Marianne de Pierres, one of Australia’s most high profile science fiction writers, states “It’s clear that Australians are seeking an escape from their daily lives, which at present are dominated by global economic uncertainty and political dissatisfaction. We are seeing an increasing preoccupation with the supernatural, with the last half of the year showing the highest rated viewing figures for filmsband TV shows such as The Vampire Diaries, Twilight, Being Human and True Blood’.

“This obsession with the supernatural can be attributed to a need and a desire to escape from daily life and into a world of power, death and the unfamiliar. As shown in the film Priest, the post apocalyptic world is dark and frightening; a place without joy and normality, providing us with the reassurance that even in a time of economic uncertainty, our life is not as bleak as the life lived by characters such as Priest.“By its very nature, despite its dark imagery, post apocalyptic literature and film provide us with an uplifting experience. When emerging from the ruins of society and fighting for the survival of loved ones, post-apocalyptic tales remind us how important fighting for survival is.

Marianne’s examination of the Australian obsession with the supernatural comes as the postapocalyptic thriller Priest is released on Blu-ray and DVD on December 23rd. Priest, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller, is set in an alternate world – one ravaged by centuries of war between man and vampires. The film depicts the tale of Priest (Paul Bettany) who disobeys church law to track down the vampires who have kidnapped his niece, with the help of Priestess (Maggie Q).

The supernatural thriller Priest will be available on Blu-ray and DVD from all major retailers across Australia from 23 December 2011.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hinWQiv2rVc

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Dymocks Carindale

11-1pm

December 17th

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