Category Archives: Interviews

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So I’m Giving A Radio Interview…

... on Friday night. A literary show on a community radio station in Bendigo.

I'll be in Bendigo from Friday and all weekend for the Bendigo Writers Festival.

The host, James, as told me he's going to upload the show to SoundCloud which is excellent as it means you can all listen to it.

I've never given a proper interview before. I mean, I've emailed my opinion about things to different people. I did that interview last year for a girl at uni (part one, part two).

But that's about it.

I asked if I should bring anything and he said just information about my site and some music I wanted to play.

I'm feeling nice, so I won't inflict the unsuspecting people of Bendigo with Miley Cyrus :P

If you've got some spare time this weekend and are from Melbourne, Bendigo is a nice two hour ...

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Interview: Steven Lochran

I first met Steven at an event put on by the publishing house he works at last year. He struck me as warm, friendly, and we chatted easily as we waited for the event to start.

Flash-forward to today and he is now a bona fide author, his own book out today after many years of working with other people's books.

I recently chatted with Steven about publishing, writing, Bachelor's Degree in Unemployment and whether it was awkward his employer's rivals are publishing him:

1. What came first for you: writing or publishing?
Definitely writing. I wrote my first story when I was 6 and I’ve been hooked ever since. I would write and draw stories in exercise books my mum would buy ...

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Part Two of the Interview with Me!

Part one is here, written by Rani McDonald.

There are a number of perks that come with successful Blogging. Talk us through those.

Yes there are perks but they don’t come for free… well technically they do come for free but it’s a lot of work. I get tonnes of review books, even more emails from people wanting to send me books, which I’ve been forced to decline. So yeah I get a lot of free books, I get a lot of event invites, I guess I’m also privy to a lot of information. I guess another major perk is networking. I mean… I would like to think I’m a pretty good networker!

There are a lot of people out there that are in it just for the perks, how do the publishers distinguish them from the genuine literary lovers?

Totally. Word of mouth. ...

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Me interviewed! (So more of me rambling, essentially :P)

Hey kids! Something a bit different and special today: part one of a two-part interview with me by a lovely girl from uni, Rani McDonald. Read more for insights into blogging, writing, reading, books and everything related! Part two will be up tomorrow.

 

The Girl Most Likely

 In a world where the internet is fast becoming the nerve-centre of society and blogging is the new darling of the media, I sat down to talk with rising star Megan Burke about her blog, the Melbourne literary scene and her new manuscript.

It’s 11:04am on a brisk spring morning in Melbourne and I’m running late. I rummage in my bag as I walk, locate my phone and shoot off a quick text explaining. Before long there is a bleep! bleep! and a reply comes back, ‘That’s ok! ...

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Interview with me in Bookseller + Publisher Magazine

I've been sitting on this for a few weeks now and can you imagine how hard it has been to NOT tell you?

Very hard, is the answer!

I am very excited to be able to tell everyone to go check out October's Bookseller + Publisher magazine as there's a feature in there by the lovely Andrew Wrathall interviewed myself and Steph of Read In A Single Sitting as well as a couple of publishers.

It covers blogging as new media and a little of the relationship between publishers and bloggers.

Look! Look! I got the pull quote! HOW VERY EXCITING AND AWESOME!

As a side note, I don't know how many of you noticed but the top bar has been changed from "Ramblings of a Book Nerd" to "Literary Life: Ramblings of a Book Nerd" as it was this article that made me ...

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Don Grover, CEO of Dymocks, on ‘D Publishing’ – Interview

“We’re not just about vanity publishing. We’re about Australians with
stories to tell.”

I first saw the article about Dymocks’ new self-publishing arm (‘D Publishing’) a
few days ago. I linked to it on Facebook, and a friend asked me my thoughts.

I said I was surprised.

Which I am, hugely.

Yesterday at Melbourne Writers Festival, I heard the CEO of Dymocks, Don Grover, talk about the future of bookshops.

I remembered about half way through the session about the new publishing venture, and suddenly got all excited.

‘I could ask him!’ I thought. I quickly Googled the article and re-read it, and started to think of a few questions I could ask.

As the speakers had a lot to say, they only got through three or so quick questions. I also realised that my questions really weren’t that relevant so the talk, so I ...

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Author Interview: Louisa Deasey



Author Interview: Louisa Deasey
Louisa Deasey has worked as a magazine editor, fashion columnist, and freelance journalist in the areas of health and lifestyle writing for almost a decade.

Louisa's first book, Love and Other U-Turns, was released in June 2010.

I really quite eager to pick Louisa's brain as, I'm sure some of you will remember, I simply adored her debut book, Love and Other U-Turns.

Love and Other U-Turns
What possessed a young woman to turn her back on all the comforts of city life to travel outback roads in a broken down Mazda (with dodgy airconditioning) with nothing but a laptop and a hair straightener in the glove box? A laughter-filled memoir that proves that love is ...

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Author Interview: Rebecca Mugridge – Plus: Win A Copy of The Pram Diet!


Author Interview: Rebecca Mugridge

In 2009 Rebecca Mugride exploded into the diet book scene - yet with a difference.

THE PRAM DIET:
Overweight and miserable after the birth of your baby? THE PRAM DIET offers inspiration, hope and realistic, practical tips from a mum who turned her life around with one simple thing: her baby's pram.

Many mothers with new babies find it hard to lose weight after their child is born. Sometimes it's because they lack the time to prepare nourishing food for themselves or to exercise. Sometimes it's because they're suffering from postnatal depression. Rebecca Mugridge understands - ...

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Author Interview: Cara Chow


Author Interview: Cara Chow
Cara Chow was born in Hong Kong and grew up in the Richmond district of San Francisco, where Bitter Melon is set. She attended an all girls' Catholic high school, competed in speech, and had an encouraging speech coach, which served in part as the inspiration for her novel. She was a PEN Emerging Voices Fellow in 2001. In addition to writing, Cara also teaches Pilates. She currently lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband and son. Bitter Melon is her first novel.

So, a little while ago I reviewed Bitter Melon and was instantly captivated.

I'm thrilled to have Cara able to answer the following ...

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Author Interview: Michele Jaffe


 Author Interview: Michele Jaffe

Michele is the author of the Bad Kitty series of YA books as well as thrillers and romances for adults. After getting her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Harvard, she retired from academia and decided to become an FBI special agent or glamorous showgirl, but somehow instead ended up writing. A native of Los Angeles, California, Michele and her sparkly shoes currently reside in New York City.

Michele also wrote Rosebush, which was pretty damn awesome, as I reviewed here.
Michele recently answered the following questions for Lit Life:

1. What ...