Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan’s life. She’s stuck at JFK, late to her father’s second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley’s never even met.

Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport’s cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he’s British, and he’s in seat 18C. Hadley’s in 18A.

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves.

Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver’s story will make you believe that true love finds you when you’re least expecting it.

Okay, firstly, title – big win. I remember seeing this at a bookstore (or possibly online, I don’t recall specifically) before I got the review copy and noting down the title as something I had to read.

And then, on like the last page, when the title of the book is actually said, I was all HOORAY because if you follow the lead-up to that, it’s pretty great.

24-hour period novels seem to be getting bigger and bigger lately, and I think this one nicely slots in with the others.

As well as the time physically moving forward deeper into the 24-hours, it moves between Hadley’s memories and the present, thus making sure the reader is never bored.

(Speaking of Hadley: interesting choice in name. I haven’t heard of it before, and therefore kept calling her Hailey in my mind )

I liked the major crazy thing that Hadley did, basically because I could see myself doing the same thing.

Something that struck me, though, was the point of view. It was odd: I couldn’t put my finger on it, but at times it was really jarring and hard to read. I couldn’t figure out why though. It was third person, at times limited, other times omniscient. It was just weird.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight was a quick, easy read – but not easy as in fluff reading, just something that you could appreciate and move along with easily. It was a fun novel, a great concept, and parts of me wish it was longer than what it was because I want to see more of the past and the future.

But a larger part of me appreciates the magic that is something shoved into 24-hours.

It’s out now.

For more information,
Hachette Australia

So it seems only fitting that after the big whole “I’M BACK!” speech I disappear for a week.

But now I have excellent huge news!

Yes you read right, almost a year ago to the day I shot a segment for a new Channel 31 TV show called Behind The Words – organised/directed/produced by author Kingsley McGlew (who you’ll all know from Distance).

I didn’t say anything at the time because, well, we were still hoping it would be picked up and all that.

AND IT WAS.

Then, it was utterly perfect timing of the Gods because when my episode was aired (December last year) my grandfather died.

So the last thing I felt like doing was sitting down, merrily watching myself on television.

In fact, with all that was going on – despite having it written in my diary – I promptly forgot about it, and even forgot to tell you guys!

But today Kingsley mailed me the episode on DVD and I just watched it and all I can say is I now know how actors must feel

Cringe much!

But, over all I’m happy with what I said. And happy with what I wore: a vintage dress my sister bought for me.

Above is a photo from the filming.

If you want to see the episode: I wouldn’t know where to suggest to find it! Maybe join the Facebook Group to ask Kingsley?

If you’re some whizz-bang media outlet looking to get a copy, email me :p

In other why-hasn’t-Megan-been-blogging-even-thought-she-said-she-was-back news, I AM MOVING HOUSE.

Good-bye, shitty, run-down house, hel-lo brand spanking new house.

YAY.

I move Saturday, so have been madly packing and calling heaps of companies that need my new address. And packing the MILLIONS of books I own. Seriously, so many books. And I am thoroughly surprised at the amount of crap that I’ve been carting around for years and years – why?! At least now I will have a huge (forced) clean-out!

How is everyone’s day going? Seen any good literary television lately?

(PS if you’re a publisher who didn’t get my change of address email please email me! Thanks!)

Rather than bore you with why it’s been so long (work, uni, novel, family stuff, etc) instead I want to share with you two awesome things that happened today.

Firstly, I got home from work (a new job! Yes, another one! Hooray!) to find a package from Mamamia.

Yes, the same Mamamia which I read everyday, anaylse, love, swear by. You know, Mia Freedman’s website.

You see, I wasn’t *totally* shocked that I had a package from them, because: last week on Friday I got an email from Nat saying that they had seen my post on Mia’s Family Life Forum and they wanted to send me something to say thanks for my kind words.

I was about to go into an ALEA meeting at the time, and I almost stopped breathing and started to get very excited. I told the State Director (whom I’m closest to) and she was standing there, laughing, watching me bounce up and down. It was hilarious and silly and awesome and I could not believe it. I mean really. Mia Freedman.

For the rest of the meeting all I wanted to do was scream, jump around and dance. Instead, I had to put my on serious business face and attempt to calm down.

Today, I came home to a signed copy of Mia Culpa. (Pink cover! Special!) SIGNED, people. Remember how I said Mia had to dash off before the end of the Forum and thus couldn’t sign my books and I was really upset?

I NOW HAVE A SIGNED BOOK.

My life is complete, people.

(They also sent me Mamamia jelly beans which I am eating as I type, and they are quite delicious.)

The other awesome thing about today was I joined a netball team!

Those who know me in real life will know I am the most unfit person ever (rivalling Homer Simpson on active levels) but I’ve wanted to play for about a year now and after unsuccessfully trying to join a uni team, I finally found this one!

They’re all mums apart from one mum’s niece who’s 20, they’re all super nice, we won 12-17 and I was Wing Defence. I only touched the ball about four times, and each time it came flying towards me I was in full panic mode. One of the mums shouted that I should take the throw-in from the side, and my look of panic was hilarious to everyone else as they all started laughing at me as I shook my head. It was fun and amazing and so awesome and I’m so glad I did it. (Even if walking onto the court for the first quarter my heart was racing and all I could think was WHAT A STUPID IDEA I’M SUCH AN IDIOT WHY DID I SIGN UP FOR THIS.)

It was awesome.

So tell me: what’s new in your life?

It’s really interesting to read, and I particularly like the below definition of a journalist, and it demonstrates how the blogger doesn’t fit that mould and thus isn’t given the same protection/allowances as journalists are:

‘Defendant fails to bring forth any evidence suggestive of her status as a journalist. For example, there is no evidence of (1) any education in journalism; (2) any credentials or proof of any affiliation with any recognized news entity; (3) proof of adherence to journalistic standards such as editing, fact-checking, or disclosures of conflicts of interest; (4) keeping notes of conversations and interviews conducted; (5) mutual understanding or agreement of confidentiality between the defendant and his/her sources; (6) creation of an independent product rather than assembling writings and postings of others; or (7) contacting “the other side” to get both sides of a story. Without evidence of this nature, defendant is not “media.”‘

I find the whole story fascinating, as I do with the debate about bloggers as journalists generally.

Do I classify bloggers as journalists? On the whole, no.

Do I see myself as a journalist? At the moment, no.

Do I classify some blogs and their writers journalists? Yes.

People like Rachel Hills, Marieke Hardy and so on.

People who were full-blown journos before starting their blogs. (Or perhaps people who started out as bloggers, used that as a platform, and are now journos. But can their pre-proper-journo blog be counted as journalism now?)

I like how the definition above points out ‘proof of adherence to journalistic standards such as editing, fact-checking, or disclosures of conflicts of interest’.

As everyone knows: anyone can set up a blog and write whatever they want.

What journalistic standards! Pfft!

I’d like to think I hold myself to most – if not all – of those standards, but that still doesn’t make me a journalist.

If you look at other forms of media – newspapers, magazines, television – you have to have a certain level of respect, of knowledge, in order to write for them.

Anyone with a computer connection and basic internet skills can start a blog.

I don’t think bloggers deserve the same credibility, rights or similar as journalists, but I think we need to carve out our own rules and expectations.

Which is going to be hard, given their is no convening body to over-see everyone.

What do you think?

Because I think I should be.

Ever since my interview with Don Grover, former CEO of Dymocks, about D Publishing I knew it wasn’t good.

Finally, they’ve released the contracts and self-publishing deals.

And, well, let’s just say, AUTHORS BEWARE.

Steph first told me about it last night and my jaw was literally wide open as she briefly described some of the terms and conditions.

I think the easiest and most concise way to find out is to read The Australian Literature Review’s summary of the contracts.

Some of the ‘highlights’ of the contract include:

Dymocks are given editorial control

The relevant clause here is under the heading of Legally Objectionable Material but don’t let that fool you, because another clause states that:

“headings are [for] the ease of reference only and do not affect interpretation.”

Therefore the clause below applies, whether related to legally objectionable material or not:

“If the Author refuses to amend or delete passages in the Work to Dymocks reasonable satisfaction then the Author must, at the request of Dymocks, repay all monies paid by Dymocks. On repayment of all monies this agreement terminates and the rights granted to Dymocks revert to the Author.”

An author’s future earnings potential, which could be based on years of time and effort, are put in Dymock’s hands and can be taken away

As the holder of exclusive rights, Dymocks could take punitive measures against authors they have a disagreement with by decreasing distribution or stopping it entirely for the author’s book(s) and not allowing the author have that work published elsewhere.

——

There are more, heaps more. It sickens me to think that D Publishing is sinking this low.

I would have expected more from them. Not much more, but more.

I think an important thing to remember is – as The Aust Lit Review points out – the Dymocks shops and franchisees probably had little to nothing to do with this.

This won’t shop me from shopping at Dymocks – especially at franchise stores – but there’s not much they can do will get my respect back.

Yes self-publishing tends to be bad. But this bad? Honestly?

It’s interesting to note that they’ve already amended the contract and taken certain parts of it off their website – no doubt thanks to the back-lash which is quickly making its way around the internet.

The worse part is that there are writers out there desperate enough to pay Dymocks and sign their writing souls away.

The power Dymocks has to stock books in their stores is large no doubt, and many people will over-look the crap contract to see their shining book in the Dymocks stores.

It’s really awful how companies such as this can blatantly rip people off and get away with it.

Yes, no-one is forcing people to sign up with Dymocks but does that make it any better? Where are the morals?

Anyone who spends half a day in publishing can tell the contract is awful and shouldn’t be allowed.

“We wanted an author paid rather than the publisher pull,” Grover says in my interview with him.

What an utter joke.

Boy it’s been a long time and a rough few weeks.

Firstly, to explain my absence over the past week or so: my grandfather died.

He was sick and in a home, but it happened suddenly (stroke Wednesday, died Friday, funeral yesterday) so since last Wednesday I’ve been in a crying-and-family bubble and haven’t done much else.

I spoke at the funeral, saw people I haven’t seen for years and generally was a mess the whole time.

It’s hard to believe he’s really gone, you know?

I am also very far behind in my new degree considering the lack of study over the past week.

Also, two Saturday’s ago my car broke down and on Monday that cost $500 to repair. Fun. Times.

This morning I took my sister and her best friend to the airport – I had to be up at 4.30am! I am clearly a Very Good Sister

This past week has been so stressful, sad, tiring, messy and intense.

Leaving little room to do anything but collapse at the end of the day (bed at 9pm last night anyone?).

On the plus side, something extraordinary is happening tomorrow night so I should have a bumper post for you Saturday. (Saying I don’t collapse from exhaustion half way through! )

And Sunday is Penguin Live so watch out for that!

Currently I’m at work biding my time until I leave for another job. Then I have a list of things I need to do in two hours (picking up stuff, dropping stuff off, washing, waxing, etc) before going to another job later tonight.

I just need to get through these next few weeks and come January hopefully I can breathe again!

You’ll all wait for me, right?

(Winner of The Sending is Rani!)

RIP James Russell Burke, 1921-2011

Here’s why:

1) My housemate and I re-arranged my desk area in my bedroom. It took us over five hours to clean, move and finally re-assemble everything.

Here’s the finished picture:

There’s a printer behind the television, that’s crushed pineapple in the bowl and the red thing on top of the monitor is my childhood alarm clock! I was so excited to find that (buried under piles of crap ).

(Don’t judge my Taylor Swift poster – focus on all the book things! )

I decided earlier that day that I missed using the huge desk I got from the side of the road, because that’s in the study and not in my room. So I decided to move it!

The jumbled mess of cords under my old, small desk was an electrical hazard: there was three power boards on top of each other, and the base one (plugged into the wall via an extension cord) was all cracked. My housemate was surprised I hadn’t died.

Now, as you can see, he did an awesome job of tying all the cords together so it’s neat. And not an electrical hazard.

I am beyond in love with all the new space I have!

Although now, as you can see, it’s half blocking my walk-in-robe (left) and there’s about half a foot space between the corner and my bed (right).

Oh well. Worth it!

2) Monday marked the beginning of my Communications degree! Yay! So far, I’ve almost finished week 1 of one subject (just have to do the one hour online chat on Thursday) and am starting the next subject. I am getting mega-confused because all three subjects are with different unis (through Open Universities Australia) and therefore they all have different: ways of delivering the course (ie audio lectures, paper lectures), referencing standards, ways to hand in assignments, websites, support – so basically everything. It’s a nightmare trying to navigate everything and I’m just getting tangled in circles. I decided to work through one subject at a time in an attempt to sort everything out. On the plus side, I’ve listened to one lecture twice now!

3) Saturday I babysat from 9am-1am and on the way Ben (my car) died. Cue panic and tears. Luckily my dad came to the rescue! Ben’s going in for a service on Monday, there goes my rent money… Sorry Mr Landlord!

4) I bought a new book the other day: Give Me Four Reasons. One thing I didn’t know when I purchased it was that the kids are in primary school (not mentioned at all in the blurb!!) but I’ve read a few chapters and am enjoying it. It’s just very young young adult…

5) This is going around Facebook, and made me laugh:

6) Slightly worrying and disturbing article about an author that (allegedly) ripped off his own student-teacher affair and wrote about it.

7) I’m not even writing this today. I wrote it yesterday. Because today I am working 7am-10am then 10am-2pm, then 230pm-5pm, then the online tute for one of my subjects. Busy busy!

I quit the Gift Shop! Hooray! Feeling vaguely sad as it’s the end of an era (I’d worked there since I was 15) but I’m so glad I’ve done it. The manager was a bully-nightmare, the pay wasn’t even minimum wage and it was generally a stressful job. Plus I didn’t have any time.

9) If you missed it yesterday, Penguin are holding a BTL Live event. Check out the details and come along!

10) Some competition’s I’m running you may want to enter: The Sending (closes today! Hurry!), Froi of the Exiles, Divergent.

What’s new in your world?

I went with Steph from My Girl Friday and after filling ourselves up with yummy cupcakes and milkshakes (which was a bad idea considering the event was catered!) we headed over there.

Steph, because she is a legend, has already put up a very comprehensive summary of all the new books coming out in the coming year!

Each publisher presented four books to the crowd – most did two from this year and two coming next year.

Many authors were there too, presenting on behalf of their publishers, including Fiona Wood, Cath Crowley and Michael Pryor to name a few.

As Steph scribbled madly beside me (honestly, check out her post! Look at the detail!) I just sat back and marveled at all the new books.

At the train station, we went through our goody bag, which included three books and – obviously – tonnes of publisher catalogues.

It’s so much fun, to me, to see everything that’s coming out.

I remember at the bookshop my boss never read catalogues – simply chucked them in the bin. I was the one who rescued them and lovingly gave them attention!

I remember another time I saw a nice-looking envelope with his name on it on top of the recycling, unopened. I asked what it was for, and he said it was an invite for the Random House Christmas Party. I was shocked it was in the bin and he shrugged and said he hated going to events like that. I stood with my mouth open and he told me to take his invite and go! I’m pretty sure there was a life-or-death situation on that night otherwise of course I would have gone!

It was a lot of fun, but I think sometimes events like this can just be cruel as I want the new books now dammit not next year!!!

If you missed out on this, don’t worry, as Penguin are holding another awesome similar event!

BTL Live is happening in a couple of weeks, and all the details to register are here. I’ll be there with Steph so come and hang out with us!

One of the books they gave us was Divergent by Veronica Roth. I reviewed it earlier this year and loved it so I’ve decided to give away my copy of it I got last night!

I don’t need two copies so I’m spreading the book-love!

Simply leave your email address in the comments below and pick which Faction you’d be a part of! (Read my review to find out more about what that means.)

Candor (the honest)
Abnegation (the selfless)
Dauntless (the brave)
Amity (the peaceful)
Erudite (the intelligent)

Competition closes 19 December, everyone can enter!

Fiercely loyal to the Queen and Finnikin, Froi has been trained roughly and lovingly by the Guard sworn to protect the royal family, and has learned to control his quick temper.  But when he is sent on a secretive mission to the kingdom of Charyn, nothing could have prepared him for what he finds.  Here he encounters a damaged people who are not who they seem, and must unravel both the dark bonds of kinship and the mysteries of a half-mad Princess.

And in this barren and mysterious place, he will discover that there is a song sleeping in his blood, and though Froi would rather not, the time has come to listen.

Froi of the Exiles is the sequel to Finnikin of the Rock and sure to be a fantastic read if the brilliant reviews thus far are anything to go by!

Thanks to Penguin, Lit Life has a copy of this fabulous book to give away!

Simply either email me or leave a comment below with your email address to be in the running!

Comp closes 19 December – just in time for Christmas!

Australia only:)

So yesterday it was Thanksgiving in America and despite not being American, I really think the holiday has some good values that the rest of the world could see fit to introduce.

A holiday without presents where everyone gathers around to give thanks for what they have? Yes, please!

(It’s also hilariously ironic that they often call it Turkey Day and that I have a picture of a Turkey on here as my nick-name in primary school was Turkey! My surname is Burke, then you go Burkey-Turkey… get it? My best friend even named her new gold fish after me when we were 12, Turkster and Gobbling )

However if I ever were to go to America to celebrate it, I wouldn’t eat the Turkey  – ewww! My best friend always refers to that as me not wanting to be a cannibal by eating my own

So, I decided that I’d spend a moment here talk about the things I’m thankful for – one, because I shamelessly stole it from Mamamia and two, because my sister’s guinea pig died today from unknown causes, she was sitting beside me crying while I drove her to the vet and it really made me stop and think.

So, in no particular order and no doubt forgetting things, I am thankful for:

1. The fact that I have choices and are free to make my own decisions. Today, for example, I dropped everything and went to my sister’s side. This meant, however, the manager at the Gift Shop was very shitty at me, but who cares! Even better about making my own decisions: I quit! I was planning on quitting anyway (okay, so I had planned from about an hour before my sister called me) (I am seriously worried about having no time to study :s) but since I wasn’t going to go in because of that and I couldn’t make tomorrow either I figured I’d just do it at the same time (don’t worry, government law says casuals don’t have to give notice (I don’t even get minimum wage so I don’t feel bad!!)). Felt totally justified when my manager started yelling at my sister. Honestly!!!
2. Yes, I did smash my iPhone on concrete today, but total first world problem
3. Books! I am so thankful for all the wonderful books in my life
4. Family and friends, duh
5. That I’m free to do what I want – my new uni course starts next week, I’m getting a new housemate (hooray!), and I now have three hours free to continue editing my manuscript
6. I’m thankful that my landlord is mowing the lawn and snipping the garden (means I don’t have to do it )
7. I’m also thankful for lots of things that I can’t think of right now

(And now I’m feeling all the more thankful as that Dido song is playing – from the Victorian government WorkSafe TV ads.)

What are you thankful for?