All Your Mother Wants is Books and Pyjamas

Do you know what your mother really wants for Mothers’ Day, Birthdays, etc? Books and pyjamas. Possibly also tea. But definitely books and pyjamas. Let me help you out in your mighty task of buying your mother that perfect gift. Here are my perfect pairings to delight that special mother in your life.

For the Dog Lover

My first gift recommendation is Monty and Me by Louisa Bennet. A cosy pet detective about a funky dog who knows how to solve a crime or two. 

Pair this book with some super cute pyjamas like this onsie.

Dachshund lovers are there own seperate breed of people so you need to get them an extra special gift. Try Destination Dachshund by Lisa Fleetwood. It’s a really sweet travel memoir about love, grief, and there’s a dachshund spotting competition involved.

Combine Destination Dachshund with something like these adorable pyjamas that will warm the heart of any dachshund lover.

For the Mother that Loves Thrills, Chills, and Spills

You can’t go past L.A. Larkin’s chiller, Devour. It’s Antarctic noir. It has action, suspense, and some sexy sex. Step aside Robert Ludlum, L.A. Larkin is here.

Pair it with something like these fabulous matching onsies. One for you, one for your mother. Heaven.

Does your mother like more action than you can poke a stick at? Grab her Crimson Lake by Candice Fox. Even ultra famous reviewer Jason Steger reads Candice Fox.

Pair it with fabulous red satin pyjamas like these.

For the Mother Who Loves Love

Her Mother’s Secret by Natasha Lester is the perfect option. It even has mother in the title. Just go out and get it already.

Pair it with flower pyjamas instead of actual flowers.

The Beast’s Garden by Kate Forsyth is an evocative weaving of WWII, fairy tale, and love. Lush settings and intense conflict.

Pair it with rose print pyjamas, like these ones, to tie it all together.

For the most Fantastical of Mothers

This years hottest new Fantasy release is Crossroads of Canopy by Thoraiya Dyer. Gods walking amongst people, magic, warriors, and people living in trees. What’s not to like?

Pair it with some forest or bird pyjamas.

Jane Rawson’s From the Wreck is a speculative fiction take on family history. It is set in the 1800s and is gripping from start to finish. Expect Aliens, ghostly apparitions, and some light cannibalism.

Pair it with some good old fashioned long johns. Check out how much this model loves hers.

For the Mother Who Wants to be Kept in Suspense

Does your mother enjoy rotting mutton and murder? See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt is for her. It delivers the story of Lizzie Borden with a heady feast of flavours.

Match it with a super cute lamb onesie, obvi.

Please Don’t Leave Me Here by Tania Chandler brings you grunge music, amnesia and the seedy underbelly of life. Relive the 90s and see if you can find out who Brigitte really is.

Pair it with something super sexy.

For the Mother Who Likes to Laugh

Our Tiny, Useless Hearts starts with the smashing of plates, progresses to cutting the crotch out of trousers, and even incorporates a nod to the famous Romeo and Juliet balcony scene, but gone horribly wrong.

Pair it with some adorbs, heart-print pyjamas.

The Lucky One is Caroline Overington’s eleventh book and is full of hijinks and corpses. There’s a grumpy old man who doesn’t mind getting a bit of air to his nethers, a drunk art, a mother who wants to talk candidly about her sex life, a teenage waif and a sexy cowboy. Plenty of laughs but also lots of suspense.

Pair it with something fit for an heiress.

For the Mother Who Says No to Fiction

We’re All Going to Die by Leah Kaminsky. This is actually a joyful book about dying. I can definitely see the funny side of handing something with this title to your mother, but the content is great too.

Pair it with some killer pyjamas.

The Mad Woman in the Attic, get in that attic, Mother, where you belong. It’s a collection of essays on the portrayal of women in literature. It first came out in 1979. I love this book.

Pair it with some crazy good pyjamas.

For the New Mother

Things that Helped by Jessica Friedmann is a collection of poetic essays that express the yearning of her soul after the birth of her baby.

Pair it with something like these classic silk pyjamas for true indulgence.

Why not grab my fab book for the slightly frazzled mother in your life? Confessions of a Mad Mooer: Postnatal Depression Sucks explores my struggles through depression after the birth of my twins. Having three under three was chaotic and exhausting. It’s conversational, practical, and quite funny.

Pair it with these cow pjs to complete that mad cow vibe.

Now run off and spoil that special mother in your life. Just quietly, gin is also good.

Bloody Bonza, Sheilas! #IWD2017

Happy International Women’s Day 2017. Let’s celebrate by talking about some bloody, bonza sheilas. And for a rare change I won’t be mentioning Kate Forsyth on my list. In fact, I’m going to try to shake things up by mentioning people I haven’t really blogged about a lot before. Enjoy.

Lucy Lawless

I decided to start the entry with a New Zealander because us Ozzie’s are ALWAYS stealing stuff from our cousins from across the sea. I figured it was better to get the theft out of the way right at the start. So what makes Lucy Lawless so bloody bonza? Let’s start with Xena. I was 16 when Xena first graced my television. I had been a Hercules fan prior, I’m a mythology nerd and love action shows and movies. But then came Xena. She was so much more than any other character had ever been. Here was a powerful woman, with many skills, who never hid herself. She didn’t have a meek alter ego that she hid behind in order to fit in, she was just her. She was guilt ridden, she was seeking redemption, but she still never hid who she was. This was mind-blowing to me. And as a self loathing teen who had all their mirrors covered, this character was exactly what I needed. And Lucy Lawless played her to perfection. And then she continued on to play interesting and powerful women in other projects. I salute you Lucy Lawless, you helped save my sanity.

Magda Szubanski

You’re not Astraaaaayan if you don’t love Magda Szubanski. She has brought us so many important characters such as, Pixie-Anne, Chenille, and of course Sharon. Sharon is possibly one of the most bonza characters of all time. She loves netball, she’s a loyal friend, and she loves pashing sportsmen. Nothing more bonza then a good pash. On top of that she is a writer, an advocate, and someone who has shared their own struggles in order to help uplift and heal others. All the love to Ms Magda.

Miranda Tapsell

Okay, it’s a given that Miranda Tapsell is brilliantly talented. She can act, she can dance, she can sing. She has accolades for movies, television, and theatre alike. Modern, Shakespearean, comedy, drama, whatever, she can do it. But what makes her truly bonza is that she is on Play School. Bless her. She is my twin boys’ absolute favourite presenter and I can be guaranteed a cup of HOT tea when she is on as they sit spellbound. Thanks for being such a deadly sheila.

Candice Fox

Who is Candice Fox and what makes her so bonzaristic? Candice Fox is an internationally renowned author of Crime Fiction and protege of James Patterson. Despite this, she is not above admitting to crying in the face of rejection. At a Sydney crime event hosted by A.B. Patterson an audience member asked her how she dealt with rejection, her response was, “I cry.” She then went on to detail how she in fact cried so much in the face of rejection that she became known as the girl who cries amongst some editors. Talk about refreshing. She doesn’t pretend that rejection never bothered her, and that she’s so thick skinned she just kept going, she admitted that it did upset her. The realness is just so beautiful. Thanks for being such a bonza sheila, Candice Fox.

Judith Lucy

It is hard to find the right words to describe just how grouse Judith Lucy is. Rad? Amazballs? Brillhole? None of these seem to quite cut it. She is a comedian who keeps it completely real. She was my very first favourite comedian. And although Kitty Flanagan has caught my eye, Judith remains number 1 for me. She has a knack for phrasing things in such an understated way, yet ringing out every ounce of humour. I love her, I adore her, I worship her. I had hoped she was my long lost sister, but alas, nope. She is not my dad’s other daughter. So I’m still looking. But in the meantime I shall continue to enjoy her comedic ways.

Cass Moriarty

Cass Moriarty is an Australian writer who not only writes beautifully, you should read The Promise Seed, but also tirelessly advocates for other Australian writers. I honestly have no idea how she finds time to write because she is always putting up reviews of other authors and sharing their achievements. I assume there is some sort of dark magic at play, where she doesn’t need to sleep, but I am eternally grateful that she has chosen to use her powers for good instead of evil. You bloody ripper.

Nakkiah Lui

Passionate, eloquent, inspiring. These three words pretty much sum up Nakkiah Lui. I have had the great pleasure of hearing her speak at events quite a few times. I also stood behind her at a bar once, and freaked out and thought about throwing myself at her and telling her that I loved her, but managed to get some self control. The first time I heard her speak was at an Emerging Writers’ Festival Roadshow. She was so raw, and she swore and she wasn’t afraid to disagree with other panelists. I watched her in awe. I was so used to seeing panelists trying to be awfully polite, and just try to go along with everything, and if they disagreed do it with a compliment sandwich, but Nakkiah just spoke her mind. It is this realness that makes Nakkiah not just bloody bonzer, but deadly. Also, just quietly, she’s part of my current fav comedy show, Black Comedy. Check it out if you haven’t.

L.A. Larkin

Or Louisa as I call her. Louisa is this internationally recognized crime writer, who speaks to the little people such as myself. She’s just so generous and giving with her time and full of great advice. If you ever get a chance to go to any of her author talks or workshops, GO! She just has such an easy going nature, and a great sense of humour that you just enjoy sitting in her presence and learning. And the most bonza part of all is that she came to as an Australia as a backpacker just to drink and have an awesome time, rather than for self exploration or academic reasons. She also approves of having a quite sip of wine in order to silence the inner critic when writing. What a rad farken sheila.

Kirsty Mac

A comedian, a bonzer unit, a sayer of things. But not only that, she’s a person of extreme self control. You know what happened today, this very day of woomanhood? Kirsty Mac saw a hot piece of tail walking along the street as she was parked at the traffic lights. And you know what she did? Or should I say, she didn’t do? She showed almost superhuman restraint and didn’t scream out the window at him to compliment him and let him know just how fine he was and how much she admired his visage. Let’s all raise a glass to Kirsty, may we see her perform, may we become more like her, in her restrained, and humble manner.

Tania Chandler

Writer of crime, hard worker, sayer of amusing things. She takes the archetypes of crime and then shuffles them around so to put the women into the main roles. The male, hard-boiled cops, become the love interests, the femme-fatals become the main characters. Bloody bonza stuff. She doesn’t simply write the same stuff as many others. She takes conventions and then does her own thing. Bonza.

Penny Wong

Okay, I’m not the most political of mammals. I’m not a fan of torturing people, but I also don’t know much about economic growth, and geography… maths… anything more recent than medieval history… and many, many other things. But I know that I like the way Penny Wong handles herself. She’s had dick-heads make meow noises at her, wankers pull faces as she talks, mainsplainers and manspreaders trying to take up her hard fought for time and space, and somehow she powers on. She just gives that cold hard stare, keeps her voice on that even keel and just keeps pushing on forward. She’s a national treasure. A bloody, bonza, national treasure!

Denise Scott

A list of bloody, bonza sheilas would not be complete without the bloody, bonzaest, farken sheila of them all, Denise Scott. A woman who knows what a uterus is, a woman who knows what a double uterus is. A woman who knows how to done a leotard in seconds flat. A woman who has been a clown, a comedian, an actress, and a lover. Not my lover, but hey, I’m open to suggestions. She’s an iconic Australian comedian that pretty much every Ozzie recognises. She’s been in recent hits, such as Winners and Losers, as well as older hits, such as The Big Gig. You name it, she’s done it. Walked on stilts, check. Seen artwork of a smoking vagina, check. Had a shitty time in a maternity ward, check. Sworn at audience members, check. Run, terrified away from an angry mob, check. Drank all the wine, check. If anyone is a bloody, bonza sheila, it’s Denise Scott.

I would have loved to have written about more bloody, bonza sheilas but my kids are going apeshit so I have to go. Help me out by mentioning your favourite bloody, bonza sheilas in the comment section.

Read about more bonza sheilas here: https://riedstrap.wordpress.com/2016/10/21/20-real-life-wonder-women/

Crime & Thrills With 5 Sydney Authors

Award winning crime writer, A.B. Patterson, organised an absolute cracker of an event at the Australian Youth Hotel in Glebe. Five brilliant writers speaking candidly, a sensational moderator, lush surrounds, and alcohol. If that doesn’t spell WONDERFUL SUNDAY AFTERNOON,  then I don’t know what does.

Crime writers Candice Fox, L.A. Larkin, Bruce McCabe, Nigel Bartlett, and A.B. Patterson, were all put to the question by the amazing Janine Hewitt. I have to say, she was a real surprise package. I’ve been to a lot of author talks and events and haven’t seen her convene a panel before… she was absolutely delightful. She clearly knew the guests’ works, had engaged with it, and asked some unexpected questions. It was an absolute pleasure for me, as an audience member, to have a fresh approach and such obvious enthusiasm. Audience members do get a bit bored with the same old questions and style all the time, so this made a great event even better. I would definitely go to any event organised by A.B. Patterson again, and I would definitely see Janine Hewitt convene, or be on any panel, again.

But enough about the organisation, it’s time to dish the dirt. What did those brilliant minds reveal?

Pyjamas are definitely necessary writing attire. I’ve been telling my accountant this but he refuses to believe me. I now have backup from Nigel Bartlett and L.A. Larkin both stated that they often like to work in their pyjamas.

You have to work really hard. Discipline is key. Nigel Bartlett and L.A. Larkin recommend working in the morning. Candice Fox said to treat writing like a job and make the time commitment. A.B. Patterson said that it’s important to get yourself into the right mindset to write… and when he works out how to do that consistently then he’ll let us know.

Candice Fox and L.A. Larkin recommend dealing with rejection by crying. Thank goodness someone has finally validated my approach. Nigel recommended trying to see the positive and move on. Whatever! Bruce McCabe said let it inspire you to think outside the box.

Candice Fox suggested that when people say, write what you know, you probably know more than you think. Remember ever conversation you listened in on. She also said listening to your fans is important for sequels.

L.A. Larkin apparently reads every review. She also says that the more books you write, the easier it becomes.

A.B Patterson carries a notebook everywhere.

Nigel Bartlett says you have to learn to beat your inner critic.

Bruce McCabe gave an incredibly powerful speech that I couldn’t do justice but will sum up as best I can. He said that in this day and age if you truly want to be published then nobody can stop you. There are so many paths to publication now, and traditional publishing is only one of them. So if you want to be published you can do it, nobody can keep you from it. It was rather inspiring.

Tips for people new to the Youth Hotel Glebe, firstly, you can be old, I’m 37 and they didn’t evict me. Secondly, The Nude Bar, refers to the bar upstairs. You do not have to get nude to go there. I repeat DO NOT GET NUDE TO GO UP THERE. It gets its name from the nude art on the walls. It is actually quite lovely and grand.

Find Candice Fox here.

Find L.A. Larkin here.

Find Nigel Bartlett here.

Find Bruce McCabe here.

And find the man of the moment, the guy who pulled this whole event together, A.B. Patterson here.

Here are my tweets, typos and all, from the event. (Cut me some slack, I’m dyslexic.)