Back home from Sydney where the kids and I had a marvelous time. Lots of touristy adventures like Luna Park and the zoo, Bondi Beach in the freezing cold and rain, lots of eating out and best of all reconnecting with some dear friends.

The launch itself  at Better Read than Dead in Newtown was fantastic. Smaller and more relaxed than the Brisbane extravaganza, well all had a ball.

Here are a few highlights.

Karen Ferris, and all the gang at Better Read, made us feel very welcome and gave us a lovely space and lots of food and drink to celebrate Thrill Seekers.

Karen started the official launch ball rolling .

Patrick Shepherdson, crime prevention researcher, expert, and long time friend (inspiration for one of the characters in Thrill Seekers!), spoke next about our shared wild adolescence, mental health, youth and crime and the little things we can do to help those who are falling through the cracks.  He was great!

Julianne Schultz spoke next and officially launched the book. Griffith REVIEW has been a wonderful supporter of my work. I won their award for emerging writers back in 2008 and it was an absolute honour to have Julianne with us on the night.

Then it was my turn.

My children very kindly dragged themselves away from Better Read’s YA section to record my reading. So for those of you who missed it, here’s a wobbly video of me reading an extract from Thrill Seekers, “Mates and Mushrooms”. 

It was a wonderful night. I met lots of new friends and sold books too. For other authors out there, I highly recommend Better Read than Dead for your next launch. It was lots of fun and very easy too. Thanks Karen!

Now I’m back to the real world of school lunches and housework that never seems done and trying to get back into writing the next draft of “Into The Fire”, a domestic drama set among the sugarcane fields of Far North Queensland in the late 1960s. But first I’d better clean my desk.

Ah procrastination!