Kathryn's Inbox

Today I'm paying tribute to one of the more ahem, troubled, members of the Babysitters Club, Mallory Pike. Although Mallory was one of the less interesting characters in the series (let's face it, she didn't wear weird clothing like Claudia did,) Babysitters Club author Ann M. Martin surprised the now grown-up fans of the series when she stated that she had no strong feelings about Mallory Pike. (Read more about it here .) But who is Mallory Pike really, and what did she contribute to the BSC? Mallory Pike debuted as a ten-year-old sitting charge in the first book in the series, Kristy's Great Idea . The oldest of eight kids, Mallory was annoyed that she still had to have a babysitter. As the series progressed, the members of the BSC released that Mallory was mature for her age and eventually asked her to help out as a junior helper at a playgroup that they established one summer. Later, after Mallory had turned eleven and Stacey left the club to return to New Y

Trip to my local suburban bookstore this weekend. Now, being an Adelaide girl, my local bookstore is actually located quite some distance from my house, but that is a sad reflection of the time and era I live in. For the past four or so years, no bookstore has existed within the confines of my local shopping centre, meaning that I have to bus it to another, much larger shopping centre in order to experience a visit to a real, bricks and mortar bookstore. (Or cement with plaster inside walls, as the case is.) Anyway, the trip itself was a bit of a disappointment. I was hoping to find a copy of the new Virginia Andrews novel Daughter of Light  so that I could read it, get mad at the crappy writing and then review it. The store had plenty of other Virginia Andrews novels in stock, including a pretty awesome looking edition of Petals on the Wind with an updated cover but, alas, there were no copies of Daughter of Light to be found anywhere. In fact, there wasn't anything else there

Just for fun, I thought that I would share an extract from my latest novella, Best Forgotten . Part 1 The Killer April 16 2010 Purse. Car keys. Textbook. Mobile. Okay, I can do this. Act cool. Pretend everything is normal. I slip on my sunglasses and dump my satchel on the front passenger seat of the Hyundai. I take a deep breath. So far, so good. It is amazing, really, just how ordinary everything seems today. Here I am, going about my morning routine like nothing strange or out of the ordinary happened last night. Like I’m still the same innocent, untainted girl who stood in this same place, at exactly this time yesterday. I wonder if anyone knows that I killed a man between now and then? I cast my eyes across the car park, just to see if anyone from the flats is out and about yet. On the other side of the fence, at the front of an old weatherboard shack, James is trying to persuade his son to get into the car so that he can go to school. ‘I do

Found this awesome image, and I just had to share. Like my favourite tubby tabby, I've never been much of a fan of Mondays and often regard the day as a shadow closing in on me. My own fear/hatred of Mondays harks all the way back to my primary school days, when I used feel physically sick as I walked inside the classroom, wondering what run-ins I'd have with that dreadful Mrs Pettingill this week. (Damn her for confiscating my special Garfield and Odie lead pencil that had the pink eraser on top. Oh well, at least I had the good sense to steal it back.) 

Just had to share another of my favourite Daria clips. As always, I love the truth in her words.

With the new VC Andrews novel Daughter of Light being released in Australia later this week I thought that now was a fitting time to review its prequel, Daughter of Darkness which was released in late 2010. Daughter of Darkness was the first V.C. Andrews novel to stray from the gothic fairytale (or Sci-Fi, if one is to count Gods of Green Mountain) theme and venture into the paranormal. And this all happened perhaps not-so-coincidentally after the release and fanfare of Twilight . And like all novels baring the V.C. Andrews name, it had an interesting concept. Three adopted daughters, all raised to find and trap bait for their adoptive father, who just happens to be a vampire. Unfortunately, all the usual plot-holes of the modern V.C. Andrews novels (think people chanting impishly, bratty/bitchy siblings who detract rather than add to the plot, weirdos with skewed sexual morals and a lack of understanding of female behaviour and conversation,) get in the way. The novel itself tel

It is time once again for Feature and Follow Friday. Hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkie's View, this awesome meme is designed to help us like-minded bloggers connect and talk about our favourite things--books and reading! This week's all-important question is: Q: What is a deal breaker for you in a book? For example, do you abhor love triangles? Or can't deal with bad editing? Hmm. Bad editing definitely annoys me, but if it's a great plot I'm willing to overlook it. A well-written love triangle can be a good thing, but I dislike it when the author includes one when that particular subplot isn't necessary. (I always felt the love triangle in The Hunger Games was a little unnecessary, for example. Come on, honestly what did Gale even bring to the plot, except to prove how bitter and twisted some people can be. And he had sixteen years to develop a relationship with Katniss.) Anyway, to actually answer the question, one thing that gets unde