Blogging Conflict: Learning the Hard Way

Everyone who YA blogs knows we have issues.

Much more is said than blogged or tweeted. There is a swirling mass of jealousy, hate and everything else in between laying just beneath the camaraderie. I am not saying it is all a lie but I blog because I enjoy it. If the bitching, sniping and snarking was the majority of the communications then there is no way in heck I would continue to blog. I was in high school once, I teach it now, I don't need to repeat old behaviours.

We have cliques.

We have grudges.

We have personal vendettas.

It is socialisation at its worst but if school, work and clubs aren't spared these things ... why should the blogosphere? As a female and as a teacher I've seen the toxic aspects of social groups from both inside and outside. It sucks either way. It immediately makes you doubt yourself, feel about 2 inches tall and then want to lash out, cry or both. It is sometimes easy to forget that people have feelings whether you fail to speak to them or communicate with them online. It's easier to remove someone's feelings from the equation when they are only a Blogger template or twitter username.

I have been guilty of behaviours that I have mentioned. It shames me that I haven't completely evolved from the insecure teen in high school. I still want to be liked and I still want to protect my friends. The only difference now is that I engage in the brouhaha much much less and when I do, I usually back out immediately. Cooler heads prevail. I try and be the voice of reason if possible. If it is not, then I remove myself from the situation. I just wish I wouldn't involve myself in the first place...but we all have things we need to work on and I have mine.

Here's some recommendations about staying out of the brouhaha:

• Don't tweet about a conflict... It's easy to tweet something in the heat of the moment but it will ultimately come back to bite you on your glutus maximus. This is a mistake I continue to make...I tend to delete my vent as soon as I have clicked on the tweet button but I shouldn't bring it up in a public domain regardless. Our twitter accounts contain bloggers, authors and publishing people - even if you are the wronged party, you end up sounding petty if you tweet it.
• If you don't have the cojones to leave a comment with your name attached, you really shouldn't post it.
• Comments shouldn't need to be asterisked...use big words, people. Not their nasty, ribald cousins.
• You are allowed to disagree with others. Give your two cents in a clear and concise fashion (without insults) and then back away. Engaging in an argument in the comment section of someone's post is poor form. Exacerbating a situation doesn't make anyone look classy...know when to shut your trap. I learnt this one just in time for the Wings review debacle...you know the one :)
• If you are going to bitch...do it privately. (If you claim you never do this, I think you might be heaven sent.)
• Copying or being "inspired" by another bloggers event will inevitably get you in trouble with the original blogger and that blogger's friends. It's not worth the grief and gets you a bad reputation with fellow bloggers. It's like learning your best friend's intended baby name and using it yourself...really poor form (and likely to become a toxic issue). If you haven't asked them if it is okay...you already know you are doing the wrong thing (unless of course you are genuinely unaware of the event in the first place).*
• Never post someone's private correspondence with you on your blog unless you have their express permission. (I would apply this to comments as well, though it is debatable. The person who comments means for it to be in the comment section, not a post of its own.)
• If you have a troll or a verbose objectionable commenter, swim through their offensive wording and see if there might be a grain of truth to the comment. Sometimes there is, sometimes there's not.
• We fight over books, not friends/boys so it is slightly different from normal high school. Don't brag about your book haul or the ultimate "get". It's okay to be excited, just don't cross the line. If you are lucky enough to receive plentifully, make sure you fulfill your end of the bargain with the publicist/author. What bargain? In accepting review copies there is an understanding that you review it. You might not like it, finish it or have time for it thus not being able to review it - you then have the responsibility to tell the publisher this, review it accordingly or tell the publicist's you may need to be choosier in the titles received. It took me a long time to realise this but I am happier to have less review titles and reading what I want to read. Having a large IMM haul means you have an impressive post, not an impressive blog. Reviewing all the IMM copies makes your blog impressive. Not reviewing plentiful hauls is the quickest way to anger your blogging colleagues. If you want to have a life and get great books, be realistic in the number of review copies you accept. You can always say no, or cut back a little. Publicists won't blackball you for saying this, they appreciate the honesty.
• A constructive criticism is different than a troll comment. On my PSnark survey last week a reader made a comment about how often I mention something. I won't say what is was as I've vowed to not do it anymore. I was initially hurt, offended and then angry. I quickly realised that they were right. Their scaling of my reviews and blog in general were very generous, they just had one criticism. It was something I had already thought to myself. Their comment (and my hurt) confirmed that it was something I needed to stop. Learn to recognise the difference to make your blog better - just don't tweet about it in between your meltdown and self-realisation :)
• If you have a beef with another blogger, deal with it yourself. Don't rally the troops and spread discontent. Polite emails can and will do the trick. But remember, not discussing the problem with the other party won't make it go away.

The points I listed above are lessons I have learned the hard way...through being in the situations. I don't want to be a hypocrite so I've only mentioned things that I have made the mistake of doing once, several times or still. Perhaps you can learn faster than I do and then mentor me :)

*There is an extra clause here. If the blogger you've copied or been inspired by is one of the biggest blogs, like The Story Siren, you have no grounds for saying you weren't aware. Everyone knows that IMM or Books to Pine For are Kristi's events. If you were to start a Book Blogger Appreciation Week...I would say My Friend Amy's been doing that for years. There's obliviousness and then there's the truth.

So I ask you, what have you learnt about your conduct the hard way in the blogosphere?

In My Mailbox - 10 April

IMM is brought to us all by the magnificent Kristi and Alea. After a couple of weeks of not purchasing anything it is lovely to be able to contribute to IMM and know that I will have more reviewing material.

For Review:

There was no photo or blurb available for Descent by Charlotte McConaghy.

The Possibility of Fireflies - Dominique Paul

I am sitting on my front stoop. I think it's about midnight. I was busy reading up until an hour ago, but my eyes started to hurt from squinting. Now it's just me and the waiting.

It's 1987 and fourteen-year-old Ellie Roma doesn't have much of a family. She lives with her mother, who has taken a break from parenting; and her older sister, Gwen, who is on her way to becoming a juvenile delinquent. Her father left them to start a new life.

So Ellie spends a lot of time alone, especially at night, when all she has to keep her company are the fireflies that flicker in the summer air. Then one day a mysterious stranger enters her dark world. He is Leo, twenty-one, who is on his way to Hollywood to become a rock star. Ellie and Leo connect instantly, and Ellie hopes Leo will be the one to rescue her from her unhappy life. But instead, Leo teaches Ellie that no one can save you. You have to go after what you want. So one night -- one terrible, frightening, thrilling night -- that's exactly what Ellie decides to do.

Intriguing huh?

Gifts from my fantasy-loving friend

Dreamhunter - Elizabeth Knox

Laura comes from a world similar to our own except for one difference: It is next to the Place, an unfathomable land that fosters dreams of every kind and is inaccessible to all but a select few, the dreamhunters. These are individuals with the ability to catch larger-than-life dreams and relay them to audiences in the magnificent dream palace. People travel from all around to experience the benefits of the hunters’ unique visions.

Now, fifteen-year-old Laura and her cousin Rose, daughters of dreamhunters, are old enough to find out if they qualify to enter the Place. But nothing can prepare them for what they are about to discover. In the midst of a fascinating landscape, Laura’s dreamy childhood is ending, and a nightmare is beginning.

Amongst one of the worst covers ever...interesting premise though.

The Dead Travel Fast - Deanna Raybourn

A husband, a family, a comfortable life: Theodora Lestrange lives in terror of it all.

With a modest inheritance and the three gowns that comprise her entire wardrobe, Theodora leaves Edinburgh — and a disappointed suitor — far behind. She is bound for Roumania, where tales of vampires are still whispered, to visit an old friend and write the book that will bring her true independence.

She arrives at a magnificent, decaying castle in the Carpathians replete with eccentric inhabitants: the ailing dowager; the troubled steward; her own fearful friend, Cosmina. But all are outstripped in dark glamour by the castle's master, Count Andrei Dragulescu.

Bewildering and bewitching in equal measure, the brooding nobleman ignites Theodora's imagination and awakens passions in her that she can neither deny nor conceal. His allure is superlative, his dominion over the superstitious town, absolute — Theodora may simply be one more person under his sway.

A pro-active heroine in bit-lit? Kill me now.

The Disappeared - Kim Echlin

After more than 30 years Anne Greves feels compelled to break her silence about her first lover, and a treacherous pursuit across Cambodia's killing fields. Once she was a motherless girl from taciturn immigrant stock. Defying fierce opposition, she falls in love with Serey, a gentle rebel and exiled musician. She's still only 16 when he leaves her in their Montreal flat to return to Cambodia And, after a decade without word, she abandons everything to search for him in the bars of Phnom Penh, a city traumatized by the Khmer Rouge slaughter. Against all odds the lovers are reunited, and in a political country where tranquil rice paddies harbour the bones of the massacred, Anne pieces together a new life with Serey. But there are wounds that love cannot heal, and some mysteries too dangerous to know. And when Serey disappears again, Anne discovers a story she cannot bear.

Sounds like a hard read but one well worth the effort.

Courtesy of an Australian friend of great awesomeness

Headgames - Casey Lever

Steven Byrd is highly intelligent. He's just not very smart. For one thing, he's obsessed with Avery Adams - a girl who can't stand him. When Steven discovers Avery is involved in a secret game, he drags his best mate, Tala, along for the ride. Steven laughs when he finally hears what the game is - until he thinks about the other players. Avery has had plenty of practice at twisting the knife to hurt Steven. Connor Robson is rumoured to have been in juvenile detention, and Connor's half-sister Jude's hostility could break glass. A silly kids' game can get serious very quickly when you let other people inside your head.

Male protagonist. Check. Australian tale. Check. Manipulation, probable violence and name calling. Count me in.

Anonymity Jones - James Roy

Once, in a street not very far from yours, there lived a girl called Anonymity Jones.

Anonymity's life is falling apart. Her father has left to have a mid-life crisis, her mother's new boyfriend is a definite worry, her Europe-bound sister has changed her name (just to make a point) and all her girl friends are now girlfriends, with boyfriends.

And then there's the art teacher.

Anonymity is losing control, and it's decision time. Does she hang on, get out, or get even?

One word....FINALLY!

The Crossing - Mandy Hager

The Crossing is the first book in a stunning new trilogy that follows the fate of Maryam and her unlikely companions - Joseph, Ruth and Lazarus. This is fast, suspenseful drama underpinned by a powerful and moving story about love and loss. The people of Onewere, a small island in the Pacific, know that they are special - chosen to survive the deadly event that consumed the Earth. Now, from the rotting cruise ship Star of the Sea, the elite control the population - manipulating old texts to set themselves up as living 'gods'. But what the people of Onewere don't know is this: the leaders will stop at nothing to meet their own blood-thirsty needs. When Maryam crosses from child to woman, she must leave everything she has ever known and make a crossing of another kind. But life inside the ship is not as she had dreamed, and she is faced with the unthinkable: obey the leaders and very likely die, or turn her back on every belief she once held dear.

This cover genuinely freaks me out. I even thought I saw the head move independantly of the body just a second ago. I am gullible.

A Girl Like Me - Penny Matthews

Their lives couldn't be more different, but Emmie can't help liking Bertha Schippan. She's funny and knowing and wild, and she distracts Emmie from the monotony of farm life in their tiny, isolated community. But, as Emmie soon discovers, Bertha has secrets. Terrible secrets.

Bertha? Bertha? I love it. I think this will be one that might remind me of living in two bit Australian country towns. This can be both a good and bad thing. Excited to read it.

Note - if you have time, I have posted a discussion about blogger conflict and would really like your thoughts on this matter. I have struggled enormously with my own roles in these situations and wonder what your experiences have been like.

Review - I Am The Messenger / Markus Zusak

Meet Ed Kennedy—underage cabdriver, pathetic cardplayer, and useless at romance. He lives in a shack with his coffee-addicted dog, the Doorman, and he’s hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence, until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery. That’s when the first Ace arrives. That’s when Ed becomes the messenger. . . .

Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary), until only one question remains: Who’s behind Ed’s mission?

Review - Zusak is a name that can be instantly recognised or bring a blank look to a person's face. I have to admit that until recently, I was in the second camp. Even upon the realisation that this author had been honoured with many awards, I found it near impossible to find one of his titles in my hometown bookstores. It took moving to another country to make it happen.

What immediately struck me about I Am the Messenger was how effortless it appeared. Zusak has a way with the simple sentence. I would find myself often stopping to think about the way he'd craft one but there was always a pervading sense of humour that really won me over. On first glance this book might be dismissed as slacker humour but it is much more than bong and body emission jokes. There is much more to our confidence bereft, aimless youth than all of that cliched nonsense and Zusak placed his fingers firmly on its pulse.

It's a difficult novel to discuss as it is a journey you will want to experience fresh and unspoiled. For such a wide expanse of subject matter the tone of the piece is remarkably well executed. From the brutality of one suburban marriage to the loneliness of one's twilight years to the secrets you keep close to you, they are all woven into a patchwork of redemption, empathy, understanding and self-worth. It is the humour that lifts it above being considered an "issues book" but I never for one second considered it such despite its fantastic social commentary.

The structure is creatively executed, as is the overarching intrigue. There is only one point that prevents me from gushing about this novel as Oprah does over Maya Angelou. There's a scene with the bank robber that didn't meld with the rest of the story and momentarily took me out of Ed's adventures. That being said, it is one page in a novel that manages to be stylistic, smart, socially aware and sardonic.

The power of one can influence many,. The ingenuity of this novel can entertain many more.

Published: 2002
Format: Paperback, 357 pages
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Source: purchased
Origin: Australia

www.markuszusak.com

Review - Ballads of Suburbia / Stephanie Kuehnert

Ballads are the kind of songs that Kara McNaughton likes best. Not the cliched ones where a diva hits her highest note or a rock band tones it down a couple of notches for the ladies, but the true ballads: the punk rocker or the country crooner telling the story of their life in three minutes, the chorus reminding their listeners of the numerous ways to screw things up. In high school, Kara helped maintain the "Stories of Suburbia" notebook, which contained newspaper articles about bizarre and often tragic events from suburbs all over and personal vignettes that Kara dubbed "ballads" written by her friends in Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago. Those "ballads" were heartbreakingly honest tales of the moments when life changes and a kid is forced to grow up too soon. But Kara never wrote her own ballad. Before she could figure out what her song was about, she was leaving town after a series of disastrous events at the end of her junior year. Four years later, Kara returns to face the music, and tells the tale of her first three years of high school with her friends' "ballads" interspersed throughout.

Review - Reading a Stephanie Kuehnert novel is like seeing the world through a fog of cigarette smoke - it smells a little funky, grit is accumulated on every surface but you are truly inhabiting the experience. Kuehnert's books also have a lot in common with nicotine addiction - you'll get choked up a lot and they are hard to quit. I could also make some snarky allusion to the high death toll but in the author's case it is solely her characters (unless she is a serial killer on the side.)

I grew up in the era depicted in this story. Nirvana were huge, guys had badly dyed, shaggy hair and ambivalence was wide spread. There were characters in Ballads that are almost exact replicas of kids that I grew up with which made it difficult to read in some ways. Issues of disillusionment, cutting, the fragments of family, sibling dysfunction, death, suicide, drug use and addiction are all interwoven in an effortless manner that allow the reader to focus on Kara's journey (rather than the evolution of the "issues"). Journal entries of a personal nature by many of the supporting character help flesh out the story and add a distanced perspective of our protagonist. The writing is unique with sharpened prose - it cuts, making you suffer along with Kara until you are as raw as she is. It's not a book that will thwack you over the head but instead, one that slowly envelops you unsuspectingly.

Ballads comes across much more personal to the author that her debut effort, the fantastic I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone. Perhaps this was due to my awareness of her own teen struggles that undoubtedly influences the novel but I think not. The exploration of cutting and controlling relationships were vividly (if not disturbingly) portrayed. The sibling relationship is one that worked exceedingly well - Kara and Liam transition from distant, sober individuals to close but inordinately messed up junkies is frightening but understandable.

An original voice and a gritty, soul crushing story worth reading.

Published: July 2009
Format: Paperback, pages
Publisher: MTV Books
Source: purchased
Origin: USA

www.stephaniekuehnert.com

Waiting on Wednesday - I Now Pronounce You Someone Else

Erin McCahan

Arthur A. Levin Books - 1st June 2010

Seventeen-year-old Bronwen Oliver doesn't just want a family. She has one of those, and there's nothing terribly wrong with them apart from bickering grandparents, an image-obsessed mother and a brother she describes simply as Jesus. But there's no natural sense of connection between Bronwen and her family, leaving her with the belief -- and the hope -- that she was switched at birth, that she was never supposed to be Bronwen Oliver but someone else entirely.

When she begins dating college senior Jared Sondervan, she finds herself thoroughly embraced by the loving family she has always wanted and does not hesitate to say yes when Jared proposes on her 18th birhday. Plans for the Perfect Beach Wedding before her junior year of college become plans for the Perfect Beach Wedding before her freshman year of college. And a wedding so soon isn't exactly what Bronwen wants. But Jared is. And his family is. Or so she thinks.

Before Bronwen can determine what she truly wants, she must first determine who she truly is, and the answer, she discovers, is only partially what she thought it was. She wasn't switched at birth, but she's also not Bronwen Oliver and hasn't been for a very long time.

The concept of a teen getting married isn't something I've read in contemporary YA that doesn't involve an abomination /vampire baby with an abysmal name. It sometimes comes up in fantasy YA where the setting is molded on Medieval times but in a setting reflecting today's society? Not so much. Even in the media teenage marriage is only brought up if 1) a girl is pregnant or 2) someone desperately wants to lose their virginity in line with their religion. I might sound a tad harsh but let's face it, that's all we are exposed to in terms of the media.

My mother married at 19 and it didn't end well. She freaked out the week before I turned 19 with a subconscious fear that I might get married that week. She wanted me to know myself before I pledged a lifetime with another. I think that's fair enough...even if she sounded like an absolute nutter at that time.

I love the idea that Erin McCahan's novel deals with the concept of identity and retaining that in a relationship. In looking for family in places other than your own home. It's an interesting concept and has the potential to catalyse discussion about teen marriage, the nature of family and identity.

A debut novel, I Now Pronounce You Someone Else, could be an exciting addition to the already fantastic Tenner list.

Trailer - Tomorrow When the War Began

I'm freaking excited...how about you? John Marsden's best selling Tomorrow When the War Began's teaser trailer is out.

Great YA Kisses

The fabulous ShabbyGeek asked me to write a post about my favourite scenes in YA. I considered it and it just didn't seem possible. Too many books swim in and out of my head for me to pin any one scene down. Instead I thought I would present my three favourite snogs in YA. Please add your own as I am always partial to some YA romance.

In no particular order:

MELINA MARCHETTA's Jellicoe Road

"When I turn around, he cups my face in his hands and he kisses me so deeply that I don't know who is breathing for who, but his mouth and tongue taste like warm honey. I don't know how long it lasts, but when I let go of him, I miss it already."

The tension that exists between Taylor and Jonah is intense to a degree that will seep into your blood stream and shake you to your core. Jonah is my favourite male character in YA...bar none. He's a fantastic love interest but Jellicoe Road would be a great tale even if it were presented from his point of view. He's a no nonsense, testosterone fuelled, loyal guy who says wonderful things like this -
'I'm here because of you. You're my priority. Your happiness, in some f*%$ed way, is tuned in to mine. Get that through your thick skull. Would I like it any other way? Hell, yes, but I don't think that will be happening in my lifetime.'
It's not poetry but it's swoon worthy.

SIMONE ELKELES' Perfect Chemistry

This title is fresh in my mind as I read it last week. Nobody can argue that the sexual tension and longing that permeates this novel isn't incredible. The kiss is highly charged, hot, steamy and toe curling good.

From garage make outs to car make outs, the reader is hooked into the fiery combination of Brittany and Alex with scary intent.

JENNIFER ECHOLS' Going Too Far

I've always wondered about the whole reasoning that a man in uniform is hot. I didn't really get it....until John After. Never has a police car seemed like such a good place to snog a guy. Meg and John's simmering attraction and witty repartee leads to some great kissing. One snog in particular happens on a beach and will forever be ingrained in my psyche.

I have to add that a great snog is in great part about the great chemistry between the two characters. What are your favourite YA snogs?

Why I Blog...

When I started YA blogging back in January 2009 my whole intent was to use blogging to stock my under-resourced school with books that my students would want to read. That perhaps the thrill of receiving books that had been published in the last twenty years might ignite a spark in them that could possible develop into a love of reading.

Sixteen months later and I am no longer at that school, living in that city or even in that country. My whole reason for blogging in the first place has disappeared and yet I continue to do so. Sure I was able to donate hundreds of books to my school and the local community library but my altruistic reasons have now dissipated with my sojourn to Japan.

I started YA review blogging for the books. I admit it. I wanted as many free books as I could possibly get. I was one of those blogger whores who was out for what she could get...so I could give them to my students.

Maybe that excuses me, maybe it doesn't. But what I want to explain is this. Should you look back on my archives you will see months where I was posting books reviews nearly every day. That's right...reading a book a day then posting a review that night. I was doing this while managing my day job - teaching part time and educational administration part time. My job revolved around teaching middle school kids English and History and then dealing with problematic behaviours...needless to say, the temptation to NOT read and NOT review at times was high. But even at my most blogger-whore worst, I was killing myself to show the publishers that their faith in me was not lost. I would genuinely thank them for being so generous, read/review and then email the links back. I was diligent, I was focussed, I didn't have a life for awhile but some of my students ignited!

Now I am in a completely different position. I don't get review copies. That's not entirely true, I have received around 4 titles in the four months I have been here in Japan. Publishers don't send here and nor should they have to, the postage is too costly. The titles I have received have been because the authors have requested the publisher to pull their thumb out. The rest of my reviews have been on titles that I have ordered from Book Depository.

I have gone from receiving anywhere between 2-15 review copies a week to nothing.

I think I am a better blogger for it.

I am now reviewing less often but thinking about my feelings about titles more deeply. I am reading more books that I tend to respond to. I am reading for me, instead of for others. I am happier and I feel less pressure. But then again, I am reviewing more critically than ever which is the downside to my reading more and more and more.

While the blog is updated less, the content is (hopefully) more thought out and more impactful. I am trying to enhance the quality over the quantity. If I vlog, I make sure I have content for people who can't (or choose not to) watch the vlog. If I am telling you why Team Gale rocks, I will acknowledge the attraction of Team Peeta. I am attempting to ween myself off memes. I am attempting to be creative whether it be the Top 100 YA Titles Poll or The Status Report. I am challenging myself to think more and diversify.

If I post a discussion, I want to have a clear point of view. I want my opinions to count. I want to be clear in my intentions. I want to be my own person and not influenced by friendships or pressure. I want my blog to reflect my own moral standpoint, my reading tastes and my abhorrence for flash over content. I think I am getting there... slowly.

I don't have 500, or 900 or 1500 followers. I don't run competitions. I don't interview authors I haven't read or didn't enjoy. If my blog does anything it caters to the approximately 250 people who read it day in and day out.

My lovely lurkers. They don't comment.

This used to bother me, but now not so much. They keep coming back. They might not comment but they read and ultimately that's what's important. (Because we all know how I feel about inconsequential comments). I value them and they seem to value me. That's what is important.

Would I love to be more widely read? Of course. I am not a saint. My tendency for narcissism is just as great as the average blogger. While I would love the popularity of Kristi at The Story Siren, or the critical appreciation like Steph Su (both bloggers I admire) - I realise I have my own little niche and that's fine. I recently ran a survey to ascertain what people responded to (and didn't) and it was remarkable uniform in results. I am considered fair and constructive. Regular readers like my reviews. I am consistently fair. If the word fair is the one that is attached to me, that is something I can be proud of.

What did shock me was who reads the blog. I seemingly have many more authors and publishing professionals reading my blog than bloggers themselves. Perhaps the survey is slanted, who knows? (Have your say here). But it was an interesting revelation nevertheless.

Why do I blog now? Free books aren't my motivation. They were never for me so as I am no longer at that library-less school, I have had to rethink my aims. I could have stopped blogging when I moved to Japan but I didn't. It was never an option. I love the community too much to give it away. It has given me so much...from my friends in new worlds whether publishing, writing or blogging... I am a rich lady.

Sixteen months ago, my passion was dormant. Now I realise how much reading (and YA reading at that) is a part of me. It has made me reconsider my employment options upon my return to Oz in December 2010 whether in publishing, English teaching or studying librarianship. It's given me some courage towards writing a manuscript that I might eventually finish, edit copiously then (perhaps) submit somewhere in a cowardly manner. It has allowed me to be a member of a YA award judging panel. I've been able to meet my hero-ine (not just in writing but flat out) in Melina Marchetta and push her work in the wider blogosphere. I now have Anne of GG-bosom buddies in most corners of the globe who perk me up when I am depressed, worry about me when I was ill and seemingly enjoy my random sense of humour. It has allowed me, to find me. Become me.

That sounds like a bunch of wank but it is true. I am following my joy - reading. Blogging has brought me to my own people and for that I am forever grateful. It is for this reason that I blog.