I won a book!

So excited. Just got an email saying I won a copy of Jilted by Rachael Johns. I entered the competition through Cathryn Hein's blog. I already love Cathryn's books and if the blurb of Jilted is anything to go by I'm sure I'll love Rachael's books too. You all know how much I adore my rural romances so this has just made me so happy and cheery on a miserable Friday afternoon!

So what did I have to do? Just share my ideal breakfast. Here's what I wrote:


Mmm. Breakfast. Mine is similar to bacon and eggs but it our own take. It is affectionately known as steak and eggs. Marinated steak tips, fried eggs, home made chunky toast with lashings of butter, sautéed mushrooms and a home made hash brown. Delicious!

Alice Pung: Unpolished Gem

On Saturday I popped across to Daylesford (20 minutes) for their Words in Winter festival. The local public library (part of Central Highland Regional Library Corporation) had a guest speaker: Alice Pung. Alice is only 26 and this was her first novel. She did the usual spiel of why she wrote this and drew upon other novels, then gave us a background into her own life. This was followed by a reading and then lots and lots of questions. Boy did she speak well. Even though I haven't read the book it certainly inspired me to read it. (Plus I was really good and resisted buying a copy on the spot!!) I just really enjoy listening to authors talk. I love hearing about how they work, what their inspirations are, how long it took, the research involved, the reception received etc. Writing a novel is one of those things I would love to do, but feel that I never could.

Sometimes I think we are so lucky to have such talent in Australia and to be given the chance to see and hear this talent speak in such local and comfortable surrounds. Unfortunately the Words in Winter folk don't have a website (I have suggested this for next year) but I really recommend going to some of their events. Daylesford is such a lovely place to visit too. If you do go visiting I recommend the extra 3kms drive to Hepburn for a stop at the Chowder House for lunch. Boy can those boys cook!!