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Book Launch Love – Coffs Harbour

Web_a proud dadHere’s me with my proud dad. (I’m his baby girl.)

Now my baby has been set free into the unknown. Okay, so that’s slightly melodramatic; it’s not a real baby and I’m not exactly setting it free. And thanks to a few terrific reviews this last week, the unknown is now also a lot less ‘unknown’. (see below)

I admit to being terrified that readers wouldn’t like it, that book reviewers would stab me in the heart (sorry, there I go with the dramatics again), and that Simon & Schuster would be left shaking their heads and saying: “Geez, that was a mistake!” So there was a kind of audible, if somewhat shaky sigh that escaped my mouth with that first review (and I’m pleased to say the good reviews keep coming!).

Of course, the best thing about publication week is the book launch; planning for such an event started years … err … I mean months ago. I decided to hold the event in the best little, big bookshop. The Book Warehouse at Toormina was going to be perfect for the small no-one-will-come-anyway event.

Hmm, fifty-plus RSVPs later, poor Julie spent sleepless nights wondering how she was going to rearrange the shop to accommodate the growing guest list. (Not to mention the added angst with The Mayor of Coffs Harbour – Denise Knight – officiating on the night.)

Totally out of the blue, a visitor (and a much-needed distraction) lobbed on my doorstop the day before the launch. Carolyn and I started hairdressing together at sixteen; she’d driven up from Sydney as a surprise guest. We hadn’t seen each other for 25 years. (Here she is as my bridesmaid thirty-odd years ago and you can tell one of us is still in the beauty industry, while the other is a struggling artist without a hairdressing budget!)

I admit that my publication dream has always included the glamorous book launch – a fabulously flamboyant affair – author swanning around, signing books and hobnobbing with literati, with much muttering about literary awards and movie deals. And that’s EXACTLY what I got (okay, minus the literary awards and movie deal). But the night was everything I could have hoped for – and more – with a humbling number of people coming from far and wide to help me celebrate. Most importantly though, as I read the first chapter – seven whole minutes (I timed it) – not one guest fell asleep, or if they did we were so crammed into that little store that they couldn’t have fallen anywhere anyway!

If I could do it all again, I wouldn’t change a thing (and in fact I probably will do it all over again this same time next year when The Simmering Season comes out. (I hope the sun has come out in Coffs Harbour by then too!)

Thank you to everyone who attended. Those who sent messages. Those who braved the elements. Those too far away to even try. Those watching over me. You were with me.

I think the Chinese proverb from the card I received from The Book Warehouse team says it all:

“I dreamed a thousand paths. I woke and walked my own.”

Enjoy these images of the launch – House for all Seasons March 4, 2013.

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What people are saying:

Daystarz Book Review – (full version)

Told from the alternating perspective of each of the four women, once childhood friends, House for all Seasons is a delightful read. I found myself engrossed in this story from the first few pages. It is a book that holds your attention throughout with enough interesting detail about the characters to have you wanting more. This book is believable and it draws you in as each of the women faces their past and their relationships with each other during their youth.

It takes the reader on a journey back to the days of the girls youth in Calingarry Crossing and to a tragic event that initially tore them apart yet now reunites them. It’s fascinating to read how each of the girls perceived this event, their part in it and what impact it still has on their lives.

We follow along as each of the four main characters confront their past and present in a way that enables them to shape their future, leaving old demons behind.

I thoroughly enjoyed the depth of character development and by the end of each of the women’s stories felt that I knew them personally. Each of the women’s personalities and lives were so different; their back stories so interesting that at times I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. I really liked Poppy and Amber probably just because they were the most contrary and seemed to have the most growing to do.

There is a significant twist to the story that I just didn’t see coming and which really makes for a great ending to this book.

Jenn J McLeod has written a brilliant book in House for All Seasons which has me eagerly awaiting her next literary venture. This book is a must read and is the first on my top ten books list of 2013. I cannot say enough good things about this book, I highly recommend it as a must-add to your personal library.

Gotta be happy with that!

More reviews:
Book’d Out
1girl2manybooks
Goodreads – Helene Young

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It’s time … come home to the country

House for all Seasons Jenn J McLeodAutumn is here – Jenn’s favourite season – and so is the official release of  House for all Seasons.

To celebrate everything that’s great about small town stories, welcome Canadian powerhouse duo – Carli and Carli and Juliecarli and julie 2Julie Kennedy.

 

 

 

Bryce Courtney (The Power of One) wrote: “The joy of a small town lies in its unchanging nature.”.

 

You can watch Carli and Julie (below), but first I want to thank everyone who has ever encouraged me to keep writing and keep trying. There are no words to convey how I feel right now, or how I might say thank you to the wonderful Lou Johnson, Larissa Edwards, Carol Warwick (and the entire Simon & Schuster, Australia team) for giving my ‘House’ a home.

And a big Aussie thank you to the amazing Carli and Julie Kennedy with the perfect song for this occasion. So (click) to come home to the country with Jenn and to Small Town Stories with Carli and Julie.

Link to You Tube song

If you loved Small Town Stories you can download the song (and there’s more) from iTunes or go to the girls’ store: www.cjkennedy.com.

While you’re clicking away online you can also: ** buy House for all Seasons as an ebook; ** order a gorgeous print version online ; or better still ** pop down the street and support your local bookshop. We should all do our bit to keep a bookshop in business.

____________________________________________________________________

PHEW! Okay, so now the official ‘Jenn, the author’ thing is done, how am I really feeling?

I actually think I want to throw up! I am giddy and shaking and … Oh, now I think I’m having a hot flush! Someone pass me a fan — quick!

Speaking of fans …

I want to say a BIG thanks to you. Yes YOU! The one still reading this post. The one taking time out of your precious day to help me celebrate and spread the word.

More than anything I hope you enjoy House for all Seasons and you tell your friends, and they tell their friends.

 

Jenn

 

 

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Author Harvest ‘bales up’ Jenn J McLeod

Author HarvestJenn J McLeod - Rural AuthorWell Jenn, here you are. It’s all happening now. Who knew! So let’s start as we always do here on Harvest … with food.

Can I offer you scones and tea or some other homemade delight?

Definitely not! I think I’ve had a little too much harvest love from my guests. Did no one see that butt-to-camera angle when NBN News filmed me launching the Bellingen Readers & Writers Festival a few months back. No food! No butts!

At home…

Mum says garden gnomes make a house a home! Am I loud and proud in my loveIMG_0540 of garden gnomes at home, a closet gnomer or with a strict ‘no gnomes’ policy at my place?

I’m afraid I did inherit a love of the cheeky gnome. This one at my dad’s place is by far my favourite. (And clearly I have a butt obsession at the moment!)

What vegetable (or fruit) have I always wanted to grow at home?

I have a nice collection of both fruit and vegie: avocado, orange, ruby grapefruit, mandarins, oranges, custard apple, lychee, mango, lime, lemon, pecans. The vegie garden will have seasonal vegies: I love strawberries and cooking with fresh herbs.

If someone looked in the refrigerator, what would they find?

Grotesque, alien-like vegetables that I somehow managed to grow/create. (eg. my carrots are orange in colour, but that’s where the similarities end.)

If someone was to sort my wardrobe by colour, what colour would stand out? (Is anyone volunteering?)

You will mostly find the colour of ‘Opp Shop’. I do love finding a hidden pre-loved treasure. Opp shops are a kind of story starter. I find myself wondering about the person/history behind the treasure.

What am I wearing now?

Opp Shop favourites – shorts and a tank top. I love supporting the volunteers who run the shop.

Whose home would I like to housesit and why?

I was going to pick a few places. Then I thought previous Harvestees might get all precious and say: “Ooohh… Jenn J never said we could do that ….” To which my response would be: Hey folks, it’s my party and I’ll give answers in triplicate if I want to …

So, (with that out o the way) I’d do a progressive thing with some of my author pals so I can soak up some inspiration during my stay: Fiona Palmer’s (I’ve heard about that Pingaring pub!), Fleur McDonald (her photographs of home are gorgeous. Must go there.), my publisher’s house Larissa Edwards (so I can nose around in her book collection), Helene Young’s (in tropical north Queensland – say no more!), Christine Stinson’s (because she said I could stay there anytime I wanted to “come home to the city“!), Rachael Johns’ (she owns a supermarket for goodness sake. Imagine that!), Bronwyn Parry (she has kangaroos watching her work through the window), and speaking of rooms with a view – Annie Seaton’s place (have you seen that writing chair of hers?) 😉 I could go on…. In fact I could go to New Zealand and visit Rae Roadley (becasue she has found ‘Love At The End Of The Road’.)

Country curiosities…

We love a sunburnt country (slip, slop, slap and all that). What’s my ideal hat? Or am I a boots person?

Love my leather hat. Hate hat hair. Love my comfy Redbacks. Hate spiders!

If I were a tree (or animal) what kind of tree (animal) would I be?

A meerkat: stands tall, inquisitive, cautious, highly excitable, aggressive only when provoked! (Best of all, cute as all get out and no butt to speak of.)

Now for the big question… Why did the chicken cross the road?

It went to the shops to by House for all Seasons by this lovely new author called Jenn J McLeod. They heard there was a rather elaborate chook house described in the book as well as a competition with a great prize when you buy the book.

About you…

My turning point: when was that point in my life that I realised being an author was no longer going to be just a dream but a reality and a career?

A year before my 50th birthday I said: “It’s now or never.”  I’d written two novels already (contemporary fiction set in glamorous locations) but coud not interest a publisher or an agent. With a growing interest in Australian rural fiction I decided if I couldn’t sell an Australian small town story then I couldn’t sell anything and I would give up.

Two days before my 50th birthday I signed with Clare Forster (Curtis Brown Literary Agency). The rest, as they say, is history!

What is the hardest part of writing for me?

Picking up where I left off the previous day. I have to get into the flow (it’s a voice thing) which means reading a few previous chapters. I’m afraid I can’t read without editing so I get bogged down with the detail, which then ends up limiting my word count at the end of each day.

If someone was to write my biography, what do I think the title should be?

She did a good job, butt …!

Fun stuff…

What does my protagonist think about me? Would he or she want to hang out with me, the author, his/her creator?

My contemporary fiction tends to have a cast of characters rather than the protagonist/antagonist structure. Not sure any of them would want to hang out with me but, boy, would I LOVE hanging out with them. Especially a couple of my secondary boys. Will, the local cafe owner who makes great soy lattes, and Alex, the country vet and all-round nice guy. Both have the wonderful, witty (verging on wicked) sense of humour. I reckon we’d get on, don’t you?

If someone said, “Just entertain me for five minutes, I’m not going to talk,” what would I do?

I’d show you the NBN News clip and ask you: “Does my butt look big in that?”

What food would I be?

Ummm … something nutty perhaps!

What was the best thing before sliced bread?

I have no idea. I only included this question to see what others would say. But check this. Will we all be asking in a few decades, “What’s the best things since the super-duper toasting bread knife thingy?”

Name 5 uses for a stapler that has no staple pins.

With an obsessive partner there is NEVER a stapler without staple pins (nor a toilet roll holder without paper, a fridge without a cold beer, or a car without petrol).

How weird am I? Rate yourself on a scale of 1 (not) to 10 (very).

I’ve just interviewed myself. What do you think?

Don’t forget to lock March 1 into your diary (or subscribe to receive a reminder). On online launch will be … colourful and loud 😉

Now … follow that chook and go buy my book. No butts about it! Check out the links in my book room.

(My thanks to Lily Malone for suggesting I interview myself. BTW – check out her Author Harvest and the other fabulous writing folk who have come home to the country so far – Author harvest line-up.