Narrelle M Harris: Happy Kwanzaa, Everybody!

On this week’s show Narrelle recommended some book-buying for Christmas (unlike the book-burning she recommended last year. Lordy, did that get out of hand).

Here’s your cut-out-and-keep guide of what she said.

Classics:
Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote.

Vampire Fiction:
Dracula by Bram Stoker, Let the Right One In by John Lindqvist (or – I humbly submit – The Opposite of Life by Narrelle M Harris).

Fantasy:
Snake Agent by Liz Williams. Or anything at all by Neil Gaiman (perhaps American Gods).

Crime/Thriller:
Redback or Blood Guilt by Lindy Cameron (Blood Guilt has lesbian protagonists too, so bonus).

Graphic Novels:
The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way. Or find a collection of The Sandman stories by Neil Gaiman. Or something cool by Alan Moore (Promethea, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, From Hell).

Young Adult:
Mary Borsellino’s The Wolf House e-books! Vampires! Teenagers! Queer sensibilities! Did I mention vampires?
Justine Larbalestier is also cool, with sharp ideas, great writing and excellent characters.

Melburnalia:
Madame Brussels: This Moral Pandemonium (by LB Robinson) or one of the other Arcade Publications books on Melbourne’s history.

General suggestions:

Visit Twelfth Planet Press and try them out; visit an independent bookseller and support them – places like Readers’ Feast, Readings, Hares and Hyenas and Of Science and Swords – and you can’t go wrong with the Outland Institute’s favourite Look Who’s Morphing by Tom Cho, though I don’t know what category to put that under.

And if you know any writers, perhaps the first season of Castle! But probably not Misery unless you really hate the writer in question.

And To Serve Man is a cookbook! Oh, whoops – spoiler.

Radio Show #2

On Friday’s show:

Acclaimed author Doug MacLeod talks about writing for Young People, Steve from Glitter & Tonic visits the Forever Barbie Exhibition (so you don’t have have to), Narrelle M Harris discusses the CSI Effect, Glenn Dunks looks at what happens when stage musicals go to the cinema, Josh Kinal goes rant-tastic over Masterchef, Almost Fabulous visits the 19th Century, and Adam C’s Crime Against Pop was Filter Section’s singular cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit.

Please do not reveal the secret ending to your friends. All this and our musical challenge too!

And podcasting is now go! You can find the podcast in the usual places or download it directly from here!

The Outland Institute – you know you want it. Every Friday from midday to two on Joy 94.9.

Show notes after the jump…

Book Learning: The Art Of Destruction

Narrelle M. Harris is the author of four novels, including the Witch Honour series and the acclaimed Melbourne-based vampire novel The Opposite Of Life. She spent a year writing the follow-up to that novel, only to finally scrap the entire book. The Outland Institute asked Narrelle to talk about starting over and the art of editing.

I wrote my vampire book The Opposite of Life in something of a blitz. It came about after I saw Underworld. It was a fun film, but I was sick of glamorous, sexy, skinny vamps. Why was it that a set of fangs came as a package deal with ultra-coolness, great hair and a stunning all-leather outfit?

If I was ever turned into a vampire, I figured, I’d still be me. Still a big girl with a daggy streak a mile wide. That was the story I wanted to read, about the kind of vampires real people would be, in this real world where old-fashioned skulking in castles and eating the peasants wasn’t really an option any more.