Once upon a time…looking at the opening lines of books.
Thanks for the shout out, Lisa! Great post! I am honoured to be considered as a great first line writer alongside the likes of Neil Gaiman!!!
Author: Maureen
Another Interview with Myself
Not because I’m inherently narcissistic but because my faithful livejournal reader, squint13, was curious and wanted the following questions answered. What’s your writing process like? The short answer is that my writing process is still evolving as I am new to this game and it…
Feminist and Loving Moffat Doctor Who: Why I am Done (Re)Explaining Part 1
I don’t normally post this sort of piece on my public blog or weigh in on fandom issues here – not because I don’t care about said issues – but because often my livejournal is a better home for such posts. However, Doctor Who fits…
Poetry and the Chat Room: An Interview with Maree Dawes
A few months back I was very lucky to receive a review copy of BRB; a verse novel by Australian poet, Maree Dawes. I’d just started a new job and it took me ages to pick up the novel, but it was worth it when…
Poetry Spotlight: BRB by Maree Dawes
BRB: Be Right Back by Maree Dawes
Published 2013, Spineless Wonders
BRB is a wonderful verse novel that explores the early days of internet chat rooms and what happens when life on the net becomes more ‘real’ than the trappings of the reality of family and friends. This theme could have become generic internet distrust cliche but Dawes uses the first person to take us inside ‘Bodicea’s’ head to create a complex character with complex reasons for her new found obsession. As another reviewer has pointed out, some will see Dawes novel as an endorsement of the narrative that falling down the internet rabbit warren destroys lives. Really, BRB highlights the truth that we all deep down know- if we don’t get what we need from our everyday lives we will find it elsewhere.
From the blurb:
Partner away and home alone but for the sleeping children, our protagonist joins online chat. She and her family moved to the country and up till now she’s been bored and disconnected from her everyday world.
She battles with online language and protocol and wonders if anyone in the chat rooms will ever speak to her.
Then online life becomes more technicoloured than the real thing…
Told from the first person point of view this verse novel uses the language and shape of online chat, email, fragments and stream of consciousness to take the reader headfirst into the world of online life in the nineties. For those who were there it will recreate the moment, for those who never were it’s a chance to experience the beginnings of social networking with the humour, excitement and dilemmas it can pose.
I should admit here that I am biased. I didn’t grow up using the internet in the nineties, but rather in the late 2000s when teen angst overwhelmed and I struggled to find an outlet for my then deemed ‘freakish’ artistic obsessions. The internet has changed my life thanks to experiences in multiple different fandoms and multiple different internet mediums including livejournal, twitter, tumblr, dreamwidth and various forums. Without these internet platforms, I wouldn’t be the feminist writer I am today. Without chatting on the internet, I would be several friends poorer.
Reading BRB took me back to the heady early days of my teen internet exploration when I’d have enormous forum msn chats with people I’d never met at ungodly hours of the night, write poetry for each other in the Poetry Thread, and in one particular year, experimented on chat roulette with a bunch of other young girls. There is something intoxicating about the ‘freeness’ of the internet and Dawes captures this freedom (both sexual and artistic) through her seamless verse. Written in the awkward stop and starts of internet chats, complete with the jargon language and names and haunted by the black pitted trolls as well as too good to be true knights in shining armour too often found online, this novel struck a nostalgic chord.
BRB: 4/5 inky stars
Conflux Writers Day
Well. What a whirlwind weekend I had in Canberra with the Conflux Writers Day and the 2014 Aurealis Awards. This is the second time I’ve attended the Aurealis and I hope that I can continue to keep attending to support nominees and to have a…
Online Book Tour- Close Call by Eloise March
I am excited today to have Doris on the blog with a spot of advice, to show you just what all the fuss is about and just who Doris is. Don’t be afraid, she doesn’t bite and it has been proven beyond scientific fact she has no teeth, but her wit is sharp and she does tend to rip into you if you stray away from being true to yourself.
With Valentine’s Day behind us and the lonely hearts club back to drinking wine from a box or perhaps, hitting the clubs again, there are still a lot of gals trying to figure out a way to keep their dignity intact and still find a man who excites them and will make them happy throughout their lives…or at least have a serious and stable relationship with! Maybe even those whose glitterific relationship has lost some of it’s shine needs a bit of a boost!
Are you game? We also will be having a live interview with the Cabin Goddess, Kriss (she is also one of the head Fairies here), and a central Facebook event page where you can post questions for Doris throughout the tour, get updates and links during the tour and ask more info on the novella! Everyone in the know has been itching to see this book get everywhere and in have people join them in reading it and laughing just as hard as they did! You won’t even need cream afterwards.. perhaps a glass of wine and a new boyfriend, but not any cream!
Can Doris describe the perfect guy (or should that be penis)?
Doris: The perfect guy? Bahahahaha. Ahem, sorry. My idea of a close-to-perfect guy and penis (we have to at least aim for something that exists) is one who respects the woman and wants to make her vagina happy too. A man who is honest, loving, tries to do his best — even if he doesn’t always succeed. He also has to be able to say “Yes, you’re right. I was wrong.” If he can’t say this, he isn’t honest and will never learn. And the penis has to be disease-free and not aggressive — I don’t do diseases or violence (as you probably already know).
Book Review
Close Call by Eloise March
RRP: 99c Ebook, $8 physical print
Publication Date: 2013
Wow- where to start with this short, but very entertaining, read? I admit that it was the gorgeous cover that first drew me in. It’s one of those rare covers that actually looks like the cover artist has read the novel and designed accordingly. The author’s goodreads blurb is also pretty accurate. Think cross between Bridget Jones Diary and The Vagina Monologues and you end up with Close Call – a story that dares to ask what would happen if our private parts could talk. Not only does it dare to put our privates at centre stage, author Eloise March goes a brave step further in giving female, rather than male genitalia, the floor. Yes, this is a short, very feminist, novella about a 22 year old named Jemma who just can’t seem to find her Mr Right. Luckily, her vagina, Doris, is able to help (albeit with sometimes disastrous results).
As well as being feminist in giving women and their sexual desires voice in a world that often doesn’t, varied sexuality is also explored in this piece (vagina’s liking vagina’s is discussed). However, I do wonder if homosexuality will come up in later novella’s in the series. I feel like I’d like to see this for the sake of fairness. But that’s not the central concern. This novella celebrates what it means to be ‘woman’ with humour and relatable situations galore. I especially enjoyed the ditzy blonde cousin whose Vagina is called Va Gina and who is just as idiotic and snobby as her ‘owner.’
Close Call is a fun, short and ‘woman’ affirming read. I did laugh reading it on the train next to the conservative looking elderly couple!
The only drawback? This is a fast read and the next in the series isn’t out yet!
Close Call: 4/5 inky stars
And finally… an interview with Dionne Lister AKA Eloise March!
1. Where did the idea for a book about talking genitals start?
On Facebook. I was there one day (well, I’m there every day but we won’t discuss my addiction to social media) and one of those sidebar ads kept taunting me. It was a weight-loss ad, because I’m a woman, Facebook feels I need to be targeted by those things. The ad had a unique way of grabbing attention: it was a picture of an offensive piece of fruit that looked like, well, a person ‘chucking a brown eye’ or a woman spreading her legs. Then I (naturally) thought Imagine if someone put an picture of a vagina on the cover of their book – that would certainly get lots of attention, and then I took it one step further: what if the main character was a vagina?
2. When did you find out you were a feminist?
I’ve always been one, but the realisation hit me when I was at uni – only a couple of years ago. And even then I would never have contemplated writing a book with a talking vagina who wants the best for her woman.
3. What gender issues will you tackle in subsequent books?
There’s so many, and I’m sure I’ll think of more as time goes on, but rape, other violence, sexism in the workplace, and in later books (because there will be a few), the struggles women have juggling work and home and society’s opinions both on working mothers and mothers who don’t contribute enough (italics = sarcasm in case you’re not sure) because they stay home, therefore having it easier than everyone else – which is bloody ridiculous. We can’t win. Why? Because we’re women. I’m also going to explore sexuality – Jemma’s sister is gay – cancer and childbirth.
4. I like that you acknowledged that it’s OK for vaginas to like other vaginas. Will you delve into this more as the series progresses?
Yes. Sam, Jemma’s sister is gay, and I plan to explore the relationships she has and the way society looks at her when she and her partner are out and about.
5. What’s the main message you want men and women to get out of your series.
Well, for a start, I want equality for everyone – not just women, but this seems like a good place to start since we’re at the bottom of the rung, still, after all the efforts by all the people over the years. I want men and women to see through the perfect, sexualized images of women that are everywhere. I want women to feel empowered and make better decisions for themselves, and I want their friends and family to support those decisions. I don’t want women to be objectified, and that goes the same for men too. It seems like everything is grounded in how sexually attractive people are. When did our existence become so focused on sex and how sexually desirable a person is, their worth judged on this fact alone. Men and women: please respect yourselves, stop being so judgmental, embrace difference and support each other. Oops, I’m ranting, sorry *blushes*.
Thanks so much for hosting me on the last day of the tour, Maureen. It’s been lots of fun! And for all the seriousness today, the book really is a light-hearted, humorous read – how can genitals that talk to each other not be funny?
Want to try for a free giveaway? Enter the Rafflecoptor Giveaway Here
Viva la Vadgeventures!
Close Call: A Doris & Jemma Vadgeventure
Close Call is the first instalment of “A Doris & Jemma Vageventure” series.
Think Bridget Jones Diary and The Vagina Monologues.
Twenty-two-year-old Jemma can’t seem to get her life in order. Her track record with men stinks, she constantly worries about getting fat and ending up a spinster at thirty. And to top it off, she has to be a bridesmaid at her most-hated cousin’s wedding. She feels like her life is over, until Doris decides to help out. Who’s Doris? Doris is Jemma’s vagina and she thinks more of Jemma than her own brain does. Doris is on a mission to save Jemma from herself, but is the task too much for one vagina to handle?
TAGS: Fiction, Chick Lit, Humor, Women’s Lit, Romance
© 2013 Dionne Lister Cover by Sol Pandiella-McLeod
Now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and Sony.
Meet Eloise March aka Eloise March
Eloise March is a woman who laughs at her own jokes, swears way too much and breaks any new diet by lunchtime on the day she starts. She believes in women’s equality, and all equality for that matter, and hopes the things she writes touch people in a positive way, and make them think about how they can create a better society for themselves and others.
In her spare time, she enjoys living as her alter ego, Dionne Lister — a suspense and YA fantasy author who is way too embarrassed to talk about vaginas. She likes spending time as Dionne because Dionne has an awesome family, wonderful friends and a cat called Lily, oh, and she has great hair.
If you’re looking for Eloise, or any information about future books in the Doris & Jemma Vadgeventure series, you can visit Dionne’s website, where Eloise has been lucky enough to get her own page http://www.dionnelisterwriter.com. If you’re looking for a chat, you can find Ms. March on Twitter.
Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Website
Follow the Tour
Monday – 3/3/2014:
- Random Reviews by Leanne Review
- The Sinner Author Review
Tuesday – 3/4/2014
- Literary Chanteuse – Ask Doris – Dating Advice
- Photography, Poetry and Indie Authors – Ask Doris & Review
Wednesday – 3/5/2014
- Lady Reader’s Bookstuff – Close Call Playlist
- Like a Bump on a Blog – Ask Doris & Review
Thursday – 3/6/2014
- Pinky’s Favorite Reads – Ask Doris & Review
- Ramen Noodle Book Reviews – Ask Doris & Review
Friday – 3/7/2014
- Our Wolves Den – Ask Doris – Why Doris?
- A Day in Doha – Review
Saturday – 3/8/2014
- Books & Chocolates – Review
- A Book Addict’s Delight – Ask Doris – Dating Advice
Monday – 3/10/2014
- J E Haldeman – Ask Doris – Dating Advice
Tuesday – 3/11/2014
- Jess Resides Here – Review
- Indie Authors You Want to Read – Ask Doris – Dating Advice
Wednesday – 3/12/2014
- Our New Generation for Reading – 3/12/2014
Thursday – 3/13/2014
- WS Momma Readers Nook – Ask Doris & Top 10 Favorite Books
- Bestsellerbound.com – Tell Us One Thing
Friday – 3/14/2014
- InkAshlings – Book Review, Interview and Ask Doris
Final Day of the Tour – Saturday March 14th
Interview with The Cabin Goddess
Follow along on FACEBOOK
A Quick Interview with Myself!
I had some questions left over from my Freshly Booked Interview which unfortunately didn’t fit into the (very generous) sixty minute time slot. I have decided to put the five most interesting here in case people are still hungry for more! Who are your favourite…