Cool Books and Old Friends.

Yesterday, I was really pleased to see this post here over at Steph Bowe's blog, not least because an old friend of mine, Ben Beaton, makes an appearance. (Or, more accurately, his new book: Mama's Song does...)

Ben and I met when we were both in first year uni, about 900 years ago. Then we both became high school teachers, then we sort of drifted apart for a while as life took us in different directions.

I know he's been working at getting a book out there for a long time now, though. And about five years ago I had the pleasure of doing a reader's report on another of his works, so I'm really pleased to see this one out there. Well done Black Dog Books - a good catch. I haven't read the book yet, but I'm looking forward to getting my hands on a copy in the near future.

And, on another, similar note, tomorrow night I'm really pleased to have the opportunity to launch The Dark Griffin by Katie J. Taylor. Katie is a former student of mine here at the University of Canberra, (though I can't claim any credit for her writing ability - she was published a long time before she met me...) and is (in my humble opinion) someone to watch out for. The Dark Griffin is a great read - the sort of fantasy that really draws you in. I'll be putting a more detailed review up on Goodreads in the next day or two. It's the first of a trilogy, and I can't wait for the next two. (Though, given my tardiness with the final darklands book, if I have to wait a while before they're ready then I guess it's just Karma.)

If you're in Canberra, the launch of The Dark Griffin is on tomorrow night at the Uni of Canberra bookshop from 5.30.

And now, on the subject of the Darklands books, I really should get back to my editing. It's due back to UQP next week, and I'm currently only on page 26 of 252. So I should work. Or get coffee.

And, perhaps, a muffin.