A cuppa with Meredith
Welcome!
Well hello gorgeous
I cannot believe that this is my last newsletter for 2022. This year's been all flavours of crazy (again!) I don’t mean that in a bad way but when my darling daughter told me last week that it was only two months until Christmas I had to read her the riot act. Have I thought about presents? No. Food? No. Do I want to? Emphatically NO!!!
Although, strictly speaking, that’s not entirely true because I have thought about presents for you. Yup. It’s my Christmas giveaway for my loyal lovely readers. It’s the perfect book for summer and I have FIVE copies to giveaway. If you can’t wait to find out, scroll down.
Of course I’m still editing. Honestly, you’d swear I was writing War and Peace but it’s only ninety odd thousand words. Some books slip out fully formed (The Fence, Horse Warrior) and others are like drawing teeth (all the rest.) It’s the universe reminding me not to get smug about my work. Hence I've been reading truckloads — to remind myself where I’m going. OMG, I can't wait to share an amazing book with you. It’s so good, I’ve already read it twice and I'm pretty certain I'll be reading it again straight after I’ve finished Sally Hepworth's The Soulmate.
I’ve been out and about. I went to the HarperCollins Author Day, and I mean IRL. This is the first time I've been to Sydney in an eon. Being the adult I am, I stayed in a rather lovely boutique hotel in Potts Point for two whole nights ON MY OWN!! Absolute bliss. I just loved catching up with fellow authors and the HarperCollins team. Plus, I also had a ball as the guest of Friends of Kiama Library and, more recently, the inaugural Berry Writers Festival. Coming up, I’m about to teach my first ever adult writing workshop, so if you’re a local come and see what I know! And I’ve just booked in my first event for 2023. Goulburn-Mulwaree Library, I’m looking at you!
All right then, let’s get cracking.
Onwards!
Good News
I am absolutely delighted to have been asked by Pamela Cook, Chief Inspirationalist at the Writes4Women podcast, to join her team of guest hosts along with bestselling authors and crack interviewers, such as, Rachael Johns, Maya Linnell and Cassie Hamer. Speaking of the amazing Sally Hepworth, Rachael’s just interviewed Sally about her brand new release, The Soulmate, for the poddie. And if you loved Holly Wainwright's The Couple Upstairs, Cassie Hamer's chat with Holly is up on the website and wherever you get your podcasts now.
I love these podcasts because they're all about writing — habits, craft, how the book came about — so if that’s your bag, then this is a poddy for you!
I’m coordinating a couple of upcoming chats and I’ll keep you posted about who and when once it’s confirmed but if you follow Writes4Women on socials then you’ll be able to see all the chats @Writes4Women of the website is over here.
Books to Love (and a podcast)
Terms of Inheritance by Michelle Upton
Jackie Turner has built a hotel empire but when life throws her a curve ball, she's forced to contemplate a very different future to the one she’d envisaged. Her relationship with her four daughters is also not what she’d imagined and their lives have pulled them in very different directions. She decides that each will have to earn their inheritance by fulfilling a task that will make them a better version of themselves. They have one year to complete their challenge.
Her daughter Rose, who is juggling three young children, must write and publish a children’s picture book. Social worker Mel who hates exercise must run the Gold Coast marathon. Isla, her eldest, must figure out who she is without her wealth and social status and the youngest, Jess, must stay in a relationship longer than three months. Things, of course, do not turn out as expected.
Terms of Inheritance is your perfect summer beach read. Michelle Upton (who subscribes to this newsletter—hello Michelle!) has crafted a story that is warm, witty and wise. It’s full of surprises and unexpected twists. All the characters are fun and this truly is a entertaining family drama. The blurb says it will appeal to fans of Liane Moriarty, Marian Keyes and Sally Hepworth and that’s spot on. It was also shortlisted for the 2021 Banjo Prize, which tells you the writing is good!!
I have five copies to giveaway (scroll down.) But I also wanted to take this opportunity to say that if you read this book (or any book really) please, please, please take a moment to show your support by posting a review or rating on Goodreads or Amazon (if that's your thing.) Recommend it to your local library to make sure they have a copy, or maybe will even consider buying in a book club set. Encourage your friends to buy or borrow a copy (or buy them a copy for Christmas.) Follow the author on socials and leave them a comment about how much you loved their book. You can find Michelle on Insta or Facebook @michelleuptontheauthor) and you can also subscribe to her newsletter over here. Writers LOVE hearing from readers and spreading the word about books you love is a wonderful way to support your favourite authors.
The Exhibitionist by Charlotte Mendelson
Ray Hanrahan, patriarch and once-feted artist, rules his fiefdom from the loungeroom of his crumbling Victorian terrace. For decades, Ray has expected his sculptor wife, Lucia, to put aside her artistic aspirations in service to the needs of his ego and, secondarily, their three children. As Friday heralds the weekend, the family are coming together to celebrate Ray’s first exhibition in many, many years. Not so much a comeback but rather an affirmation of his greatness. Unfortunately for Ray, he fails to recognise that the decades of his narcissism, controlling behaviour, hypochondria and complete callousness are about to come to a head, rather like a boil that needs to lanced. By Sunday, the Hanrahan family will be unrecognisable.
Ray is delightfully awful. He’s as rotten as his rat-infested, mould-ridden bohemian junkyard of a house. But whilst he might be the centre of the family, Mendelson has refused to gift him a narrative voice. Rather, Mendelson deftly switches points of view throughout the novel, giving the children and extended family voice, but it’s always Lucia who anchors this story. As the novel opens — married to a man who makes her life a misery, forced to downplay her successes to placate his ego, still in shock from her brutal experience of breast cancer — Lucia is reeling from trying to keep the whole show on the road. But love and lust have found her and this prompts a re-examination of her life. No spoilers here but the outcome is so delicious and satisfying. Ray well and truly gets what he deserves.
Charlotte Mendelson is such an astonishingly good writer. No surprise her novels have been long and short listed for many prizes, including the Booker and the Women’s Prize for fiction (and its previous incarnation The Orange Prize.) The delightfully named, The Exhibitionist is a wonderful examination of character, full of exquisite writing, compassion and excruciatingly wicked humour. Its right up there as one of the best books I have read this year. And like I said, I can't wait to go back and read it a third time.
Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson
It’s 1926 London. Matriarch and notorious nightclub owner, Nellie Coker, is released from gaol after serving six months for licensing breaches, despite having the police on the payroll. Except there is a new detective in town and DC Frobisher is not the kind for turning. In fact, he recruits Gwendolen Kelling, Yorkshire librarian and former nurse from the Great War, to infiltrate Nellie’s empire. A chance gangland shooting allows Gwendolen to use her skills and show her mettle and Nellie brings her into the bosom of the family business. Throw in floating bodies in the Thames, the hunt for two missing girls with stars in their eyes and a huge cast and you have the latest Kate Atkinson gem of a novel.
Atkinson creates a wonderful stage for her characters to walk on with great period detail and a narrative verve that realises the mad giddiness of post-war London. It's clear she's had a lot of fun with this story. Treating the reader to various points of views, Atkinson dances back and forth in time, keeping characters and us on our toes. Ultimately, this multi-award-winning master writer, who gave us such gems as Life After Life, A God in Ruins and Behind the Scenes at the Museum, has delivered a big fat fun read where women rule the roost. Hooray!
How to Fail by Elizabeth Day (Podcast)
Thank you, thank you, thank you to author Anna Foxkirk for answering my shout out on socials and introducing me to the podcast, How to Fail, hosted by Elizabeth Day and her silver tonsils. Seriously, I could listen to her speak all day. In fact, I’m also now listening to her other podcast, Best Friend Therapy, which she co-hosts with her best friend and psychotherapist Emma Reed-Turrell.
How to Fail has a deceptively simple premise. To quote the blurb, it ‘celebrates the things that haven’t gone right. Every week, a new interviewee explores what their failures taught them about how to succeed better.’ So far I’ve listened to about half a dozen episodes and each has been completely gripping and very different. Authors such as Meg Mason and Kazuo Ishiguro, the editor of British Vogue, Edward Enninful, Professor Brene Brown as well as British celebrities I’d never heard of but all with amazing stories about their epic fails. I promise you, you're in for a treat. It's also the perfect pick-me-up on a crappy day. For real!
Giveaway
Thanks to the good folk at HarperCollins Australia, I have five copies of Terms of Inheritance to giveaway. This is doubly exciting because the book is not out until 1 December so five lucky readers will be among the first people to get their hands on it. You know the drill, all you have to do is send me an email with the answer to this oh-so-difficult question.
What task does the youngest daughter Jess have to complete?
As always, this giveway is only open to subscribers and you must reside within Australia to be eligible to win (postage!) The winners will be picked at random and I will announce who they are on 30 November 2022. Good luck!
Upcoming Events
Here is a list of my upcoming events. Full program details are on my website (time, place, etc.) I try to keep this list updated, so do jump on over there for any new events that might be being held in your neck of the woods. I'd love you to come and say hello so that we can meet IRL.
NaNoWriMo at Kiama Library
WORKSHOP Pantser or Plotter? Creating a Story Map
4pm to 5.30pm, Tuesday 15 November
Pantser or Plotter? Creating a Story Map
Whether you prefer to start with a blank page and see where the story takes you or like to nut it all out before you write a word, a Story Map is an essential element in crafting a story that grabs readers and immerses them in your world. This workshop will explore the essential ingredients in creating great stories and editing your work to make your story shine.
Further info abut my workshop, and all the other workshops running in November, are available from Kiama Library over here
Keep an eye on my socials and website for further details.
The end of the cup...
And, my friend, my cup is empty. As we power towards the end of 2022, I hope you have a stress free couple of months filled with reading and love. I know it’s hard with end of school stuff, Christmas and catch ups with family and friends, but be kind to yourself and remember you don’t have to say yes to everything. Anyway, who needs company when you have a book? (Ha!)
You can check out updates on events at www.meredithjaffe.com or you will always find me chatting on socials on either Instagram or Facebook @meredithjaffeauthor.
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