May Newsletter
Hi hi hi, everyone!
So much has happened since last month’s newsletter, but given that there’s HEAPS in this one (and I’m a smidge strapped for time), I’m going to skip my usual yabbering intro and jump straight in.
This month you’ll find:
Wandering Wild is OUT TODAY in the UK and US/CAN!
A recap of my 5-state Australian launch tour
Upcoming events — Sydney (x2) + Perth + an overseas hint
Teasery news for The Prison Healer fans 👀
The Prison Healer — fan art competition
New merch for The Medoran Chronicles fans
UK sale for The Blood Traitor
Q&A — 3 of your questions answered
And more!
Here we go!
WANDERING WILD — OUT NOW IN US/CAN and UK!
If you saw my post on socials earlier today, you’ll know that Wandering Wild is now available in the US/CAN and also in the UK! The blue book below is the US hardcover edition (so gorgeous!! It has some cool illustrations in it too!), and the purple is the UK paperback (or it will be — I’m actually holding the ANZ edition since my UK copies haven’t arrived yet, but the UK is using the same cover design (just without the pearlescent sheen and sprayed edges)).
I’m so excited to see this special little book now out in the world! I hope you all enjoy!
Unrelated side note: I am so very tanned in this photo. I sent it to my mum and was like, “I’m not that tanned, am I?!?!” and she was like, “Lol, yep, you are.” For context, I’m an author and I spend most of my time indoors, which means I usually have vampirically-pale skin. But I guess I technically have olive skin (or at least, the rest of my family does, so it’s in my genes), and I’ve been swimming laps at my local public pool for a few months, so despite slathering myself with SPF 50+ sunscreen, it seems my skin has decided to soak in some of that sunshine. I found this out the hard way when I was putting foundation on for the first time in months before the Brisbane launch event for Wandering Wild, since it turns out my foundation shade is now waaaaay the wrong colour. So I ended up doing the whole tour without wearing foundation, just a translucent finishing powder, but honestly? It was a blessing in disguise because my skin felt SO GREAT the whole trip, and I avoided that end-of-day cakey/greasy feeling, which was awesome!
… Also, welcome to my make-up channel. Next week we’ll discuss the pros and cons of liquid vs pencil eyeliner.
KIDDING! Obvs that won’t be happening. (I also don’t think I’ve ever used liquid eyeliner in my life, so I can’t pro and con that, soz.)
TOUR RECAP:
I’ve recently returned from a whirlwind 5-state/5-city launch tour, and I have to admit, so much happened that a lot of it is now a blur. I’m hoping it’ll start coming back to me in bits and pieces, but the one thing I do remember is just how lovely it was to see so many readers in so many places. With sold-out crowds (even over-capacity at a number of the venues, eeek) and so many happy, smiling faces, every event was like a shot of dopamine straight to my veins (followed, of course, by my introverted self heading back to my hotel and staring at a wall to decompress in a what on earth just happened way, haha).
You all made the release of Wandering Wild so incredibly special, and I’m so honoured and grateful that you took the time to come see me — and that you put up with my, uh, “unique” tangents. It’s been 6 years since I last did a lengthy multi-state launch tour, and I forgot how potent the combination of exhaustion and a microphone can be when joined together. But hey, if you can’t have fun and laugh (a lot) at these kinds of things, what’s the point in doing them and/or attending!? Here’s hoping we have many more fun-and-laughy events in the future! (Speaking of, I have a list of upcoming events further below, so be sure to check those out!)
For a more serious thank-you and recap of all my events during the launch tour (plus loads of photos), you can find all that in my post here.
I also signed a heap of stock at a gazillion bookstores in all 5 cities — Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Hobart and Melbourne — while I was away (mainly copies of Wandering Wild, but also my other books), so you can find a list of those stores (and more pics) in this post here.
Lastly, when I was in Sydney, I headed into the Penguin Random House offices to film some fun things that I’ll be sharing as soon as I’m allowed (👀😉), and my fab team put together this ridiculously wholesome “A day in the life of an author on tour” clip featuring some of the things I did and places I visited while in the city:
At the risk of spoiling the magic of the clip a little (so only read on if you’re okay with that), I actually had to narrate the voiceover for this when we were in the studio with the proper audio equipment, and that happened before I did any of the stuff in this video, so I was literally making up the future as I spoke. I mean, I’d read an itinerary, so I knew vaguely what I would be doing, but the rambly bits like the opening of the door and the pink pen mentions were me panicking about having no clue what to say, hahaha. There’s also loads that was cut out and spliced (and a second day added that I didn’t narrate — you may notice a change of clothes partway through!), so trust me when I say the team worked wonders putting this together so seamlessly!
… They also very generously didn’t show me accidentally dropping a cupcake icing-first on the ground, and the full-on splatter that came with it. *Face palm*
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Sydney Writers’ Festival is on THIS WEEKEND (Saturday 24th May) — this is a solo in-conversation session where I’ll be interviewed by renowned Australian literary agent Alex Adsett, and I’m so excited for it! We’ll be talking all about Wandering Wild BUT ALSO about my publishing journey to date, and maybe even some questions about writing (it is a writers’ festival, after all). There’ll also be time for audience questions at the end, followed by a signing.
To answer some FAQs:
Are tickets required? Yes! They’re $25 for an adult or $15 for a child under 16 and/or concession. You can buy them by clicking here.
Is there a signing limit? Yes! 2 books per person.
Will you include quotes with your signature? It will depend on how long the queue is (and what my team tells me + how much pain I’m in), but I’m hoping I can at least include a small quote for every copy of Wandering Wild that I sign. I likely won’t be able to add quotes to other books for this event.
Can I take a photo with you? Yes! But please have your phone out and ready to hand my publicist so we can keep the line moving.
Can I give you a gift and/or fan mail? Yes! (Aww, that’s so lovely, thank you!) I normally say nothing bulky since I’m flying, but in this case, it’s a short enough trip that I’ll have a nearly empty suitcase (and if it’s anything super bulky I can have my Syd-based team post it to me), so no size limits this time, woo! (I mean, don’t get weird, though. As much as I would love you to gift me the entirety of a Haigh’s store, that’s super unnecessary, if sweet (definitely sweet — ha! Get it!?))
Will books be available to purchase at the festival, and/or can I bring my own from home? Yes! There’s always a dedicated bookseller at the festival if you want to buy books on the day, but also yes, you can bring your own from home. (Just remember that I’m only signing 2 books per person, so save your arms the workout of bringing extra copies!)
I think that’s everything! Reminder that tickets are available here — can’t wait to see you in a few days!!
PERTH! SYDNEY!
I’m heading your way for Supanova in just a few weeks! The Sydney event (June 21-22) is always soooo amazing, and as for Perth (June 28-29), eeeeee!!! I’M SO EXCITED!!! This’ll be my first time back in Perth since 2019, which means I’ve had 6 (!!) books come out since my last visit! (Weapon, The Prison Healer, The Gilded Cage, The Blood Traitor, Kaldoras, and Wandering Wild.)
Tickets are on sale now via the Supanova website here.
Some FAQs:
You don’t have to pay anything extra (aside from the entry ticket) to meet me and get books signed and watch my panels
There’ll be a bookseller on site if you want to buy books there, or you can bring your own from home
I’ll be signing all day both days (aside from meal/snack breaks) and I’ll be speaking on a panel each day (full schedule coming closer to the event/s — Supanova usually releases this a week or so beforehand)
I’m not yet sure if there’ll be a signing limit (I likely won’t know until I’m told on the day, but if I find out before then, I’ll share over socials)
Photos are allowed, and there’s no cost for these
Fan mail and/or gifts are also allowed (and always lovely, thank you!) but keep in mind that I’m travelling, so nothing bulky or breakable, please
Also, if you’re a fan of Lauren Roberts’ Powerless series, you just miiiiight see me chatting with her at her Sydney event (the one on the Monday night), and during her solo panel session at PerthNova. Who knows, anything is possible!
Aside from the above events, I perhaps, maybe, possibly will be returning for a 4-city interstate (Aus) trip in July for reasons I can’t yet say, but can’t wait to share about. I also perhaps, maybe, possibly have my first international tour at the end of this year, and the only hint I can give you about that is that I’ll very much need to brush up on some language skills before then. Possibly a few different ones. (😉)
Super excited to share more about alllllllll these things in the coming weeks!
THE PRISON HEALER — TEASERY NEWS
For any fans of The Prison Healer series, there may or may not be an announcement coming on my social media this Thursday at 4pm AEST. It’s not movie news (I haven’t sold the rights to the series yet, so there won’t be anything to share on that front for a while) and it’s not a new book or anything like that, but it’s definitely something a little… special (*winky wink*).
THE PRISON HEALER — FAN ART COMPETITION
Staying on TPH for a second, I’m going to be doing a fan art competition sometime later this year once my plate clears enough that I can think about the logistics. I already have some fun ideas for prizes (!!), though I do need to chat with my publishers first to find out what rules/regulations need to be in place before the competition goes live, and that means I can’t yet say when this will happen. But since I know artwork takes time to create, I wanted to give any interested people a heads up to start thinking about whether you want to take part in this, and if so, what you might want to submit (specifically from any book in The Prison Healer series). I can’t wait to see what you come up with!!
THE MEDORAN CHRONICLES — NEW MERCH
Nat’s Book Nook is at it again! Many of you might remember Nat’s gorrrrrrrgeous officially licensed merch for The Prison Healer series (some is actually still available, like the adorable Flox plushie and the stunning artwork and dust jackets, etc., all of which you can find listed here)… and now Nat’s created some merch for The Medoran Chronicles, too! Yay! There are two items that will be available:
This beautiful bookpot featuring the Library (so cool!)
This Soraya plushie that’s approx 50cm/19.5 inches long and has my digital signature embroidered into her white paw! (OH MY HEART!!)
These items will be for sale from this Saturday May 24th at 10am AEST onwards via Nat’s website here.
THE BLOOD TRAITOR - Kindle UK Monthly Deal
For the month of May, the ebook of The Blood Traitor is just 99p on the Amazon UK store! Just a few days left now to grab it!
Q&A — THREE OF YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED:
Q1: Who is your favourite character from each of your books?
This is like asking parents to choose favourite children! But let’s see how I go, with a note that I’m not naming the main protagonist for any of these (so just assume I love Alex, JD, Kiva, Charlie and Zander):
Okay, so I failed at naming just one, but can you blame me?!!? I did manage to offer an overall series favourite for TMC and TPH, so that’s something!!
Q2. Do you prefer audiobooks, e-books, or physical books?
I love each of these for different reasons. E-books are handy for travelling, physical books are just nice to have and hold for the reading experience (and look pretty on shelves), and audiobooks are great for when I need my hands free, like cleaning or driving, etc. I’m an equal opportunity reader across all platforms!
Q3. Would you ever write another YA romance after Wandering Wild?
Anything is possible! I already have some ideas rolling around in my mind, but I’m on contract for 4 other books that need my attention first (none of which are contemporary), so I don’t have any plans for the near future. You never know, though!
Righto, I’m going to leave it here this month. Thanks, as always, for reading! And a reminder that Wandering Wild is now available in AUS/NZ, US/CAN, and the UK (with loads of foreign translations coming soon, too, and I’ll update you about these when I’m able to). Also reminder to book tickets to my Sydney event/s and also Perth!
I think that’s everything! Catch you next time!
Any chance you're coming back to Melbourne sometime soon? Your events booked out so fast I didn't get a chance to go along!
OMG, i have been waiting forevs for this book to come out, and i am ecstatic to read it, one question though, is there a possible chance that there will be a wandering wild book number 2.