If Dreamhunter was a cake...

Dreamhunter by Elizabeth Knox
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Very Inception. Delicate and beautiful imagery. I was nearly 300 pages in before I realised that there hadn't been a love interest! And I still didn’t care! Lucky for me I have the sequel, because I really want to know what happens next!

And if Dreamhunter was a cake? It would be a raspberry lamington – delicate, intricate, deceptively easy, smooth, and (surprisingly) Kiwi.

One more week of NZ Book Month - have fun :)

Everything is possible!

NZ Book Month: Thunder Road

Thunder Road by Ted Dawe

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

New Zealand YA fiction. Dark and shaken. Love the male POV, the Kiwi slang, the overall themes and feel of the book, and I really liked the ending. The content (drugs, cars, gangs) just made me sad... I guess I don’t mind crying over zombies and romance, but wasted lives just rark me up!


It's New Zealand Book Month! If you're in New Zealand, get your NZ Book Month voucher ($5 off your next book store purchase) here.

Everything is possible!

New Zealand Book Month

It’s March! So, in honor of New Zealand Book Month, I’m reading some Kiwi YA. I have to admit, after years of reading, writing, and breathing US YA, the Kiwi slang is a fair jolt (and I speak it!)

If you’re looking to check out some New Zealand books, here are some ideas:

• For YA paranormal romance, check out Margaret Mahy’s The Changeover.*
  *Forgive the 80's cover and focus on the 600+ 4 and 5 star ratings on Goodreads :)
• For a poignant (& funny!) MG book, read See Ya Simon from David Hill. #gotaranaki!
• For a literary gut-wrenching, dive into Keri Hulme's The Bone People.

This month, I'm challenging myself with male POVs, drag cars, and science fiction. I'm reading Thunder Road (Ted Dawe), Smiling Jack (Ken Catran), and Dreamhunter (Elizabeth Knox). And of course, there's a whole lot of Hairy Maclary being chanted around the house!

Ooh, and if you are in New Zealand? You can get the NZ Book Month voucher for $5 off your next book store purchase here.

Happy New Zealand Book Month :)

Everything is possible!

11 + 11 + 11 + 11 + 11

Okay guys, so I got tagged 5 times... That's 55 questions. The plan? 55 Pictures!

(Well, there were some questions where I got carried away, and some that doubled up, but you get the idea..!)

Thank you to my Taggers: Daisy, Gina, Chandara, Karina, Rossandra.

I give you (drum roll)..... 11 questions x 5 taggers x 1000 words* =Monster Answer Montage!

*Because apparently that's what a picture's worth..!


NOTE: The pics that have been removed will be replaced ASAP - thanks for your patience! 

I'm not going to tag anyone (!), but if something sparks for you, feel free to comment :) It's cool to see what we all have in common... Any fellow film fiends campaigning? Toastmasters? 80's kids? Griffon owners?

Everything is possible!

Let's have wedges!

Hi! Welcome Campaigners, Wanderers, Readers - I’m so happy that you’re here :)

I'm Jolene and I like fizzy drinks, shiny things, superheroes, and wedges with everything.*  Ooh, and I'm a writer :) Pull up a chair - we'll eat and talk!

*Everything = sour cream, cheese, bacon, sour cream, chilli sauce, sour cream, and a sprig of parsley so it’s totally good for you :) Wait, did I say sour cream? 

My first non-fiction, Total Blueprint for World Domination (yay Goodreads giveaway ==>) is a motivational book for teens – creating a step-by-step blueprint to achieve a dream world!

I'd love to connect with you anywhere else you are on the Campaign-trail, so feel free to contact me via Twitter, Facebook, or email. And if you’re keen to review / give away my book on your blog, hit the tab up top and I’ll send you an e-copy :)

See you soon - we'll have ice cream!

Jolene :)

Everything is possible!

Superhero Art

I love seeing images I know in a different way :) I'm so excited to have found the superhero art of UK-based illustrator and animator Liam Brazier http://www.liambrazier.com/. He creates the pieces using Photoshop's polygonal selection tool and then fills them in with colour. 

My dream library so has a full-wall Liam Brazier Superman!

Everything is possible!

Along Came a Spider

I'm scared of whales. Their tiny eyes, their flappy tales. It's the size, the sound, the whole shabang. That's right: I'm scared, and completely certain they will fly up onto land and eat me. (Yeah, yeah, I know about their "tiny throats" but that is total whale propaganda! Next thing you'll tell me they're beaching themselves "by accident"!) 

There are lots of ways to deal with fear, and the way I'm working with this one is by building up my whale resistance bit by bit. I watch the Frozen Planet ads through splayed fingers, shudder at the Bluebird commercial, and grit my teeth through various other "surprise" whales. Yep, I reckon about 300 years from now, I will be at peace with their existence :)

"The greatest super power is knowing yourself, and
using your powers to create the world that you want."
- Total Blueprint for World Domination.

I understand that most people aren't scared of whales, I know that this is one of the things that makes me me, but I'm just so curious! The idea that my brain can translate an object or situation into a pounding heart and sweating palms? Pretty damn cool! 

I found a picture of a cool way to dilute a fear by making it part of your everyday life. 
Warning: If you're scared of spiders, prepare yourself before you click the link! http://www.frugal-cafe.com/public_html/frugal-blog/frugal-cafe-blogzone/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/spider-in-shoe.jpg

I'm going to assume that those guys are (humanely) stuffed or plastic... Because what an awesome way to make kicking fear's ass a part of your day! Stomp it out!*

Trying to get over a fear of whales? Spiders? Heights? Do you have a fear that other people can't understand? One that doesn't even make sense to you?

*You know, as soon as they make shoes with whales in them, I'm there ;)

Everything is possible!