Local Readers and Authors Day at the Palmerston North City Library was a hit and I had a great time chairing the first event of the day!
Romance panel
It was initially a mystery to me why I – G. B. Ralph, primarily a mystery author – had been asked to chair this romance panel. I considered it might have been because my Milverton Mysteries feature a very slow-burn romance throughout the series, but I suspect it was because the librarians just know I love to chat. And so yes, of course, I was very happy to chair our Romance Panel with three wonderful and clever local authors: A. J. Lancaster, Carole Brungar, and Sean Monaghan.
We chatted about their latest releases, genre, romances vs love stories, comparison titles, literary tropes, settings, writing something completely new, readerships, their most and least favourite aspects of the writing process, when and how they do research, and how they actually get the words down.
I then opened up the floor for some excellent audience questions that got our panellists really thinking and talking, before finally I asked them each to pick one of their books and give us their elevator pitch – sell the sizzle!
Overall, a really fun hour of book chat with some fantastic authors and readers – bring on next year!
A.J. Lancaster
A.J. Lancaster is the author of fantasy mixed with strong dollops of family drama and romance, served with a side of mystery, and garnished with statistically improbable quantities of attractive people.
She has published four novels in the Stariel quartet, followed by a standalone spinoff, and two Fae & Firstborn Bargains fantasy romance fairytale retellings. The focus of our talks were her latest, How to Find a Nameless Fae, a cosy fantasy romance retelling of Rumplestiltskin set in a magical, sentient house in a fictional world, released earlier this year.
Carole Brungar
Carole Brungar is a multi-award-winning author whose novels have attracted international acclaim, and is best known for her powerful, gritty, and authentic Vietnam series.
She published her first book in 2014 and has gone on to release many more since. Her latest, Finding Us, is a contemporary romance set in small-town New Zealand and was released just two weeks before our panel.
Sean Monaghan
Sean Monaghan is the author of book series including the action-packed Cole Wright Thrillers, the deep space mystery of the Captain Arlon Stoddard Adventures, and the intrigue and piracy of Karnish River Navigations.
A prolific writer of science fiction and thrillers, it was his latest (released on the day of the panel!) that we focused on: Wilkes Landing, a contemporary firefighter romance set in small-town Alaska.
Audiobook hub update and Versions Tuaono launch
Then it was time for Riley Chance to update us on what’s been happening with the local audiobook production hub and Sean Monaghan to launch the latest Versions anthology alongside so many of the contributors! They were both fantastic sessions with lots of interest and engagement from readers in the audience.
A huge thanks to all the readers and authors who joined us for the day!
G. B. Ralph 