Haven’t blogged any reviews for a while but these two both gave me such huge pleasure, so I wanted to share them with you.

The first is Alex Pierce’s review of Transformation Space for Asif, and her reflection of the series overall. There were two things I really liked about this review.

The first is that it’s most intelligently written (and believe me it’s often NOT the way of reviews!).

The second, is that Alex highlighted a couple of things I strived so hard to achieve. I took a bunch of characters who weren’t necessarily likeable, and were all terribly flawed, because I wanted to push myself to consider the nature of being human i.e. what are we really like on the inside when we have those dark, selfish, greedy, self aggrandising thoughts? And how do we respond under pressure, given those inherent weaknesses? I wanted to give my characters room to improve but also to fail, in the way we do every day. Yet, I still wanted the reader to keep reading, which required a gripping plot line.

The Sentients of Orion series is not for readers who don’t want to think. It is not a comfort read. It is meant to prickle and prod, and at the same time rob you of your breath. If Alex is the only reader in the world who I was able to do that to, then I have achieved what I wished. Hopefully there are more like her, and if that is so, then I’d love to hear from you.

The second review is only brief but it’s my first for Burn Bright and comes from Goodreads. The reason I liked this (apart from being my first for this book) is that it compares Burn Bright to books I love.

If Isobelle Carmody’s Obernewtyn Chronicles had a baby with Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely series – then this novel would be the result! And trust me, that’s a compliment. What a funky, consuming, atmospheric, intriuging read. I eagerly await the next two installments.

I’m a huge fan of Isobelle Carmody as both a writer and a person, and was thrilled to bits when she agreed (against her normal policy) to give me a cover quote. Isobelle and I were guests at a convention a few years ago in New Zealand and I felt a strong connection with her after our very first conversation. Some things you don’t let go of in life.

Melissa Marr I have not met, but Wicked Lovely was one of the most enjoyable YA books I’ve read in a long time. So, there it is. The universe sent me some love and now I’m passing it on to you.

Hold on tight to those dreams.

So excited to see the first Trans Space review, particularly from The Falcata Times who’ve read all my books. Here’s a snip:

“It’s fast paced, the characters rounded and Marianne always has a trick up her sleeve to keep the reader guessing as to what’s going to happen as she cleverly manipulates what you’re seeing like a talented word magician.

It’s beautifully written, the dialogue is crisp and the pace is the thing that really keeps you glued to the last page as she knows how to excite and calm the reader down. Finally add a great overall plot to the tale and you know that it’s going to give you something a little special which makes this a serious series for a new generation that will continue to build as well as maintain a hard hitting pace. Great stuff from this antipodean author.”

– And here’s a link to an interview I did for The Courier Mail recently.

– IO9 have a great explanation of NASA’s announcement on their discovery about arsenic-based life.

– Stand by for an update on a live chat I’ll be doing for ASFFWA soon.

– Peacemaker sample has officially gone to my publishers. YAY!

Incomings amount to the release of Transformation Space my final segment in the Sentients of Orion series. It’s out in a month, maybe a little earlier, and I’m terribly nervous about how my loyal readers will find the grand finale. I tried so hard to stay true to the characters and the kind of endings to which, I felt, they were destined. It was a completely exhausting, stimulating book to write and I’ve never worked so hard on anything as I did trying to bring this together in a satisfactory manner. I’ll be too scared to look in the book when it arrives, in case I find something I could have done better!

My other December incoming, is Sharp Turn, book 2 in the Tara Sharp series. This was fun to write but still provided its challenges – namely heart surgery during the middle of my edits. I also learned a few big lessons about crime plotting which should stand me in good stead for the future. Nicola O’Shea (uber freelance editor) and Louise Thurtell gave me a lot of extra help and good advice with Sharp Turn and I’m indebted to them. I recently recorded a radio interview with Radio Port Phillip in which the interviewer, Del Nightingale, described Tara Sharp as an anarchist. I was *delighted* at this, because she is essentially – in a terribly polite, Western Suburbs kinda way. The segment will air on January 10th between 9-11am.

But enough about me!

Upcomings… well I  mentioned Anne Bishop is a Special Guest blogger in December but I’m also really excited to say that famous comic writer and new media guru Paul Jenkins will be next in my Super Creatives series. Paul is a great guy and someone who I would call an instinctively entrepreneurial creative person.

I’m also thinking a running a Random Reader Series where anyone can send me a blog piece pertaining to speculative fiction and I’ll pick the best ones to publish on my site. If anyone has thoughts on the idea, please speak up. Does this appeal?