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Tahlia Newland

Editor, Author & Artist

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Norm – A Story of Every Man and Woman

April 17, 2015 by Tahlia Newland

Norm – A Story of Every Man and Woman

This week's Friday Free Web fiction is a video written and produced by Rose of Velvet Wings Design. It's 3 mins long and makes an important point. If you'd like to read (or see) more Friday Free Web Fiction, sign up to receive blog posts by email - eyes right for the sign up box.  … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Other stuff Tagged With: humour, video

Scrawling: A new book by Jonathan Gould that you simply must read.

April 1, 2014 by Tahlia Newland

I've always liked Jonathan Gould's books. He has a unique quirky kind of style that is both humorous and insightful. This is the best of the Neville books so far. It's magical realism in that the whole thing is an extended metaphor. Neville is drowning in a sea of words. He is buffeted by words, swamped by words and hit by torrents of words. He meets word fish, snarks and carps and groupers, amongst others. Their words have an effect on him and on their surroundings. Why is the carp so dingy compared to the other word fish? Because he's made out of words that belittle and carp on the negative. Colourful words create coral in this language metaphor. Wispy words wave like fern fronds and so on. But as time goes on, Neville discovers that he too is turning into words. He meets a wermaid who tells him that the word world is taking over the real world. She doesn't see that as a problem until Neville points out that words only have meaning because they relate to something real in the real … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 5 stars, Humour, Reviews Tagged With: analogy, humour, metaphors

Moving & thought-provoking women’s fiction: ‘The Widows To Do List’ by Stephanie Zia

November 13, 2013 by Tahlia Newland

The Widows To Do List is a moving, thought-provoking and occasionally funny story about a recently widowed woman in her fifties as she tries to come to terms with her new status. Sally comes across as very real, which makes her easy to relate to. She mothered two children--now grown and left home--and loved her husband, but an accident took him away and left her grief stricken. The majority of the story takes place one year after Dom's death. Sally is managing by making a list of things to achieve, as suggested by a book on being a widow, and slowly working towards achieving each thing on the list. But Sally's old friend Ramone, thinks the list is ridiculous and suggests some alternatives, one is to have sex as soon as possible, because a widow, having been with one man for so long, is somewhat like a virgin. It's so long since she dated anyone that it's like starting at the beginning again. Sally doesn't like being alone, but she doesn't want to date anyone either until someone … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 5 stars, Reviews, Women's fiction Tagged With: contemporary fiction, grief, humour, romance, widows, women's fiction

Review: Dumpiter by David Fletcher

January 28, 2013 by Tahlia Newland

Title: Dumpiter Author: David Fletcher Publisher: Troubador Publishing / Matador Genre: Sci Fi & Fantasy Dumpiter is a humorous science fiction/fantasy novel reminiscent of David Moresses's Warden Series and Jonathon Gould's Magnus Opum. As in those novels we have a naive hero with a good heart but little else in the way of heroic skills. Through a series of events he manages to blunder his way into the right place at the right time, and with an unlikely band of friends save the day. In this instance, our hero is an ex accountant names Renton, who sets off on a new occupation in the field of body paint with the hope of gaining more self confidence and a better chance at encounters of the amorous kind. On a trip to purchase body paint for a film, he stumbles upon a very nasty plot, the details of which we only discover as the story progresses. This mystery keeps the story ticking along as does the delightful cast of characters and he often absurd situations our hero finds … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Humour, Reviews Tagged With: Book Review, Dumpiter by David Fletcher, Fantasy novels review blogs, humour, Science fiction

Review: Year Zero by Rob Reid

August 3, 2012 by Tahlia Newland

Title: Year Zero Author: Rob Reid Publisher: Random House Genre: Humour Year Zero is the silliest and probably the funniest book I have ever read. Many books bring a chuckle, but this one had me laughing aloud. But, like the best stories, it also makes a statement; in this case it’s the absurdity of the copyright laws of the music industry and the lawyers who gain from it. You’ll also find an interesting take on the Windows operating system. If this book isn’t sponsored by Macintosh, it should be. If this doesn’t intrigue you enough to read it, then consider the possibilities if the universe could fold back on itself. At a wrinkle beings from a planet light years away if you took the long route could cross in a matter of minutes or hours. This is what allows our hero Nick Carter to meet a wealth of aliens. One race looks like a tennis ball with ten legs, another looks like a vacuum cleaner, and the plurrhs are so boring and insignificant that you have to concentrate very hard when … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 5 stars, Humour, Reviews, Science Fiction Tagged With: 5 stars, Book Review, copyright law, humour, lawyers, music industry, Year Zero by Rob Reid

Review: Growing Disenchantments by K. D. Berry

July 13, 2012 by Tahlia Newland

In Celebration of Indie Excellence today, I have a review of Awesome Indies author, K.D. Berry's latest book. Kevin (the K half of the K.D Berry writing team) wrote a review of  'You Can't Shatter Me' which you can read here. Title: Growing Disenchantments Author: K. D. Berry Website: http://www.kdberry.com Publisher: Bluewood Publishing Genre: Young adult humorous fantasy Growing Disenchantments is the second delightful story K. D. Berry has set in the land of King Credos. Dragons Away, which I enjoyed very much, was the first. In this book, we meet King Credos, Dewdrop, the illusionist, and the head of security again, but the main characters, a thief and a sorcerer, are new.  K.D. Berry’s humorous style rides on a plethora of puns and rather silly but charming characters. It’s a good read if you’re looking for something light, and is perfect for teens and older children. Blurb: Just when he'd been looking forward to another quiet night delving into mind-bending arcane lore and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Reviews Tagged With: Book Review, Fantasy novels, Fantasy novels review blogs, Growing Disenchantments by K. D. Berry, humour, young adult

A Novella with a Heart – interview

July 6, 2012 by Tahlia Newland

For our Celebration of Indie Excellence today, author Juliet Madison is hosting an interview with me about my book. You can read it on her blog  here. Juliet Madison is a writer of humorous and heart-warming women's fiction, embracing life, love, and magical new beginnings. She lives on the south coast of NSW, Australia, (close to me) where she works from home and homeschools her son. Juliet has written several short stories and three full length manuscripts, which you can read about here. She has a blog where she shares author interviews, competitions, and marketing tips for authors, and can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.   … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Book talk Tagged With: Author interview, heart-warming, humour, Juliet Madison, novella

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Hi I’m Tahlia Newland

I can help you express yourself and share your story with the world.

 

Do you want to write a really good story and have it professionally polished and published?

As an editor, I help you be the best writer you can possibly be. I strengthen your voice, support your vision and can assist you all the way to publication.

On my blog you’ll find book reviews, writer’s tips, contemplative articles on meditation and working with your mind, and occaisonally pictures of my Burmese cats.

If you’re interested mostly in my contemplative articles then  Sign up to the Living in Peace & Clarity Newsletter to get those articles delivered by email. And check out the resources on my Living in Peace and Clarity Page.

I do a lot of community work involving blogging and general support for Buddhist students processing revelations of abuse in their spiritual communities.  Please consider supporting me to continue this work.

Occiasonally, when inspired and not too busy with community work, I make masks.

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Like cats in stories? Check out my books. And click the photo to read the cat colomn.

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Book reviews – sci fi, fantasy, literary fiction, Buddhist fiction and related non-fiction

Fantasy Book Review: The High Priestess by Val Tobin

Fantasy Book Review: The High Priestess by Val Tobin

The High Priestess: Persephone’s Return is the third book in Val Tobin’s Tales from the Unmasqued World Series, and in it she deepens and expands the stories from the previous two book. The book has two central story arcs based around characters we’ve met before. One arc follows Kelsey (a human) who is with Josh […]

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My gorgeous Burmese cats

Renovated Website & Cute Cat Series

Renovated Website & Cute Cat Series

Yesterday I did a photoshoot for my renovated website. Take a look around, particulary at the home page (Click on my name at the top to go there). It’s designed for editing clients with my books secondary because I need to focus on the part of this publishing business that actually earns me more than […]

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Seven of my novels have an Awesome Indies Seal of Excellence

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