Stranger than fiction, here are the real stories of the book world. In the US they paid $US2million, for an American Idol judge to write a book called, I Don’t Mean to Be Rude, But… According to rumours, There’s A Bear In There (and he wants Swedish) by Australian actress and former Playschool presenter, Merridy […]

**Thora ** Written and illustrated by Gillian Johnson (A&R $14.95) First in a new and charming series about a ten year old girl who is half human, half mermaid. Thora wears her pony-tail in a scrunchie – to disguise the blow-hole on top of her head – has scales on her legs and feet that […]

It’s the hottest craft at the moment – one where you can preserve precious memories and create beautiful album pages in no time. It’s all about photos, telling the story behind the photos and creating albums which commemorate events in the life, from the important special moments to everyday events. Creating a page You can […]

All these great layouts were designed for The Scrap Heap – a terrific online scrapbooking site. www.thescrapheap.com.au offers a fantastic range of all your scrapbooking needs from cardstock to patterned papers, embellishments. It also specialises in colour co-ordinated and themed packs that take the hard work out of choosing products for you next layout. With […]

Cardstock: Juneberry and Petunia Patterned Paper: Sonnets Blush words 5mm Eyelets Ribbon Alphabet Stickers Start by trimming lighter cardstock 1 inch smaller all round. Cut tags (rectangles with corners cut off) with mats 1cm larger, punch holes and set eyelets. Cut words out patterned paper and attach them to tags, also attach ribbons. Cut mats […]

Materials: Cardstock: Bazzill Mono Walnut and Pinecone Patterned Paper: 7Gypsies Magnetique Computer Fonts: Title – Slash Hallmark, Journalling: Beths Cute Hallmark, Names and Dates: Barbara Hand Cut patterned paper in half lengthways and tear the opposite top corners off each half. Roll the edges of the patterned paper around a skewer to give the effect […]

First, it was Jack The Ripper Patricia Cornwell chose to investigate, now the world’s best-selling crime writer says she has uncovered new evidence during a six-month investigation into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. It is believed Cornwell had access to those involved in the autopsy and has uncovered the truth about Diana’s rumoured […]

Exclusive extract from Barra Creek (Pan Macmillan Australia) by Di Morrissey, the Great Read in The Australian Women’s Weekly, November issue. Preface: It’s 1963 and Sally Mitchell, the well-bred daughter of a wealthy new Zealand sheep farmer, has impulsively taken a job as a governess at a cattle station, Barra Creek, in the wild Gulf […]

Shot, by Gail Bell (Picador,$28) When the author is 17, she is shot in the back. The crime is never solved and Gail, although changed forever by the trauma and suffering of on-going side effects, carries on with her life. This book is her exploration of the event – the police investigation, the experience, her […]

Q & A with Di Morrissey, author of Barra Creek (Pan Macmillan Australia), the Great Read in the November issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly. **Q. You have said that each book comes as a strange gift and that you wait for whatever fateful circumstances bring each novel to you – what were they in […]