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Not knowing is the worst. As someone who is brand new to this whole ‘creating life’ business, I have found that pregnancy is not all baby-showers and name books. Yes there was that initial burst of unbelievable excitement (“I did WHAT?”) but then, as the reality sets in, there is a lot of waiting. A lot.

This is not necessarily a bad thing. In our age of instantaneous gratification, there is something to be said for waiting for something, especially when that something is going to be the light of your life.

So we wait. Like many other parents-to-be we go through the ups and downs together. I’ve learned quickly that crackers and ginger ale are no longer just food items, but essential medicine to have on-hand at all times. I’ve learned that there are going to be nights where my wife will be awake from four to six, and other days where she will want to go to bed around 7pm. After having taken a nap.

If you’re a bibliophile, you love books, plain and simple. You probably have more than you know what to do with (or have space for), but you always acquire more. You have yellowed old classics and brand-new glossy New York Times bestsellers. But now you’re looking for something more unique to round out your book collection, maybe something vintage, or something that reminds you of your childhood.

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Let’s start with the obvious: young adult (YA) is booming. It’s an unavoidable fact of book life. You find yourself waiting for weeks for a copy of The Hunger Games from your library, you get lost in the mass of books shoved onto the small shelves in bookstores, and publishers seem to only talk about YA in all its forms. YA is the “it” group, and for very good reason.

If you’re over 18 and reading this post, do not be ashamed to walk into the teen section of a bookstore or library. You’re in the midst of some great stories about self-discovery, overcoming adversity and discrimination, and all those things that every individual experiences at some point in life. The age of the protagonists in YA defines the genre, not the readership. Take a look at the Harry Potter craze! Children, teens, and adults were all reading about the boy wizard.

Speaking of wizards, another enticing and popular genre is fantasy. It’s a genre people love to love, or love to avoid. Surely there’s a story in each reader’s life when they first read fantasy, even if it was just to try it out. Depending on the book, the reader either became hooked or avoided the genre like the plague.

But fantasy can be intimidating; all those alternate worlds, creatures, pages to keep track of. It’s overwhelming!

And that’s where the beauty of YA simplicity waltzes in. YA is notorious for simpler writing with big plots. This is perfect for those extending feelers around the fantasy genre. No one wants page after page of description and back-story on a bush on the side of the path (think Lord of the Rings) for their very first. While those can be nice and interesting, it’s more suited for the established fantasy lover. Instead, YA fantasy is like a giant pool with tiny steps leading you ever so slowly deeper and deeper into the variety of magical possibilities.

So… what makes a good YA fantasy, you ask?

Australians love celebrating Australia Day for several reasons.

Not only is it a public holiday (and we all love those) but it’s a time to gather the crew together and celebrate what it means to be an Aussie. Think playing cricket in your togs with ice-cream running down your arm coz it’s 40 degrees outside.

Book lovers like to talk about books. A lot. So much so that there usually isn’t time to list off all of our favorites and explain why we fell in love with The BFG so many years ago – or how Bella Swan is the perfect representation of our twenty-five-year-old-selves. That was a joke.

On those days when talking just doesn’t seem like enough, we luckily have clothes that can spread the message for us. Forget about wearing your heart on your sleeve – wear your favorite book on your torso.

Image via Etsy

January 2013 marks the 200th anniversary of the publication of Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice. What you might not know is that Austen wrote the book, to which she first gave the apt but much less memorable title First Impressions, nearly two decades before it was published.

In other words, Pride and Prejudice, a seminal work of literature that has influenced nearly every romantic comedy ever published or filmed, was Jane Austen’s trunk novel. We authors could wish that our own literary trunks contain such a gem.

Cassandra Austen, Jane’s older sister and her literary executor, left a note with the dates of composition for each novel. She indicated that First Impressions was begun in October 1796 and finished in August 1797. In November 1797, Jane’s father wrote a letter to the London publisher Thomas Cadell, offering First Impressions for publication. It’s not the most compelling query letter ever written by any means, but no doubt Mr. Austen’s heart was in the right place. We do not know if he wrote the letter of his own volition or at the bidding of his daughter, as it was the usual practice for a male relative to act for a woman in business matters; nor do we know if any other publishers were approached. We only know that the offer was “declined by return of post,” as indicated on the letter.

Despite this early failure, First Impressions was extremely popular among Austen’s friends and family. In her letters, Austen mentions requests to read the manuscript from her sister Cassandra and her friend Martha Lloyd, and even teases Cassandra (knowing the teasing will be passed on to her friend) that Martha only wanted to read the novel again so that she might commit it to memory and publish it herself.