Pike River Mine Disaster

Flags are flying at half mast in New Zealand today as the nation reels from the tragedy in the Pike River Coal Mine, which claimed the lives of 29 men.

Yvonne Walus on Crime Watch!

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What is one thing that visitors to your hometown should do, that isn't in the tourist brochures, or perhaps they wouldn’t initially consider?
Define my hometown. If it's where I live, and it's North Shore City (not Super City), they should sit on a bench at the Tui Park beach in Beach Haven, look at the water and listen to the silence. My original hometown is Warsaw, Poland, and there I would invite the visitors to take the first mode of transport out of the city and head south until you hit a tiny spot called Wieliczka, where you go underground to tour a salt mine.

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Read more here.

Despicable Me

What is it about animated children's movies that makes them so accessible to parents? I mean, if you look at my favourite movies of the year, you'll notice a pattern:

• 2001, Shrek
• 2002, Ice Age
• 2004, Shrek 2
• 2005, a tie between Madagascar and Hoodwinked
• 2006, Ice Age 2
• 2008, Kung Fu Panda
• 2009, Up (with Avatar a close second)
• 2010, a tie between How To Train Your Dragon and Inception
• and I'm really hoping to put up Kung Fu Panda 2 for 2011.

We can debate all we like whether it's mommy-brain or parent-sensitivity that's to blame, or whether it's the simple fact that more thought and creativity goes into animated movies in order to recoup the budget. The point remains: "Despicable Me" was one of the better movies I saw this year.

From an adult perspective, the plot was a tad too pat and predictable (Annie meet The Two Who Stole The Moon), but it had enough quirkiness and humour to make for an enjoyable hour and a bit in Gold Class. My own 8-year old female found it funny and touching. From my 6-year old male's perspective, the best part was when the yellow animals made photocopies of their naked bums. And on that expert note....

Heroines We Like To Read

Who is your favourite heroine? Scarlett O'Hara, Stephanie Plum, Bridget Jones? Do you admire the feisty and the sassy, or the girl next door with a scratch card addiction?

In my search for a heroine I love to read (and write!), I turned to Jane Porter books, who allegedly writes intelligent heroines with a great sense of humour. I didn't get past the Amazon reviews. For every 20 or so 5-star reviews, there would be a not-so-good-one calling the heroine whiny, spoiled and irritating.

Linda Howard's heroines vary from the kick-ass female butler in "Dying to Please" to the bad-tempered shallow crybaby in "Mr Perfect".

It was a great loss to the book world when Madeleine Wickham became Sophie Kinsella. Madeleine wrote memorable heroines, quirky and often flawed as human beings yet perfect as book characters and always immensely likable. Sophie's heroines are larger than life but extremely mediocre: after all, there are only so many seconds in a year that I spend thinking about shoes.

A plea to Lee Child

Dear Lee Child

You're an awesome writer. From a wannabe potentially envious colleague that should count for something, so let me repeat it: you're an awesome writer. Your main character is quirky and fun, your plots rock, your style rolls.

For those who don't know your work, let me give an example.

Blurb for Lee Child's "Gone Tomorrow":

When Jack Reacher witnesses a suicide on a Manhattan subway, he knows that there is more than meets the eye. Soon he's in deep, trying to unearth a dark secret for which both the feds and Al-Queda are willing to kill to keep from being revealed. Even in a city of eight million, a lone wolf like Reacher tends to stand out, and before long he is being hunted from all sides—which is exactly what Reacher wants.

See what I mean? Your books are page-turners, and would remain page-turners even if you were to remove the excessively horrific bits you inject into your novels. Trust me. You don't need them.

Keep the fight scenes if you will, let the blood flow in graphic detail. The war atrocities, though... please leave them to the reader's imagination.

Sincerely

A would-be fan

A collection of stories for children

Yvonne Walus is...

... reading a Linda Howard, listening to a Lee Child and watching Salt. Not all at the same time.

• The Linda Howard book: A jungle rescue, a stolen microfilm, a super alpha hero and a competent heroine. Tick.
• The Lee Child Book: Starts with a suicide bomber, or is it just a suicide? A hook definitely worth its while.
• Salt: I love the Polish actor who played the Russian spy master. Go Daniel!