Karen from AustCrime

Australia

Profile Information:

Hometown:
Pyrenees Ranges, Victoria, Australia
About Me:
A reader. A constant reader. Less than 200 books in Mt TBR will cause me to break out in an uncontrollable panic sweat. Failure to stand in the middle of a well-stocked book store once a fortnight causes further panic attacks. The arrival of a Postpak full of review books causes uncontrollable shivers of joy. Basically I'm a simple creature - feed me books, ignore the dust and crud in the house and tell me about your favourite author.
I Am A:
Reader
Website:
http://www.austcrimefiction.org
Books And Authors I Like:
Crime fiction in all its guises! I love Reginald Hill's books, I'm a huge fan of Scandinavian crime writers - Mankell, Wahloo and Sjowall, Nesbo, Fossum, Alvtegen, Larsson and their ilk. Indridason from Iceland is another favourite as well. Louise Welsh, Caro Ramsay, Denise Mina, Christopher Brookmyre and many Scottish authors as well.

In terms of local writers Adrian Hyland, Peter Temple, Shane Maloney, Malla Nunn, Lindy Cameron, Caroline Shaw, David Owen, Geoff McGeachin, Paul Thomas, Leigh Redhead, Katherine Howell, JR Carroll, Paul Cleave, Claire McNab and......

How long do I have?
Movies And TV Shows I Like:
TV: Unit One, Eagle - Crime Odyssey, Dalziel & Pascoe, Black Books, Spicks & Specks, Kingswood Country

Movies: Bollywood! oh and Gangster Number 1, Layer Cake, Lock Stock etc recently (don't watch many movies).

Comment Wall:

  • Daniel Hatadi

    Glad to see you here, Karen. I've dropped into austcrimefiction a few times, and it's great to have a reader and fellow Aussie on board! Why don't you head over to The Bar and introduce yourself?

    Mar 13, 2007

  • Maxine

    Nice to see that you've joined Crimespace, Karen. Welcome.

    Mar 13, 2007

  • LC Fraser

    Hi Karen - cute bunny. Thing Moldy can survive this competition? This is an awesome site.

    Mar 20, 2007

  • Karen from AustCrime

    Glad you like the bunny - he gets sent around a lot when we get questions that we can't make head nor tail of.

    Moldy will press on undoubtedly but you're right - this place is fun :)

    Mar 20, 2007

  • Merrill Young

    Hi Karen!
    I love the bunny, too. Puts me in mind of the Llama song.
    And thanks for the tip about the crimespace box.

    Merlot- off to try and figure it out

    Mar 20, 2007

  • DADavenport

    Hi Karen,
    Yes I did love Rilke, although loving a character who doesn't mind bath-house sex with strangers is hard to concieve of ever doing. But his obsessive compassion for a woman who may or may not have been murdered overcame all. An amazing creation. I am an avid fan of all things Scottish Noir! Some of the best writers in the world are coming out of there.

    Mar 24, 2007

  • Karen from AustCrime

    It was an odd feeling - that reaction to Rilke. But I loved that book. I'm with you on the Scottish thing - I find so many books from Scottish writers on my favourites list.

    Mar 26, 2007

  • Evelyn David

    Hi - Thanks for the welcome. Love!! the bunny.

    May I recommend you add my mystery, "Murder Off the Books" to your TBR pile? It's got a story to "die for," characters you'll love, humor to make you laugh out loud - and while no bunny, it does have Whiskey, an adorable and adored Irish Wolfhound.

    Please visit my web site, www.evelyndavid for a sneak peek of the book and some delightful photos of Whiskey.

    Thanks again, Evelyn

    Mar 30, 2007

  • LC Fraser

    Karen, you look so different today.

    Mar 30, 2007

  • Karen from AustCrime

    Lynne - I thought that closer to the Sun would explain how I feel some days :)

    Mar 30, 2007

  • Jenifer Nightingale-Ethier

    Quick question for you, Karen.....

    Elephant stamps???

    Mar 30, 2007

  • Karen from AustCrime

    LOL - what we used to get at school instead of gold stars - don't ask me why, I've no idea.

    Mar 30, 2007

  • LC Fraser

    Karen, you are a ray of sunshine to me. Every time I go to load a page I think how great and wonderful you are - right up there with Bev and Maddy.

    Mar 31, 2007

  • Karen from AustCrime

    Awwww - Lynne you're being very kind. (You also haven't met me in person have you ) but I'm glad that the Moldy site is proving useful for you and I will load that image gallery application - really I will :)

    Mar 31, 2007

  • CT

    G'day Karen, I'm from Melbourne

    Apr 5, 2007

  • Karen from AustCrime

    Excellent CT - lovely to see another local :)

    Apr 5, 2007

  • Patricia

    Hi Karen, thought I would pop over and say hello!

    Apr 5, 2007

  • LC Fraser

    Hi favourite web type person! Where would we be without you? (I know - still struggling with Geocities instead of having a wonderful party location). Hope you have had a good long weekend in your far off part of the world.
    Lynne (in her own far off part of the world)

    Apr 9, 2007

  • Karen from AustCrime

    I do indeedy - I'll wander over to your chatterwall to respond because you get told about the response that way - I really haven't worked out a protocol for this yet :)

    Apr 11, 2007

  • Patricia

    ok...I have no idea about the protocol either but it is getting difficult to keep track of...now I have half a conversation about Steve's stalker...one with Em and Peter Temple...I mean really no wonder I am getting less reading done...I can't find anyone on here ;-)

    Apr 13, 2007

  • LC Fraser

    I cannot keep the registered stalkers straight. No one offered me my own author so I don't have one yet. Sniff.

    Apr 13, 2007

  • LC Fraser

    oh well in that case --- Aaron Elkins? Chris Grabenstein? Randy? Are any of them stalkerless? I will happy stalk whoever I get.

    LC

    Apr 14, 2007

  • Jane Hill

    Hi Karen... thanks for befriending me! It turns out that Agatha Christie is the perfect author to keep a bright pre-teen girl interested in reading... and writing!

    Apr 28, 2007

  • Patricia

    I sent Soren the YouTube links Em...he loves them what a blast from the past...you two are very bad influences on me...but what the heck!

    May 16, 2007

  • Daniel Hatadi

    I'm loving all these bad influences everyone's passing on to each other. :)

    May 16, 2007

  • Patricia

    Daniel I sometimes even wonder if the right term would be feeding frenzy! but we get so many good authors and titles this way.

    May 16, 2007

  • sue neale

    HI

    I see you are from Melbourne. I will be in Australia visiting my daughter who will be working at the Shakespeare Globe Centre in Sydney from Aug to late Nov this year. I will be there from 30 Nov until 11 Dec and then on to NZ where my son lives. Not sure what we are doing while I am there but maybe a trip to Melbourne would be good and we could meet. I am ignorant about Australian crime writers, can you suggest any I should read before I come over?

    Jul 6, 2007

  • colin cotterill

    hello karen, actually the canoe goes in the other direction. you get my books before the UK. i'll see what i can do about writing faster. best wishes/cc

    Jul 18, 2007

  • gracebrophy

    Hi Karen,

    I'm very happy with Soho, so it's good to know that it has so many fans. Look forward to talking to you.

    Aug 9, 2007

  • Harry Shannon

    Howdy, Karen

    Aug 15, 2007

  • Lee Lofland

    I'm glad you could join us.

    Aug 15, 2007

  • David L. Hoof

    D'day. The wife and I were in Sydney for the Olympics and loved it. Those who didn't were immediately dispatched to the Outback, which they certainly deserved. Loved the people and have an old friend who is married to an American and lives in Manly. En route to the games, I told him I looked forward to visiting the land down under, where women glow and men chunder. He promised not to. Of possible interest, a novel of mine, Sharpshooter, is coming out in CD ROM from L&R Hartley, an Australina outfit.
    Welcome. Geographic point. Where I live is almost exactly on a dead line though the center of the earth, as opposite as can be from Perth, where we'll be going next year. Everyone, once in a lifetime, should visit the place on the globe antipodal to them, no?

    Aug 16, 2007

  • David L. Hoof

    After the Olympics, we actually got two days and one night (sounds like a movie) in Melbourne where our Aussie taxi driver, bless his convict bones, stopped waiting for a very late Fabio so he would meet us at the airport.

    Aug 16, 2007

  • Karen J. Laubenstein

    Hi Karen - thank you (about the B'con congrats) - and probably there's a buzz cos we're doing things we don't think have been done before. But that's the catch! Many of us are involved with B'con for the first time, so don't know what usually IS done - so think it will be exciting just because it's going to be so different. But it's a daily thing and we're also (most of us) all working our usual day jobs. In fact, I'm starting a new one on Monday after 9 years in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The new one is a different agency, but more writing and editing (yip!). I may even get to work more on those kid's books, which is truly great. Anyway, I'm waving from Alaska! It's only 7:30 pm here Wed., but is already tomorrow on this site. Haven't figured out the time difference yet between here and Aussie and here and Europe. Great dog pics above!

    Aug 16, 2007

  • Karen J. Laubenstein

    Laughing so hard - it definitely can make our brains hurt!!! (time zones). I just had a note from an author in Alaska and I told him that in some ways it was so great to talk to someone in my own time zone! Is Dymocks an online bookstore, too? Saw your post and was wondering. Never heard of it before.

    Aug 16, 2007

  • Karen J. Laubenstein

    Thanks for the scoop on Dymocks! I'll check out their site. And a great thing is that it will be B'con time there a whole day before it actually starts here! On the other hand, you'll think it's all over and we'll still have another day to go!

    Aug 16, 2007

  • Karen J. Laubenstein

    Ah now - I was typing up a message for myself instead of you! Maybe this is how twins feel??? Is it winter there?

    Aug 16, 2007

  • Karen J. Laubenstein

    Wow! And we just had a first frost in Alaska, killing some of the flowers in the window box (darn!). We usually get winter fast, then Indian summer hits for a bit, and then it's back to winter. We also only get about 3 hours of daylight (noon-3 pmish) in December. It feels cold, dark, and very isolated in December unless you have snowmachines or cross country ski's or cabins or bush planes with ski's to escape to some wood-burning stove. Mushing is also a great thing and a way to escape Alaska's winters... and we love the ice rink in town center all lit up, although I can't skate worth a hoot, I take my son and hold him up.. but he'll be 7 this winter and will likely be holding me up! We also get Northern Lights - truly awesome. But can't imagine it being near the end of winter and it's tough when it's dry and water's at a premium! My husband grew up here and never learned about water shortages, so leaves the faucets on and takes 2 showers a day and has no concept!! I used to own a ranch in the high desert area of Southwest Colorado and paid for water rights and oh boy, it's changed me for life!

    Aug 16, 2007