Jane Routley

The Perch

1 Comment / News / By /

Back in 2010 when I was doing my blog about Flinders Street Station, I learned about the Perch. It’s the steel railing in the station concourse against the window between Platform 3 and 4 and Platforms 5 and 6. Here the train drivers perch on the rail and hang out while waiting for their next driving shift. “I never go there” said a woman train driver back then – “They just talk filth and give number ratings to passing women.”
Myself I doubt it was ever that exciting.

But this week -a mere 9 years – later I went through Flinders Street Station and discovered the Perch was entirely occupied by women drivers. What a change! I wonder if they were also talking filth and giving number ratings to passers-by.

Flinders Street Railway Station Concourse. I couldn’t find one of the Perch.

Shadow in the Empire of Light Launch

1 Comment / News / By /
Author Jane Routley and Michael O’Brien of Chaosium Books. Thanks to Robert Love for the photo.

 

Yesterday at the Post Office Hotel, Chaosium publisher Michael O’Brien launched my latest book.
The occasion glittered most satisfactorily.
Michael O’Brien said “It’s called ‘Shadow in the Empire of Light’, has been described as like “modern Jane Austen with magic” (by critics) and “with Bridgerton overtones” (by me)”

Available from Simon & Schuster: https://www.simonandschuster.com/…/Jane…/9781781088340/

Or direct from Solaris https://rebellionpublishing.com/product/shadow_in_the_empire_of_light/

 

Jane signs a book. (Note: attractive pandemic accessory on her arm In case of need to socially isolate.)
Thanks to Neil Kerlogue for the photo

 

 

Are Possums symbolic?

1 Comment / News, Station Stories / By /

A Brushtail possum engaging in its favorite activity

The day after the very contested Australia/Invasion Day I see my local possum climbing out of the bin holding a piece of vegemite toast in his mouth.  It all seems vaguely symbolic though I’m not sure what of.  Is this a You Beaut Aussie battler possum celebrating our great country’s favorite snack?  Or is it symbolic of the degradation of our native fauna by invader culture?

Both at the same time maybe

Or maybe just symbolic of the opportunistic nature of hungry possums.

Fantasy Hive – Author Spotlight

Leave a Comment / News / By /

The lovely people over at Fantasy Hive have hosted me for an Author Spotlight

Author Spotlight – Jane Routley (SHADOW IN THE EMPIRE OF LIGHT)

Even if you don’t want to read about me, go over and take a look at the site. They cover all kinds of good stuff such as Cosplay and Gaming and they also run the Self Published Fantasy Blog Off every year.

Pug Boy

Leave a Comment / Station Stories / By /

A young man is sitting on the station wearing a mask – a paper mask showing the face of a cheerful pug dog with its tongue hanging out. I’d already noticed him waiting through two trains and now he’s put on this mask. Definitely time to ask.
“Are you O.K.?”
He pulls up the mask.
“Yes I’m fine,” he replies cheerfully.
In the face of such cheeriness, I feel a need to explain my officious behavior.
“Sorry, it’s just that when you work at a station you need to look out for people’s um… mental health,”
“Sure. I don’t blame you for asking,” he replies, smiling and putting his mask back.
So that’s that. He seems sane enough.  But he’s wearing a pug mask. On an ordinary weekday.
The mystery is solved -sort of – when the next train came in and a young woman gets off and greets him.
She doesn’t acknowledge the mask, but she seems pleased to see him.

Guest Post for Mary Robinette Kowal

1 Comment / News / By /

Hugo Award winning Mary Robinette Kowal, author of the Lady Astronaut series has been kind enough to host me on her blog My favorite bit

Here’s the link if you’d like to find out about my debt to Georgette.

https://maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/my-favorite-bit-jane-routely-talks-about-shadow-in-the-empire-of-light/

Try Amazon if you’d like to know more about Mary Robinette Kowal’s The Calculating Stars

https://www.amazon.com.au/Calculating-Stars-Lady-Astronaut-Novel-ebook/dp/B0756JH5R1/
 

CoNZealand

1 Comment / News / By /

Due to the Covid -19 for the first time in history the SF Worldcon will be on-line. So do come!
This is my schedule with a book launch at the end.  

My  Schedule for CoNZealand

 

Sandman at 30: The Enduring Influence of Neil Gaiman’s Creation

 

30 Jul 2020, Thursday 16:00 – 16:50, Programme Room 1 (Webinar) (Programming)

Neil Gaiman created the Sandman series a bit over 30 years ago, in 1988. It had a profound influence on graphic SF and fantasy, winning awards (including a World Fantasy Award) and paving the way for other graphic works. What makes Sandman stand out and endure? 

Getting Your Book Edited and Ready for Self Publishing

31 Jul 2020, Friday 12:00 – 12:50, Programme Room 4 (Webinar) (Programming)

Publishing a good independent book involves more than writing it and then putting it online. What’s involved in producing a good self-published book that readers will enjoy and will sell well. 

The Regency Today: On the Continuing Popularity of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer

31 Jul 2020, Friday 15:00 – 15:50, Book Launches (Programming)

The panel discusses all things Austen and Heyer. 

Reading: Jane Routley

31 Jul 2020, Friday 16:30 – 16:55, Reading Room 1 (Programming)

Book Launch: Shadow in the Empire of Light

with cat-related give away.  

 1 Aug 2020, Saturday 20:00 – 20:50, Book Launches (Programming)

Get a preview of award-winning author Jane Routley’s latest novel, Shadow in the Empire of Light, due out soon.

 

Publishers Weekly like it !

Leave a Comment / News / By /

 

Routley (The Melded Child) unravels a complex web of familial politics in this eccentric fantasy. It’s Blessing time in the Empire of Light, an annual tradition in which the Matriarch of each family ensures fruitful crops for the following year. As always, Shine and her Auntie Eff, both mundanes without magic of their own despite their noble lineage, are expected to host a clan of their condescending, magical relations for the duration of the festival. Shine’s usually monotonous life as a mundane is plunged into chaos as she must put out fires at every turn, from curbing her cousins’ inappropriate seductions to stopping a burgeoning plot to overthrow the Matriarch. To further complicate matters, Shine’s exiled cousin, Bright, asks her to hide Shadow, a foreigner caught in a crystal smuggling scheme that somehow involves their wicked and violent cousin, Illuminus. Though readers will struggle to keep track of Shine’s many relations, even with the help of the family tree Routley provides, Routley’s whimsical tone lends a dark comic quality to this intricate fantasy, and the outlandish characters and captivating worldbuilding make up for occasional confusion. This is a bumpy but entertaining ride. Agent: John Jarrold, John Jarrold Literary. (Aug.)

www.publishersweekly.com/pw/reviews/single/9781781088340?fbclid=IwAR39MKqxZeO3d612h-JdxmKj2_YZEnqQawmrqcV65U6r1RVCP3Od1wyDGDc

Shadow in the Empire of Light – Cover Reveal

5 Comments / News, writing / By /

Woo Hoo!

The lovely people at Solaris Press have sent me a proof of my new book.

Shine’s life is usually dull: an orphan in a family of powerful mages, she’s left to run the family estate with only an eccentric aunt and a telepathic cat for company.

But when the family descend on the house for the annual Fertility Festival, Shine is plunged into intrigue; stolen letters, a fugitive spy and family drama mix with an unexpected murder, and Shine is forced to decide both her loyalties and her future.

Shadow in the Empire of Light is due out in August