The Booktopia Book Guru asks Kate Belle author of Being Jade and The Yearning Ten Terrifying Questions ____________ 1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled? I was born in Kerang, Victoria, to a band of wild gypsies who taught me to embrace change and adventure. By the time I was seven we’d moved six times (my dad worked fo... Read more

Bestselling author Kate Belle on the expectation of a HEA I have an affliction as a ‘romance’ writer. I’m not good at happy endings. Actually, it’s more of a curse than an affliction, because romance readers expect their Happy Ever After (HEA) fix, it’s why they read the genre. For God’s sake, in romance HEA’s are mandatory! It’s part of the genre’s promise. Believe me, I’ve tried, God knows I’... Read more

Recently our Romance Specialist Haylee Nash flew the flag for Booktopia at the 2013 Romance Writers of Australia conference in Fremantle. These are her stories. For those of you who have never been to a Romance Writers of Australia (RWA) Conference, or indeed any kind of romance conference, let me paint you a picture. Imagine a modestly sized room, filled with women. Hundreds of women. Each of ... Read more

There’s nothing quite as nostalgia-inducing as first love. Get any random group of female friends and throw in a few bottles of wine and chances are first love will come up. Chances are this discussion will lead to the discussion of other firsts – the first time you had sex, the first time you moved out, first car. Kate Belle’s The Yearning explores, in a way that is both raw and poetic, a firs... Read more