07 Oct #TCRXmas with Genevieve Gannon

Day 13 of #TCRXmas and today I bring you another festive guest post, this time from Genevieve Gannon, the author of ‘Chasing Chris Campbell’. Gen’s debut on the chick lit scene was at the end of 2014, when she published ‘Husband Hunters’, which sounds brilliant and is waiting on my kindle. Many thanks to Gen for visiting today and hope you enjoy her post.

When This Chick Reads asked me to write a piece on All I Want For Christmas the only problem I had was keeping it short. Here, in no particular order, are the things my heart most desires this festive season:
 A new laptop

I bought my laptop in 2007 and its roughly the same size as my Ford Fiesta. It has served me well, following me to two new cities and helping me produce two novels. But now my loyal laptop is ready to be put out to pasture. Most of its programs no longer work and if it gets too hot (say after operating for more than 40 minutes) it turns itself off, taking with it the last half hour of writing. I recently borrowed my mother’s 2014-model for a few days and working on that was a dream. I would be 60 per cent more productive if I had a new laptop.
 Night Rain

In Victoria, Australia, where I live, Christmas means summer and summer means bushfires. A few years ago blazes ripped through the state on a day that came to be known as Black Saturday. One hundred and seventy-three people died. Fires started in October this year and we were warned to prepare for a long, hot fire season. So for Christmas I want rain. Lots and lots of rain. And since this is a wish list, and we can ask for anything, I’m going to request that most of the rain fall at night so that we can still have a few days at the beach.

 Lots of stars, grouped in five

You writers know what I mean. I want reviews. I want stars! But not one lonely star, or a meager two stars, I want rows and rows of stars. Preferably under Michiko Kakutani’s name alongside a glowing review in The New York Times. I figure while I’m requesting weather events, I may as well shoot for the … stars.More from Amy Schumer

How I love Amy Schumer. I just stopped writing this piece so I could watch a couple of her stand up clips on YouTube. I’ve scoured the internet and devoured every utterance of hers, and I want more. Her Last F***able Day skit is one of my all-time favourite pieces of comedy. More than that, it makes an important point about women. I can’t wait to read her book, and look forward to more films, more comedy and more interviews in 2016.
 A retweet from Kim Kardashian

This one is pretty self-explanatory. You could pitch your book to every single media organisation in the English speaking world, or you could campaign for a retweet promoting you book from Kim Kardashian. You chance of succeeding in either case is virtually zero, so I figured I may as well request the latter as it would reach more people. (If only because the media provides breathless coverage of almost everything KK West does.)Two chairs 

I feel I’ve blown a lot of my Christmas wish credit on the weather and Kardashian request so this one is simple. I bought my first home in June and have been slowly painting and furnishing it. Last week I bought a table, but I don’t have any chairs. I really need at least two. Eventually I’ll build up to four, but for now, two chairs would suffice.

Some nice salmon

As I said, Christmas in Australia means heat! Christmas lunch for us is seafood, salad and a little meat. We usually start with a tray of oysters, then follow with prawns, salmon, ham and turkey. I don’t eat meat, so a decent piece of fish is crucial. I’m hoping for a lovely pink salmon fillet on Christmas day.

Three letters from my publisher

My third novel is currently under consideration with HarperCollins Australia. I asked them to consider it for their print list, and they agreed. It has been five nail-biting weeks since I sent it off, and all I want for Christmas really, is three little letters: Y, E and S.

Chasing Chris Campbell by Genevieve Gannon
Published on 1.06.2015
Genres: chick lit
Pages: 275

Violet is saving money: living on rice and beans and denying herself chocolate eclairs all in the name of saving for a home deposit. Once they save enough, she and Michael can buy a house, settle down and live happily ever after. But when Michael does the unthinkable, Violet is forced to rethink her life choices.

A chance encounter with Chris Campbell (first love, boy-next-door, The One That Got Away) spurs her into travelling to exotic locations she never dreamed she’d explore – Hong Kong, Vietnam, Varanasi – on a quest to catch up with Chris and lead a life of adventure. Armed with hand sanitiser and the encouraging texts of her twin sister Cassandra, will Violet find true love before it’s too late? Or will the nerve-wracking experience of travelling send her back to Melbourne in search of safety and stability? Can she work out what she really wants before she is left with nothing?

About Genevieve Gannon

Genevieve Gannon is a Melbourne-based journalist and author. Her writing was first published in the St Monica’s Primary School newspaper, The Monical, in the form of a mince pie recipe she completely made up. She lifted her standards of journalistic integrity and wrote stories for music and fashion street press magazines while at university before moving to Canberra to do a journalism cadetship. In 2011 she joined the national news wire, Australian Associated Press, where she covered crime, politics and entertainment. Her work has appeared in most major Australian newspapers including The Age, The Australian and The Daily Telegraph.

Genevieve apologises unequivocally to any of her fellow students and their parents who tried to bake mince pies using the recipe she wrote when she was 10. But if you’re putting four cups of plain flour and four cups of self-raising flour into pasty that doesn’t call for butter, you’ve only got yourself to blame. She currently lives in Melbourne where she is a court reporter. At night time she writes romantic comedies. Husband Hunters is her first novel.