The Black Hand, vol.18
Olivia Newton John’s dad
Vale, Olivia! I mainly remember Olivia from childhood – my parents had the Grease soundtrack on vinyl, and I grew up listening to it, but I also have fondly terrible memories of Xanadu.
However it turns out that Olivia Newton John had hidden facets: her maternal grandfather was Max Born, a physicist and Nobel laureate, and her father, Brinley Newton John, was originally commissioned by the UK Royal Air Force and seconded through MI5 into Bletchley Park, where he worked as a codebreaker on ULTRA, the top secret project that broke the German Enigma codes. Newton John’s talents were in German language, which would doubtless have made him very useful at Bletchley.
It wasn’t until 1954 that Brinley Newton John emigrated to Australia with his wife and not-yet-famous daughter. He later worked at the University of Melbourne, and went on to become the Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Newcastle.
Author vacay
Amazingly, I went on holiday! It’s been more than a decade since I travelled overseas, and arriving in Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali felt like coming home. Maybe it’s a weird thing, to be taking a vacation before a book release – I wasn’t sure if I could properly chill out – but a few days of sun, sea, and sand cured me.
My family and I don’t do anything flashy when we travel, just kick back in cabins at an old hotel. But wow, it was so good. I feel like a new person, and it’s given me a chance to rest a little before next month, when things will go a little haywire…
Going to America
…because yes, I’m visiting the States for the first time in September. I’ll be doing research for an upcoming book, but also to launch THE KILLING CODE and meet with people like my agent and my publisher.
There’s going to be a launch party at Books of Wonder in NYC for THE KILLING CODE, so I’ll give you the details about that soon – if you’re in New York, I’d love to see you! The other stops on the trip haven’t been completely decided yet (probably Texas, and Arkansas, and maybe Vermont? I’m still figuring it out) but once my route has been finalized, I’ll fill you in.
I’m also doing a bunch of Australian events in the lead up to the book’s release – including interviews on ABC Radio National, Radio 2GB, the Australian Writers Centre, and RTR FM – and I’ll soon have details about them up at my website.
And now, all the latest book release news
I hope you’re ready? Because there’s a lot…
THE KILLING CODE preorder campaign is GO
Have you had a chance to preorder THE KILLING CODE yet? Everyone who registers a preorder of the book OR a library preorder of the book will receive a special thank-you gift from me:
*one of the amazing character trading cards for THE KILLING CODE, plus
*a vintage WWII sticker, plus
*a signed bookplate.
You can enter more than once, if you have separate receipts, and each separate entry will receive a different trading card. The campaign is open international until 25 September, so jump aboard!
THE KILLING CODE audiobook
Natalie Naudus and Kelsey Navarro are the incredible narrators who’ve brought Kit, Moya, Violet, and Dottie to life in the audiobook, and I am dying to hear the entire book when it releases. Nat Naudus has been doing some wonderful things over on Tiktok, so go check her out here.
Oh, and you can use your audiobook preorder receipt to enter the preorder campaign, just sayin’.
Special THE KILLING CODE giveaway
I have 4 special packs of goodies just for newsletter friends!
This giveaway gets you :1 x complete set of THE KILLING CODE character trading cards, plus 1 x vintage solid perfume jar, plus 1 x 1940s-style handkerchief pocket square.
To enter, share the pic below on social media, and #TheKillingCode hashtag – and don’t forget to tag me @elliemarney on Twitter or Instagram, or @elliemarneyauthor on Tiktok so I know you’ve entered! Once I’ve got all the entries logged, I’ll pick 4 winners out of a hat and get in touch.
This giveaway ends at midnight on 28 August 2022 AEST – here’s the shareable pic:
THE KILLING CODE on GoodReads
If you’d like to add the book to your GoodReads list, I’d be mighty appreciative. Reviews for THE KILLING CODE are coming in, and the book is also being added to lists, which you’re welcome to vote in – thank you!
What I’m reading
I’m not quite sure how I managed to get through the late 80s-early 90s without reading a Jackie Collins book, but somehow I did? (I think I read some Jacqueline Susann or Jilly Cooper…and of course, my beloved FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC) But while I was on vacation, I read CHANCES, the first in her saga of the Santangelo family, and holy crap, that stuff is wiiild.
The first thing I realised is that the book is long – it’s a real doorstop at over 600 pages – but then I forgot all about the length of the book and dived into the story of Gino Santangelo, pulling himself up by his bootstraps in the 1910s and making mafia money hand over fist all through the 1920s into the 1950s, culminating in the arrival of his ‘passionate and sensual’ daughter, Lucky Santangelo. Lucky takes over the business while her father is in tax exile in the 1970s, and turns out to be just as ruthless and smart as her dear old dad.
The tale rollicks along at a breakneck speed, and we receive a full recount of the entire family saga through to 1977 – every gunshot wound, every coke-fuelled orgy, every bloody massacre, every incestuous affair, every disastrous business deal, every sordid prostitution caper. I can almost imagine Jackie in one of her golden shoulder-padded jackets, sitting up with a glass of bourbon and a massive ashtray full of burning cigarettes and a line of white, typing away furiously through the night to get this story down – it’s hedonistic, and awful, and hilarious, and coarse, and it’s absolute dynamite. I can totally understand why the book sold millions of copies. The Santangelos spawned an empire, and so did Jackie Collins – the book went on to have nine sequels, and a couple of them were filmed. I kind of love Jackie now.
What I’m watching
Well I haven’t gotten to it yet, but everyone tells me that THE SANDMAN is great – if you’ve seen it and have Opinions you’d like to share before I plunge in, let me know in the comments here!
Other events
I’m joining Johan du Toit for a special session on the ins and outs of self publishing, organised through the Australian Society of Authors on August 24. There’ll be a long Q&A session and you can join us online by booking your ticket here.
LoveOzYAbookclub
This month’s read is the delightful SOCIAL QUEUE by Kay Kerr, which came out September last year. If you’d like to participate in bookclub, you’re most welcome! You can find the latest title announcement here, and the FB bookclub thread is always open.
And that’s it from me for this month - just a quickie, as Jackie Collins might say. How are things going on your end? I hope that you’re managing to get some rest-time reading in, and that life is going smoothly. For Nailbiters chums, I’ll be sending another missive your way shortly. Next month, there’ll be a deluge of THE KILLING CODE-related info, as it’s release month (omg), as well as another giveaway, more criminal history, and some updates on what I’m writing next. Until then, happy reading and have a great week!
xxEllie