By Belinda Goldsmith

THREDBO, Australia (Reuters Life!) – As Europeans strip off and head to the beach, many Australians are wrapping up for a trip to the snowfields, ready to brace the cold — and some of the most expensive piste prices in the world.

While the “land down under” may be better known for its beaches and outback, it also boasts an active ski season that runs from July until early October at about 10 resorts where man-made snow helps supplement natural falls.

By Belinda Goldsmith

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) – When writer Julia Stuart read about Beefeaters still living in the Tower of London, she became fascinated about life behind closed doors at the palace and fortress which dates back to the 11th century.

Her second novel, “The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise” is the story of Beefeater Balthazar Jones, his wife Hebe, their 180-year-old tortoise and their adventures living in the Tower as their marriage crumbles after the death of their son.

By Belinda Goldsmith

CANBERRA, Aug 11 (Reuters Life) – With rabbit numbers on the rise across Australia, conservationists are seeking to educate a new generation about the dangers posed by one of the country’s worst pests and rally support for a third, nationwide assault.

Rabbits were introduced to Australia in 1859 when a farmer let 24 loose in the state of Victoria as a shooting sport but the fast-breeding animals quickly spread with a pair of rabbits able to produce up to 184 rabbits in 18 months.

By Belinda Goldsmith

CANBERRA (Reuters Life!) – Robin Cook, credited as the inventor of the medical thriller, was a doctor who never set out to be a writer but he just wanted to find a way to explain medical issues to people in an entertaining, understandable way.

Cook, an American physician turned novelist, now has 30 books to his name which have sold nearly 100 million copies. Many of his books have been turned into TV movies, mini-series and feature length movies.

By Belinda Goldsmith

CANBERRA, Aug 11 (Reuters Life!) – Robin Cook, credited as
the inventor of the medical thriller, was a doctor who never set
out to be a writer but he just wanted to find a way to explain
medical issues to people in an entertaining, understandable way.

Cook, an American physician turned novelist, now has 30
books to his name which have sold nearly 100 million copies.
Many of his books have been turned into TV movies, mini-series
and feature length movies.

By Belinda Goldsmith

CANBERRA, Aug 10 (Reuters Life!) – As a superhero Captain
Underpants may lack muscles but he’s proven to have the power to
get children reading with his creator, Dav Pilkey, hoping four
new books with the same potty humour will nab more young
readers.

Pilkey, 44, an author and artist based near Seattle, said he
came up with the idea of Captain Underpants while at school
where he was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and spent
long periods in the hallway on his own, drawing and making up
stories.

By Belinda Goldsmith

SYDNEY, Aug 4 (Reuters Life!) – Being hit by two hurricanes
within the space of nine months had such a profound affect on
American author Alex Kava that she used the experience as the
basis for her latest novel.

“Damaged,” Kava’s eighth psychological suspense novel
featuring FBI agent Maggie O’Dell, is based on the Florida coast
and a case involving missing body parts and a mysterious
infection which is complicated by a hurricane.

By Belinda Goldsmith

SYDNEY, Aug 4 (Reuters Life!) – When American historical
writer Candace Robb decided to take a break from her usual
medieval mysteries to focus on the life of one woman, she also
decided to make another change — taking on a new pen-name.

As Emma Campion she has released a debut novel, “The King’s
Mistress,” based on Alice Perrers, the mistress of British King
Edward III, who was always portrayed as a manipulative woman
taking advantage of an aging, increasingly senile king.

SYDNEY (Reuters) – For U.S. writer Ellen Bryson it was the mental image of a group of bearded women that lured her into fiction and the extraordinary world of P.T. Barnum’s American Museum in New York City in 1865.

Bryson said it was pure coincidence that her debut novel, “The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno,” is being released around the 200th anniversary of Barnum’s birth — July 5, 1810 — as it was about five years in the writing.