My Super Single Mum: Bronny Fallens interview

So, parenting... a hot button topic right now.

How hard it all is, who is doing it right/wrong? What constitutes a 'good parent'?

My biggest gripe is when we don't support the sisterhood. My biggest yardstick to who is doing it the toughest (it's not a comp, I know that... I'm just sayin') is to always, always spare a thought for my single mother sisters.

Regular readers of Josie's Juice will now how grateful I am for my husband's support during our crazy, twin-rearing journey. Doing it solo... well, I take my hat off to these wonderful, amazing, resilient women.

Many of my good pals are single mothers. ALL of them are doing a stellar job. So, when this book came across the Josie's Juice desk, I jumped at the chance to feature it. It's an illustrated book on single parenting. It's written by Melbourne author Bronny Fallens, and is called "My Super Single Mum" (which, I am told, will be followed by "My Two Dads" and "My Groovy Gran" - I am already loving the next two books based on titles only!)

So I asked Bronny, newly single mother to one daughter, to talk about the book in her own words.

What prompted you to write this book? As a newly single mum I went looking for books to read to my daughter, I couldn't find anything that communicated the message that it's quite okay to be from a single parent family. There were books but they didn't feel fun or light to me and so I decided to write my own. I'm a writer anyway, and it felt like a lovely, natural progression to write a children's book for my daughter.

Who do you hope will read this book? Whilst I wrote the book for children of single parents I also hoped that all parents would read the book to their children to show other family situations and explain to their children that it's okay. I'd be hoping the book would be read in libraries, in schools as well as in the family home.

What do you hope readers will get from it? Hopefully the children of single parent families will relate to the story and think 'that's me' or 'that's my mum'. I'd like the children of two parent families to relate the story to someone they know or simply come away with the message that it's okay to have just one parent and that those families are full of love and fun.

You can buy this book from www.bronnyandmuntsa.com in either hard copy ($15) or eBook format ($5). The book, distributed by Scribo, will be available in bookstores nationally for Mother's Day.

Lauren Conrad's book 'Style' released today.

Lauren Conrad - one of the plethora of beauties who made a name for themselves by simply being in the MTV reality show The Hills, has released a new style guide.

The TV star, also a fashion designer and New York Times bestselling author, tells of her absolute fashion must-haves.

I am always a sucker for star style guides. I may not buy them all (just how many style bibles does one need?), but they always pique my interest. Victoria Beckham's book from some years ago - 'That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heels and Everything in Between,' for example. We all know that these days, every celeb has their own stylist. Best and worst dressed lists are getting harder to compile when you have starlets styled to within an inch of their glossy lives.

Lauren's book - simply called 'Style' - is filled with her favourite looks, beauty advice and info on how to travel in style.

With colour photos of Lauren and her recommended 'fun and flirty' outfits, it's for LC fans, The Hills fans, and those who like a little LA-style on their coffee table.

$29.99 and on sale now.

Entertaining, Fleur Wood style

Inspiring recipe books: love 'em. I've been lucky enough to receive some excellent cookbooks in my time as a writer. I turn to them time and time again; but more often than not I cook off-by-heart. Spaghetti sauce pretty much hits the spot in this place, as well as some basic baked veg with spices, and chicken cotoletti are a sure-fire winner too.



But this here book by fashion designer Fleur Wood, called Food Fashion Friends, won't languish in the pile near the microwave. Oh, this little beauty is a different kind of tome altogether. It's an incredibly gorgeous, personal account of what inspires the multi-talented designer when she entertains.

It brings together three things which Fleur has come to cherish and hold dear: her food, her fashion and her friends.


Food Fashion Friends is an amazing cookbook, style guide and photographic tour de force, and a gloriously indulgent celebration of the pleasures of frocking up, decking out and cooking up a storm.

Fleur Wood, one of Australia’s most loved fashion designers, and a passionate foodie and home cook with a penchant for entertaining, presents an incredible display of style and glamour, showing us how to create the kind of special event that delights the eye and ignites the imagination.

Fleur includes a wide range of recipe ideas ranging from Soft Shell Crab Burgers to Rhubarb Meringue Cake, from Herbed Pecorino Macaroni to the ultra-sophisticated Pheasant Roasted with Truffles by Matt Moran.

With menu plans, styling suggestions and playlists for events such as elegant afternoon tea, the ultimate dinner party, a romantic anniversary dinner, a nostalgic seaside menu, a no-fuss weekend brunch, a birthday picnic in the rolling hills and even a fondue degustation in the forest – Food Fashion Friends is the ultimate guide to entertaining with glamour, sophistication and fun.

"There’s inspiration from the flea markets of Paris to the vintage fairs of Manhattan; from the villages of rural England to the urban grunge of inner London; from the boutiques of Tokyo to the coastline and harbour of Sydney," she says.

Fleur Wood is one of Australia's leading fashion designers. She has stores around Australia, along with a loyal clientele in the United States and Europe. Her brand has become synonymous with beauty and style.

See: http://www.fleurwood.com/