As March 1st is publication day for The Last Station., I thought I'd share why I wanted to write it. When it comes to deciding on the subject matter for a historical novel some of the questions I ask myself include; is it a fascinating period in Australian history and if so are the actual [...]
The Marquis de Rays. What an exotic name. It conjures wealth, European lands and a noble linage. But names and appearances can be deceptive and the Marquis de Rays, a French Nobleman was a scoundrel and con-artist supreme. The Marquis ripped off poor settlers in the late 1800s offering the ‘promised land’ but eventually after [...]
If you missed Nicole's virtual launch please head to her facebook page the post has been saved!
There are books that we read that stay with us forever. Something within the pages grabs at us, hurtling us forwards into a new world where characters become friends, or enemies, where adventure crosses the line to the depths of tragedy and where we are left to question choices made, loves lost, won or denied [...]
Coffee-break Quick-Pick: The Shepherd's Hut by Tim Winton. Jaxie dreads going home. His mother's dead, the old man beats him without mercy, and he doesn't know how much more he can take. Then, in one terrible moment of violence, the life he's known ends - forcing Jaxie to flee his sleepy hometown. He's not just [...]
It’s three years since I first started thinking about my new novel which I’m close to finishing. There’s been quite a few potholes to navigate along the way. Instead of my usual female protagonist I chose a male lead of Scottish descent and named him Ross Grant. Then I decided to track his life for [...]
I’ve just finished reading these two literary works. One set in Civil War era America and the other in post-WW2. I didn’t set out to read two books on war but these authors are among my fav’s. Varina by Charles Frazier "Civilization balances always on a keen and precarious point, a showman spinning a fine [...]
My Brother Jack. If ever there was a portrait of the changing and fragile relationships in family and particularly between brother’s then this work stands out as one of the best. Set in the suburbs of Melbourne between the two wars George Johnston’s 1964 novel shines a light on the interwar years, introducing us to [...]
Iconic Australian artists. The phrase makes me think of idyllic portrayals of pastoralism, of golden fleeces suffused with sunlight, frontier settlers framed by eucalypt trees and the blue haze of a never-ending landscape. There are also the confronting depictions rendered by more contemporary artists. Of men and women, communities and their profound connection to the [...]
In Stephen Orrs The Hands: A Pastoral, a cattle property in the middle of the desert has been in the family for generations. But life on the farm has been hard for a long time. The drought is decimating the cattle herd and the stress of living and working on a property that it is [...]
