News
The Janna Mysteries series continues to win praise and accolades. Book 3 - Lilies for Love, won the 2007 Society of Women Writers biennial book award for junior/teenage fiction and Willows for Weeping received a Highly Commended in 2009. This follows on from the success of Book 1 - Rosemary for Remembrance, which was a CBC Notable Book in 2006, and which has sold into Germany. 'Janna: die tochter der heilerin' was published in June this year.
Books 5 & 6, Sage for Sanctuary and Thyme for Trust along with the first four Janna Mysteries are now being sold as both e-books and paperbacks through amazon.com. Book 1, Rosemary for Remembrance was released in May, Book 2 in June, Book 3 in July and Book 4 in August. The NEW Janna Mysteries, Sage for Sanctuary (#5) and Thyme for Trust (#6) are available from September and October respectively.
Thank you
To all the fans of The Janna Mysteries (and my other novels) who have written to me with your comments and good wishes, a big THANK YOU! I'm always interested to hear from you. I know how keen you are to finish Janna's quest to find her father, to fulfil her vow to her mother and - most important of all - to find out where her heart truly lies.
Hearts in Chains
I was lucky enough to be awarded a May Gibbs Fellowship this year, and spent a delightful month at the writers studio in Adelaide. While there I enjoyed doing workshops and giving talks to students from Seymour College, Flinders University and members of the SA Writers Centre. It was also a wonderful opportunity to meet some lovely children's writers; it was a very special month.
Even more important, while there I was able to write the best part of a new manuscript which has a flashback to the convict past on Norfolk Island. Following on from that, I recently spent ten fantastic days on the island doing lots of research and also spending time with students (and teachers) at the Norfolk Island Central School - it was great to meet you all, and I really hope I can do justice to your fascinating home! I found everyone incredibly kind and welcoming, and happy to share information and insights into their island. It certainly is a place with a mesmerising past! I'm delighted to announce that Hearts in Chains is to be published by Harper Collins; publication date to be announced.
Other News
I've enjoyed talking to students from Mimosa P/S and Manly West P/S and it was great to meet some students from Sydney Girls High and Ascham while conducting a 'Writing Historical Fiction for Y/A' workshop for the Society of Women Writers. I'm looking forward to meeting students from Sydney schools during Book Week and at Bookfeast, talking to alumni at Abbotsleigh about my writing and conducting a workshop for Forestville FAW on the importance of creating a setting in a story later this year.
For lovers of crime and mystery please make a note in your diary for the SheKilda Crime Convention in Melbourne 7th - 10th October. I'm very honoured to have been invited to join a host of Australia's top crime writers (and some international authors too) to speak about my work. For more information, go to: www.shekilda.com.au or the Sisters in Crime website: www.sistersincrime.org.au. Hope to see you there!