Month: July 2016

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Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Tiffany McDaniel

 

 

An Ohio native, Tiffany McDaniel’s writing is inspired by the rolling hills and buckeye woods of the land she knows.  She is also a poet, playwright, screenwriter, and artist.  The Summer that Melted Everything is her debut novel.

 

Welcome to my blog Tiffany McDaniel

Tiffany McDaniel


Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Tiffany McDaniel

 “Sometimes this world is like red fences in the snow.  There ain’t no hiding who we really are.”  Tell us a little bit about who you really are Tiffany 🙂

I’m an Ohio poet and novelist who hopes to write a novel good enough for Ray Bradbury to rise from the grave and give me a thumbs up.  Everything else interesting about me is my writing itself.  Outside of that I’m just vanilla ice cream.

 

Let’s talk childhood. What aspirations did you have as a child?

Writing definitely.  I wouldn’t realize writing was a profession I could have until I was in middle school and the guidance counselor came to my class to talk to us about what we wanted to be when we got older.  Writing was just so wonderful to me I didn’t think you could get paid to do it.  My parents had jobs, very hard jobs that made them tired and not a lot of money.  So I thought that’s what I would have to do.  Have a job I didn’t like.  Though it took me eleven long years to get a publishing contract, realizing I could have writing as a career, was like being told I could pocket all the stars in the night sky and have light with me forever.

 

Let’s talk books and influences. Who is your favourite author? Do you have a favourite book or seven?

It’s hard to say my absolute favourite author.  That’s like choosing a favorite heartbeat.  I can’t live without any of my heart beats.  Same can be said about me and my favorite authors.  Seven of them are Ray Bradbury, Shirley Jackson, Donna Tartt, Poet James Wright, Kazou Ishigaro, Agatha Christie, Harper Lee.

 

How long has the road to becoming a successful writer been for you?

Eleven years.  Writing is the easy part.  Getting published is the hard part.  I wrote my first novel when I was eighteen years old.  I wouldn’t get a publishing contract until I was twenty-nine for The Summer that Melted Everything which is my fifth or sixth novel written.  For me it was eleven years of rejection and fear I’d never be published.  Literary fiction, the genre I write, can be difficult for publishers to take a chance on because they consider it not as lucrative as commercial fiction.  Especially when you write darker literary fiction like I do.  Even when I got the deal for The Summer that Melted Everything I had no idea it would be two more years before I saw the book on the shelf.  In this fast-paced world, publishing still moves at a snail’s pace unfortunately, so with all the years added up, I’ve been waiting thirteen years to see a book on the shelf.  July 26th will indeed be a very special day.

 

Let’s talk writing.  What do you love about writing?

Falling in love with the characters and their stories.

 

Let’s talk setting – the setting is the summer of 1984 – why this particular time period?

When I think about the 1980s, I think about a decade-long summer with its neon colors, big hair, and even bigger ambitions.  I was born in 1985 so I can’t attest to if this is true about the decade.  But for me the 1980s was a natural home for this story.  1984 was the year I chose because of its parallels to George Orwell’s masterpiece, 1984.  I don’t want to give any spoilers away but readers will know the significance of Orwell’s novel in relation to The Summer that Melted Everything after reading.

 

Lets’ talk about naming characters –  I love the sound of the name Fielding Bliss  – how did you determine the names of your characters?

I always say the characters know their names.  It’s up to me as the author to listen to the characters.  It can be as simple as seeing that particular word that day.  I take this as a hint from the characters.  They’re saying, “Here is my name.  Write it down, won’t you?”

 

If you had more time what you be doing?

Indiana Jones-ing my way around the world.  Or just sitting out on the grass at night, looking up at the stars. 

 

What is your favourite film of 2016 so far?

I don’t believe I’ve seen any of the new movies released this year.  I’ve just been too busy.  I will say one of my favorite films of all is Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.

 

Let’s talk next book – I assume there is one in the pipeline?

I have eight completed novels and am working on my ninth.  The novel I’m hoping to follow The Summer that Melted Everything up with is titled, When Lions Stood as Men.  It’s the story of a Jewish brother and sister who escape Nazi Germany, cross the Atlantic Ocean, and end up in my land of Ohio.  Struggling with the guilt of surviving the Holocaust, they create their own camp of judgment.  Being both the guards and the prisoners, they punish themselves not only for surviving, but for the sins they know they cannot help but commit.

 

If you want to know more about Tiffany check out her social media sites here:

I don’t have social media, but readers can always find me on my author website:

http://www.tiffanymcdaniel.com

 

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Post Script: The Summer That Melted Everything – Tiffany McDaniel

the summer that melted everything Scribe

The Summer That Melted Everything

Tiffany McDaniel

Scribe Publications  (Paperback)

9781925321302

Description:

Fielding Bliss has never forgotten the summer of 1984: the year a heat wave scorched Breathed, Ohio. The year he became friends with the devil.

 

Sal seems to appear out of nowhere – a bruised and tattered thirteen-year-old boy claiming to be the devil himself answering an invitation. Fielding Bliss, the son of a local prosecutor, brings him home where he’s welcomed into the Bliss family, assuming he’s a runaway from a nearby farm town.

 

When word spreads that the devil has come to Breathed, not everyone is happy to welcome this self-proclaimed fallen angel. Murmurs follow him and tensions rise, along with the temperatures as an unbearable heat wave rolls into town right along with him. As strange accidents start to occur, riled by the feverish heat, some in the town start to believe that Sal is exactly who he claims to be. While the Bliss family wrestles with their own personal demons, a fanatic drives the town to the brink of a catastrophe that will change this sleepy Ohio backwater forever.

 

 

My View:

Sublime, poignant, lyrical, touching…

 

This book will quickly draw you in and mesmerise you with its beautiful prose. It will enchant, it will enthral, it will make you shake your head in disbelief and then you will reflect a little and sadly  have to agree…this could happen, this or something like it has already  happened…. somewhere, to someone…be careful what you say, words once spoken cannot be unheard.

 

This is a book that will have a profound effect on the reader (aside from the awe you will feel for the delicious prose). There are words, there are sentences, there are paragraphs and pages you will just want to highlight or underline and shout YES!!!  When you read this book there are two particular passages that stand out in my mind, analogies with leaves and another with roses, let me know if these spark brilliant illuminations in your mind, they did for me; beautiful descriptions, searing moments of brutal honesty and perfect understanding.

 

The writing here is remarkable…I predict…awards, awards and more awards for this incredibly wonderful and talented author. And did I mention that this is Tiffany McDaniel’s debut work? Seriously amazing!!!

 

 

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Post Script- Rebellious Daughters Edited by Maria Katsonis & Lee Kofman

“Not every woman is a mother, a grandmother, aunty or sister – but all women are daughters.”

 

Rebellious Daughters

Rebellious Daughters

Edited by Maria Katsonis & Lee Kofman

Ventura Press

ISBN: 9781925183566

 

Description:

Good daughters hold their tongues, obey their elders and let their families determine their destiny. Rebellious daughters are just the opposite.

 

In Rebellious Daughters, some of Australia’s most talented female writers share intimate and touching stories of rebellion and independence as they defy the expectations of parents and society to find their place in the world.

 

 

My View:

This is an extraordinary collection of memoir – so readable, so interesting…this eclectic mix of women authors that truly reflects the breadth and depth of  contemporary Australian women writers.

 

The women here are so brave – open, honest and willing to share their innermost secrets. Reading this is like having a peak in someone else’s diary or like listening to your best friend share their thoughts and feelings, struggles and joys.

 

Reading as a feminist there is plenty of material here for discussion – the notion of the “good girl”, the pressure placed on the woman/child to conform. Many stories draw attention to the intersecting expectations of culture/race/age and sexism that weigh heavily on women’s shoulders. But it is not a negative book – it is inclusive,  optimistic and realistic!  I can imagine the conversations this collection will inspire.

 

Reading purely for pleasure, this is a brave, inclusive and exhilarating read – for aren’t we all, even slightly, a rebellious daughter?

 

And it is great to know that by buying this book you are contributing to the Women’s Legal Service Victoria.

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Dedicated to the Covert Operatives – Kate Kyriacou – Guest Post

The Sting

The Sting: The Undercover Operation That Caught Daniel Morcombe’s Killer

Kate Kyriacou

Echo Publishing

ISBN: 9781760067427

kate-kyriacou_1

Welcome Kate to my blog.

Kate Kyriacou is the Brisbane Courier-Mail‘s chief crime reporter. She has won awards, both at a state and national level, for her work as a crime writer.
 Dedicated to the Covert Operatives 

You see and hear a lot of things as a journalist. You sit in court, you stand at crime scenes. You talk to investigators, lawyers, witnesses. You talk to families, grieving families who have lost someone.

 

So many things stay with you. I once walked into a house set up for a kid’s 18th birthday party. There were balloons and streamers and presents. But he’d died that morning – along with two of his mates – in a car crash on a country road.

 

But there is nothing quite like the total immersion that comes with writing a book. Day after day I sat reading through research, court transcripts and articles on an eight-year investigation into the kidnapping and murder of a 13-year-old boy. Thousands of pages. Many, many phone calls.

 

I wrote The Sting after sitting through the trial into Daniel Morcombe’s murder. Covert police had spent months posing as members of a criminal gang, convincing their suspect, Brett Peter Cowan, that he was on his way to being one of them. Soon he would be earning big money, living a life of fast cars and parties – a brotherhood. He’d never been part of anything, so by the end, he was hooked.

 

It was incredibly rare to get such an insight into the workings of a covert operation. In court we heard recordings, testimony from covert officers and had access to pages and pages of transcripts. Later, I was given access to one of the covert officers and gained more insight through my own research.

 

It’s a horrible thing to enter that world. To listen to the things a man like Brett Cowan likes to talk about. It’s hard to imagine what it would have been like for those covert officers. I know they hated him, hated having to laugh along every day, join in on his jokes. And the secrecy of the operation meant they had nobody to talk to at the end of each day. The judge talked about it in court before some of the recordings were played. Just be aware, she told Daniel’s partners who sat in the public gallery, that these covert officers are saying things and responding to things in order to further the investigation. They don’t really find him funny. They don’t really mean the things that they say. This is not who they are.

 

I dedicated the book to those guys. Because of the work they do, their identities can’t be revealed. And that means they can’t get the public recognition they deserve for the incredible work they did.

 

But we can read about it…

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Post Script: The Sting: The Undercover Operation That Caught Daniel Morcombe’s Killer – Kate Kyriacou

The Sting

The Sting: The Undercover Operation That Caught Daniel Morcombe’s Killer

Kate Kyriacou

Echo Publishing

ISBN: 9781760067427

 

Description:

The story of the police sting that resulted in the confession of Daniel Morcombe’s killer reads like crime fiction. An elaborately staged fake crime gang, run by a ‘Mr Big’ that lured Brett Cowan in with the promise of a hefty payout. It was the stuff of a TV crime series rather than an Australian police operation. The Sting reveals extraordinary new detail and a shocking insight into one of the country’s most evil killers, and the operation that brought him down.

Go behind the scenes in one of Australia’s most sensational undercover busts, including never-before-heard detail of the covert investigation, including how Cowan was slowly brainwashed into believing ‘Mr Big’.

Read what Cowan’s family think of their black sheep.

 

My View:

A fascinating read! But don’t be quick to judge me – I am not referring to the horrendous atrocities that Daniel Morcombe’s murderer is guilty of, I am referring to the outstanding efforts that the Queensland, West Australian and Victorian police force made to apprehend this criminal; such lengths, the covert officers deserve an academy award for their part in capturing this offender. Their story is fascinating.

 

Kate Kyriacou presents a sensitively written narrative of two parts; the first act introduces the “players” and sets the scene. We meet the offender, the families involved, we get some background on locations and personal histories, insights to the main characters and the revelation of the story of a missing boy, soon to be presumed dead.

 

We meet Daniel Morcombe and his family. We share the fear that all parents share when a child goes missing. We meet Brett Peter Cowan and fear for whoever crosses his path – an opportunistic psychopath that evokes no empathy.

 

A nation trembled in fear when Daniel Morcombe went missing in December 2003.

 

The author provides us with a background to both families involved in this tragedy. We learn of Brett Cowan’s earlier criminal behaviours and the assaults he committed but thankfully we do not get “into his head”. The facts are presented, the behaviours stated simply but we do not “hear “ Cowan’s personal story, we just see his part in it, an observation from the outside and for that I am  grateful.  We get to meet the Morcombe’s – we feel their despair, we feel their pain.

 

Part Two – The Sting! What an incredible effort that the police forces put into eliciting a confession from their prime suspect in this case.  Psychology, role playing, deals and scripted conversations secretly recorded, what a feat!

 

It is a credit to the author, her research and her compulsive style of writing that despite knowing the outcome of this covet operation, I was on the edge of my seat, cheering the operatives on, hoping they found the evidence they needed in time to secure the arrest and conviction of Daniel Morcombe’s murderer. Well written Kate Kyriacou!

 

 

 

 

 

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Post Script: Billy Connolly’s Tracks Across America – Billy Connolly

Tracks Across America

Billy Connolly’s Tracks Across America

Billy Connolly

Hachette Australia

Sphere

ISBN: 9780751564136

 

Description:

Billy Connolly – raconteur, comedian, and irrepressible wanderer – has spent much of his life in the United States. It’s a country he knows and loves a great deal, but even someone as well-travelled as Billy can always discover knew things about such a vast nation. So he’s off on the move again, this time via the tracks of the great railroads that helped to build the country.

 

Billy’s latest adventure takes him on an epic trip through the backyard of America, tracing the routes taken by the first European settlers westwards from Chicago to California, then back down south and eastwards through Arizona, Texas, Alabama and finally New York, over 6,000 miles and 26 states later.

 

It’s a journey through a country you don’t get to see from 30,000 feet in the air – the real America of friendly people with fascinating tales to tell which not only give us an insight into their lives, but also into the life of their great homeland. And it’s a journey that couldn’t be shared with a more entertaining companion. Hope aboard and join Billy on a trip you’ll never forget.

 

 

 

My View:

Billy Connolly Fan? Arm chair traveller?  Coffee table picture book fan? This book has something for everyone.

There is even something for the true crime reader fan – (p.266) The Murder Dolls: CSI Miniature 🙂   This section is fascinating – all about the dioramas of violent and brutal crimes designed by Frances Glessner Lee for student medical examiners to practice their skills, fascinating!

 

This book is just full of surprises.  I love listening to accents – and as I read this I hear Billy Connolly’s beautiful Scottish accent, in fact I think this would make a great audio book and I picture the sparkle in his eyes but I digress… this book is full of surprises, wonderful images of people and places that are equal to any seen in photographic displays or wall art on contemporary spaces, pictures of the everyday and the extraordinary. Old faces, young faces, buildings, panoramas… there are stories behind each image.

 

This is a delightful entertaining read full of the most amazing photography!

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Post Script: Bryant & May – Strange Tide (Bryant & May Book 13) – Christopher Fowler

Strange Tide

Bryant & May – Strange Tide

(Bryant & May Book 13)

 Christopher Fowler

Random House UK, Transworld Publishers

Doubleday

ISBN: 9780857523426

 

Description:

The river Thames is London’s most important yet neglected artery. When a young woman is found chained to a post in the tide, no-one can understand how she came to be drowned there. At the Peculiar Crimes Unit, Arthur Bryant and John May find themselves dealing with an impossible crime committed in a very public place.

Soon they discover that the river is giving up other victims, but as the investigation extends from the coast of Libya to the nightclubs of North London, it proves as murkily sinister as the Thames itself. That’s only part of the problem; Bryant’s rapidly deteriorating condition prevents him from handling the case, and he is confined to home. To make matters worse, May makes a fatal error of judgement that knocks him out of action and places everyone at risk.

With the PCU staff baffled as much by their own detectives as the case, the only people who can help now are the battery of eccentrics Bryant keeps listed in his diary, but will their arcane knowledge save the day or make matters even worse? Soon there’s a clear suspect in everyone’s sights – the only thing that’s missing is any scrap of evidence.

As the detectives’ disastrous investigation comes unstuck, the whole team gets involved in some serious messing about on the river. In an adventure that’s as twisting as the river upon which its set, will there be anything left of the Peculiar Crimes Unit when it’s over?

 

 

 

My View:

Wacky and bizarre, this episode is full of eccentricities and over the top behaviours by our beloved Arthur Bryant and for a short while Bryant is convinced that he is developing a type of dementia or the like ) read the clues scattered like crumbs and you will draw your own conclusion.

 

This is another enjoyable episode in the life of The Peculiar Crimes Unit – I love the trip down memory lane and the weaving of past and present stories to create this new mystery.  Fun, whacky, the images of false teeth, funky smelling sandwiches in coat pockets, etc. slightly gross, there is an almost slapstick comedic manner about the writing … mixed with a serious mystery, an entertaining read.

 

** I have an image in my head of an actor who I think would play this part well…wish I could remember his name…it will come to me.

 

 

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Post Script: My Grandparents Love Me – Claire Freedman & Judi Abbot

My Grandparents Love Me

My Grandparents Love Me

Claire Freedman & Judi Abbot

Simon & Schuster

Paula Wiseman Books

ISBN: 9780857075864

 

Description:

From the illustrator of I Love Dad and I Love Mom comes a joyful celebration of grandparents everywhere and the special bonds they share with their grandchildren.

 

I’m off to Gran and Grandpa’s,

with a big smile on my face.

I always feel wrapped up in love,

when I stay at their place!

 

A visit to Gran and Grandpa’s is always a special time filled with sweet treats, fun, and love.

 

 

My View:

Substitute Grandmamma and Poppy and this is the perfect read for our grandson – and he did love this being read to him.

Grandmamma and Grandson

Having a grandchild is the most wonderful experience and this book cleverly captures that wonderful bond between grandparent and grandchild.

 

Babies are never too young to enjoy the experience a book provides.

 

 

 

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Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Jennifer Scoullar

 

Journey's End

Journey’s End

Jennifer Scoullar

Penguin Books Australia

Michael Joseph

ISBN: 9780143797005

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jennifer has always harboured a deep appreciation and respect for the natural world. Her house, which was left to her by her father, is on a hilltop overlooking valleys of messmate and mountain ash. She lives there with her family. A pair of old eagles live there too. Black-tailed wallabies graze by the creek. Eastern spinebills hover among the callistemon. Horses have always been her passion. She grew up on the books of Elyne Mitchell, and all her life she’s ridden and bred horses, in particular Australian stock horses.

 

I have read three books by Jennifer; Billabong Bend, Turtle Reef and her latest Journey’s End.   I have been impressed by all three. I love the connections to the land; the flora, the fauna and amazing Australian rural settings. The narratives are engaging, the social and environmental issues add considerable weight to these contemporary reads.  A favourite read you ask?  I think Jennifer’s writing is becoming more and more special and appealing with each release, Journey’s End is outstanding… but I loved the cover of Billabong Bend (and the narrative which took me to a landscape I have yet to witness first hand).

 

Please welcome Jennifer to my blog.

 

Jennifer Scoullar

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Jennifer Scoullar

Let’s talk childhood. What aspirations did you have as a child?

As a child I was an avid reader, and felt a very special, secret connection with animals and plants. I wrote stories, poems and began my first novel when I was eleven. I think it was some sort of a plagiarised version of The Silver Brumby by Elyne Mitchell. I wrote three chapters before I lost the manuscript, but I knew I’d grow up to be a writer.

 

Let’s talk early careers; studying law… and the paths to the road of writer and… foster carer.

My childhood ambition may have been to write novels, but things soon changed. I think every one of us has something important, deep down inside, that we always meant to do. Then life takes over and you don’t do it. That was how it was for me.

I went to University and studied law. I worked as a prosecutor with the National Crime Authority and as a defender with Legal Aid. I got married, had kids, got divorced, became a foster mother to many more children … and all the while a little, annoying, nagging voice – the voice of me as a child – reminded me that I was supposed to be a writer. I’m very grateful for that voice. In his wonderful essay ‘Why I Write’, George Orwell says, ‘If a writer escapes from his early influences altogether, he will have killed his impulse to write.’ He also said ‘never use two words when one will do’. More good advice.

Anyway, one day I saw a little wasp buzz past, and it struck me as amazing that for one moment, that insect and I shared the same time, the same place, the same space. I wondered what else we shared. This got me thinking about unlikely connections. I sat down and wrote my first novel, Wasp Season.

 

Let’s talk writing. Tell us about your family influences…

I grew up in a house full of books, and in a family of story-tellers. My father told fascinating stories about his time as a jackaroo in Queensland. My mother didn’t only read to me and my brother. She was a frustrated writer herself. Mum could invent wonderful tales on the spot, with recurring characters and highly original plots. The Magic Professor series was my favourite. A little girl (me) went for a walk in the bush and fell down a wombat hole where she found a science laboratory complete with a magic professor. They became friends, and he’d invent potions to help her with problems. Trouble was, they always backfired hilariously.

My grandfather was the editor of a country newspaper, and would secretly write letters to the editor to encourage engagement with readers. Sometimes he had fiery arguments with himself. My great aunt, the writer Mary Fullerton, died before I was born, but I have her novels and poems. My mother was very proud of Mary’s friendship with Miles Franklin, and her involvement in the women’s suffrage movement.

 

What do you love about writing?

I love the writing process – the rhythm of the prose and the pleasure of getting a sentence just right. I love that everything happens the way I want it to in my imaginary world. And as an introvert, I love the seclusion.

People often ask me about the solitary nature of writing. It can be no other way and fortunately I embrace solitude. If you don’t, you probably have no business being a writer. Many writers are loners. I’m a complete hermit. Some people ask me how I put up with being on my own so much, but I ask them how they put up with all the interruptions.

 

In any case, I’m not really alone. I have my characters, and I have the ghosts of readers. I feel an uneasy intimacy with future readers through my written words. It’s an uneasy intimacy because writers gently impress themselves onto readers’ private space. Even though writers are invited by readers to do so, it sometimes still feels like an imposition.

 

Let’s talk books and influences. Who is your favourite author?

I can’t choose one. Elyne Mitchell, author of the Silver Brumby books, is still one of my favourites. I adore Charles Dickens. What a master story-teller! Nobody draws characters better or with more humanity. I love his warmth of feeling, his sentimentality and his ability to draw the reader in emotionally. I love the way he sets a scene, painting a vibrant picture by evoking the sights, sounds and smells of a place. But most of all I love the courage he shows by engaging with social issues, attacking and exposing injustice wherever he sees it. I love Barbara Kingsolver for the same reason. Her work often focuses on biodiversity and the interaction between people and their environment. She inspires me to do the same.

 

Do you have a favourite book?

It changes all the time. Currently it would be a tie between Where The Trees Were by Inga Simpson (my former writing mentor) and Flight Behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver.

 

Let’s talk about the characters in your books – your novels are character driven narratives – how do you construct a character?  Fully formed before you begin writing? Influenced by people you know?

For me, the possibilities of place always come first.  My stories are always inspired by some natural place that particularly interests me. I try to write animals and landscapes not as mere background or setting, but as essential parts of the narrative. So once I’ve decided on where, the characters evolve organically from there.

Sometimes they are influenced by people I know. This is particularly true of the main character in Journey’s End, Kim Sullivan. She was inspired by my old school friend, Kim Gollan, a real-life bush regenerator. Currently she’s on remote Lord Howe Island, restoring habitat for the Lord Howe Island Giant Phasmid, the world’s rarest insect.

 

Let’s talk about themes in your work. Conservation and nature are themes that feature in your novels. Can you talk to us about rewilding and how dingoes feature in this landscape?

I’m fascinated by the notion of rewilding – restoring flora and fauna to their historical range. The theory has gained popularity after conservation success stories such as bringing wolves back to Yellowstone, and the large-scale return of Europe’s apex predators like lynx, bears and wolverines.

 

Australia is beginning to embrace rewilding. Quolls, bilbies, bandicoots and bettongs are being returned to parts of their natural range. Plans are afoot to bring Tasmanian devils back to the mainland after a four-hundred-year absence. Many ecologists advocate reintroducing dingoes to control introduced pests like rabbits, cats and foxes – a concept I explore in Journey’s End. Yet rewilding isn’t just for our land. It’s a concept for our minds and spirits as well.

 

Let’s talk about research for your books – you obviously have a great deal of knowledge about your settings and the flora and fauna of the region –  how do you research for your books?

For Journey’s End the research trip was particularly simple. Twenty years ago, my real-life friend Kim established the Dingo Creek Rainforest Nursery at Bobin on the edge of Tapin Tops National Park. I had the great privilege of staying at their nursery, and having a guided tour of Tapin Tops by two passionate botanists who love and understand the sub-tropical rainforest found there.  

However, I’ve always been an amateur naturalist myself, and am fascinated by everything wild. I read a lot of non-fiction. At the moment I’m reading a book called Once and Future Giants – What Ice Age Extinctions Tell Us About the Fate of Earth’s Largest Mammals. Also a book about Australian wildflowers, a book on Tasmanian history, and the 40th anniversary edition of Born Free by Joy Adamson, A Lioness of Two Worlds

Novels with relevant subject matters are also must reads. For example, one of my works in progress has a fair bit of falconry in it. Reading novels such as H is for Hawk and My Side of the Mountain adds to the knowledge bank.

 

Lets’ talk next book?  Are you currently writing a new novel? Where will it be set? What issues do you want to draw our attention to?

I’m thrilled to announce that I have a new contract for a sweeping historical saga that will be out in the first half of next year. I’m very grateful to Penguin Random House for allowing me to explore this new genre.

It’s said that history is written by the winners. I want to write a fresh version of history, giving a voice to the outsiders, and to the animals teetering on the extinction precipice. My new book begins in late 19th century Tasmania, and is the first novel of a trilogy. It’s the story of Luke Tyler, a man unjustly condemned to prison in his youth, and of Isabelle Holmes, the girl he loves. The narrative follows their lives over a twenty-five-year period. It’s a compelling love story.

As in all my novels, animals play an important part. For example, I also tell the story of one of the last Tasmanian tigers, soon to disappear from Earth after a twenty-five-million-year reign. Apart from a little gem, Coorinna, written in 1957, there is no historical fiction concerning the Thylacine. I think it’s time to fill the gap.

My new novel explores the forces that caused the extinction of the greatest marsupial predator since Thylacoleo Carnifex the mighty marsupial lion, vanished forty-five thousand years earlier. What if the ultimate culprits weren’t the men who shot and snared them? What part did xenophobia play? And could the heroic actions of one young fugitive determine the fate of an entire species? I’m having a lot of fun writing this one.

 

 

Keep in touch with Jennifer here:

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJenScoullar

https://twitter.com/JenScoullar

https://jenniferscoullar.com/