PRE- ORDER Fleur's newest novel 'Voices in the Dark'
Purple Roads has taken a turn that I didn’t expect! Sometimes when that happens, it’s quite difficult; other times it’s great and the words just pour out – I think that’s what I’m about to experience… well I hope I am! I know when I went to bed; the new plot just ran around in…
We were so ready to start harvest today. Yep, we were. Yesterday the boss said that he’d be swathing the oats and then start harvesting standing barley… depending on what the moisture was. (Can’t harvest if the moisture inside the grain is too high – it doesn’t store well.) So, even though we knew there…
It’s nearly harvest – in fact some of the farmers to the north of us, have already started. Harvest indicates, to me, that summer is here. Long hot days, snakes, flies, strong seas breezes (if we’re lucky!) in the afternoons, the rumbling of trucks and headers at any time of the day or night… and…
I always find it really interesting, reading the info page of people on Facebook – especially their favourite quote. It can you tell you a lot about someone. I didn’t realize how up-lifting quotes could be, until I saw this one: “I believe in the sun even when it is not shining. I believe in…
A couple of weeks ago, we finished making our hay. I love hay making time – the smell of hay curing is just divine; I’m sure it would be the best perfume you could buy, if only we could bottle it! I really enjoy sitting in the ute, raking the hay into perfect lines for…
Today Sara Foster, author of Come Back To Me and Beneath the Shadows joins us. Sara: There are many things I love about writing: the constant sense of discovery; the never-ending challenge to redefine and improve the crafting of a novel; the chance to study life deeply in order to tell the stories that fire…
Yesterday was a shocker of day. The wind blew hard from the north and it was above 35 degrees. I was really pleased that I chose yesterday to head to town and do the shopping! (Nothing like air conditioned shops and ice cream!) There was a forecast for thunder storms in the evening and that…
My daughter, Rochelle, (who was home sick, from school today!) drew the winning entries for the Reader/Writer Giveaways. Roger has won the Reader giveaway – he wanted to win a copy of Red Dust (not rigged, I assure you!) Fiona has won the Writer giveaway – a Taster pack from the Queensland Writers Centre. I’ll…
These cattle don’t really look like calves, do they? But they are – they were born in April and are a far cry from the really cute, little 30 or 40kg babies they were, when they were born! (For all the mums out there, aren’t you pleased your baby wasn’t that big?!) At the moment,…
I’ve been talking with my marketing guru and we’ve come up with a ‘novel’ idea! The best answer to this question: ‘What is the first question you would ask Fleur McDonald?’ will win a twenty minute conversation with me, in December. If you email me with your answer, I’ll pick the winner on the 30th…
I’ve been talking to my siblings and we’ve come up with a Christmas idea that we hope you’ll enjoy. First off, let me introduce them to you! My sister, Susan, runs Black Jack Get-A-Way Bed and Breakfast which is at the start of the Flinders Ranges and my brother, Nick is a concert percussionist. Now…
We started our main shearing on Monday – a busy time, but it’s always fun! I love the smell of the wool as it gets thrown on to the wool table and the hustle and bustle of the shed. Music blares out from the inside of the shed; it’s the only time we work in…
Kerry McGinnis writes like poetry – you’ll understand that after reading this post. The way she recalls places, feelings and is able to write about them with such authority, is why her writing stands out among Australian authors. Kerry has led an extraordinary life – although if you said so, I bet she would shrug…
This is how cattle yards should look! Standing quietly in the evening light, the only noise being a chain banging gently on the rails or a bird, who has perched himself on the loading ramp, singing. This is not how it was, today! Chaos I think would be a good word to describe it –…
One of the things about Esperance and spring time, it the weather! It’s completely unpredictable. Here’s an example; last week, Tuesday and Wednesday were above 35 degrees – a rather rude shock after the pleasant, good living weather we’d been having. The heat caused the crops and grass to ‘turn’ into the colours that suggest…
We had a great time discussing Nicole Alexander’s book, yesterday. I thought you might be interested in where I was sitting, while we were all chatting! I had my friend, Carolyn sitting alongside me, we had a couple of coffees and we watched the tiny tugs push out to sea, a huge ship! It was…
This chair is a memory from my childhood. It used to be my Nana Parnell’s and it used to be green. It had a hole the size of a twenty cent piece right in the middle of the seat. A coal from her open fire caused that. It’s actually an antique; a ‘Smokers Bow’. I…
Kate Gordon is another one of the awesome Aussie authors who are gracing our book shelves at the moment. But Kate is a slightly different author, to who I would usually read. She writes YA – Young Adult fiction. Kate has always been creative – although sometimes, as with most of us, during the times we…
Well, it’s not “Raining on the Rock” (John Williamson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IcgPdppG_k ) but we’ve been walking on the rock! On a cooler day, we thought it was safe enough to go for a bit of an explore. The hill is basically made from granite, with crevices of soil that allow native pines, and all sorts of…
Meet Dave. He’s our vet. Dave lives a varied, exciting life and has many stories to tell! Like the cat that turned feral and shot into the roof, through a very small hole. They spent the best part of an hour running around the ceiling to get it out! There are many more hysterical tales! Then there are the…