PRE- ORDER Fleur's newest novel 'Into the Night'
I guess to write a book you need some sort of imagination. Imagination is something I have and have had since I was very little. I was encouraged to have imagination – my Nana Parnell would tell me stories – stories that came from her head, without pictures or books. I had to guess what…
I’ve had a trip to Perth recently and I took advantage of not having any ‘distractions’ such as kids, husband or farm, to finish the edits for Purple Roads. I worked until late on Tuesday night and although I will never say I’m ‘happy’ with it – that’s just not in my nature; I am…
I’m really pleased to have Bush Babe from Oz blogging with me today. She’s a Rainbow. She’s an awesome gal, photographer, worker and mum. We met through the Australia (or rather world)-shrinking device of Twitter; I was drawn to her beautiful photography and she was drawn by my… Well actually I’m not sure. I don’t…
As the time for the unedited proof copies of Purple Roads to go to the printers, nears, my editing time seems to be shrinking – gasp! Late last week I got the third round of edits back and although there’s still a reasonable amount to do, there is a backlog of farm and housework that…
It hasn’t really rained when we wanted it to – well, not in the amounts we would like to have seen this year. The dams around the district have been drying to a puddle, and most farmers that have stock are worried about how they will water them. Us included. It’s amazing how a…
Making hay is one of the fun things about the farm … unless you get hay fever, like I do! For the last few weeks I’ve been sneezing my head off and will continue to do so until harvest has finished. Rye grass, grain dust, normal dust and ‘fines’ (minuscule particles of…
Once upon a time, there was a very cute pup named Meita. She lived on a farm that had lots of sheep. She didn’t know that one day it was going to be her job to chase them so mostly she had a lot of fun running around and playing with some human children and…
Yesterday was busy to say the least. But then again, it seems that’s the norm in my world and has been for many years! We’ve got over one thousand prime lambs ready to leave this morning and tomorrow. We’re also (still) shearing and the hay is nearly ready to be cut – time for me…
I’m not sure why it’s heart wrenching, incomprehensible tragedies that make us stop and look at our lives – I don’t understand why we can’t see what we have until something happens. Why have I enjoyed the hugs I’ve had from my children more this week than others? Why couldn’t I appreciate…
It’s been a busy Saturday on ‘McDonald’s Farm’, (we skip the old bit, coz we’re not there yet!) First up was the weekly crop check. It’s not only humans that like going on crop checks. The canines of love it too. They must love the feel of the leaves in their faces or something, because…
There’s nothing more exciting for a farm kid than going on a crop inspection with dad, (more commonly known as The Boss). They get to roll in thigh-high grass, run through it with the dogs and peer into long leaves of barley/wheat/oats to see what’s hiding at the very bottom. Of course any information that…
A question I’m often asked is, ‘Why are there always colours in your book titles?’ It’s a question with many answers, but the main one for me is the colours of the land. This photo is a prime example – brilliant white sheep against dark, rich green grass and a fluorescent canola crop in…
Maggie MacKellar has been to hell and back in the last few years. The loss of a husband, while pregnant, then the death of a mother, would be enough to send most of us to the wall. Not Maggie. In fact she is not only my Guest author today, she’s also my Guest for…
I was so lucky to meet Tony while in Perth recently. We discovered a mutual love of Michael Connelly’s writing and talked the craft of writing. It was so exciting to listen to what Tony had to say. Fleur: Welcome to the amazing author Tony Park. Tony has published over eight fiction novels plus a…
These are my favourite views of our farm. It seems to say everything about it – natural (all the bush that has been left as stock shelters), fertile (that dark green is a lovely, healthy looking barley crop), undulating. Then the man made things – good fences and a great road that also acts as…
I went to sit with my first ‘child’ today. Although he’s a bit dottery on his paws now, and old and grey around the muzzle with weepy eyes, underneath he’s still my old Rex. He was born one cold blustery winter night under the combine in our machinery shed. Coincidentally it was on my dad’s…
For regular readers of my blog, you may know why I’ve named my third book Purple Roads. First of all, the bitumen in parts of South Australia (where the story is set), looks really purple and secondly, the dirt roads have that look about them too. In Purple Roads, Matt is a farmer who has…
Today I’m feeling wonderful, free and light! I finally put the last full stop on Purple Roads, which may not be big news to you guys, but I can tell you that writing this book hasn’t been easy. Writing any book isn’t easy. It requires ‘bum glue’, dedication, passion and most importantly time. It’s the…
We’ve had our opening rains – 30mm over about five or six days. Awesome. You just can’t be unhappy with that. Now I’m going to be a farmer and complain! We need some more. The canola crop is in, we’ve got over 2,000 lambs marked (with another 6,000 to go that I’m not thinking about…
My last blog about Bookshelves was a huge hit. Obviously it resonated with a lot of you guys out there and so it should – it’s a really important subject! Here’s some more authors and friends that take their bookshelves as seriously as I do! Helene Young: Order my book shelves? That would take time…