Randomize ME

Gifts of the Peramangk is about an Aboriginal violin prodigy.

The idea germinated as I was approaching completion of my first novel (The Hambledown Dream) in early 2010. I spent months working on the basic idea and then spent almost a year purely devoted to researching the novel.

Virginia Delfey (the central protagonist) was probably my most favorite character to write.

I got to feature her as a young girl in the 1950’s and then as an old woman and grandmother to the other central protagonist, Ruby Delfey in the modern day.

Virginia’s journey in the story is at times a heart breaking one and it was very much informed by the research I did into members of the so called “Stolen Generations” here in Australia. Through Virginia’s back story, we are given a context to the amazing talent young Ruby has for the violin here and now.

I am a Registered Nurse working in both Neonatology and Pediatrics with my specialty being Intensive Care.

I was able to apply my medical knowledge to certain aspects of my writing – particularly with my first novel (The Hambledown Dream) which featured scenes in a trauma room at the very beginning. Having attended university, I was well versed in the academic style of writing and I must admit, transitioning to a more free form style that doesn’t involve the rigidity of the academic style was a little bit of a challenge in my early forays into fiction writing. But it hasn’t hampered me at all.

I have been making some notes about a possible new project which I have assigned the working title “The Recipient”. That’s all I’ll say about that for now but readers can most certainly keep up with my goings on via my official site.

If you like Nicholas Sparks, Audrey Niffenegger or Annie Proulx, you will probably like my books.