Lizzy Chandler's Blog, page 3

It runs in the family

The heroine in Snowy River Man, Katrina Delaney, isn’t an ordinary romance heroine. For one thing, she has psychic dreams. And she hates it. Hates it because it reminds her of the time she had a breakdown and ended up in a psychiatric ward, an event pivotal to the story. What Katrina, her mother and the doctors didn’t realise was her “breakdown” was part of the awakening of her psychic gift. This gift later helped her locate missing children – including the son of the hero, Jack Fairley, a wealthy mountains grazier.

So how it I get interested in psychic phenomena?

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve heard stories of psychic dreams. My nana had them. One morning, she woke up after dreaming of an old family friend who’d been missing for years. “I’ve been up in the Pilligar Scrub,” he told her. Nana was so convinced the dream was real, she tried to find the place on a map. Weeks later, the old friend turned up in my grandfather’s office in the city and announced where he’d been: the Pilligar Scrub!

My dad also had psychic dreams. Sometimes it was just the answer to a problem he’d been working on. (He was a mechanic and would dream of what was wrong with an engine.) But other times…

When I was little, Dad used to take us kids to Mass and we’d fill the whole pew. (There were ten of us back then.) We made so much noise, fidgeting and squabbling, that the old priest told my father not to bring us unless he could make us behave. Dad never went back. Years later, we were holidaying up at Forster in a caravan park and Dad had a dream. “Keep taking the little ones to Mass,” he heard a voice say. Dad discovered later that was the night the old priest died.

I’ve had my share of psychic dreams, too, some to do with the writing of Snowy River Man, but I’ll leave that for another time.

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This is the third in a series of blog posts I wrote when Snowy River Man was released. A version first appeared on Book Muster Down Under and is reblogged here with permission.

The Lost Child

Lost by Frederick McCubbin, 1886

Snowy River Man opens at a country rodeo, with mountains grazier Jack Fairley riding a brumby stallion. When he finishes his ride, he looks around and discovers his six-year-old son Nick has disappeared. Jack lost his wife when Nick was still a baby and he’s terrified the boy has wandered off into the Snowy Mountains wilderness.

The story of the “lost child” is an enduring motif in Australian culture, but it also has a special meaning for me. When I was three and my mother was in hospital with her tenth child (yes, we’re a big family!), my aunt took me and my older brothers and sisters down to a harbourside netted pool to swim. While my aunt was minding the 18-month-old, I paddled on the shore. As the late afternoon shadows crept, I looked back at the beach and I couldn’t see my family. I thought they’d gone home without me. So I walked. I walked up the hill for a couple of kilometres till I arrived back out our old Federation bungalow and found no one there. After that, I had a terror of getting lost. I remember the horror of looking around and not finding the person you want to see. I’ve used those emotions in this story.

The motif also has a deeper resonance. While I was writing Snowy River Man, there was a lot in the press about the stolen generations, and the anguish of mothers losing their children. It’s a national shame and the injustice of it still impacts on current generations of Aboriginal people. When I chose to hint that my heroine, Katrina, was part-indigenous, I wanted to gesture in some way towards the stolen generations, but also to make it personal. I’ve never lost a child, but I did lose the opportunity to have one, and have endured that grief. I know what it’s like to yearn for a baby in my arms, to look at the children of my ex-boyfriend and current partner and wonder what might have been.

In Snowy River Man, I take “what might have been” and give it a happy ending.

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This is the second in a series of blog posts I wrote when Snowy River Man was published. It first appeard on Book’d Out and is reblogged here with permission.

Snowy River Man – $0.99 Mother’s Day special

Snowy River Man is currently on sale from Amazon Kindle Australia for only $0.99 – a special discount for Mother’s Day.

If you don’t already have a copy, I hope you’ll take advantage of this special. Or maybe your Mum would enjoy it as a gift? My mum read it on an iPad I loaned her a few weeks ago, and she loved it – and she wasn’t just saying that just to please me. She started reading at 9pm and stayed up until she finished it after midnight.

The reviews on Amazon US have been very favourable – almost all 5-star. If you haven’t read it yet, why not give it a go?

Here’s the link: http://www.amazon.com.au/Snowy-River-Man-Lizzy-Chandler-ebook/dp/B00S493CSQ

 

 

Snowy River Man’s setting: the inspiration

On the road out to Angler’s Reach on Lake Eucumbene (where Murray Tom has his cabin)

When Snowy River Man was published in February, I wrote a number of author spotlights for various blogs. Over the next little while, I’ll be reblogging a few of them here.

The first is about the inspiration for the setting.

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When I was a born, there was a record heatwave. Mum and Dad packed us kids into a bus and we all headed south to Jindabyne where it was cooler. Along the way, we stopped at Lake Eucumbene on the northern reaches of the Snowy River Shire.

In the early 1960s, to make way for the lake as part of the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Scheme, the old town of Adaminaby was flooded. As residents moved to higher ground, they left pubs, churches, shops and houses to the rising tide. My family must have talked about that sunken town for years afterwards. Or maybe I read about it for a school project. I don’t know. But the idea of a ghost town hidden underwater haunted me.

Years later as an adult when I visited the site, and saw the skeletal remains of gum trees reaching out of the water, I had the weirdest sense. It was as if I could see through the depths to the old town – to a time of bullock carts, prospectors and settlers, and before that, to the indigenous tribes who had inhabited the area. I knew I had to use that setting in a story. Eventually, the story became Snowy River Man, which features a child who is fascinated with the lake and what lies beneath.

Snowy River Man starts with a country rodeo and grazier Jack Fairley riding a brumby stallion. By the time he finishes his ride and looks around, his six-year-old son Nick has disappeared…

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A version of this post first appeared on All the Books I Can Read blog and is reblogged here with permission.

Launch giveaway winner announced

The winner of the launch giveaway for Snowy River Man is Catherine McLean.

Catherine originally entered Book’d Out’s Australia Day Blog Hop giveaway, so I’m glad she won this time round.

So far, Snowy River Man has attracted several 5-star reviews on AmazonUS and an average of 4-stars on Goodreads.

If you do read and enjoy the book, I’d encourage you to write a review. It helps to get the word out there.

I’m surprised – and gratified – how many readers have found the book engrossing. Here’s what some have had to say:

I read this book in one night, it’s a real page turner, the plot is full of suspense, mystery, and when you’re sure of what is going to happen next, the author changes the direction and leaves you again, desperate to know how things are going to resolve! (Julia Damatto)

There is a lot of plot packed into Snowy River Man, which made for a fast, page-turning read. (Sam Still Reading)

I guess my love of suspense shines through. Even a confirmed crime reader enjoyed it. (You can read her review here.)

For everyone who missed out, you can buy Snowy River Man for around the price of a cup of coffee from Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Australia, Barnes and Noble, Booktopia, Bookworld, Google Play,iBooks Store, Kobo, and the publisher: Escape. Remember, it’s in ebook format only.

Thanks for participating and happy reading!

Cheers

Lizzy

Today’s the day – Snowy River Man released!

My debut romance novel Snowy River Man is released today.

Snowy River Man is the story of city girl Katrina Delaney who dreams of a missing boy. She discovers it’s the son of a man she met years ago with whom she had a one night stand, Jack Fairley, a grazier from the Snowy Mountains Shire. Katrina is determined to help find Jack’s son, despite the painful memories that begin to surface, taking her back to a time in her life she would rather forget.

Here’s what one reviewer had to say:

I thoroughly enjoyed Snowy River Man which is the debut novel for Aussie author Lizzy Chandler. A nice mixture of suspense and romance, with a gritty plot and delightful characters; the word pictures painted of the countryside around the Snowy Mountains, the chill in the air, the blackness of the night sky plus the vividness and brightness of the stars – all was exceptionally well done… I have no hesitation in recommending Snowy River Man highly, and will be looking out for the author’s next title with interest. (Read the rest of the review here)

You can buy a copy of Snowy River Man at Booktopia, Bookworld, Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Australia, Barnes and Noble, iBooks Store, Google Play, Kobo, and Escape. (Note, it is available as an e-book only.)

If you’re a bookblogger and would like a review copy, it’ll be available from Netgalley for four weeks after release date, but you must use this link – you can’t “search” for it.

I’ll be posting my about the writing of Snowy River Man over the next few weeks, but I can’t mark today without acknowledging my partner, and my friends and family. You’ve all watched me pursue my dream of publication for many years – years which have seen me abandon the dream and return to it time and again. Without your love, support and encouragement, I would never even have re-submitted this novel, let alone seen it published. Thank you – and I hope you enjoy the story!

Meanwhile, for your chance to win a copy of Snowy River Man, you can enter this giveaway here.

First review of Snowy River Man – and it’s 5 star!

Snowy River Man, my debut romance novel, is being released on Sunday and the first review is out.

Over the past few years, I’ve heard a lot of warnings from authors, “Don’t read the reviews!” But when someone tags you on Facebook and says they loved your story, it’s very tempting to check out what they have to say. And I’m glad I did!

Brenda, a Goodreads librarian, writes:

I thoroughly enjoyed Snowy River Man which is the debut novel for Aussie author Lizzy Chandler. A nice mixture of suspense and romance, with a gritty plot and delightful characters; the word pictures painted of the countryside around the Snowy Mountains, the chill in the air, the blackness of the night sky plus the vividness and brightness of the stars – all was exceptionally well done. I did feel the ending was a little rushed, but I have no hesitation in recommending Snowy River Man highly, and will be looking out for the author’s next title with interest. (Read the rest of the review here)

For a first review, it couldn’t get much better and I’m thrilled. I’m so glad someone loved my characters and setting. When I read it out to my mum she said, “That sounds like a book I’d like to read!” I’ve always been a bit nervous about my family reading my work, but maybe it’s time to get her an e-reader?

Snowy River Man will be available from this Sunday, 22 February. You’ll be able to buy a copy at Escape, Booktopia, Bookworld and Amazon. (How come they’re all different prices?) I do hope you’re temped to read it.

Note: Book bloggers can still request a review copy on Netgalley for another four weeks, but you must use this link because it won’t appear on a search. Let me know if you have any trouble!

And the winner is…

The winner of my Australia Day Blog Hop Giveaway is…

Womblywoo from Australia!

Womblywoo has been contacted by email with instructions how to download a copy of Snowy River Man from Netgalley.

There were 50 eligible entries. Each name was given a number – or numbers, if they were eligible for more than one entry in the draw – and the winning number was chosen via a website random number generator. Womblywoo was assigned the winning number, 34.

Thanks everyone who entered and commiserations to those who didn’t win. Maybe you can let me know if you had better luck elsewhere in the blog hop? I’d love to know.

Australia Day Book Giveaway Blog Hop

To celebrate this Australia Day, I’m offering a giveaway of my debut rural romance novel, Snowy River Man - or another book in a genre of your choice* – as part of Book’d Out’s Australia Day Book Giveaway Blog Hop.

The last time Katrina Delaney saw Jack Fairley was the morning after a one-night stand, when she discovered he was engaged to be married. Seven years later, she dreams of a missing boy – Jack’s son. Katrina has worked with police to find missing children before, and she knows she must help. But seeing Jack again comes with its own set of dangers, and Katrina fears the risks she is taking with her heart…

If you’d like a chance to win a copy of Snowy River Man, please do one or more of the following and complete the form below:

subscribe via email to this blog or Devoted Eclectic (my book review blog)
follow me on Twitter @Lizzy_Chandler or @elizabethlhuede
follow Lizzy Chandler on Facebook or “like” the Lizzy Chandler Facebook page

If you’re already following, just check off the relevant boxes.

This part of the giveaway is available to both Australian and international residents.

If you’re not into reading romance or already have a copy of Snowy River Man – and you live in Australia – I’m happy to substitute my novel for a pre-loved book by an Australian writer in another genre. Let me know what genre or book you’d prefer in the feedback option of the form and, if you’re the winner, I’ll be in touch to arrange for a hard copy to be sent in the mail. (Click on the image below to see the other books on offer.)*

Australia Day giveaway pile

 

Entries will be accepted until midnight, Tuesday 27 January AEDT. Each action you take will earn you an extra place in the draw.

You can find other blogs participating in the blog hop here.

Good luck!

Note: Snowy River Man will be available from 22 February (as e-book only). The winner will be notified by email. All entrants’ emails will remain private and not used for any other purpose.

* Substitute book offer only available in Australia.

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Walk to Govetts Leap – a perfect summer’s day!

Last weekend we had family visiting and we took them up to Blackheath to the Blue Mountains Heritage Centre. From the centre we discovered an easy-grade walk down to Govetts Leap Lookout. It’s a 1.8 km zig-zag bitumen track suitable for old people, wheelchairs and toddlers alike.

Along the way, we were treated to lots of different types of gum trees losing their bark.

From the lookout we could see all the way across the Grose Valley to Mount Hay. The temperature was mild, the air clear – a perfect summer’s day in the Blue Mountains.

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(Photos of bark © Rodney Weidland, used with permission.)