This book is dedicated to all migrants who made the ultimate sacrifice to leave their homeland and begin a new life in Australia.
120 pages with matching bookmark.
BLURB FOR 'BOLD JOURNEY'
When
Severino Agnelli and his family migrate to Australia from Italy in 1954, his
son, ‘Fozzie’, meets a beautiful girl, ‘Cat’ Ginelli, on the ship, and they become
friends. The Agnelli and Ginelli families love Australia, work hard and forge friendships.
Cat becomes a nurse and Fozzie a journalist, but tragedy strikes when Fozzie’s
brother is killed in the Vietnam War, and Fozzie spirals into depression when
his dad dies. Cat pleads with him to write the book he’s wanted to write –
‘Bold Journey’.
Fozzie
flies to London, writes his book, and travels to Italy where he sees Cat
interviewed on television, working as a nurse during a famine in Ethiopia. Inspired
by Cat, Fozzie heads to Ethiopia to report on the famine, and his passionate reports
are syndicated worldwide. Cat is unavailable, but Fozzie leaves a crucifix with
her colleague; one Cat made for him in 1954. Returning to London to fight for
the Ethiopians, he is hospitalised with meningitis, and Cat flies from Italy to
keep a secret vigil by his bedside. Fozzie recovers, and Cat leaves London to
get on with her life.
Attending
an International Awards ceremony, Fozzie is stunned to win an award for Humanitarian Journalism. Minutes later,
Cat is awarded an honour for Exceptional
Courage. Will Cat accept her award? Will she and Fozzie finally meet up? Who
nominated them for their awards?
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REVIEWS
A novella about abduction, determination, courage and friendship.
130 pages with matching bookmark.
BLURB FOR
'KICK-ASS' TYLER
Sam Tyler is a
feisty 14 year-old girl who lives in a seaside town, and becomes rebellious
after the death of her father. Her mother has remarried and Sam conflicts with
her stepfather, Max. When a classmate, Zoran Cepnic, is abducted, Sam forms a committee
to find him, and the entire school is fired-up to help. Her stepfather helps
Sam and their relationship blossoms.
Sam does some
investigations of her own, wags school to visit Zoran’s parents, and sneaks out
at night and finds Zoran’s watch at a bus stop where he was abducted. Excited,
Sam rings the police and forms a good friendship with the leading detective.
Sam is interviewed
on national television by a famous broadcaster, Martha Benson. The same day, she
is approached by a weird guy on the beach. The next evening, she is also
abducted and ends up in an isolated farmhouse with Zoran. He’s alive! Sam and
Zoran attempt to escape by removing floorboards, but are stopped by their abductor.
Will they escape? How will the police find them?
A novella about the environment,
fishing and returned soldiers.
94 pages with matching bookmark!
BLURB FOR
'MISTER RAINBOW'
Maddie
and Toby love fishing, and live in a small mill town where people are dying
from ‘Mill Flu’. Keen to catch the biggest rainbow trout ever, ‘Mister Rainbow’, they disobey orders,
fish in the ‘Big Pool’ and find a
recluse living in a shack in the bush. Maddie falls into the big pool and
almost drowns, but is saved by the recluse. Maddie becomes ill, but Toby
continues to fish and finds people pumping toxic waste into the Rainbow River.
He contacts the Environment Protection Authority and the police, and
investigations begin.
Toby learns that the old recluse is Colonel
Bolt, a former soldier who was highly-decorated during the Vietnam War, and an
amazing artist who sketches pictures of his war memories. The colonel collapses
near his shack, Toby finds him and arranges his transport to hospital. Finding
two war medals in his shack, Toby e-mails the army and tells them of the
colonel’s plight. Will the army respond?
Maddie and Toby enter one of Colonel Bolt’s
sketches in an art competition, selling Mister Rainbow’s Magic Bait at a
local market to earn the entry fee. Then, Toby goes missing. Desperate to find
her fishing partner, Maddie calls Colonel Bolt for help. Will they find Toby
alive? Will the colonel win a prize in the art competition, and will they catch
Mister Rainbow?
A novella about disabilities,
loyalty and courage!
* 86 pages with matching bookmark!
* This is a book for anyone who has
loved a dog.
Blurb for 'Sheeza'
Danny Morandi lives in a large Australian country town and
is bullied by a local farm boy, Kyle ‘Mad Dog’ Fletcher, because Danny has an artificial leg, wears glasses
and wants a sheep dog. Danny’s best friend, Joey, defends him in a fight with
the bully and they end up before the school principal.
Inspired by
videos he’s seen about English sheep dogs, Danny earns money by doing odd jobs,
and his parents finally agree to him having a sheep dog after some rousing
fights. He purchases a female pup born with a deformed hind leg and names her
Sheeza.
Danny trains her to compete in the Wanganui Sheep Dog Trials and finally enters the prestigious contest. It rains during his presentation, Danny falls over and the bully’s dog deliberately interrupts his trial, but Danny pushes on. Will he finish? Will he win?
Sheeza is stolen
and Danny is heart-broken. Months pass and he loses hope of finding his dog,
but Joey remains positive. With the help of friends, Danny appears on talkback
radio and later that night on a famous television show, ‘Tonight Live’. His
search for Sheeza has caught the attention of the entire nation. People call
the station and recall seeing his dog. Then, a dog matching Sheeza’s
description is located outside a diner in Bundaberg, Northern Queensland. Is it
Sheeza? Will Danny find his dog?
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Award-winning novella!
105 pages with matching bookmark.
* A story about modern bullying.
* Suitable for all schoolkids, and their parents.
KY!
'Highly Commended' in the
2006 Australian National Literary Awards
2006 Australian National Literary Awards
Blurb for KY!
Rida
Khalid is a Muslim refugee from Iran. She is bullied by two girls at school for
wearing a hijab (Muslim headscarf), reading books and wearing glasses, and
seeks refuge in an old man’s garden after school. Rida meets an Asian girl at
school, Ky, who also loves books, but Rida soon dumps her for a gawky girl,
Carmen, who teaches her about fitting in. To be accepted, Rida removes her
hijab at school, but she must wear her headscarf whilst competing in the
inter-school sports. Her family will attend.
Rida
deliberately loses the first race because Carmen says, “Only nerds do well in
sports”. The sports master berates Rida for losing the race and points to Ky
who’s made an extraordinary effort to get out of hospital to watch her run. Ky
is battling leukaemia. Rida wins the next two races and gives her winning ribbons to Ky for good luck.
Rida
enters the State Athletics Championships, but two athletics clubs lodge an
objection to her hijab. Rida is shocked when a retired Queens Counsel (QC)
represents her at the Equal Opportunity Commission. Who is he? Will Rida win
the case? Will she run in the State Championships? Will Ky beat leukaemia, and who owns the
garden that Rida has used as a sanctuary?
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364 pages with matching bookmark
'A DROVER'S BLANKET'
Sequel
to
award-winning novel
'Gunnedah Hero'
to
award-winning novel
'Gunnedah Hero'
Modern / historical fiction
* Suitable for ages 8 - 80 *
Blurb for ' A Drover's Blanket'
Fifteen-year-old
Gunnedah ‘Gunnie’ Danson
begins work at Wiralee Station, a
cattle station owned by his family since1848
and one made famous by his great-great-grandfather,
Smokey ‘Gun’ Danson.
Gunnie
attends a clearing sale at Swenson Station where
his great-great-grandmother, Molly, was
born. He finds a journal she wrote in
1910 called ‘A Drover’s Blanket’, discovers
a mare that’s directly related to Molly’s
original horse, Dusty, and meets Molly’s
brother, Artie Swenson.
A
foal, the old mare, the journal and a famous painting,
‘The Wiralee Queen’, is stolen and Gunnie
is shattered. Jenni Danson, a relative of Smokey’s
best mate, Magic Billie, is missing in Queensland
and Gunnie’s uncle,Wirra, is diagnosed
with a tumor.
Nothing
but bad luck has happened since Gunnie arrived
at Wiralee and he spirals into depression. Will
he stay at Wiralee Station? Will Wirra be okay?
279 pages with matching bookmark
'GUNNEDAH HERO'
Modern / historical fiction.
* Suitable for ages 8 - 80 *
Has won two awards in the
Australian National Literary Awards
'Highly Commended'
- FAW Jim Hamilton Award
- 2007 Australian National Literary Awards
'Commended'
- FAW Christina Stead Award
- 2011 Australian National Literary Awards
Approved by peer-author reviewers
at IndiePENdents.org and given the seal of approval
'Highly Commended'
- FAW Jim Hamilton Award
- 2007 Australian National Literary Awards
'Commended'
- FAW Christina Stead Award
- 2011 Australian National Literary Awards
Approved by peer-author reviewers
at IndiePENdents.org and given the seal of approval
Blurb for
‘Gunnedah Hero’
Fourteen-year-old Gunnedah ‘Gunnie’ Danson has a 500-word assignment on drought. His late grandfather has left him a box containing a manuscript. It’s been written by Gunnie’s great-great-grandfather, Smokey ‘Gun’ Danson after his journey up the long paddock during a harsh drought as a fourteen-year-old drover in 1910. At the back of the manuscript is an envelope. It’s NOT to be opened until Gunnie has read the entire story.
Gunnie spends the weekend at Wiralee Station; a cattle station that’s been in the family since 1848. There, he reads the awesome manuscript and learns of Smokey’s adventurous journey. Gunnie overhears several secretive conversations. His snobby Aunty Kate wants to divorce his uncle and sell Wiralee Station. He finishes the manuscript and opens the mysterious envelope. Will it legally prevent his aunt from selling Wiralee Station?
Gunnie spends the weekend at Wiralee Station; a cattle station that’s been in the family since 1848. There, he reads the awesome manuscript and learns of Smokey’s adventurous journey. Gunnie overhears several secretive conversations. His snobby Aunty Kate wants to divorce his uncle and sell Wiralee Station. He finishes the manuscript and opens the mysterious envelope. Will it legally prevent his aunt from selling Wiralee Station?
CHECK OUT THE BOOK REVIEWS
BOOK REVIEWS HERE
'Pa Joe's Place'
Powerful story based in Thailand.
Also based on a true story.
The main character, Boo, will steal your heart.
* Suitable for ages 8-80 *
Blurb for 'Pa Joe's Place'
Boo is a seven-year-old Thai girl whose
father is dying. She must leave home and travel 1700 kilometres to live in an
orphanage, ‘Pa Joe’s Place’, run by a foreigner (farang). With a bag of clothes,
some food and a mysterious envelope addressed to ‘Pa Joe’, she endures an
adventurous train trip to Songkhla. On the way, she meets influential people
who know Pa Joe, and a wise monk who gives Boo a lucky amulet.
Boo settles into ‘Pa Joe’s Place’, makes friends and inspires Pa; an American Jesuit priest who has cared for Thai orphans for 50 years. She and her friends establish a successful jam-making business to make money for Pa and Boo meets Jack Ryan, an Australian farmer she admires. Shattered by the death of her father, Boo runs from Pa Joe’s Place but is soon found by Pa and the Chief of Police. Boo has survived four life-threatening situations since she left home: a train crash, snakebite, tsunami and a fire. Suddenly she takes ill and is rushed to hospital. Will her lucky amulet help her to survive?
Boo settles into ‘Pa Joe’s Place’, makes friends and inspires Pa; an American Jesuit priest who has cared for Thai orphans for 50 years. She and her friends establish a successful jam-making business to make money for Pa and Boo meets Jack Ryan, an Australian farmer she admires. Shattered by the death of her father, Boo runs from Pa Joe’s Place but is soon found by Pa and the Chief of Police. Boo has survived four life-threatening situations since she left home: a train crash, snakebite, tsunami and a fire. Suddenly she takes ill and is rushed to hospital. Will her lucky amulet help her to survive?
CHECK OUT THE BOOK REVIEWS!
BOOK REVIEWS HERE
