Meet Cal. She’s the brains behind Blue Skies.
When we first started talking about what the next book would hold, we came up with a few ideas.
1. Cal’s house is very old (it was actually the first double-brick home built on farming land in Esperance) and is steeped in history. I can’t remember the year, but she had a flood come though her house in the late 60’s that damaged her floor boards. That got us thinking about floods.
2. We were both set on the idea of twins.
3. There had to be a death! (We’re rather obsessed, Cal and I, with forensic science and bodies!)
4. We are both really interested in history – Cal in particular loves both family and Australian/English history. (Actually, any history!)
I tried to start writing but nothing was sitting right with me. We had planned out chapters, but it wasn’t coming together. I actually almost gave up and decided that it was a fluke I had got a book published and I couldn’t write anything, ever again!
After months of tearing my hair out, things finally began to click. But only after Cal had driven an eight hour drive to her sister’s place and spent the whole time planning a new direction for Amanda. She wasn’t going anywhere in her present form! When she got back from her holiday, we had numerious phone calls, lunches and emails and finally it began to take shape.
With Cal’s tough love: (“Get off the phone and start writing,”) she drew up a family tree for a family that didn’t exist to get the time lines right and right at the end, when I had about a month to go before my deadline, we sat down over lunch one day and planned the last ten chapters.
Blue Skies is as much her story, as it is mine.
My other friend, Gill, was also a huge reason that the book got finished!
Cal and I were pretty happy, last Friday, when we got to catch up and see our work finally finished and in book form.
To win a copy of Blue Skies, can you tell me what Amanda’s horrible job was at the dam? (Answer is in the first two chapters, which are available for download on the right.)
I’ll draw the winner on Sunday night and yes, I post anywhere in the world!




















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