Monthly Archives: November 2012



The first printing is done, and will ship tonight from Griffin Press in Adelaide, arriving in Maitland by this weekend! We will send out all preorders from Maitland on Monday 3 December. You can still order a copy from the first printing by clicking on the link at the top […]

First printing news


Lucy and her father speak Irish quite a bit in A Distant Prospect, requiring Annette to study the language in order to write it. Some of the funniest moments in the book see Lucy blurt out something in Irish in mixed company. Here’s an Irish grace before meals: Beannaigh sinne, […]

Beannaigh sinne, a Dhia



Men in the trenches awaiting the attack at Fromelles 19 July 1916
The 1914-18 Great War had long-lasting effects on Australia, including the families of our four string quartet members in A Distant Prospect. As the Australian War Memorial’s official synopsis of Australian involvement in World War I recounts, “For Australia, as for many nations, the First World War remains the most […]

Australia and the Great War


Sub tuum Presidium papyrus 250-280 AD
Since many modern readers will be unfamiliar with them, we hope you will find it useful to have several posts and links about this and other prayers and expressions in the book. The Sub tuum praesidium may be the oldest Christian prayer dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, with this Greek […]

Sub tuum praesidium


Great news. We have just signed with Ingram Books to supply the US and UK markets, including Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and The Book Depository! They now have our book and we expect a proof next week, so it should become available everywhere by mid December. Meanwhile, our first printing is already […]

USA and UK book deal signed







Another milestone, as Griffin Press in Adelaide has just shipped the proof copy of the book. Annette gave her first media interview today, to the Maitland Mercury. Stay tuned for a link to the review. And don’t forget to like our page on Facebook.

Proof has shipped!



Janette Beard’s fascinatingly detailed 1983 Sydney University thesis Newtown 1892-1922: A Social Sketch became a valuable roadmap for researching life in 1920s Newtown, where Lucy lives. It was quite a fashionable place to live, and King Street became the first important shopping strip outside the city. Newtown retail advertising in […]

Newtown 1892-1922: A Social Sketch



‘Mathematically, the Fibonacci sequence would be represented as Fn = Fn-1 + Fn-2. ’Tis a numerical sequence whereby the ratio of two consecutive numbers converges on the golden ratio. You can see fibonacci patterns in nature, in the arrangement of petals in flowers or branches on trees. The sum of—’ ‘Very good […]

Disorder






Thank you all for the pre-orders! So far we have recovered 10% of the expensive first printing costs through early sales. This also means we are on track to sell out the first printing by Christmas (and break even, so we can finance the second printing!). Bookstore owners are also […]

Thank you for your pre-orders!


We are getting so much very excited feedback from many people keen to know more about Annette’s first novel! To whet your appetite even further, here’s a Sample of Chapter 1 (PDF 326 KB). The whole book runs to nearly 500 pages in 58 chapters, and you will certainly need […]

Try a sample chapter!