francis

Horse market in Ballinasloe, Co. Galway — It’s Melbourne Cup Day 2014, so here’s a moment from Chapter 15, when Lucy visits Pim’s Aunt Rose in Moss Vale. Pim wanted to know all about Ireland. So I began to tell her bits and pieces about the little four-roomed cottage where we lived, about the Claddagh and the […]

Melbourne Cup Day and memories of Irish racehorses

November 4, 2014 in Irish / Lucy Straughan by francis

Stocktake time. Haven’t done a precise word count but I’m about 30,000 words into Part II – trans. The Vienna section. Needless to say, I am pleased. I also realise how little I know and how much I need to ‘grow up’. The flip side is that I have learned […]

Vienna takes shape!

October 8, 2014 in Annette / Phoebe Raye / Sequel / Vienna / Writing by francis

Click to look inside the Kindle edition — A book for mother and daughter, June 16, 2014 This novel is set in Sydney Australia between the two world wars. The female protagonist is a feisty 15 year old Irish girl who has been crippled by polio. It is a good read for both teenagers and adults with the […]

Amazon Reviews – add yours!

September 19, 2014 in Reviews by francis

This article appeared on page 11 of the September 2014 issue of Aurora magazine, published by the Catholic diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, and is reprinted with permission of its editor, Tracey Edstein. A huge thank you to Aurora magazine editor Tracey Edstein for contacting us, and to Trish Bogan for interviewing […]

Debut novel reflects life – Aurora interviews Annette Young

September 4, 2014 in Annette / Reviews by francis

Sydney Conservatorium early 1920s — Paul from Dublin says “it was a joy” to read authentic Irish phrases in A Distant Prospect. Congratulations on a most uplifting epic, Annette! So seldom is it possible to find authors of fiction who set out to inspire, who are conscious that each one of us is called to […]

An Irish Review – each of us is called to ...

August 30, 2014 in Irish / Mrs Epstein / Reviews by francis

Click to visit Peter's Etsy shop — Peter Brandt expertly hand copies your photographs onto calico, in pastel and charcoal. Last week, I posted Annette’s photo on Facebook for her birthday. The next day, Peter surprised us with this beautiful copy! As Peter says on his website, “Send me a photo and I’ll draw it for you! […]

Amazing portraits in pastel and charcoal by Peter Brandt!

August 29, 2014 in Art by francis

Keep Calm and let the music teacher handle it — Annette’s character Mrs Epstein is far more than a music teacher. (Most music teachers are!) In Chapter Eight of A Distant Prospect, Mrs Epstein insists that Lucy can, and will, play in a string quartet, for the good of others as well as Lucy’s. Mrs Epstein had very weak, dark […]

Keep calm, and thank your music teacher!

August 17, 2014 in Lucy Straughan / Mrs Epstein / Music by francis

Lucy’s leg callipers gave this Great War veteran an opening for the black humour that helped him cope with his lost mobility. ‘I got mine at Bellicourt. Where’d you get yours?’ he asked me when I shook his hand, and he indicated my legs with a raise of an eyebrow […]

Music for war veterans

August 3, 2014 in Mrs Epstein / Music / North Sydney / Suffering / War by francis

What was a typical Australian in 1928? Not until 1935 would all states celebrate Australia Day on 26 January. Sydney was officially still very British, and still celebrating Empire Day. The four girls in the quartet in A Distant Prospect were typical Aussies of the period, which is to say […]

I still call Australia home

July 27, 2014 in Della Sotheby / Phoebe Raye / Pim Connolly by francis

Click the picture for a (slightly) closer look... — Annette Young today gave readers a rare public glimpse of her notes for the exciting sequel to A Distant Prospect! Post by Annette Young. So, what do we actually know? Not much more than Wien and wine! We left our characters in January 1929, and now we have a map […]

Wien und wine! Sneak peek at Annette’s sequel under construction!

July 26, 2014 in Annette / Maps / Sequel / Vienna / Writing by francis

What clever readers! Lots of people correctly answered the quiz question, hoping to win a personally dedicated copy of A Distant Prospect. Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter! The question after the book review in The Catholic Weekly of 13 July was this: “What talking movie […]

Book prize winner announced by The Catholic Weekly

July 25, 2014 in Promotion / Reviews by francis

A milestone in Australian literature? Susan Reibel Moore has high praise for a locally-written novel – and its author. (Click for printable PDF version) (Credit: Annals Australasia and The Catholic Weekly.) Annette Young was teaching junior secondary English and History at the Tangara School for Girls in Cherrybrook, when we […]

Susan Moore book review: Suffering and its aftermath

July 16, 2014 in Reviews by francis

Catholic Weekly readers in Sydney and regional New South Wales can win a signed copy of A Distant Prospect in this weekend’s 13 July edition! The back page features a generous book review of A Distant Prospect by Dr Susan Reibel Moore, educator and author of several books including What […]

Catholic Weekly book review and competition – win a signed ...

July 10, 2014 in Reviews by francis

Premature judgement

July 10, 2014 in Lucy Straughan / Premature Judgement / Suffering / Themes by francis

Welcome to readers of Annals Australasia, which featured Dr Susan Moore’s erudite book review of A Distant Prospect at page 15 of the June 2014 issue. A few snippets: “I’d no idea that she’d write a memorable Australian work of fiction. Yet if there has been a more brilliant novel […]

Annals Australasia – Suffering and its Aftermath by Susan Reibel ...

June 26, 2014 in Reviews / Suffering by francis

Albury steam locomotive 1930 — Colonial rivalry saw different rail guages in Victoria and New South Wales, making Albury’s impressive station “All change!” for passengers and goods, when the lines met on 14 June 1863. Albury’s 455-metre platform accommodates two full-length trains. In 1847-48 all three colonies had adopted England’s 4’8 1/2″ standard rail guage, […]

Albury “All change!”, Australian rail guage and Roderick’s “Bally Rat”

June 15, 2014 in Ballarat / Phoebe Raye / Railways / Roderick Raye by francis

In 1904 leading Sydney retailer Mark Foy established the fabulous Hydro-Majestic Hotel as a health resort built upon reputed natural springs in the Blue Mountains. He even convinced the government to change the locality name from Medlow, to Medlow Bath. Unfortunately it appears that he was misinformed, because there were […]

Hydro-Majestic Hotel, Medlow Bath

June 13, 2014 in Blue Mountains / Della Sotheby / Wally Sotheby by francis

Are you loving the music in Annette’s story? Lots of readers are bringing the rich musical repertoire of A Distant Prospect gloriously to life, by enjoying performances they find online. Here, for instance, Leonard Rose (cello) and Glenn Gould (piano) play the first movement of Beethoven’s Cello Sonata in A […]

Enjoying Beethoven cello and violin sonatas with Lucy and Della

June 5, 2014 in Beethoven / Cello / Della Sotheby / Lucy Straughan / Mrs Epstein / Music / Violin by francis

A Distant Prospect – ISBN 9780987435101