Published by Fourth Estate and due for publication on 1st Feb, Flight is set in both Sydney and Tasmania, and is, in a sense a coming of age story (see below for the backcover blurb).
I have lived in Tassie for 12 years and feel strongly about the forests, so inevitably, a strong theme in Flight is the environment, with the novel exploring the battle for the forests and the nature of activism.
Flight is also part of my PhD which I have just submitted at Swinburne University. My exegesis is an exploration of the transformative potential of story and its role in human evolution.
I have been a writer, an editor and a teacher of creative writing for many years and have recently started a blog called Write on the Fringes (http://writeonthefringes.blogspot.com/), which is an exploration of the art and the craft of writing and the nature of story, as well as a search for the essence of creativity and the complex nature of truth.
Flight will be launched by Chris Gallagher, the director of the Tasmanian Writer’s Centre at Fullers on Thursday 9th February at 5.30pm.
Backcover blurb:
‘That one will be the death of her father … Mark my words, the death of him.’
So says the prophecy that accompanies Fern’s birth. Her mother, fearing the wrath of the baby’s father, is forced to give Fern up for adoption.
Twenty years later Fern is haunted by the feeling that something is very wrong. Her family and friends think she is losing her mind, but Fern is convinced that someone is after her.
Seeking to unlock the mystery, Fern takes flight onto the streets of Sydney, where she meets two unlikely allies: Cassie, a woman cursed with the gift of clairvoyance, and Adam, an ex-soldier tormented by his past. As danger looms, Fern and Adam embark on an adventure which takes them far into the labyrinthine depths of the Tasmanian wilderness, where Fern must finally confront her demons.
Interwoven with myth and metaphor, Flight is a compelling and original story; sometimes eerie, sometimes earthy, always spellbinding.
‘An adventure story that encapsulates both a physical and spiritual journey … interesting and original … with some startling contrasts between the ordinary and extraordinary’
Rosie Dub
writeonthefringes.blogspot.com
rosiedub.com
Rosie Dub
