photo by: bibbity bob
Winter Warmers
There's a coolness in the air lately and soon winter will wrap its cold tendrils around our bodies and force us to rug up and take refuge somewhere warm and cosy. Winter is the perfect opportunity to snuggle up with a great book, rug and hot cuppa by the fireside, if you're so lucky to have a fireplace. I'm really hoping winter slows down life's pace and provides a special time to indulge in what I love to do most, write and read.
This month's book club nomination is: 'The House on the Hill' by Estelle Pinney and it took me a little while to acquire my copy, unfortunately. I managed to find a copy using Fishpond.com and now I am attempting to have the book read by our next meeting, which happens to be Wednesday 6 June at 7:30pm. Hopefully our dedicated book clubbers will leave the warm embers of their fireplaces and brave the chill of the night to attend this meeting.
Estelle Pinney is a local Brisbane writer and I always enjoy reading local authors' work. This is the case so far. I am already enjoying Ms Pinney's tale of Belle Dalton. The blurb goes like this:
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| Author: Estelle Pinney |
"Belle Dalton has stardust in her eyes. It's early 1920s in Far North Queensland, and the three Dalton sisters board with Mrs Sanders in the house on the Hill.
Lovely Belle, the youngest, and talented singer and dancer, tours with a vaudeville troupe as they follow the rodeos and shows of western Queensland. On the romance front, she's being pursued by handsome local Greek, Nicos Alexandros, owner of the swankiest cafe in town. But will she choose marriage with Nicos or a life on the stage?
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| Penguin Books ~ 2005 |
Molly reigns as head cook at King's Hotel, and can whip up any stylish gown down to the last bugle bead. However, happiness with her sweetheart Fred is threatened by a terrible twist of fate . . . Josie, the eldest, has bookish ambitions and a strong spirit, which will be tested to the full when her life takes an unexpected turn.
This heart-warming and colourful novel about the power of dreams brings to life Australia's exotic far north of days gone by, with its vibrant mix of cultures and personalities. House on the Hill follows three sisters' joys and heartbreaks - and the difficult choices they have to make that change their lives forever."
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'Author Estelle Pinney grew up in Cairns and the tobacco growing town of Mareeba, North Queensland. She left school at the age of thirteen to work as a colourist in her grandfather's photographic studio. Estelle's eventful adult life saw her working as an ambulance driver for the US army during World War II; as a beauty consultant; and as a registered deckhand on her husband's crayfishing boat in the Torres Strait. She is the author of Time Out for Living (1995), A Net Full of Honey (1996) and co-author of Too Many Spears (1978) with late husband Peter Pinney. Estelle lives in Brisbane with her daughter Stella.'
Click on the following link for some insight from author Estelle Pinney and the development of her novel, 'The House on the Hill'.
http://www.readersvoice.com/interviews/2004/04/estelle-pinney-describes-the-evolution-of-house-on-the-hill/
