A new year, new things to chat about.

 

I finished “Empty Beds” before Christmas, and would like to thank Robyn Heitmann, Ally Britnell and Lyn Moore for reading the stories for me. Lyn is a fellow descendant of the Allan family; my great grandmother and her grandfather were siblings.

After a lot of deliberation and trying to write the Allan/Darby saga in a way that would appeal to a wider audience, I decided it never would. It was too hard, so in the end the saga was written for family, and for anyone who would like to read it. It’s only available through me as a paperback. 😊

In the last couple of weeks I finished my first mystery/romance. My alpha reader has given me her feedback, as has one of my beta readers. I’m waiting to hear from the other beta readers, and will submit it to my publisher soon. I’m happy with the story. It’s the first one in a series.

The other work in progress, the biography of Sir William George McBeath (my great, great uncle) is chugging along. In fact I had a long conversation this morning with a third cousin descended from William. (William and my great grandmother Margaret Frances McBeath were siblings.) This lady has family photographs, stories, and other treasures she is going to share with me. I’m very excited. It means I’ll be able to make his story really his, and not simply a bibliography of his public life achievements (of which there were many). 

Pic of William George McBeath's house in Irving Road Toorak, which now belongs to Lindsay Fox.

Keep your eye on your inbox next month for the first newsletter for 2022. I’ll be giving away some books 😊

Stay well.

Janeen