2018 is promising to be a very productive writing year for me, with two wonderful residencies now confirmed. First up, I’m delighted to be receiving a Varuna Residency Fellowship to complete my first historical fiction, The Fourteenth Wife.
News
Wikipedia can wait
In this refreshing alternative to the Wikiplace, I challenge you not to laugh at the photo captions (with or without laundry baskets, and/or sharpie pens). Author Robin Elizabeth’s Write or Wrong blog (Uninspiration for the uninspired) is as entertaining as it is genre-defying. She assures me that the Promising Azra self-scribble (inspired by the book’s cover) that her three-year-old son undertook, has now all but faded away.
August appearances
I’m looking forward to being Guest Speaker for the August Literary Luncheon of the Society of Women Writers NSW, at the State Library of NSW. In Too close to home; or not close enough, I’ll be discussing the research behind the writing of Promising Azra. You don’t need to be a member of the Society of Women Writers to come along – you can find details about booking here.
Promising Azra on NSW Premier’s Literary Award Shortlist
Major excitement! Promising Azra was one of six shortlisted books for the Multicultural NSW Award in the 2017 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. See the Judges’ Comments.
Around the bookshops
September 10, 2016
News
It seems that the first couple of months after a book is launched means there’s plenty of scribbling inside the covers of books. I feel like a vandal, but I suppose I will get used to it.
Azra in New Zealand
August 30, 2016
News
That got your attention, didn’t it? No, this is not the title of the sequel. I’m not telling where she goes yet… But I am delighted that there is buzz around Azra in various bookshops in New Zealand, and I dropped in for a signing at the fabulous Women’s Bookshop in Auckland. Every shelf is purple!
Launch Invitation
Promising Azra will be officially launched by Dr Eman Sharobeem, whose work with Sydney teenagers inspired the book.
The event is at Kinokuniya in Sydney on Thursday 28 July 2016, and If you’d like to come along, please RSVP to the book store. More details here.
Forced Marriage in the UK
In Leicester I attended Karma Nirvana’s Women Empowerment Roadshow, and met my hero, Jasvinder Sanghera. As you can see, we swapped books, and I’m holding Shame, her own story of escaping a forced marriage.
Nearly Here
Advance Reading Copies of Promising Azra have just been printed for the book reps, as the date for the Real Thing edges closer… Books in store 27 July 2016! Stay tuned for details of the Sydney launch.
My first novel.
May 7, 2016
News
Promising Azra is my first novel. It was inspired by an article in the Australian in 2012, about Dr Eman Sharobeem’s work in preventing the forced marriages of Sydney teenagers. Until I started my research for the book, I was unaware that child marriage is a growing issue in Australia, the UK, the US, and in many other countries around the world.
Promising Azra Reviews
