Winter

Winter is Nearly Behind Us

Margareta-Admin — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 11:06:09 +0000

Winter is Nearly Behind Us

Margareta-Admin Wed, 24/08/2016 - 9:06 pm

All I can say is thank goodness, winter is nearly behind us. After the warmth of the Pilbara, this time last year, I can categorically say, ‘I loath and detest the southern winter.’ I am currently dreaming of sun and nice days. Thankfully I have been noticing the wattle is going mad, blazing a brilliant gold in both our paddocks and along the sides of the roads. This usually hails the impending arrival of Spring but I will be having some strong words with the weather if it doesn’t come true with that promise. I NEED SOME WARMTH UP HERE ON MY HILL!

The children have had me running ragged with sporting and school commitments, traveling up to a 1000km per week. My poor little car is nearly past its use by date, but it keeps on chugging, like ‘the little red engine that could.’ A zippy little diesel Peugeot known as ‘The Pug’, my car sometimes doubles as a ute. It has certain idiosyncrasies. On any day, only IT decides whether the boot will open. Or not. Whether the side windows go up, down. Or not. It hates frost and threatens to leave me at home if the ice is too thick. It has distinct ideas on whether it will allow me to drive over check-banks and to check hay-rings. Some days it wants to, other days no siree. There’s no rhyme nor reason and just quietly, 'The Pug' drives me nuts. I'm sure it's fickleness is to get back at me for taking it's classy, little European soul off the tar and along beaten bush tracks, down rocky hills and up grassy, cow poop covered slopes. But that's beside the point .... Deep down, I do love my little car - plus the fuel it saves on the long drives is amazing.

Lilac Planting in very deep holes!

I’ve been madly planting deciduous trees, camillas and roses this year. A gorgeous deep pink flowered Magnolia, is a highlight (please grow!) as is the potential of a light mauve lilac, similar to one my Grandmother used to have in her garden at the family homestead. I was cursing the lilac though. I swear I must have been close to China, I had to dig down so far to get the graft under the soil. A very strict nurseryman instructed me that was what I had to do, so after digging through a half foot of topsoil, followed by a half foot of stone, and then a foot of clay, I finally got deep enough. And that was after I’d rescued my wandering sheep from the grips of a buckled fence that decided enough was enough.

It was ‘a cup of tea to recover’ kind of morning, I can tell you

Hand Crafted Cattle Yard Panels!

Out in the shed, the boys are building panels for our new cattle yards. H never ceases to amaze me at his ability to build just about ANYTHING and the Farm Boy is following in Dad's footsteps very rapidly. They've made a jig to make the construction of the panels easier and soon we will move the whole operation up to the yard site. We've finalised the design and I can tell you, my little farming heart is fluttering with SO MUCH EXCITEMENT! (#onlyinthecountry ... )

In the office, the edits on LAKE HILL are coming along, and whilst I’m outside working in the garden or spraying weeds on the farm (which are popping up EVERYWHERE – maybe Spring and it’s warmth wasn’t such a good idea after-all …) ideas for the next two books are flying around in my mind. Well, except when I'm tackling boxthorn. All thoughts then have to be on the sharp barbs which persist in trying to tear me to shreds. As always, it’s a busy place both internally and externally around here!

Last week, I headed to a local primary school for the afternoon to chat with some children on the importance of reading, writing and editing. They were a great bunch of budding authors and had some awesome questions for me to answer!

Recently I was also involved in two book talks. One, a discussion alongside the gorgeous and very talented thriller author, Honey Brown, at the beautiful Readers Emporium Bookstore in Traralgon on the importance of our local bookstores, and the other, a talk to a large group of women involved with the Sale Probus Club. We chatted about the publishing process and the effort it takes from a vast variety of people to get novels onto the bookshelves.

Speaking of bookshelves, Better Reading would love you to nominate your all-time favourite book – and by voting, you could WIN the entire final list! That’s 100 BOOKS for your bookshelf. (Swoon … Don’t you adore a good book competition? I do!)

I’d love it if you felt like considering any of my books (Bella’s Run, Hope’s Road, Mountain Ash, or Rose River) for the list. But, if there is another novel you love above all others, please, by all means, vote away. ONE HUNDRED BOOKS … wouldn’t it be amazing if one of us won?!

Voting closes 31st of August 2016 at 5pm, and winners will be announced on the 9th of September 2016.

Voting is easy. Just click here: http://www.betterreading.com.au/top-100/

And speaking of winning books. A while back, before I went into winter hibernation for family reasons, we mentioned we had a beautiful and fascinating book to give away! It’s been sitting here patiently on my bookshelf, waiting for its new owner.

I’m absolutely delighted to let you all know that Freda Marnie Nicholl’s latest book, THE AMAZING MRS LIVESEY, has been won by DENISE GARTLAND. If you’d like to contact me via this link within the next 48 hours, with a delivery address, I’ll post your new book out.

Until next time,

Margareta

It's cold out there, so time for a BOOK Giveaway!

Margareta-Admin — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 08:16:14 +0000

It's cold out there, so time for a BOOK Giveaway!

Margareta-Admin Wed, 15/06/2016 - 6:16 pm

Oh my Gosh. I think winter has finally hit our hills with a vengeance. The thickness of the frost on the ground yesterday morning had us thinking it had snowed! I could only cringe on behalf of my poor Jacaranda Tree snug under it’s super-bag (top) and layers of mulch (bottom) and send a prayer up to the heavens it wasn’t going to take affront at the cold and curl up and die. Due to us living beside a huge lake, we don’t generally get severe frosts here, but as the lake is currently very low, it was Jack Frost’s turn to get even. Brrrrr … was the only thing to say, and pulling on the down jacket, followed by earmuffs, was the only thing to do.

The Farm Boy drove the ute to the bus-stop with his head hanging out the side-window to see the track, (the front windscreen simply refroze), and the school bags had to be wrestled from the ice trying to glue them to the old tray-back. Even Ange wasn’t happy to be dragged from her nice warm kennel to brave my early morning trudge up and down the hills to check the stock and troughs.

Saturday was also icy with, I swear, tiny flakes of snow in the rain. The wind knifed straight through you and of course, the Princess needed to ride her pony. Lightning wasn’t overly happy to have his cosy rug taken off and be made do something, so he was a cranky-pants. Subsequently mum ended up riding the pony to get his ‘cantankerous beans’ out of the way, so the Princess could have a nice ride. I had five layers on, resembled a Michelin woman, and could barely move, so H had to heave me onto the horse, even though the steed is only 13 hands high. It was quite the sight. At least if I had’ve come off, I would’ve simply rolled to the bottom of the hill. There was that.

Oh dear it's chilly in the hills at the moment!

The rest of that freezing cold day was taken up with important stuff, like reading and baking, much more civilised things to do when the weather is so disgusting. I was able to dispense with at least three layers and curl up in front of the fire with some chocolate, cups of tea and a good book. Bliss, I tell you.

Which leads me to three very interesting books, I’d like to mention to you today.

The Amazing Mrs Livesey, Freda Marnie Nicholls

One is from our friends at Allen and Unwin, and is written by my mate, Freda Marnie Nichols. It’s the remarkable story of Australia’s greatest imposter and is called THE AMAZING MRS LIVESEY.

Now, if you’re a Richard Fidler fan like me, you may have caught up with Freda’s interview a number of weeks ago detailing how she came to write this story and titbits from the book itself. If you didn’t catch it here’s a link to the podcast.

It turns out that the notorious Ethel Livesey was a serial fraudster and confidence trickster. She had over 40 aliases, eight official marriages, four children and five divorces in a time when divorce was completely scandalous. Her remarkable life stretched across the world with claims she was a cotton heiress, wartime nurse, opera singer, artist and close friend of the King, just to name a few.

Freda, in association with Luita Frances Aichiner, Ethel Livesey’s granddaughter, has written an impressive tale, which had my eyes riveted to the page, right to the very end. I can’t believe this woman got away with all that she did! Thank goodness, for her sake, the internet wasn’t around. She wouldn’t have lasted a day, which, would have been a very good thing for those she duped! Her cheek was gobsmacking.

I asked Freda how she came to write this incredible story.

“While catching up with a girlfriend for lunch, she started telling me about finding out some fascinating things about her paternal grandmother, and that she appeared to be an international con woman. She was having difficulty finding her father’s birth certificate and I offered to help. From there we found out so many incredible facts and stories. I decided to talk with my publisher about it, and THE AMAZING MRS LIVESEY was born.”

And what a story it is!

With thanks to the lovely folks at Allen and Unwin, I have one copy of THE AMAZING MRS LIVESEY to give away! All newsletter subscribers will be entered into the draw. Result, next week so stay tuned …

Central Station, True Stories from Australian Cattle Stations

Over at Central Station - where men and women of the Australian Outback come together to share an insight into their lives - the good, the bad and the dusty; they have released a book. And I'm in it! Just a little bit excited about that ... My story, 'Our Extreme Sea Change' is the first in this colation of true stories from Australian cattle stations edited by Jane Sale and Stephanie Coombes and brought to you by ABC Books. It's the type of book you can pick up and put down at the conclusion of each story, but you long to return to it. For those who have worked on stations, the book will bring back a ton of memories and for those who wonder what it would be like, it will inspire you to get out there and give it a go.

You can buy the book at any good bookstore and also online. Here's what it looks like.

And you can find out more at the Central Station Blog, and perhaps even win yourself $250! http://www.centralstation.net.au/win-250-with-our-new-book/

The other book that hit my roadside mailbox is completely different.

BOOTS OFF, APRON ON, is a cookbook from the kitchens of stations in outback NSW. And don’t you just love the name?! It is so descriptive and true. It happens every day at my house.

I was alerted to this particular book’s existence by my friend, Sarah McConnell, from ABC Broken Hill. You all know how much I love cooking, especially when the recipes are delicious and involve ‘everything is right there in the pantry’ fare. I have quite a collection of these station/homestead/farm cooking books, and swear by them all. You can’t go past old-fashioned, down-to-earth country cooking. But then, I guess, coming from a line of good, old-fashioned country cooks, I’m biased!

This particular cookbook is created by the Broken Hill School of the Air. It’s beautifully presented in hard cover, with some wonderful photo’s just to break up the prose. I so wish I had this book last year when I was cooking on the station in Western Australia’s Pilbara. The section on savoury smoko’s would’ve been particularly fabulous as I was running out of ideas by the end of mustering.

Boots Off, Apron On

In it, I've also found THE most AWESOME banana cake recipe aptly called the 'Best Banana Cake' and shared in the book by Glendara Station. I thought I had a good Banana Cake happening, but I tell you, this one is so much better. The recipe makes a large cake, is moist, and postively scrumptious. Here is one of the two loaf pan cakes made using the recipe this morning.

I asked co-editors, Pixie Moses (Mt Westward Station) and Bree Wakefield (Banoon Station) what inspired the book and where they planned to invest the funds raised.

“We decided to create the updated version of the School of the Air cookbook to mark the 60th anniversary of the school. It has been a labour of love. A huge project with big results. Our first print sold out in 1 month! The recipes are tried and tested recipes submitted by our school families, teachers & governess'. Ranging from traditional homestyle meals to modern side dishes & desserts as well as a chapter featuring thermomix recipies. The gorgeous station photographs through out the book have been as well received as the recipes themselves. It really showcases our unique outback lives. Funds raised from the books will be used towards something major for the school that will benefit the students for years to come.”

I for one, can see this beautifully presented, hardcover cookbook becoming one of my everyday ‘go to’ references.

You can read more about the book and purchase your own copy here: http://www.bootsoffapronon.com

And finally (because I seem to have gabbled on forever), last weekend, I made a new dish, a winter warmer, Chicken and Potatoes with Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce. (I want to lick the screen just saying it.) It was a hit at the homestead with even the kids digging in without any complaints. WINNER! So, I thought I'd share it as you might be looking for a winter warmer recipe this weekend for your family. I can highly recommend it. It's 'Damn Delicious'! You'll find the recipe at http://damndelicious.net/2016/05/08/chicken-potatoes-garlic-parmesan-cr…

Until next week, and amongst other things like editing LAKE HILL, I'm going to keep vacuuming with my Stihl (STIHL LOVE IT! :)) to stay warm!

Margareta xo

Making a fashion statement ...

Margareta-Admin — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 02:19:31 +0000

Making a fashion statement ...

Margareta-Admin Wed, 03/06/2015 - 12:19 pm

Welcome to Winter!

Posh New Boots!

Brrrrrr ... oh my golly gosh, hasn't it been cold! I swear, on Monday, I couldn't feel my feet ALL DAY! This necessitated a rather radical move. A supremely radical move seeing this family is a 'Redback' workboot family. I went out and bought myself a new pair of work boots! I know ... I know ... such a sacrifice seeing, for me, boots are kinda like books and chocolate - you can never have enough. (Don't tell H I said that. He still doesn't know how many books I actually OWN thanks to a revolving mobile library system that ensures a lot of my novels are out on loan to friends :)). BUT, cold feet? Not an option. Wet feet? Not an option. Uncomfortable - "I surely hope I don't have to trudge up another hill in these bloody boots" - feet. Not an option. And soooooo ... I went and had intense discussions with the lovely Sue at The Stable Door in Sale. Found the pair of boots I have been coverting for the past FIFTEEN years have gotten better and better. SO I sucked it up, and bought a pair. And OH MY LORD, are these things like walking on clouds of soft, fluffy, waterproof bits of nothing. I am in HEAVEN I tell you. Absolute boot heaven. Thank you Ariat, once again. Your Terrain boots are like salted caramel Tim Tams and a Monica McInerney book all wrapped up in a heated, fluffy towel.

Chic!

So this morning's fashion statement is brought to you by a bag of second hand clothes from a friend (flannie shirt), Mountain Design Outlet store (puffer vest and bargin rack men's shell jacket), Murray Goulburn (Farmtech Milking vest), Ariat (jeans albeit rather worn and ripped), Fever (yummy scarf), my lovely Auntie Denise (hand knitted blue beanie) and Ariat again - my NEW BOOTS! Aren't they just the trick! Only thing is, the laces are going to drive me nuts but its a small price to pay for comfort.

So whilst many other of your favourite authors may look like they've walked off the cover of the Australian Women's Weekly, Australian Country Style or even Vogue, this author isn't one of them. Just ask the locals. Although, in saying that, I did just get some rather divine author photo's taken and thanks to my goregous stylist Ms Sandra who always makes me feel a million dollars, and a very talented and delightful photographer, Angela Landua, from Danae Images in Traralgon, they didn't turn out too bad. I'll show you next week!

New Book

I started writing a new book this week. Are you excited? I'm excited. After a while of nothing talking in my head (it was truly getting rather depressing just listening to my OWN thoughts) I've now got two books on the go which isn't good for my brain as I don't know which one's talking to me at any one time. When I get 'that book look" (as my family call it) my daughter has taken to asking me, 'Which one is it, mum?' Apparently 'the look' then turns blank. I just hope I don't get my Lake Grace's and Pilbara's mixed up.

The Packing Pile

Packing

Despite spending last week thinking I was dying of the flu which necessitated a few days in bed (I know! It was that bad!), we are getting organised to leave for the Pilbara. The LandCruiser could be forgiven for thinking it's having a birthday what with new tyres, mechanical repairs and things that were falling off all secured back on. The heavy duty trailer has also got in on the act with new bearings and such. A dog box is now made and ready for the kelpie complete with roll up blinds should he get a bit hot. All very flash and fancy.

My floor is starting to disappear as I make piles of stuff on the 'must go' list. I'm getting to that point where I'm looking at it all and starting to subtract items (the "it really doesn't HAVE to go pile") because I know from past experience, it just won't fit. And it's actually quite amazing just what little 'stuff' you really need in order to live. That said, H and I have bought new sleeping bags for our swags as the old ones really were on their last legs. Busted zippers, rips and tears - I'm afraid the last trip across the Simpson Desert on the roofrack, finally did them in. My new sleeping bag is pink, which has the Princess throwing it all sorts of looks and I'm guessing if it goes missing, I'll find it in HER swag!

In cooking this week ...

You have to go to http://lilluna.com/creamy-swiss-chicken-bake/ and make this! Oh my, what a simple and absolutely delicious recipe ( and superb for this long weekend). Preparation takes about 5-10 minutes and then whack it in the oven to let the heat do the rest. Perfect if you need to go back outside to feed the animals in the evening - it cooks while you're getting everything else fed and settled for the night. The best kind of recipe, I think.

What I'm reading ...

I have just finished Robert Schofield's MARBLE BAR, a very enjoyable read, with lots of action and all set in the Pilbara where we are heading. Very timely. I'm half-way through a new book by Milly Johnson called THE TEASHOP ON THE CORNER. It's a very light read so while I was sick, just the book I needed as I couldn't concentrate on what I was saying let alone what I was reading!

I also have a treat in store for myself that I've been keeping for our trip across Australia. Tony Parson's latest book, RETURN TO MOONDILLA, came out a little while ago and it's been sitting on my bedside table waiting for a 'holiday' where I can just sit and read (a week across Australia should account for that). Touted by Tony's publisher (Allen & Unwin) as the Father of Australian rural fiction, I would have to whole-heartedly agree. I have always revered Tony after a) reading his CALL OF THE HIGH COUNTRY fiction series which was my second introduction (after Di Morrissey's 'Heart of the Dreaming') to the then embryonic genre and because b) he is a renown working dog breeder and trainer who established one of the top kelpie studs in Australia, 'Karrawarra'. In fact, he was awarded an OAM for his contribution to the propagation of the Australian kelpie. Now in his 80's Tony is still writing, and this is another action packed novel set in rural Australia that will appeal to fans of crime and romance.

The blurb:

Return to Moondilla tells the story of a former journalist, Greg Baxter, who's recently returned to the area he grew up in (Moondilla, inspired by the NSW South Coast) to finish what he hopes will be a best selling novel. Far from being able to concentrate on his novel, however, the successful , handsome writer and martial arts expert is subjected to the attention of some attractive women, including the feisty doctor he once had a crush on. He also finds himself drawn into a police investigation of a lcoal drug-dealing syndicate; After an attempt on his life, and with his trusty German Shepherd, Chief, at his side, Baxter realises his days will be numbered unless he can help the police break the drug ring open...

I spoke with Tony after the release of his new book and here's what we chatted about ...

What was the inspiration for this book:

The pointlessness of drugs and of one man's stand against their use. I had some experience with martial arts a long time ago and used this as a kind of spearpoint for the story. After all their heroics and the development of a virgin country I hate to see Australians involved in drugs. I've said this fairly forcefully in the Prologue of Moondilla.

How it's the same/different to his CALL OF THE HIGH COUNTRY series (which I ADORED by the way)?

Moondilla is quite different to the High Country books. I left Penguin because they wanted to 'box' me in to rural type books and I didn't want to be boxed in. I'd written thousands of articles and transcribed complex material to simpler language when I was with the ag/vet companies (plus written radio/TV commercials) so I was confident I could extend the scope of my writing. 'Back to the Pilliga' was a breakaway novel to a certain extent and 'Return to Moondilla' is a further departure where the bush is replaced by a river and coastal town plus, of course, the drugs. The manuscript of the next novel is with A & U and it's quite different again.

Is the move towards a suspense story something you've always longed to do?

I wouldn't say the move ... is something I've always wanted to do. I regard myself as a storyteller and I think it's important to stretch oneself into new fields. Having said that I've got enormous admiration for Agatha Christie and her crime novels. I would very much like to be able to write something as good as hers. My children's book 'The Bird Smugglers of Mountain View' is another rural suspense story. It's in most of the schools up here and John Williamson likes it a lot and says it should be in every school. He's a bird lover too.

The Lad and his "Boy"

Purely personal, do you still have a keen interest in working dogs? And why the kelpie, not the border collie?

I don't breed Kelpies now. I had 70 years with Kelpies and I think I've done enough in that field. I wrote four books on the Kelpie , The last is a 700 page book which is regarded as the best book on the breed ever written. It's $150 in the shops but it has sold well around the world. Nearly every good working Kelpie has my Karrawarra blood in it.

Why the Kelpie?

It's (with the Cattle dog) Australia's national dog. It has had a greater influence generally than Border Collies even though BCs do better in trial work.

What's next for Tony Parsons?

I would have to be excessively optimistic to look too far ahead regards future books. I'm 84 and I'm assured not many people my age are still writing novels. There's the manuscript at A & U and it's set in the Glasshouse Mountains. It's quite different but I like it a lot. It refers to the demise of the Kabi people with the onset of white civilisation. I wrote some songs for this story one of which was in collaboration with one of my lovely granddaughters. Beyond that is the biggest novel I've written which I am in the process of rewriting. It's the story of the search for a Nazi war criminal. I did a tremendous amount of research for this book and I hope I live to see it published. There's others in first draft but whether I ever get to them or would want to by then, I couldn't say. I don't have my old energy and the body isn't what it was.

Thanks Tony, and good luck with your new book!

In other rural book news ...

Helene Young is touring the east coast with her new novel, NORTHERN HEAT which is on bookshelves now.

Jenn J. McLeod (SEASON OF SHADOW & LIGHT), Tricia Stringer (HEART OF THE COUNTRY) and Karen Davis crime writer - DEADLY OBSESSION) have also been wandering around NSW for 12 days in a bus with BETTER READING, promoting their new books and having one heck of a good time.

Arriving in June is also my friend, Pamela Cook's newest rural novel, CLOSE TO HOME.

These great books just keep on coming ...

Until next week, I'll keep packing and you guys keep reading and stay warm.

Margareta x

Winter

Winter is Nearly Behind Us

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It's cold out there, so time for a BOOK Giveaway!

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Making a fashion statement ...

New Book

Packing

In cooking this week ...

What I'm reading ...

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