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Please be aware this book contains themes of sexual abuse, mental health, suicide, self-harm, homophobia.
While I have experienced many of the issues explored in this work, the character of Lauren is not me. All the characters depicted in this book are fictional. The story is, however, based on a kernel of murky truth, which has lain simmering within me for years, and like the stone within Lauren, it needed to see daylight.
The process of herding thoughts and memories into a coherent and authentic – hopefully engaging – story has been cathartic, joyful, painful and enlightening. And it took a bloody long time (six years).
Oleanders always remind me of the trees that lined our dusty driveway in Woomera, South Australia, when I was a child. Hot pink, pale pink and deathly white, vivid and beguiling. And the deceptive ability of deciduous magnolias to pause in winter, seemingly lifeless, then spring alive with luscious blooms, is almost otherworldly.
So, what’s next? One of my university tutors, Olga Lorenzo, once commented that authors tend to write the same book over and over. Given the other books I’m working on all have survival themes, I tend to think she’s right. And while I’m not an activist – I’d be a hermit if I could – I’m passionate about the empowerment of women, children and those marginalised by society.
I hope that each of my books will entertain and move you, that each is an act of escapism, a moment to step away from your everyday life, pause and introspect.
For My Chickens
For the magic of friendship
Vulnerability is a journey to destiny
One stole her innocence
One stole her heart
One gave her hope
And the secret awoke
