Wednesday Wanderings with ARR authors.

With the third book, Season of Shadow and Light, now on the shelves, Jenn has taken to the road to continue her dream of telling heart-warming tales of Australian country life that weave intricate tapestries of friendship, family, love
and contemporary issues.

On the road to Barmoya with Jenn J McLeod

What does a writer do when she runs out of friends and family to fictionalise?

She sells up, downsizes to a 24ft caravan, and goes in search of more country towns and quirky characters to write about—and this magnificent country called Australia has plenty of both to discover.

My #WriteRoundOz odyssey is taking me to new and amazing places. Like here, in Barmoya, a farming community located halfway between Rockhampton and Yeppoon, in Queensland’s Capricornia, where we are catching up with friends and I am writing my 5^th novel.

Camped in a paddock, the only distraction is the passing parade of Brahman cattle, plus the seven roaming horses, several free-range chickens, two pigs, four farm dogs, and Dash, the Dachshund who wants to be a farm dog. While here I’ve also finished the edits on next year’s release, The Other Side of the Season—a story about one woman and two brothers working in dangerous conditions on the snake-infested slopes of a plantation in the New South Wale’s banana farming region of Coffs Harbour in 1979. A story inspired by the ten years I lived in Coffs Harbour prior to hitting the road.

When we first arrived in Rocky last August—our sleeves rolled up and ready for work—we nudged the all-female team at the time up by two. The ‘girls’ (six-and-a-bit if you count the 2 y.o. cowgirl) were on the go from first light until sundown—on quad bikes, utes, and horseback—dividing their time between the Brahman cattle spread over thousands of acres, and the luxury accommodation that makes up the Henderson Park Farmstay Retreat (which is also a magnificent country wedding venue). This place is like a real life episode of McLeod’s Daughters.

We’ve got Mt Hedlow on our doorstep, Hedlow Creek’s barramundi beckoning, and after learning about the property’s history from the late 1800’s when the Barrett family ancestors settled the Barmoya area, my imagination has gone into overdrive and novel number five has found its way onto the page.

You know it’s said some people come into you life for a season and some for a reason? Well, the Barrett family certainly came into mine for a reason. Drunk with conversation (and wine) I listen to the farming family’s anecdotes from as far back as 1865, and Dreamtime stories about Moomdagytta—the rainbow serpent—sitting up on nearby mountains, and I feel blessed to have such generous and wonderful friends in Marie and David Barrett (and family), here on Henderson Park.

I hope my 2017 release does justice to this amazing part of the country.

Until then . . .

Please let me know if you also have a paddock in paradise. We need wide access (for me and the van!) and a good turning circle, but we come with wine and great book chatter.

And . . . if you’re interested to see how I am integrating my experiences here at Henderson Park into my novel, see this blog post I have called “Would You Like A Prairie Oyster With That?” (Not for the faint-hearted or squeamish!!)

See you on the road (or on Facebook)

Jenn

Sometime this season…
The secret keeper must tell.
The betrayed must trust.
The hurt must heal.

 

Season of Shadow and Light is available in eBook and paperback from all good retailers.
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Amazon Australia
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Read more about Jenn and her books on MEET JENN J McLEOD

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