Byrskiblog

Trip of a Lifetime

Hello again

I'm delighted to be able to show you the cover of my new novel Trip of a Lifetime which will be in the bookshops from March 1. 

This is a book about secrets and feelings, the ones week keep hidden from the people we love in order to protect them and to protect ourselves.  We learn to live with them without realising that they can scar the surface of our relationships like crazing on fine china. Sometimes a crisis can turn them into deep fractures.  The people in Trip of a Lifetime have kept their secrets and hidden their feelings for a very long time.  When a sudden dramatic event drops into the calm pool of their lives the ripples spread in surprising directions.  I do hope you'll enjoy it.

I'm also delighted that The Australian Women's Weekly has chosen Trip of a Lifetime as The Great Read for March, and The Big Book Club www.thebigbookclub.com.au has picked it as Book of the Month.  Over the next few weeks I'll be visiting lots of places around Australia, and hope I'll have the chance to meet as  many people as possible.  The list below shows the dates and locations so I hope you can find one that's convenient.  More may be added in the next couple of weeks so do check the blog again.  I hope you can make it and look forward to meeting you.   Until then, all good wishes, Liz.

Download BigBookClub.doc

When I'm sixty-four

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to be part of a conversation on 'growing old disgracefully', with Geoff Hutchison on ABC Radio.  Was it 'old', 'disgraceful' or both that prompted Geoff's producer think of me?   One talkback caller who said he was in his early eighties was about to set off on a bike ride of several hundred kilometres and was looking for a companion.  When Geoff commented that the companion would need to be pretty fit the man said, 'Oh no -  she just needs to be able to ride a bike for five or six hours at a time!'   I won't be volunteering for that gig.

But the point of this is that I do think getting older has a lot going for it if you are open to different ideas and possibilities. Every phase of life has pluses and minuses but for me getting older has more of the former.  The conversation about growing old took place a couple of days before my sixty-fourth birthday last weekend, and Geoff played 'When I'm sixty four' for me.  It prompts me to show you this lovely photograph taken with a couple of my own 'gang' (of more than four) on my birthday.  The two gorgeous women in black are Mary (left)and Boris.  We spent a wonderful morning together with other friends. As you'll know from my books I value the friendship of women. For centuries women's friendship was discounted, trivialised, mistrusted and misinterpreted and I'm thankful that today we can celebrate our friendships and the very special contribution they make to our lives.

I've listed below where I'll be during the Perth Writers Festival, so if you're around on 22nd - 25th February do drop by and say hello.  And commencing the second week of March I'll be on the road to promote my new novel, Trip of a Lifetime, which will be on sale from 1 March.

I'll be in Alice Springs, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and a number of city and regional locations in WA.  A little nearer the time I'll post a list of times and dates when I hope you may be able to come along.  Meanwhile here are the Perth Festival events:

Perth Writers Festival -  University of Western Australia  22-25 February

Friday 22 February   

9.30-10.30 - Festival Tent -  'Love and Desire'

I'll be chairing a panel on writing about intimacy and desire with Toni Jordan, Victoria Hammond and Douglas Kennedy. ( A free event - no need to book).

12.15 for 12.30pm  Frasers Restaurant, Kings Park - Lunch and Conversation with Stephanie Dowrick    

I'll be talking with Stephanie about her books, Choosing Happiness, Intimacy and Solitude and her latest - The Almost-Perfect Marriage, and there will be heaps of time for your questions. (You need to book for this one which includes a two-course lunch and wine -  cost $70, book through BOCS or the Perth Festival Website.)

Saturday 23rd February

9.30-10.30am - Dolphin Theatre -  How Far is Too Far?

How far should a writer go in using other people's lives in their writing?  With Colin Falconer and Craig Sherborne I'll be probing the moral and ethical boundaries writers must negotiate in the pursuit of a good story. (Free event)

12.30 - 1.30pm Festival Tent  -  Taken From Life

Writers find inspiration in life experiences, memories, family histories and many other real life events. Louise Doughty, Kate Llewellyn, Glyn Parry and Tracy Ryan will, I hope, reveal their sources. (Free event.)

Hope to see you there.