The Story Behind the Story
Have you ever fallen in love with a country or place you’ve never visited? I have. When my mother told me her mother was born in Australia, my love for a country that already intrigued me grew immeasurable. My childish fascination with kangaroos and koalas developed into more serious aspects of life. How long had my grandmother’s family lived there? Why did they immigrate to South Africa? So many questions that I didn’t ask at the time. My grandmother passed away before I was born, and no one in the extended family seemed interested in genealogical research.
Many years later, as a wife, mother, and teacher, I tried to compile a family tree—before the days of Ancestry.com. I questioned an aunt who had traveled to Australia for the 1956 Olympics. While there, Aunt Celia met a few relatives so she was able to provide names and dates, and a little of the family history, but since she was close to eighty, her recollections were fuzzy.
However, her meager details piqued my curiosity. I wrote to the genealogical society in Melbourne, and over time received more information than I could have hoped for. The passenger manifest of a boat which sailed from Plymouth, England, to Adelaide, Australia, in 1863 indicated my great-grandfather was born during the voyage. He had a total of fourteen siblings who settled in and around the mining town of Bendigo, Victoria, many working in the gold mines, some as masons or farmers, or in the wool industry. My great-grandparents and several of the siblings left Australia in 1902 for South Africa when the gold and diamond mines were being developed there. My grandmother, Florence, was eleven at the time. That’s how she ended up in South Africa!
I cannot remember why I decided to write a novel set in Australia, except maybe my love for the country still existed deep-down. Way before everyone had a personal computer, I purchased a word processor and composed my masterpiece. I used some details of my grandmother’s story, read every library book I could find, and spent a long holiday with my husband in Australia where we met many relatives.
Forever Under Blue Skies is based on that first novel, and as you can imagine, it is very close to my heart. My initial manuscript was soundly rejected. Ouch. I later attended many writers’ conferences, read craft books, and after publishing five novels, returned to my book baby. I kept the basic premise, but revamped the plot.
I’ll end on these two points. Question family members about their pasts while they are able to supply details. You might not be interested in genealogy now, but many people develop that interest as they get older. Secondly, don’t let disappointments squelch your dreams. I could have thrown away my manuscript after that first conference, but I knew the story was worthwhile perusing. Sure, it took me many years, but I never let go. What have I leaned from this experience? Pray. Write. Learn. Repeat. Pray—about every aspect of your life. Write—the only way to improve any skill is to practice constantly. Learn—read craft books, attend conferences, join a critique group.
Neither Florence, my grandmother nor any of her nieces or nephews lived on a sheep station, but that’s where the fiction part comes in. What was life like on a sheep station in 1983? Follow Marlow’s journey to find out.
Travel to Australia to solve a family mystery? Sure, Marlow could do that. But she didn’t take into consideration the vast outback, nor the owner of the sheep station. Widower, Jake Barclay, is everything her late husband was not—honorable, considerate, a pure gentleman. She came prepared with sunscreen, but hadn’t built a high enough screen around her heart.
Jake was dubious about Marlow’s reason for visiting his station and thwarts her plan at every turn. Until he sees how she interacts with his vulnerable, young daughter.
If they solve the coded message, can Marlow return to Texas, or will Jake offer her a forever home in the outback?
Available from Amazon
American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis Award winner Valerie Massey Goree resides with her husband on the beautiful Olympic Peninsula of Washington State.
After serving as missionaries in her home country of Zimbabwe and raising two children, Glenn and Valerie moved to Texas. She worked in the public school system for many years, focusing on students with special needs. Now retired in Washington, Valerie spends her time writing, and spoiling her grandchildren.
Her novels include: Deceive Me Once, Colors of Deceit, The Stolen Lives Trilogy, Weep in the Night; Day of Reckoning; and Justice at Dawn, to be released soon. Valerie’s latest novel Forever Under Blue Skies, is now available from Amazon.
Valerie loves to hear from her readers.
Check Valerie’s website to learn more about her books.