Until now, Danielle de Valera's been best known for her short stories, which have appeared in such diverse magazines as Penthouse, Aurealis and the Australian Women's Weekly.
All in all, she's had a chequered career. She's worked as a botanist, an editor, a cataloguer for the Queensland Department of Primary Industries Library and the John Oxley Library, and on the main floor of Arnott's biscuit factory.
The manuscript of her 1st ever novel (then titled Love the People!) was placed 2nd to published author Hugh Atkinson's in the Australia-wide Xavier Society Literary Award for an unpublished novel - in those days, there was no Vogel Award for Unpublished Writers under 35. After that, she abandoned writing for 25 years to raise her children, whom she raised alone.
She resumed writing in 1990, somewhat behind the eight-ball. With Louise Forster she won the Australia-New Zealand-wide Emma Darcy Award for Romance Manuscript of the Year 2000 with Found: One Lover.
That first novel, Love the People! was shortlisted for the Byron Bay Writers' Festival Unpublished Manuscript Award in 2011, and for the UK's Impress Prize in 2012, under the title A Few Brief Seasons. It's due out here in October 2021 under its final title Those Brisbane Romantics.
A freelance manuscript assessor and fiction editor since 1992, she has won numerous awards for her gritty, streetwise short stories. MagnifiCat, a departure from this style, is her first published novel. It was followed in 2017 by Dropping Out: a tree-change novel in stories - to put it another way, a collection of linked short stories.
For more information on this author, see Smashwords iInterview. There's lots there.
About that Name
Danielle de Valera's father claimed he was related to the controversial Irish politician Eamon de Valera on his mother's side. But he told some tall tales in his time, and this is sure to be one of them. Born Danielle Ellis, she found that this name was replicated many times on the web. In searching for another under which to write, she first tried her mother's maiden name, Doyle, but there were a number of those, too. What to do? Then she remembered her father's story and chose it as her writing name. But she feels any real connection is unlikely.
Way back in the day when people wrote letters, a box of Old Gold chocolates had significance and the City Hall at 91 metres was the tallest building in town, everyone's under twenty-five and single, and everyone's trying to get that special someone into bed. But in Brisbane, 1961, that's not so easy. Perils abound: The Pill can't be dispensed to unmarried women, pregnancy terminations are illegal and being gay is a criminal offence.
After being drafted into work for the war effort, women are back in the home. Tara Mahoney, a budding artist, has fallen for childhood friend Joe Gordon, whose ambition is to make it in international music; marriage at twenty-two will ruin his chances (and Tara's) for a career in the arts. Joe and Tara are desperate for one another, but with no reliable birth control it's hands-off for both of them.
Into this fraught situation steps Klari Nadassy, a Hungarian ballet dancer. When she becomes pregnant to Joe, tragedy ensues. Joe turns back to Tara, who faces the choice of marrying a man she's not in love with and keeping her career or playing second fiddle to Joe.
If you remember pounds, shillings and pence, you'll enjoy revisiting this time. If you never used Imperial currency, you'll be surprised at how little has changed in the emotional Land of Will I, or Won't I? There can only be one first time.
Título : Those Brisbane Romantics
EAN : 9780994274595
Editorial : Danielle de Valera
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