In 1980, Claudie Miller was a household name, her patterns for children’s clothing appearing in the Australian Woman magazine. None was more popular than her Juliet dress, designed for sweet sixteens.
What her adoring public didn’t know is that 16 years earlier, the young unwed Claudie was forced to give up a baby for adoption. Now she is eager to track down her daughter. And in different parts of the country, Roisin, Miranda and Bindi are all turning 16 on the same day.
Told from multiple points-of-view and in different time periods, this was a beautifully tender and intricately woven story that explores the issue of forced adoptions in Australia and the threads that tie a mother and child together.
On the night before an international tour, classical pianist Diana composes an enchanting love song for her long-term boyfriend Arie. He had asked her to marry him again – and she promises to think about it while she is away.
Australian Evie is living in Edinburgh, working at a pub and dreaming of being a poet. One day she hears some teenagers playing a song at a train station and is immediately captivated. Little does she know how that song will change her life.
This beautiful moving story will pull at your heartstrings as it tracks Diana's song weaving its way through the lives of a cast of characters - from a young flautist caught up in the spell of first love through to a radio DJ lamenting the end of an era. I was so enamoured, I devoured it all in one night.
Justine is working as a copyrunner at a magazine as she waits for her long-awaited promotion to cadet reporter. In the meantime, while hoping one of her colleagues will finally resign – or die - she wields her red pen on annoying typos throughout the community.
When she bumps into her old childhood friend, Nick, now an aspiring actor who has a shot at playing Romeo, she realises she still has a sweet spot for him. So what harm could it do to start altering Nick’s horoscope, to encourage him to follow his dreams as well as propel him in her direction? However, the changed horoscope for Aquarius ends up affecting a number of people’s lives too.
This is a delightful, witty debut, which tracks Justine and her quest to win over Nick over a year. I really loved the way the other Aquarian characters were introduced and how their lives converged. I could easily see this being adapted for the screen. I predict success has been written in Ms Darke’s own stars.
