Book Launch

The Ballad of Banjo Crossing was launched last Monday by Jan Goldsmith presenter of 3CR's literary program 'Published or Not.' Somewhere between seventy and eighty people attended. It was very encouraging and I hope they enjoyed the evening. Meera from the Eltham Bookshop compiled a short video. You can find it on the Eltham bookshop website. Meanwhile, here are some photos and a link to the radio interview. http://www.3cr.org.au/publishedornot/episode-201711301130/judith-buckrich-and-tess-evans  

It seems so long ago that I submitted this novel to Harper Collins and yet it was less than a year. This week the final copy went off to the printer. No more control! That's the difficult bit.

I have seen the cover and look forward to sharing it here when I'm able to.

The Ballad of Banjo Crossing will be a December release.

It will be launched in Eltham on 4 December. There will be more details soon, including the cover and blurb.

Jack McPhail is a man on the run from his past, a drifter who lands by accident in the sleepy rural town of Banjo Crossing in the fertile region known as The Plains. Despite himself, Jack becomes slowly drawn into the town, its community, its characters and its concerns. Nevertheless, acceptance of this newcomer is based on a lie, and Jack fears rejection should someone discover the truth.
 
He is befriended by Mardi, a young widow and owner of the local coffee shop, and is beginning to explore this relationship, when the community is confronted by an unexpected development. A coal mining company has come to town, intent on buying up the local farming land to build an open cut mine. The Company’s offer for the purchase of farms is considerable, and to some, very tempting. 
 
 So friendships and alliances are tested when the citizens of Banjo Crossing and the farmers of the surrounding Plains face a stark choice –– to remain a rural community or become a mining town. Help arrives with the unexpected advent of The Woman in Purple, who becomes a symbol around which people rally, but she too, is under threat.
 
Jack wants to help out his new friends, but if he does, he's at risk of his past being exposed. Having his secret out there could change everything for, him so he does all he can while holding back this essential part of himself. Finally, exposure comes not from an enemy but from a friend.
 
This novel combines the story of a community faced with change interwoven with personal stories of those who have made it their home. A tender, funny, thought-provoking novel about the power of community, love, loss and second chances.