Pages

Tuesday 2 September 2014

ACRBA Tour Rebecca's Dream by Carol Preston (and ACW Birthday Scavenger Hunt)

  

1st - 5th September 2014


Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance

Is Introducing

Rebecca's Dream

(Even Before March 2014)

By

Carol Preston

About the Book


     
Rebecca Oakes is thirteen years old when her mother, Suzannah, dies in the small town of Marengo, New South Wales, in 1873. With her older brother and sisters soon involved in their own lives, Rebecca is left alone to care for her ageing father. But Rebecca has a dream for her own life. She wants to make a difference to the world around her; a world where it is hardly possible for a woman to get an education, where women have no rights, no vote, no voice. Rebecca will have to fight the systems of her time if she is to achieve her goals. She must find the courage to stand against sexual and religious prejudice, and resist the pressures of even those close to her, in order to make her way towards her dream, influenced by one man who hates her, who will do anything to thwart her plans, and another man who loves her, and will do anything to make her happy.

Rebecca’s Dream is the second book in the Oakes Family Saga. Background notes and discussion questions are available for book clubs.


About the Author



Carol lives in Wollongong with her husband, Neil. She is a psychologist and has a part time private counselling practice, as well as being an author and speaker. Carol enjoys spending time with her children and four grandchildren, as well as bushwalking, gardening and holidaying overseas with her husband. One of her hobbies over many years has been family history research. It was this research which started Carol on the journey of writing novels.
   
Her first trilogy is about the Oakes Family; Suzannah’s Gold, Rebecca’s Dream and The Price of Peace, which takes the reader from 1838 when her great great grandmother, Suzannah Casey was transported from Ireland, through to the end of the First World War when Suzannah’s children and grandchildren are involved in the battle, not only to survive the war but to survive the waiting at home. The first two of these have recently been re-released by EBP. Carol’s fourth novel, The Face of Forgiveness, is about two young women who are transported to Australia in 1839. The most recent of Carol’s novel is a series based on her mother’s family, which begins with the First Fleet of convicts to Australia. These include Mary’s Guardian, Charlotte’s Angel, Tangled Secrets, and Truly Free.

For more information about Carol’s books and her other interests she can be contacted on her website: www.carolpreston.com.au, on her Facebook author page: www.facebook.com/writingtoreach or her Amazon author page: www.amazon.com/author/carolpreston

Interview with Carol Preston


Can you tell us something interesting readers may not know about you?

Perhaps some might not know that I am a psychologist and have been in private practice for the past 16 years. I draw a great deal of inspiration from many of my clients who show so much   courage and resilience in the face of trauma and struggle. 

Where did you get the inspiration for your novel?

The inspiration for this novel and my other novels comes from my family history research, where I became enthralled and proud of the many stories of our early Australian ancestors who battled through incredible hardship and overcame enormous challenges to survive and to build the country we know and love.

In your research did you find any interesting titbits that surprised you?

I had many fascinating discoveries when I did my family research during the 1980s and 90s – not the least of which was that on my mother’s side our ancestors go back to the first fleet of convicts sent from England to the colony in 1788. I also discovered interesting elderly relatives who I’d previously never met, and after my novels were published I was contacted by numerous people who were also distantly related and were excited to read about our common ancestors.

What would you like readers to take out of reading your novel? 

I’d love my readers to have a greater sense of Aussie history and also some insight into the Aussie psyche which has developed in the descendants of our early settlers. I’d like my readers to find my characters engaging and inspiring, and most of all I want them to enjoy the stories.

A fun question to end, If you were to recommend somewhere in Australia or New Zealand for readers to visit where would it be?

Of course, I would recommend the south coast of New South Wales to my readers. It is not only rich with Australia’s early history, but one of the most beautiful parts of the world with its golden beaches, bushland and fascinating small towns such as Berry and Jamberoo.

Where can we find you on the web?
My website is www.carolpreston.com.au
Readers can also find me on my author page on Amazon  www.amazon.com/author/carolpreston or on Face Book  www.facebook.com/writingtoreach
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

ACW SCAVENGER HUNT CLUES FOR TUESDAY:

Clue 4 from Jeanette O'Hagan: Name one of the main characters in Akrad's Children. 
http://jeanetteohagan.com/ 

Clue 5 from Carol Preston: What is the name of the main character who is an ex-convict in Susannah's Gold? http://www.carolpreston.com.au/ 

Clue 6 from Iola Goulton: Name an Australian author who has worked with Iola Goulton at Christian Editing Services. http://christianediting.co.nz

We hope you're enjoying the hunt and locating the answers to the clues. The contest rules are listed in Monday's post. Please remember to comment on Monday's post, complete the online form and your Rafflecopter entry. Rafflecopter lists all the options for gaining extra entries in the drawing, including commenting on the posts this week. 

The Scavenger Hunt closes at 2pm on Sunday, September 7 (AEST). The winner will be announced on Tuesday, September 9. Good luck!

31 comments:

  1. Great interview. Thanks Carol and Jenny.

    ReplyDelete
  2. to find you have ancestors that go back to the first fleet of convicts sent from England to the colony in 1788 is so interesting. Wonderful research!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes that is amazing! All the way back to 1788 - I haven't a clue about my ancestors as my Aunty has been doing the research. I can't wait to hear more from her, it's certainly been an inspiration to you, Carol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My cousin is doing research on mums side but not much on dads side.

      Delete
    2. Yes Catherine, my family research has been a great inspiration for stories. And fun too.

      Delete
  4. I love the idea that Carol has fictionalized some of our Australian history. I was following such a story on her blog last year and what those early colonists had to deal with. Thanks Carol. I can just imagine your grand kids especially will one day gratefully cherish their heritage.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rita I loved learning about Australian history also this way.

      Delete
  5. I'm always enchanted by your town names. Wollongong and Jamberro both sound like places I'd want to visit. Congratulations on your books, Carol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Suzie I stayed in Wollongong and we did a day trip to Jamberro where they had water slides.

      Delete
    2. Thanks Suzie. Some of our Aussie names are Aboriginal in origin of course, and many are hard to say - and spell. But there are lots of great small town stories that show the stuff of which Aussies are made.

      Delete
  6. Jenny and Carol, great interview! Suzie, Jamberoo's recreation water park is on my list of places to visit in summer with my family. It's only a few hours drive from Canberra :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Carol and Jenny, excellent interview. Congratulations Carol on your series. I've always wondered whether having a psychologist's training & experience would help an author really get inside their characters. Carol, do you think have an advantage in that regard?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by Ian

      Delete
    2. I do think my experience as a psychologist has helped me work through the reactions and experiences of my characters. Listening to how people struggle through all kinds of challenges and traumas has given me great material as human responses are not so different over the generations.

      Delete
  8. Fun interview, Jenny and Carol. This sounds like a great series. Aussie stories always get me. I have a series set in the 1870s, too.
    Blessings
    Dotti :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks for the interview, sounds good. (BTW - only Tuesday here!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We understand that Ellen. thanks for commenting

      Delete
  10. Tuesday comment :)
    No, seriously: I am glad to participate in this scavenger hunt. Have already found some of the clues!

    ReplyDelete
  11. i love books that include cultural history gives someone who hasn't been there a view of what they are missing and for people that do live there they like to relate to the places or history

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. These books really do give an insight into early Aussie life.

      Delete
  12. I'm glad to add some new great books to my TBR list! Happy celebration!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Heidi. I do hope you get to read some of my books and enjoy them.

      Delete
  13. Rebecca's Dream sounds so good. It will be on my reading list!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's great Sonja. You might want to consider reading Suzannah's Gold first as it sets the scene for Rebecca's Dream. I hope you enjoy the story.

      Delete
  14. Suzannah's Gold was the first Australian Christian fiction novel I read (purposefully). It brought together my love of history, Australia and Christian morals. :)

    ReplyDelete

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.