Bøker av Linda Ruth Brooks

Bella was very confused. It was nearly Christmas Day and there were no presents under the tree in their house. Both her parents had been acting a little odd.No matter how hard she tried, Bella couldn't find any sign of Christmas coming to her house this year. Her friends were all very excited about what they were going to get, but no-one was talking about it at her place. She tried very hard to be good, knowing how important it was when staying on Santa's list of 'nice' children. But still the space under the Christmas tree was bare.Had Christmas been cancelled at her house? Or worse still, had someone stolen Christmas?

Tabby was the tiniest kitten Chelsea ever had.She fed the kitten with a small syringe. Tabby needed so much love. Tabby meowed and cried through the night.Chelsea woke and fed her. It wasn't long before Tabby put weight on. She had a big appetite for a tiny kitten. She also had a talent for mischief.Tabby developed one very alarming habit that nearly made a nervous wreck out of Georgia's Mum.In this ageless story of the love of a girl for her cat, Tabby, we relive our connection with animals, and the joy of childhood. Brooks brings wit and charm to a warm-hearted tale.

Fraser is a shy frog. He has just moved with his mum and dad to a new pond. Meeting new frogs make him nervous. When he's nervous he hiccups. When he hiccups all sorts of things happen.How will he make new friends?

Fraser is a shy frog. He has just moved with his mum and dad to a new pond. Meeting new frogs make him nervous. When he's nervous he hiccups. When he hiccups all sorts of things happen. How will he make new friends?

In this uniquely Australian anthology of short stories we traverse the country known by Australians as the 'wide brown land'. You will be introduced to a Bachelors & Spinsters Ball, memories of yesteryear's Cracker Nights, Aussie nicknames and the dangers of our wildlife, all written by gifted sassy women who have learned to live in a harsh, unforgiving land with irreverent humour, optimism and grace. The women in this collection bring boundless energy and imagination with sharp observation. They skilfully explore life with poignancy, wry humour and a crisp flair for suspense, delivering a lively read that will not disappoint, as the authors embrace life in it's chaos, beauty and hilarity. Features: Christina Batey, Linda Ruth Brooks, Julie Cochrane, Louise Elizabeth, Mary Gabb, Jo Hanrahan, Marilyn Linn, Neridah Kentwell, Jane McLean, Helen Marshall, Victoria Norton, Rina Robinson, Jo Tregellis, Linda Visman, Pauline Young.

In Australia there are a number of iconic buildings and structures, including the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge and a number of churches and town halls.Australian sheds are equally iconic and represent a way of life unique to this country. Our sheds have many forms ranging from hay sheds, farm sheds, chook sheds, backyard sheds. Then there are woolsheds, (also known as shearing sheds) where sheep are fleeced. And, of course, there is that big shed in Canberra, Parliament House, from where the population is fleeced.

They met on New Year's Eve-the most romantic night of the year. Jack Devon is in town to present a prize on the Sydney Harbour foreshore. He's enchanted by a free-spirted woman organising a photo shoot for her friend's catering business. She foils his attempts to charm her and asks if he was named after a ham sandwich. That's when Jack knows he wants her. He's thrilled when Chelsea is the prize winner.Chelsea Prentiss isn't impressed. She's won a prize she doesn't want-a week in Surfer's Paradise on the set of a soap opera she detests. To make matters worse, the man Chelsea has to spend the week with is Jack, an arrogant stuffed shirt who reminds her of her shallow, charming father.Brooks turns romance on its head in the exotic paradise of the Gold Coast of Australia. Humour, passion and enduring love combine to bring Chelsea and Jack's unique story.

There's a randomness and whimsy to this collection, and anyone familiar with Linda, will expect exactly that. It is also represented in the cover art-a zentangle, aptly name 'Goldfish in the Garden'.Prose begins at a nurses' reunion where the usual entertainments slip away as Pathfinder Robyn astounds the normally unflappable Marilyn and everyone else with a tale as disjointed as ever was told. A difficult childhood, a fascinating life, related with warmth and received with hilarity. Monica is voted Google-On-Legs for her encyclopaedic knowledge of life's goings on.A boy learns the beauty of the legacy of his great-uncles. A patient Indian Postmaster goes to great lengths to explain the parcel post system to an insistent customer. Jenny grieves a son on Mother's Day. Brooks shares memories of a muddy creek, a barbed wire fence and the angst and joys of growing up.Linda steps into a Jane Austen world and is maid at an elegant mansion in leafy upper-crust Sydney's North Shore and learns the rules for the help haven't changed much. In spite of his best intentions, an angry man becomes like his brutal father. A top-lofty son is embarrassed by his gentle mother's dementia and receives a lesson in grace. A vigilante tenant prunes a hedge and the neighbourhood is not amused.Brooks shares her award winning stories: 'The loud clock' (Coastlines 6, Southern Cross University), 'That Madness' (Legacy University Prize), 'Anyone but him, God' (Gabe Reynaud Award), 'Ancient Grief' (Grieve, Newcastle Writers Centre), 'A far place' (Stringybark Press), 'Dad's apprentice' (Wood, Brick & Stone, Catchfire Press), and 'The wall is blue (Coastlines 5, Southern Cross University).

Earthquake, a National Disaster Area and a volcano are all here. Along with friendships, partings, love and estrangement-the gamut of the human experience.We meet an indigenous family fighting to learn the truth about a loved one's death while serving his country. A son remembers a war-weary father who marched the Kokoda Trail, and a mother shares the joy of her three children. We pay tribute to the Stolen Generation and warriors defending the gentle giants of the sea-our whales. We share the love of a wife requesting her husband's surgeon to take care of her lover's heart and a family's devotion to a disabled son, with a unique gift for poetry, and deep insights into life.We read about the innocent joys of childhood, the love of grandparents and the extended family. So, here we are to share the kitchen pots, the tools of trade, the building of homes, living with hardship and the experience of integrating with other cultures. We hope that you will enjoy these stories and the journey back along memory lane, and realise that we are all a part of life's 'living history'.

Brady Harcourt returns to his hometown with his teenage daughter, Ebony, three years after the death of his wife. But instead of being the answer to his problems, the seachange looks like unravelling his family. Nothing is the way he remembered it. To make matters worse, he has to deal with Emma, a community nurse who'd give a Bolshevik a run for their money.Fifteen year old Ebony Harcourt is angry with her father. He's turned into Dadzilla. Leaving his corporate job and city life for what? He's obviously lost the plot. Enlisting the help of her feisty friend Jenna, she embarks on a quest to find answers about her mother's death. In their fearless efforts to uncover the truth, the girls stir up the locals and find trouble at every turn.Emma Tesler knows too much about the lives of everyone in the small seaside town of Noarlunga. She keeps their secrets well, although at times she has to bite her tongue. This is no mean feat for open hearted Emma. When Brady Harcourt arrives in town, her composure is sorely tested.Scarlett doesn't live here anymore reaches honestly into the issue of grieving. With her trademark humour and sharp observation, Linda weaves a tale of the adjustment and crossed purposes that come with loss. She brings the narrative to life with a unique cast of interesting characters, that all have their secrets, joys and dilemmas. In this deeply human story, we find peace, redemption, risk and resolution.

Georgia hides under the bracken fern. Her mother hits her to make her good. The nice man down the road gives her lollies that make her sleepy. Sometimes her brother Jackson hides her in his wardrobe. Her best friend Mittens the cat, listens to all her secrets. On her first day at school her special pencils are stolen. Afraid she will be in very big trouble, she runs away to the bracken fern that grows tall by the whispering creek, where the bower bird struts with his prize of blue buttons and the magpie feeds her babies. It is her safe place. She doesn't know about "real" safe places or that these things shouldn't be happening to her. When Miss Nelson, her teacher, finds her hiding place Georgia is even more afraid.Once in every lifetime, we should all see life through the eyes of a five year old child, hear their voice, sense the world through the unique perception of childhood. For to do this, is to perceive what they cannot know, protect them from what they cannot understand, so they don't have to hide. We are all guardians; every one.

Georgia hides under the bracken fern. Her mother hits her to make her good. The nice man down the road gives her lollies that make her sleepy. Sometimes her brother Jackson hides her in his wardrobe. Her best friend Mittens the cat, listens to all her secrets.On her first day at school her special pencils are stolen. Afraid she will be in very big trouble, she runs away to the bracken fern that grows tall by the whispering creek, where the bower bird struts with his prize of blue buttons and the magpie feeds her babies. It is her safe place. She doesn't know about "real" safe places or that these things shouldn't be happening to her. When Miss Nelson, her teacher, finds her hiding place Georgia is even more afraid.Once in every lifetime, we should all see life through the eyes of a five year old child, hear their voice, sense the world through the unique perception of childhood. For to do this, is to perceive what they cannot know, protect them from what they cannot understand, so they don't have to hide. We are all guardians; every one.This book is about what can happen to vulnerable, wounded children in their search for acceptance and real affection. I am privileged to add my support to Linda and this book. It will touch the lives of all who have the courage to read it. Dr Steele Fitchett