Francesca Cairns's Blog

Just wanted to say thanks to all the wonderful readers who have been enjoying my new novel, Falling for Water. The feedback has been awesome and I am very glad to hear it has touched your hearts in so many ways.

And now it's nearly Christmas and if you are still looking for something meaningful and nourishing to give, then I want to remind you that there is still time to order and recieve your own signed copy directly from me.

https://francairns.com

Also available from Amazon or Barnes and Noble in hard copy or for Kindle at this link:

https://mybook.to/fallingforwater/e

And here:
https://www.booktopia.com.au/falling-...


Thanks again for all the wonderful support xx

I’ve just finished this book – thankyou Fran Cairns so much. It’s a quiet and powerful tale of water, of spirit, of the earth, of lineage and of belonging. Belonging to the big everything, and to those who came before us. To Self. I love how Fran has managed to write the stuff that has no words, that can feel so clunky when we try to name it. And there it is, un-named, but so absolutely there in this book. Congratulations Fran! A very moving tale Cindy Aulby

As a writer, Fran Cairns has always had a wonderful capacity to evoke a sense of place for her readers. In her latest book, she does the same, taking us from one side of the globe to the other. The landscape, the environment, is as much a part of the story as the characters that interact with it. In this book, however, she takes us deeper to a place we did not even know that we needed to go. Somewhere deep, ancient and primal, not alien, rather an echo of something we think we might have forgotten, and were perhaps a little afraid to remember. I finished this book with a deep sigh, and I realised I had been holding myself much too tight for far too long. Now I felt myself able to breathe life back in full and generous measure. Kayla and her journey will stay with me for a long time, and I am grateful to have walked a while with her… Jennifer Powell

What a wonderful launch!

It was standing room only at the beachside vintage hall at Blythe Heads with 5o people gathering for the celebration of Falling for Water by Francesca Cairns.

Nettie Hume was the MC and there was a beautiful sharing by Cassie Smith, North West Environment Centre & Manager ecofest26:

This book has reminded me that water, memory, nature, and human spirit are all bound together.

It has reminded me to pause, to listen, to act, and to trust. 

Sue Young from Ashwood Publishing spoke about the many years of crafting the novel that had ‘distilled the essence of the story’.

Fran then spoke of the mystery, magic and wonder of water and shared a short reading.

If you missed the in-person launch there are two opportunities to join Fran in an online version:

https://events.humanitix.com/falling-for-water-by-francesca-cairns-book-launch

First light

earth’s light rim greyed with storm.

First awareness born as

wind’s realm swirls

whispering promise of your coming…

 

Full rounded belly pregnant cloud

hangs,

waiting,

as do I…

Electric

otherworld rumbles

as you turn my way

and I taste, in the flaring intensity,

your elemental urgency

for expression,

for connection,

for release.

 

Spilling beyond

its exquisite tension

slow drops fall,

seeking always

the lowest,

the deepest

union

of all.

 

Rhythm builds and I wonder

if you,

and I,

as rain does for earth,

will ease

for the other

this archaic thirst.

2006

 

 

As a shift in the current,

a quickening,

you appear through my day

to play across my lips

as a smile

that lightens these eyes.

 

Ethereal one,

shimmering at the edge of my psyche,

how strangely you touch my senses

From afar…

 

Could I,

from here

reach for your hand

and thank you

for the wave of possibility

breaking through my soul.

2006

It’s been a long time, old friend,

made longer by the fullness of years passing.

No doubt your life, like mine,

was flush with chapters

of life insistent,

laying claim to every precious irredeemable moment.

Dislodging the last, replacing the past

with that ceaseless passion for next page,

the next story, the next truth.

Yet death, like life,

refuses time,

to take seriously

the measure we apportion.

 

Spun straight back to times and travels,

of meals and madness,

to memories shared.

You and I so young and wild,

and sometimes brave.

To the endless future

that ran unquestionably

from our age-tender fingertips.

 

They tell me now your body

is worn and waning,

from the weight of that very same

irrepressible time.

 

My wish is that the wonder was enough.

That the ways love touched your life

thrilled, and nourished.

And that others, as I,

will remember with a warming delight

that reckless liberty of the time

when we were friends together.

 

 

Today I watched over the fjord

counting the years

since I fell into the ocean of your loving.

Captivated, as the water

in fathoms immeasurable,

between sculpted cliff and boulder,

leaning shoulder to shoulder,

like the hours and days passing.

Keepers of memory and time,

these ancient guides,

scribe watermarks indelibly in their sides.

Adrift I glide free.

Buffeted by wind and fierce lunar tide

like the crevices of loose scree

that tumble and fall in random play

coming to rest as they lay

held by one,

balanced by the other.

Light dances reflecting the radiance in your eyes,

illuminating depths that sway to the longing of the moon,

as eternal and mysterious

as my love for you.

2016

 

Drawn back to the café

my friend smiles, welcoming.

 

And I am reminded of those

who trust in the thread

of tangibility

that defines my life

line.

 

Who take what I cannot see

and reflect with angles,

subtle and unexpected,

the nature of my presence

on their path.