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The Shelly Beach Writers' Group
What do you do when your husband dumps you for his PA, your company goes broke and your nearly published novel is cancelled?
Gina, a barely 50-something corporate high-flier, is counting her losses when a chance meeting throws a sea change her way. A job as a house/dog-sitter – albeit in a minus one-star leaky cottage in windswept Shelly Beach – seems the perfect opportunity to relax and regroup. But Gina hasn't counted on the locals, and soon finds herself reluctantly convening the writers' group, babysitting, baking, seal-watching, bicycling . . . and perhaps even falling in love.
With a cast of unforgettable characters, The Shelly Beach Writers' Group is an irresistible story of reinvention.
Gina, a barely 50-something corporate high-flier, is counting her losses when a chance meeting throws a sea change her way. A job as a house/dog-sitter – albeit in a minus one-star leaky cottage in windswept Shelly Beach – seems the perfect opportunity to relax and regroup. But Gina hasn't counted on the locals, and soon finds herself reluctantly convening the writers' group, babysitting, baking, seal-watching, bicycling . . . and perhaps even falling in love.
With a cast of unforgettable characters, The Shelly Beach Writers' Group is an irresistible story of reinvention.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
About the author
June Loves
62 books14 followersJune is an enthusiastic tutor and enjoys presenting book talks and writers’ workshops in libraries, schools and clubs to promote her books and the craft of writing. Her combined career as journalist, teacher, librarian, educational consultant, and bookshop-seller enables her to comfort and keep young and old writers on track in her lively workshops.
As a writers’ workshopaholic, and writers’ festival-addict, June has heartfelt empathy with writers – emerged, emerging or submerged. She so relates to fiction writers who escape into the comfort of imaginary worlds – as the real world collapses around them.
June and her husband are very happy living in their seaside town on the picturesque Mornington Peninsula. She spends many hours outdoors exploring the beach and the national park. Their house has a garden with lots of space for caravans and tents – essential for stopovers by friends, family, grandchildren and grand-dogs.
The network of friendly and supporting locals in their small community and her love of writing and belief that writing is a great cure for a lot of problems, was the inspiration for her novel The Shelly Beach Writers’ Group.
As a writers’ workshopaholic, and writers’ festival-addict, June has heartfelt empathy with writers – emerged, emerging or submerged. She so relates to fiction writers who escape into the comfort of imaginary worlds – as the real world collapses around them.
June and her husband are very happy living in their seaside town on the picturesque Mornington Peninsula. She spends many hours outdoors exploring the beach and the national park. Their house has a garden with lots of space for caravans and tents – essential for stopovers by friends, family, grandchildren and grand-dogs.
The network of friendly and supporting locals in their small community and her love of writing and belief that writing is a great cure for a lot of problems, was the inspiration for her novel The Shelly Beach Writers’ Group.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
March 24, 2011
OK, OK, this book probably deserves a 3.5, but I'm feeling generous today. And the author's name is "June Loves." That's cool.
This is chick-lit. The ending is predictable. There are no surprises. But that doesn't mean some writers don't work the formula better than others. And, in my opinion, June Loves works it better. First of all, the story is narrated in a diary-entry and email format. Interesting. Secondly, it involves animals (no, she doesn't fall in love with an animal...well yes, she does, but you get my drift). I'm not one of those huge animal-lovers, but the way in which she incorporates the characters of these animals into the narrative is impressive. This is someone who knows pets. And, broadly speaking, this is a story about becoming part of a community--about being drawn into and falling in love with the quirks of small-town life. And that's a story I know in some ways. So maybe, just maybe, that's why I really liked this book.
Yes, it's predictable, but it is also cozy and relaxing and fun! It's good.
This is chick-lit. The ending is predictable. There are no surprises. But that doesn't mean some writers don't work the formula better than others. And, in my opinion, June Loves works it better. First of all, the story is narrated in a diary-entry and email format. Interesting. Secondly, it involves animals (no, she doesn't fall in love with an animal...well yes, she does, but you get my drift). I'm not one of those huge animal-lovers, but the way in which she incorporates the characters of these animals into the narrative is impressive. This is someone who knows pets. And, broadly speaking, this is a story about becoming part of a community--about being drawn into and falling in love with the quirks of small-town life. And that's a story I know in some ways. So maybe, just maybe, that's why I really liked this book.
Yes, it's predictable, but it is also cozy and relaxing and fun! It's good.
November 21, 2014
I do enjoy a good chic-lit book, but I prefer them to be on the smarter side. I would NOT classify this book as one of those. It is slow, boring, the reader can see where it is heading from a mile (or kilometer) away. It is apparent the book is some fantasy life the author dreamed up, perhaps to get a little break from reality. But, it is simply too much to have the main character (in her early 50's) magically lose all this weight because she is walking a little more than usual, every man she meets wants to have a sexual relationship with her, and to be constantly reminded about her previous high power/high salary corporate job. My eyes roll just trying to write this review. This is not my idea of escapism fantasy, but rather some poor woman's delusional dream. I am being generous with 2 stars.
March 4, 2012
A nice fluffy read from an Australian Author about starting your life over - Gina, a barely 50-something corporate high-flier, is counting her losses when a chance meeting throws a sea change her way. A job as a house/dog-sitter – albeit in a minus one-star leaky cottage in windswept Shelly Beach – seems the perfect opportunity to relax and regroup. But Gina hasn't counted on the locals, and soon finds herself reluctantly convening the writers' group, babysitting, baking, seal-watching, bicycling . . . and perhaps even falling in love.
December 18, 2012
Three and a half stars.I admire anyone who can write with a dash of humour.But supposedly humourous novels don't always hold my attention. This one did. It is light, it's fun and told in diary and email format. As she went about the job of house sitting and dog sitting, renovations, baking and whatever else came up while she lived in Shelly Beach including of course the local writers' group, I liked the way Gina talked to the dog. Anyone who has ever had a dog knows they are the best listeners.The interaction between her and 'bossy child' was fun too.It's a feel good escape novel.
April 13, 2023
Light, easy to read and fun. After a marriage breakdown and loss of lifestyle, the protagonist becomes a house and dog sitter in a beach town. Written like a journal, it gave me a few laughs. Although the ending was predictable, I still enjoyed reading it.
May 15, 2021
The "Dog" and "Bossy Child" characters especially appealed to me.
July 20, 2012
I saw this Author interviewed on television and instantly loved her attitude and outlooks on life. She's very inspirational and has previously written many reference books, including a children's encyclopedia. She's living proof that you can make changes to your life's direction at any time and this is the basis for the novel.
I really enjoyed reading the struggles of Gina, who finds herself broke and house-sitting, with a long list of tasks left to her by the house's owner. A lovely light read that left me hoping for more novels from this wonderful lady.
I really enjoyed reading the struggles of Gina, who finds herself broke and house-sitting, with a long list of tasks left to her by the house's owner. A lovely light read that left me hoping for more novels from this wonderful lady.
August 29, 2012
Just couldn't get interested enough at all to even finish this one
June 14, 2017
Cute. A fun, light read with a protagonist - the 50-something ex-career woman Gina whose life has been turned upside down in quick succession by a separation from a dirty-rat husband and a failed book contract, on the heels of a failed corporate career and a failing relationship with her adult and very pregnant daughter - you can enjoy following along as she makes her new life during troubled times.
Gina's a gas, if not a very complicated or well-developed one. Enrolled into the life of Adrian, the Shelly Beach groover whose hotted off to London to look after his grandchildren while his daughter undergoes chemotherapy, Gina has agreed to dog-sit Hugo, or Dog as she insists on calling him, and to basically do everything Adrian was going to do in this six-month period. This includes such herculean tasks such as finishing his café-cum-bookstore renovation (oh, and opening it - nothing major!), looking after the child next door every Thursday evening, coordinating the local sealife rescue effort for any beached sea animals, and oh yes: get up and running (and keep running) the Shelly Beach Writers Group, an art initiative funded by the local government.
Gina takes all this in stride, with dialogue including the economical "Right!" whenever she's asked to do One More Thing on Adrian's life list - attend and be his proxy vote at the local action committee meeting, contribute to local fundraising efforts for next year's WriteFest by making finger food for a flash cocktail party, or shelve Adrian's large collection of books in the new café-cum-bookstore. When she's not pronouncing affirmative "Right!"'s in the face of even more eyebrow-raising requests that rest of us might be tempted to give an equally economically "Bugger off!" to, she's exclaiming Bloody hell! A favourite in Gina's self-talk, that lovely Australian statement covers everything from the fabulous (the younger hot Asian chef Lee making a move on her) to the ridiculous (awaking to water leaks from a dodgy ceiling in the middle of the night). It makes for a somewhat predictable read, but it's kind of comforting in its own cute way.
The cast of other characters were somewhat of a blur to me. I couldn't tell her 3 city friends apart for most of the novel, and the seaside characters all blurred together too. I couldn't tell Daphne from Violet, Bianca from Deb, Hester from Eva. They were all a bit of a moosh, those characters, and I wasn't sufficiently interested to try to work out who owned the second-hand clothing store and who had written 7 crime novels based on gardening and composting (unpublished). They did all eat at Rosa's a lot, though.
Huge big leaps in believability required, some of which simply could not be done. One being the weight loss (from an undisclosed but supposedly large size down to an Australian size 8) just by trotting the dog, sorry Dog, along the beach a couple of times a week. If only if were that easy at any age, let alone at 50+.
But if you can put all those annoying gaps aside and let yourself drift, this is an easy way to while away some time, kind of like watching a B-television movie. Don't expect any major plot twists, Hollywood actors, scintillating dialogue or grand special effects - and you might just enjoy it.
Nothing here to get you hot under the collar, but lots here to lose yourself in in a gentle easy way. I enjoyed this read for what it was; but feel I've had my fill of Gina and her Shelly Beach travails and won't be signing up to read the others in this series.
Gina's a gas, if not a very complicated or well-developed one. Enrolled into the life of Adrian, the Shelly Beach groover whose hotted off to London to look after his grandchildren while his daughter undergoes chemotherapy, Gina has agreed to dog-sit Hugo, or Dog as she insists on calling him, and to basically do everything Adrian was going to do in this six-month period. This includes such herculean tasks such as finishing his café-cum-bookstore renovation (oh, and opening it - nothing major!), looking after the child next door every Thursday evening, coordinating the local sealife rescue effort for any beached sea animals, and oh yes: get up and running (and keep running) the Shelly Beach Writers Group, an art initiative funded by the local government.
Gina takes all this in stride, with dialogue including the economical "Right!" whenever she's asked to do One More Thing on Adrian's life list - attend and be his proxy vote at the local action committee meeting, contribute to local fundraising efforts for next year's WriteFest by making finger food for a flash cocktail party, or shelve Adrian's large collection of books in the new café-cum-bookstore. When she's not pronouncing affirmative "Right!"'s in the face of even more eyebrow-raising requests that rest of us might be tempted to give an equally economically "Bugger off!" to, she's exclaiming Bloody hell! A favourite in Gina's self-talk, that lovely Australian statement covers everything from the fabulous (the younger hot Asian chef Lee making a move on her) to the ridiculous (awaking to water leaks from a dodgy ceiling in the middle of the night). It makes for a somewhat predictable read, but it's kind of comforting in its own cute way.
The cast of other characters were somewhat of a blur to me. I couldn't tell her 3 city friends apart for most of the novel, and the seaside characters all blurred together too. I couldn't tell Daphne from Violet, Bianca from Deb, Hester from Eva. They were all a bit of a moosh, those characters, and I wasn't sufficiently interested to try to work out who owned the second-hand clothing store and who had written 7 crime novels based on gardening and composting (unpublished). They did all eat at Rosa's a lot, though.
Huge big leaps in believability required, some of which simply could not be done. One being the weight loss (from an undisclosed but supposedly large size down to an Australian size 8) just by trotting the dog, sorry Dog, along the beach a couple of times a week. If only if were that easy at any age, let alone at 50+.
But if you can put all those annoying gaps aside and let yourself drift, this is an easy way to while away some time, kind of like watching a B-television movie. Don't expect any major plot twists, Hollywood actors, scintillating dialogue or grand special effects - and you might just enjoy it.
Nothing here to get you hot under the collar, but lots here to lose yourself in in a gentle easy way. I enjoyed this read for what it was; but feel I've had my fill of Gina and her Shelly Beach travails and won't be signing up to read the others in this series.
August 23, 2021
Really good read. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
It's a story of a woman who's career, business, and marriage have all gone down the gurgler. Having the vast majority of her possessions tied up in the business with her husband, she's lost virtually everything she held dear. With no real immediate prospects she takes up an offer to look after a beach cottage and small dog while the owner is away in England looking after his ailing daughter.
The book is written in dairy form, with numerous emails as well, and covers the six months of her contracted tenancy.
It's filled with wonderful characters who make the fictional setting seem real and alive. Characters like Dog, Bossy Child, and the wonderful, and sometimes eccentric, members of the Shelly Beach Writers Group.
Well done June Loves.
It's a story of a woman who's career, business, and marriage have all gone down the gurgler. Having the vast majority of her possessions tied up in the business with her husband, she's lost virtually everything she held dear. With no real immediate prospects she takes up an offer to look after a beach cottage and small dog while the owner is away in England looking after his ailing daughter.
The book is written in dairy form, with numerous emails as well, and covers the six months of her contracted tenancy.
It's filled with wonderful characters who make the fictional setting seem real and alive. Characters like Dog, Bossy Child, and the wonderful, and sometimes eccentric, members of the Shelly Beach Writers Group.
Well done June Loves.
September 3, 2025
I really enjoyed this book. The way it is written felt so intimate and honest, like talking to a friend, and I found it very funny too. I also loved the "conversations" she had with the dog and the way she referred to people, like calling the kid Bossy Child instead of her name and the dog "Dog", because those are things I do. Also the meta references about writing her novel were a fun little touch.
Gina had a nice development during the story with which I am satisfied, and was rooting for her by the 2nd third of the book.
I would recommend it as a happy reading :). It made me want to go to this Shelly Beach place and spend time with the characters in the book.
Gina had a nice development during the story with which I am satisfied, and was rooting for her by the 2nd third of the book.
I would recommend it as a happy reading :). It made me want to go to this Shelly Beach place and spend time with the characters in the book.
March 16, 2018
This is a light, easy and entertaining read about a middle aged woman who regained her confidence and renewed her faith in life. We’re immersed into her sea change experience in a little beach side town while house and dog sitting she’s thrown into local events and quickly became a local. It’s written with funny anecdotes in journal entries which made me want to join her in Shelly Beach.
Read
September 14, 2021I wanted to like this book, but it didn’t quite grab me, and I could easily have put it down. It had all the ingredients, but somehow the recipe was off for me. Perhaps it was the number of assets that Gina had, from an Amani coat to a spare diamond ring, and some serious designer clothes. The book seemed more like a monologue and that can get tedious. Some of the email repartee was fun.
February 28, 2025
I really wanted to like this but had to force myself to pick it up.
Gave up at halfway.
Too many characters, loved the humour about the dog but was annoying me too much when the dog was always called dog instead of its name!
Also the neighbour was called bossy girl instead of her name. Way too many books on my shelf to read a book I’m not enjoying.
Gave up at halfway.
Too many characters, loved the humour about the dog but was annoying me too much when the dog was always called dog instead of its name!
Also the neighbour was called bossy girl instead of her name. Way too many books on my shelf to read a book I’m not enjoying.
March 19, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. It’s satisfyingly long, and reads as more about this stage of her life than a start and finish story. The title is a little misleading as the Writers’ Group is just a small part of her involvement in the community. This novel had some really funny bits too.
June 15, 2017
Lovely story, the dream escape....with some romance thrown in.
August 31, 2017
Entertaining story ,very relatable, leaves you keen to read more.
November 17, 2017
I admit it took me a little while to warm to the style, but it was well worth persevering. A very funny book. I'll definitely be reading more from this author.
January 8, 2018
2.5 stars. Goodreads needs to allow half star ratings!
May 3, 2020
Great read, couldnt put it down, didn't want it to finish.
September 21, 2021
A quirky, endearing book full of likeable characters.
May 21, 2011
This certainly couldn’t be classified as literature, but it it’s so much fun!
Fifty-something Gina, dumped by her husband, settles in Shelly Beach to lick her wounds and hide from the rat race. Things don’t go according to Gina’s plans, of course, and she is inexorably drawn into the life of the little coastal town. The plot is pretty basic, and the ending so predictable you can see it coming from about the third chapter, but the story moves at such a cracking pace that the reader doesn’t really worry about this.
The characters are only sketched, rather than developed fully, but I think this only adds to the light-heartedness. Gina unfortunately comes across as pretty wishy-washy, but maybe that’s because she’s just been dumped by her husband! The town is portrayed beautifully and so realistically! Anyone who’s ever spent time in one of Australia’s many coastal towns will recognise Shelly Beach!
It’s a book where I was quite willing to suspend all critical faculties and enjoy myself.
Fifty-something Gina, dumped by her husband, settles in Shelly Beach to lick her wounds and hide from the rat race. Things don’t go according to Gina’s plans, of course, and she is inexorably drawn into the life of the little coastal town. The plot is pretty basic, and the ending so predictable you can see it coming from about the third chapter, but the story moves at such a cracking pace that the reader doesn’t really worry about this.
The characters are only sketched, rather than developed fully, but I think this only adds to the light-heartedness. Gina unfortunately comes across as pretty wishy-washy, but maybe that’s because she’s just been dumped by her husband! The town is portrayed beautifully and so realistically! Anyone who’s ever spent time in one of Australia’s many coastal towns will recognise Shelly Beach!
It’s a book where I was quite willing to suspend all critical faculties and enjoy myself.
Want to Read
September 25, 2014Seems to have been written as an exercise in writing a novel.
Slow; badly constructed; cardboard characters; tedious. There is literally a chapter (day entry? it's a diary) where she describes how boring her day is. Guess what: it's boring to read how boring her day is. But it's all boring, so that was going to happen anyway.
By all means, write such books as a hobby, as therapy, as an escape. Just please don't get them published.
The premise is good (that's why we buy books half the time, right?) but the execution is not good.
The damaged protagonist is so damaged that she could turn out to be interesting, but at the moment she's just a bit of a bean bag.
Granted, I haven't finished it. I'm at the point where the story is stumbling to a halt, probably around about the end of act 1. Of course, the complication may have already occurred and I'm actually deep into Act 2, but if so there was no way to tell.
I will probably finish reading this novel one day, but at the moment I have better things to do.
Slow; badly constructed; cardboard characters; tedious. There is literally a chapter (day entry? it's a diary) where she describes how boring her day is. Guess what: it's boring to read how boring her day is. But it's all boring, so that was going to happen anyway.
By all means, write such books as a hobby, as therapy, as an escape. Just please don't get them published.
The premise is good (that's why we buy books half the time, right?) but the execution is not good.
The damaged protagonist is so damaged that she could turn out to be interesting, but at the moment she's just a bit of a bean bag.
Granted, I haven't finished it. I'm at the point where the story is stumbling to a halt, probably around about the end of act 1. Of course, the complication may have already occurred and I'm actually deep into Act 2, but if so there was no way to tell.
I will probably finish reading this novel one day, but at the moment I have better things to do.
February 21, 2013
One of my fav books ever. A seachange book. (Of course! My fav!) Gina goes to live in Shelley Beach after her hubby announces he wants a divorce (of course! so cliched! but somehow I got past this!). She agrees to housesit Adrian's house. As such she inherits not only his dog, but also his position in the Shelly Beach Writers' Group and is expected to organise their meetings. Adrian and Gina correspond via email and phone calls which are all quite funny with Gina's internal thoughts added. There's also a nice handsome younger man who Gina thinks could help with her confidence after the hubby dumping and a nice handsome older man who doesn't particularly like her house-owner, Adrian. Yes, yes, all cliched, but I still loved it. :)
December 30, 2015
There's a reason I don't read this sort of thing very often. Boring Australian chook-lit about a 50yr old ex-high-flier who escapes to a seaside village to house-sit for 6 months and lick the wounds from her failed marriage, bankruptcy, difficult relationship with her daughter and her attempt at a first novel going nowhere. She meets a bunch of "quirky" characters and rebuilds her life, while becoming attached to a small dog. All completely predictable. It's written in journal style, and for someone who's supposed to be a writer, the actual writing is awful. Overly simplistic sentences, repetition, silly nicknames, flat attempts at humour... I did finish it, which was an effort, and rather a waste of time.
January 26, 2012
I just read that June Loves calls this "hen-lit" - "It's not chick-lit when you get to 50". Oh how I loved this feel good wonderful book. It definitely ticked all the boxes for me - made me feel happy, I laughed out loud, I loved the characters, Gina's conversations with Dog, and it was set in Australia. I must admit that I want to live in Shelly Beach and join the Writers' Group even though I don't want to write a book but I would enjoy the food and drink and friendship. I hope there will be more from Shelly Beach.
Did Not Finish
March 10, 2014I just couldn't get into this book despite really wanting a fun easy read. It is ridiculously predictable, characters shallow, and not much happens. And little things, like the main character not realising that you can check your own email on someone else's computer just really annoyed me! I was going to press on but by page 177, not even halfway, it still hasn't improved = time to move on.
May 13, 2011
For some reason I really enjoyed this book, it's no literary masterpiece that's for sure but there was plenty about it that made it somehow endearing to me.If you want a bit of escapism involving a character that is creating a new life for themselves, then you may enjoy it too!
July 23, 2011
I loved this book. A great escape read and I looked forward to picking it up every night and reading about Gina's progress and her growing affection for Dog. I wish she had called him Hugo, however! Most enjoyable.
November 12, 2012
It was a delightfully amusing book but I was kind of left flat at the end as I had kind of expected a better ending. Up until the very end I was going to rate it with 4 stars but the ending kind of left me feeling ho hum. Otherwise, it's a fun fluffy book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews