Windsong

by Margaret Sutherland

Surrounding the cultured Australian city of Armidale are the wild gorges and ghost towns of a disreputable past. When Martin Ainsworth, disgraced English teacher, escapes home to this sedate New England centre, he imagines a reflective interlude designed to pull his life into shape.



His memories of Armidale include youthful love, intellectual challenge and ambition. This optimistic version of his life collapses when a casual meeting with Annie Marshall, his first love, reveals that the past is anything but dead. At the same time, Martins ex-wife lands him with the fulltime care of his resentful teenage son.



Confused by these issues, Martin turns to Sara, the woman from whom he rents an apartment. Unlike the passionate Annie, Sara Carmody is cool, fashionable and financially secure. However, her efficient manner conceals a soft heart damaged by past losses. Under Martins influence, Sara faces her own regretful memories.



While Martin tries to plan a course between love and duty, and Sara and Annie confront their own decisions, it is the children who can only stand by, innocent participants in the break-ups and regroupings of modern family life and love.

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2009

About the author

I have been writing contemporary women's fiction for several decades. It's one of the things I love to do. Yes, I've won a few prizes, grants and awards, and treasure the good reviews. But the real joy is conceiving, writing and finishing a new book. My recent anthology, A QUINTESSENTIAL LOVE AFFAIR, is actually a sampler of 20 years' work I've done since migrating from New Zealand to Australia. It is a memoir and a collection of short stories that trace important experiences in my life. As well, I've just released a new edition of LEAVING GAZA, an intimate portrait of marriage, sex and power.
I like a happy ending, and I must admit my family of dogs was pressing me to give them a home in a book soon. So for a change I embarked on writing romantic fiction. Romance with dogs might sound a strange genre, but my stories have attracted 5 star reviews. I met with a setback when my US publisher closed its doors. But The Wild Rose Press have contracted 3 of those romances, and the first reissue, HER VALENTINE ROMANCE, will be out in January, in time for Valentine's Day.

Discover more at http://www.margaretsutherland.com/