Cornerstone

by Bronwyn Blake

There are three things Olivia knows will never her family, her love for Andy Zema and their beloved Buloke River… But over one traumatic year, the past catches up with the present and everything, even these three, are shattered when two very different men come into her life.Olivia is a passionate environmentalist, deeply worried about the salination creeping into her beautiful river, and into the four neighbouring farms which touch at the Cornerstone.Since they were born, Andy, Lou and Olivier have been inseparable, but family dynamics have changed for Olivier. She is still grieving for her father, and her mother had taken in a hard-case boyfriend who Olivia can’t stand.With the arrival of an attractive stranger, the life-long bonds of the three inseparable friends are strained to breaking point, and all that Olivier had ever known about her family, her future and herself, suddenly falls apart.

Genres: Young Adult

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Where do you live?

In Gippsland, Victoria, in a conservation area near Inverloch, which is a small seaside town, very popular in the holidays. We overlook Bass Strait, we’re close to Wilsons Prom National Park, and within a few hours of the Gippsland Lakes and the High Country... so you can see where a lot of background for the books began!

Where did you grow up and go to school?

In an old house in Brown St. Heidelberg, Melbourne. The description of it can be found in the opening of "Rock Dancer'. I went to Ivanhoe Girls Grammar, Heidelberg State School, Eltham High and PLC, East Melbourne.

How long have you been writing?

In my head since I was a small child, about three, and began remembering my environment. If you write, as I do, from a strong visual perspective, it's really important to develop a keen recording eye and an excellent visual memory.

I've been writing full time since 2000. New millennium, new life.

I had a great start because in 2000, I was awarded the first May Gibbs Children's Literature Trust Mentorship for a new writer. It was a wonderful help for someone coming late into a field about which I knew virtually nothing! I had two weeks of visiting, learning and asking dumb questions,(really, really dumb questions!) as well as having the manuscripts of my first two books assessed and commented upon.

What did you do before you became a writer?

I worked as a teacher (my first real job), then in the community in a variety of jobs to do with children, families, communities and health, here and overseas.
My first ever job was collecting eggs on our chook farm for pocket money, but I've also taught sculpture and life drawing, sold shoes, waitressed, done housekeeping and nannying. When we lived in Alaska I worked in remote area television as a general all-around-do-everything from artist to teacher. That was great experience!

Why do you write for Young Adults?

It's challenging to present difficult, "adult" ideas to people whose life experience is usually more limited simply because of their age...not their intelligence or understanding. Teenagers are open to new ideas and I'd like to think I had some part in introducing readers to new ways of looking at issues, people or experiencing an environment.
I like to explore the ways in which people handle new and difficult situations, and how they change in dealing with them. I love writing about the courage and determination I see in young adults.Snorkelling

Do you have kids?

Yes, three. One born in Alaska, the other two were born in Australia. They're all grown up and now very useful. They fix things and dig drains.