A gripping post-apocalyptic tale from the acclaimed author of Mallawindy and the Woody Creek series The world as it was has been all but destroyed. Those few who survived the Great Ending are now ruled by an all-powerful group known as the Chosen, whose walled city encloses a diminishing population riddled with plague and threatened with extinction. Desperate to repopulate, the Chosen send searchers to capture every surviving female still living in the wild lands beyond the city for their new breeding stations. There is a girl with a name neither of her companions can remember, who is found by the Chosen's searchers living on a remote property. Since then, she has known little more than the life they enforce-a life dominated by their breeding program and genetic experimentation-while they immunise her and prepare to take her to their city. Then one afternoon a son of one of the Chosen arrives at the girl's farm, a boy who has fled from a life that he has come to find unbearable. His arrival sets in motion a chain of events which change the girl's life in ways she could not possibly have imagined-offering her a chance to regain the unthinkable-freedom. . .
The second sensational instalment in Joy Dettman's epic new Woody Creek series Pearl in a Cage ended in May 1939 when, just fifteen years old, Jenny Morrison fled Woody Creek for a new life in Melbourne. She left behind a dysfunctional family, a town of small-minded gossips and, most tragically, a newborn baby - the product of a vicious rape. Mustering all her strength, she resolved to put her past behind her, reclaim her identity and pursue her dream of becoming a famous singer... Yet just months later she is back - wiser and with an expensive new wardrobe - but with a second child growing in her belly. Cruelly labelled the "town slut", she finds refuge in Gertrude, her kind-hearted, dependable granny and Woody Creek's indomitable midwife, and settles into a routine in the ever-expanding household. Exactly how Vern Cooper - the one man Gertrude truly loves - fits into this family of misfits is something that Gertrude will have to grapple with. Jenny thrives and, daring once again to dream, leaves Woody Creek for a second time and moves to Sydney, where at last it seems that the beautiful young songstress may find happiness... But can the past ever truly be buried? And will Jenny Morrison ever fulfil her destiny? Spanning a momentous wartime decade and dramatising rural Australia's complex and mysterious heart, Thorn on the Rose confirms Joy Dettman's place as one of our most gifted - and underrated - storytellers.
On a balmy midsummer's evening in 1923, a young woman – foreign, dishevelled and heavily pregnant – is found unconscious just off the railway tracks in the tiny logging community of Woody Creek. The town midwife, Gertrude Foote, is roused from her bed when the woman is brought to her door. Try as she might, Gertrude is unable to save her, but the baby lives. When no relatives come forth to claim the infant, Gertrude's daughter Amber – who has recently lost a son in childbirth – and her husband Norman take the child in. In the ensuing weeks, Norman becomes convinced that God has sent the baby to their door, and in an act of reckless compassion and lonely desperation, he names the baby Jennifer and registers her in place of his son. Loved by some but scorned by more, including her stepmother and sister, Jenny survives her childhood and grows into an exquisite and talented young woman. But who were her parents? Spanning two momentous decades and capturing rural Australia's complex and mysterious heart, Pearl in a Cage is the unputdownable new novel by one of our most talented storytellers.
In 'Thorn on the Rose', after trying and failing to make it on stage, the dazzling young songstress Jenny Morrison returned to Woody Creek. With her two small children, she sought refuge with the indomitable town midwife, Gertrude Foote. There, she rebuilt her life, and eventually fell in love with a local lad, Jim Hooper, bearing him a son. But WWII loomed and Jim had to leave to fight the Japanese. In 1943 he was listed 'missing in action'...'Moth to the Flame' picks up this epic story and we see Jenny bravely moving on with her life. She takes refuge with Ray King, a slightly sinister, stuttering boy who disappeared from Woody Creek as a teenager but has now reappeared. In return for regular 'wifely duties', Ray offers Jenny and her three children sanctuary at his house in Melbourne.
The complete short stories of the bestselling author of Mallawindy and the Woody Creek series "Pure brilliance. This is a book to keep and treasure - you'll want to read it again and again." Sun-Herald At the beginning of her writing journey, Joy Dettman's charming, irascible, melancholy, wisecracking characters appeared in over twenty unique tales, many of which have won awards, many of which have never been published. Now, for the first time, Diamonds in the Mud and Other Stories is the complete collection of Joy Dettman's exquisite short stories. We meet an old coot in a rusty ute who picks up a hitchhiker, a neighbour reaches across the language divide to lend a helping hand, a grave digger might just have saved a young man's life, an exhausted farmer's wife lusts after a china cup, Granny Jordan is losing her marbles and an author is troubled by rats under the floorboards. Since Joy's first novel, Mallawindy, was published in 1998 she has attracted a growing number of readers who are entertained and shocked by her array of unforgettable characters populating the Australian landscape. "Dettman writes compulsively readable stories" The Age Fans of Rosalie Ham's The Dressmaker will love Joy Dettman.
In the 1990s, the Burtons are surviving as best they can, but Jack Burton continues to control his fractured family even in his absence. John has returned to Mallawindy unable to forgive his father and haunted by vengeful thoughts. Ann has three young sons and is soon to have another child, but still grieves for her firstborn daughter, Mandy. When the river disgorges what appears to be Jack's body, the family's tumultuous history is stirred up again. The eagerly awaited sequel to Mallawindy continues the story of how even those who escape the town have to fight to escape its dark legacy. 'At the heart of this absorbing tale...is the writer's ability to interweave the country-town propensity for rumour and allegation into a gothic narrative... Yesterday's Dust is lightened by its pinpoint descriptions of people and places, as well as the occasional touch of humour, some of it with a country flavour and some delightfully black'–AUSTRALIAN BOOKSELLER AND PUBLISHER Is there such a thing as winter beach reading? If so, Joy Dettmans' Yesterday's Dust fits the bill nicely... an author who's well in tune with her subject and audience–WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
The third book in the dark and addictive Woody Creek series from bestselling Australian author Joy Dettman "She trips the fine line of pleasure and pain that makes her a compulsive read ... Brilliant." Sun Herald In Moth to the Flame, Joy Dettman returns with another dazzling tale of the unforgettable characters of Woody Creek. The year is 1946. The war ended five months ago. Jim Hooper, Jenny Morrison's only love, was lost to that war. And if not for Jenny, he would never have gone. "An eye for an eye," Vern Hooper says. An unforgiving man, Vern wants custody of Jenny's son, his only grandson, and is quietly planning his day in court. Then Jenny's father Archie Foote swoops back into town. Archie offers Jenny a tantalising chance at fame and fortune; one way or another he is determined to play a part in her life. Is Jenny's luck about to change, or is she drawn to trouble like a moth is drawn to the flame? "A story of love and loss, Moth to the Flame captures the reader's attention on the first page and sustains it to a satisfying conclusion." Daily Examiner "Dettman is an effortless, assured and accessible storyteller ... [this] is her most ambitious saga yet" The Saturday Age Fans of Rosalie Ham's The Dressmaker will love Joy Dettman.
From the bestselling author of Mallawindy and the Woody Creek series "an intriguing read that transcends genre and could be the genesis of a great Australian movie" Weekend Australian Early one Sunday, the town of Molliston wakes to the news that a young bride is dead. The year is 1929. The Great War with Germany has been fought and won, but at an immense cost to the small community. Death is too familiar here. So many sons were lost. So many daughters would never be wives; so many grandchildren would never be born. Racial hatred is like a bushfire in the belly of some. And the dead girl is found only yards from the property of old Joe Reichenberg, a German. Tom Thompson, the local cop, lost his two sons in Gallipoli. He believes he has come to terms with his bereavement - until that Sunday. Slowly, the true face of Molliston is exposed. By midnight, a full moon is offering its light - and a glimmer of hope. "Dettman writes compulsively readable stories" The Age Fans of Rosalie Ham's The Dressmaker will love Joy Dettman.
From the bestselling author of Mallawindy and the Woody Creek series comes a story of love and survival. Lori Smyth-Owen isn't your average teenager - as you'd expect from the only girl in a family of twelve. Or they were a family, until their father took his own life to escape his bed-bound wife, too obese to leave her room. But for Lori and the remaining brothers, there is no escape from their volatile, mentally unstable mother. They raise themselves away from the gaze of the authorities, realising that though abandoned, they are now in charge. They can control everything, including their mother's food intake. In time, their mother emerges, after losing two-thirds of her body weight. But does she bring with her the seed of hope for a better future, or will all hell break loose? 'The texture of the writing as well as the mind-boggling plots give her books a fatally addictive attraction' Saturday Age
From the bestselling author of Mallawindy and the Woody Creek series "Dettman ... is brilliant at depicting the seemingly inconsequential murmurs of small-town life" Sun-Herald For forty-four years Stella Templeton has been a dutiful daughter and a good citizen, living in Maidenville, population 2,800 where nothing happens. Until one hot summer afternoon. An ugly act has lifted the respectable skirts of Maidenville and mystery starts to surround the daughter of the local minister. Then the disappearance of a sixteen-year-old boy adds to the neighbourhood confusion. Does something rotten lurk behind the neatly trimmed hedges and white picket fences that divide this sleepy town? No-one comes close to knowing the dreadful truth-but after forty-four years of doing the right thing, Stella Templeton is starting to blossom... "Dettman writes compulsively readable stories" The Age Fans of Rosalie Ham's The Dressmaker will love Joy Dettman.
From the bestselling author of Mallawindy and the Woody Creek series comes a story of love and rescue "The narrative is achingly engrossing" Weekend Australian She had felt a sad pulling feeling in her stomach that day as the car had driven off, like there was a bit of elastic tied around her insides, sort of joining her to those brothers like it went right through that door, and as the car had driven further up the road, that elastic got pulled so tight, it hurt. Lori Smyth-Owen is balancing on the edge of adolescence but feeling years older. She has eleven brothers, nine living at home and the twins, who were stolen by Aunty Eva ... which was lucky for them because there is never enough of anything to go around, except Mavis, Lori's mother, who is so overweight she can barely move. That doesn't stop her plotting to get those twins back. She'll do anything to get them home. Then tragedy strikes and the Smyth-Owen children take desperate measures to save themselves ... and in so doing, discover that blood ties mean everything. PRAISE FOR JOY DETTMAN "Dettman writes compulsively readable stories" The Age Fans of Rosalie Ham's The Dressmaker will love Joy Dettman.
Ann Burton was born on a river bank the night her father tried to burn their house down. Six years later her sister Liza disappears while they are staying at their uncle's property. What Ann sees that day robs her of her memory and her speech. Ann escapes her anguished childhood, finding love and a new life away from Mallawindy. But there is no escape from the Burton family and its dark secrets. Ann must return to Mallawindy and confront the past if she is ever to be free.
In The Silent Inheritance, the author of the bestselling Woody Creek series brings another unforgettable cast of characters to life in a brand new story. "an adept storyteller" Sydney Morning Herald "Dettman writes compulsively readable stories" The Age Sarah Carter, mother of twelve-year-old Marni, is raising her daughter alone in a small granny flat in suburban Melbourne. A serial killer, dubbed 'The Freeway Killer', is headline news and when Marni's classmate is abducted from the mall where Sarah and Marni shop, their city no longer feels safe. Detective Ross Hunter's investigation into the abduction leads him to dead ends - until an unrelated incident sends him to the door of Freddy Adam-Jones, an unscrupulous barrister, who is guarding a secret that could ruin his life. When an unexpected windfall changes the lives of Sarah and Marni, their sudden wealth opens doors long closed, and threatens to cast light on history better left buried. What might Sarah's past reveal? What is her connection to Freddy? And can Detective Ross Hunter discover the link in time to save a young girl's life? Fans of Rosalie Ham's The Dressmaker will love Joy Dettman.
In Moth to the Flame, Joy Dettman returns with another dazzling tale of the unforgettable characters of Woody Creek.The year is 1946. The war ended five months ago. Jim Hooper, Jenny Morrison's only love, was lost to that war. And if not for Jenny, he would never have gone."An eye for an eye," Vern Hooper says. An unforgiving man, Vern wants custody of Jenny's son, his only grandson, and is quietly planning his day in court.Then Jenny's father Archie Foote swoops back into town. Archie offers Jenny a tantalising chance at fame and fortune; one way or another he is determined to play a part in her life.Is Jenny's luck about to change, or is she drawn to trouble like a moth is drawn to the flame?
In the final instalment of Joy Dettman's beloved Woody Creek series, we return to the small timber town where it all began...GeorgieIndependent and spirited, Georgie is her mother's daughter through and through. But after a house fire takes the life of her sister, Margot, and burns her home to the ground, Georgie is lost. She flees town with nothing but a cardboard box and the determination to be somebody, anybody, else.CaraAfter almost losing her adopted daughter, Cara's view of the world has radically shifted. She's decided that life is to be lived and love is to be cherished, even when that means crossing boundaries she'd never dreamed of. But is any love great enough to overcome and unimaginable burden of guilt and shame?JennyWith her nest empty, Jenny is more lonely than ever. Rattling around her big old house with too much time to think, she's left to wonder: should her secrets stay buried forever or will revealing the truth set her free?As the new millennium draws ever closer and Woody Creek struggles to survive, one thing becomes clear - in order to face their futures, Jenny and her daughters must first make peace with their pasts.If it's not too late.'an adept storyteller' THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD'a compulsive read' SUN-HERALD'fatally addictive' THE SATURDAY AGE
From the bestselling author of Mallawindy and the Woody Creek series comes a moving story about being set free. "Dettman knows how to tell a story" The Sunday Age Sally De Rooze is almost thirty. She survived the accident that killed her father and brothers. Her mother never forgave her for that. But she survived her mother too. Surviving is what she does best. Farmer Ross Bertram, who offers her his acres and safety, is the answer for a while. Until he starts pushing for a wedding. Sally wants ... wants more. Wants to know great love. Wants to find herself. One year. That's what she wants. One year of freedom in the big, bad city. Her survival skills are tested in the urban sprawl and she discovers more about herself than she had ever dared to imagined. Fans of Rosalie Ham's The Dressmaker will love Joy Dettman.
The wind is whispering in Woody Creek... Change is in the airIt's 1958 and Woody Creek is being dragged – kicking and screaming – into the swinging sixties.Cara and Georgie are now young women but, raised separately, they have never met. They've both inherited their mother's hands, but that's where their similarity ends.Despite a teenage mistake looming over Cara's future, she still believes in the white wedding and happily ever after myth. Georgie, however, has seen enough of marriage and motherhood, and plans to live her life independent of a man.But once the sisters are drawn into each other's lives, long-buried secrets are bound to be unearthed, the dramatic consequences of which no-one could have predicted...
Georgie Independent and spirited, Georgie is her mother's daughter through and through. But after a house fire takes the life of her sister, Margot, and burns her home to the ground, Georgie is lost. She flees town with nothing but a cardboard box and the determination to be somebody, anybody, else. Cara After almost losing her adopted daughter, Cara's view of the world has radically shifted. She's decided that life is to be lived and love is to be cherished, even when that means crossing boundaries she'd never dreamed of. But is any love great enough to overcome an unimaginable burden of guilt and shame? Jenny With her nest empty, Jenny is more lonely than ever. Rattling around her big old house with too much time to think, she's left to wonder: should her secrets stay buried forever or will revealing the truth set her free? As the new millennium draws ever closer and Woody Creek struggles to survive, one thing becomes clear - in order to face their futures, Jenny and her daughters must first make peace with their pasts. If it's not too late.
The old timber town of Woody Creek has a way of getting under people's skin... But as the clock ticks over to 1970, Georgie's determined that the new decade will be the one that sees her finally break free of it. For Cara, Woody Creek will forever be tied to a devastating mistake that cannot be undone. She's vowed never to set foot in the place again. Meanwhile, Jenny's estranged son, Jim, has inherited an estate in the United Kingdom and is trying to make a new life for himself. If only he could shake off his one terrible attachment to Australia. As Woody Creek draws Joy Dettman's much-loved cast of characters back into its grip, confessions, discoveries and truths seem certain to explode in the most shocking of showdowns...
On an evening in 1923, a young foreign woman is found unconscious and heavily pregnant just off the railway track in the logging community of Woody Creek. The town midwife cannot save the mother but the baby lives and when no relatives claim the infant she is adopted and grows into an exquisite and talented young woman. But who were her parents?
After many tumultuous years spent grappling with the past, Jenny Hooper might have expected her latter years to be the best of her life, and they are - until tragedy strikes. Left floundering in a house full of memories, not all of them good, Jenny knows a reckoning is in order.But it won't be easy. History is beginning to repeat itself for Jenny's adopted daughter, Trudy, who finds herself trapped in an abusive relationship. Jenny and her older daughter, Georgie, can only stand by and watch as Trudy's life implodes.Meanwhile, half a world away in the UK, Cara and her husband Morrie nurture a devastating secret that keeps them at arm's length from Jenny.But most of all, Jenny wants to renew contact with the beloved son she lost decades before when she was at her lowest ebb. Only that, and having the chance to tell him the truth about what happened, will give her peace. But is it too late?
The penultimate book in the dark and addictive Woody Creek series from bestselling Australian author Joy Dettman "Dettman writes compulsively readable stories" The Age As Woody Creek draws Joy Dettman's much-loved cast of characters back into its grip, confessions, discoveries and truths seem certain to explode in the most shocking of showdowns... Woody Creek is preparing for its centenary celebrations - but for many of its townspeople it's just another reminder of the old days, before so-called progress roared through the town, altering everything in its wake. Not for Georgie though. As the clock ticks over to 1970, she's determined that the new decade will be the one that sees her finally break free. For Cara, Woody Creek will forever be tied to a devastating mistake that cannot be undone. She's vowed never to set foot in the place again. Meanwhile, Jenny's estranged son, Jim, has inherited an estate in the United Kingdom and is trying to make a new life for himself. If only he could shake off his one terrible attachment to Australia. The old timber town of Woody Creek has a way of getting under people's skin... "She has a command of plot and pace, a feel for character and melodrama that merge to produce rural Australian soaps with the darkest kind of edge" Canberra Times "There are far more shocking secrets, and sufficient twists and turns to keep everyone gasping as Dettman continues the saga of her previous four novels" Sydney Morning Herald Fans of Rosalie Ham's The Dressmaker will love Joy Dettman.
Joy Melton knows what the feeling of abandonment does to a child. She was among the millions of fatherless children in this world. A lifetime without the love of a father caused so much pain in her life. The pain lead to fearfulness and she would often doubt herself. She struggled daily with feelings of worthlessness. The scars of rejection in her heart began to turn into resentment and eventually hate toward the dad who had left her. She began the journey to find herself that God laid on her heart. Joy shares the story of her childhood without a daddy, finding the love of her life, and eventually finding her joy. This was not the joy she initially sought after, but it was the joy God wanted her to find. Through her faithfulness to God and following His call for her life, she learned to forget what scarred her past and live with Christ in the present. She learned to forgive the men that walked out of her life, and, in doing so, God granted her peace that flowed abundantly. She let go of what she wanted for herself and saw that what God has for her is so much better. Joy found that God is the one who determines her worth and defines her—not circumstances of the past or struggles of this life. She started out looking for herself and what she found was joy.
It's rare that a book actually makes you a better human, but that's exactly what Rachel Baribeau has done in Relentless Joy."--Laura Rutledge, ESPN Sports host and reporter We all want more joy, but what happens when life kicks you in the gut? How do you maintain hope or look forward to the future? Relentless Joy will show you how to · reclaim joy when your life feels barren or burdened · throw off the chains of what you are "supposed to be" · see God working in surprising ways you may have missed · identify the unique dream that sets your soul on fire · serve others and walk in joy for the rest of your life With gut-level honesty, award-winning storyteller and former national sportscaster Rachel Joy Baribeau shares her own story of changing the narrative of her life from stuck, overwhelmed, and anxious to confident in her identity and joyful in her life's purpose. With the odds stacked against her, Rachel became the first female sportscaster to host on SiriusXM College channels and hosted the very first College Football Playoff National Championship game. She has shared the secrets to her trailblazing journey with over 100,000 fans and students through her live events and her movement, I'm Changing the Narrative. Relentless Joy is not just another book about how to be happy. Instead, Rachel reveals how to embrace commonly missed opportunities to experience joy and share it with others. No matter your circumstance, you can always change the narrative. Your story isn't over. The best is yet to come! *** "I always encouraged the young men in my football program to surround themselves with people who will make their lives better. At the top of that list for me is Rachel Baribeau. Her book, Relentless Joy, is a fantastic read for all ages."--Coach Bill Snyder, former head football coach of Kansas State University "In Relentless Joy, Rachel Baribeau explains how she has survived, thrived, and arrived to deliver the recipe of an overcomer. Do yourself a favor and jump on the joy train!"--David Tyree, former New York Giants wide receiver and Super Bowl champion
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.