by Vicky Adin
Granna wriggled in the La-Z-Boy chair and plucked ineffectually at the mohair rug she was sitting on. “I do so like this colour, don’t you?” she asked. “It reminds me of roses.”
Granna Katy had kept a wonderful garden once. The two of them had often wandered around it together while Granna named all the flowers. Katie’s eyes rested on the deep-pink throw she’d given her gran. She, too, loved that colour.
“How is she doing overall?” Katie asked the nurse. “Her memory of long-ago events seems faultless to me.” But then, she couldn’t say whether Granna was right or not.
“Very well, actually, for her age. She keeps active and goes to all the exercise classes, especially when there’s music playing.” Despite her memory loss, Granna was still a relatively fit and healthy ninety-year-old.
Katie smiled. She’d watched her grandmother more than once at these classes, dancing in her own world rather than following the instructor.
“And she still plays the piano,” continued the nurse.
“I’m glad,” said Katie. “She’s a better pianist than I ever will be, even though she sometimes make mistakes. The music seems to come alive under her fingertips.”
Katie remembered the piano lessons with her gran at her house when she was young, and the comings and goings of the other students.
“It’s good she still enjoys her music,” said the nurse. “Most times, though, she’s forgotten she’s played almost as soon as she stands up from the keyboard.”
Granna’s voice interrupted their conversation. “I remember my Moh-ree. She’s a wonder and such a great cook. She always makes my favourites. I can still taste those little biscuits that went with my tea. She’ll be here soon.”
Everyone knew Granna couldn’t hold a conversation the way most people did, but with a little bit of persistence she could tell you what she wanted.
“That’s nice. There’ll be a cup of tea coming shortly,” said the nurse.
Surprisingly sprightly, Granna unexpectedly got up from her chair. “We should go to Gwenna’s Sweet Treats for tea. It’s been an age since I visited her. Granma will be cross with me if I don’t call. Now, where did I leave my gloves?”
While Granna searched the drawers, the nurse rearranged the rug on the chair, retidied the already-tidy bed, wrote something down on the chart by the door and pulled the window closed. “It’s a wee bit windy at the moment. Do you think you should wait until it’s died down before you go? How about doing some lacework instead? You can show it to her later.”
Granna accepted the crochet hook and fine cotton thread and sat down again. Katie never ceased to be amazed her gran could move the hook so swiftly, in and out and over and under and around in a constant motion. She still created such intricate lace. The results weren’t perfect and she ended up with dozens of motifs and long edgings that would never get joined together. But Granna appeared satisfied with what she could see. “No, Janey didn’t make lace, she was the famous costumier.”
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BOOKS
by
VICKY ADIN
www.vickyadin.co.nz
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brigid The Girl from County Clare
Winner of an IndieB.R.A.G medallion, a Chill with a Book Readers’ Award
Like making lace – she pieces together a
new life from a single thread of hope
(Set in Australia and New Zealand)
Brigid is torn. If she stays, she is another mouth to feed in a land plagued by starvation and poverty. If she leaves her beloved Ireland, she will never see her family again, but leave she must. There is not enough food.
Heartbroken, she boards the ship that will take her to a new life in Australia, comforted only by the knowledge her cousin Jamie will make the journey with her. Her skill as a lacemaker soon draws attention, but life doesn't always run smoothly in the harsh new landscape. Brigid must learn to conquer her fears and overcome the stigma of being a servant, a female and Irish, if she is to fulfil her dream.
A new start in New Zealand offers hope – until the day she encounters the man who seeks her downfall.
The historical aspects of the story are so accurate and described so perfectly that the reader will frequently need to remind herself/himself that the story is fiction ... This is a thoroughly satisfying read. It is the kind of story that passes the test as a work of history and is equally satisfying as a novel that will have your attention from first to last.
**** 4 stars – Frank O’Shea, The Irish Echo, Sydney
The Cornish Knot
Can one woman’s secrets change the life of another a century later?
(Set in New Zealand, Cornwall and Italy)
On the anniversary of her husband’s unexpected death, Megan sits at home heartbroken and disconsolate. A mysterious package arrives containing a journal written a century earlier, which shakes her out of her self-imposed seclusion.
She embarks on a journey following in the footsteps of the journal’s author, from New Zealand to Cornwall, France and Italy, uncovering a past she knows nothing about. She is pursued by a much younger man in Venice. She meets an intriguing fellow countryman in Florence and finds herself caught up in the mysterious world of art and captivated by a series of unknown paintings. As she unravels her history and reveals its secrets, can she also find love again?
An engaging tale of grief, loss, love and family intrigue ... wonderful story, and a real page-turner, which leads the reader through all the twists and turns of a well-constructed plot. I loved the insightful descriptions of family relationships, the fully realised characters and the various locations in which the action takes place. Seldom have I read such a poignant and faithful account of the effects of bereavement. I can’t wait to read more.
**** 4-star Amazon review
The Art of Secrets
Emma wants to forget; Charlotte never can.
Together they remember.
(Set in New Zealand)
Emma is an enterprising young journalist with a bright future, but her life and career are falling apart. In a last-ditch attempt to save her position, she accepts the assignment to interview the bestselling author – Charlotte Day.
The ageing Charlotte has a reputation for being cantankerous and is highly secretive about her past, one she considers too painful to relive and too shameful to share. Preferring her roses to people, she is persuaded into meeting this girl who gets through her defences, forcing her to confront her past.
As Charlotte and Emma’s relationship deepens, they find themselves enmeshed in a tangle of secrets that changes both their lives.
But he who dares not grasp the thorns should never crave the rose – Anne Brontë
The art of great writing! ... Vicky Adin keeps a tight rein on her two leading characters so their actions and reactions are credibly grounded in genuine emotions. The alternating viewpoint and change of tone from Emma to Charlotte, from young to old, works, helping the reader see behind the lies and half-truths they tell each other. Their progress from antagonists to friends is seamless, as the layers of the story peel back like petals, exposing the truth at the flower’s heart. Highly recommended.
– Bev Robitai, author of Sunstrike
The
Disenchanted Soldier
From soldier to pacifist
(Set in England and New Zealand)
In 1863, young Daniel Adin, a trained soldier, embarks on an adventure of a lifetime. In pursuit of a new life and land to farm, he travels to New Zealand to fight an unknown enemy – the fearless Maori.
A hundred and thirty years later, Libby is fascinated by the stories of Daniel, who looks down at her from the aged black-and-white photos on the walls. She wants to know more, to know what he was really like, but Daniel’s story was more than she had bargained for.
A great insight into the lives of a family and what was going on around ordinary people in the early days of colonization.
Ged Martin
I loved this book and so will you if you like historical fiction and family sagas set somewhere you likely know little about. This is beautifully and sensitively written. The characters are terrific. The fascinating part to me was how Vicky was able to take us on the family's journey in a thoughtful and non-judgmental way. And now I am motivated to dig into my family tree and see what I come up with.
C Craig – ***** 5-star Amazon review
Acknowledgements
My thanks go to my trusted group of supporters: the beta-readers, the editing team and the people who rescue me from my foibles – including my family who remember to feed me when I’ve forgotten how to cook, and my friends who remind me I need to talk with real people sometimes. You know who you are, and if I name one, I’m bound to miss another. So, thank you everyone.
For this book, I owe a special thanks to Lisa Truttman, of Timespanner Blogspot, who pointed me towards information I needed and kept me supplied with old photographs. Hayden Oswin and Bill Gibson-Patmore on Pinterest were also most helpful in providing links to copyright and images they owned.
Thanks, too, to Auckland Library Heritage images who gave me permission to use an early photo of Auckland for the cover design.
~~~
REFERENCE TOOLS
Archives
http://archives.govt.nz/events
Auckland Council – 1908 map
http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/dbtw-wpd/CityArchives/1908Map/browse1908map.htm
Auckland Library – Heritage Images
http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/dbtw-wpd/HeritageImages/index.htm
K Road Heritage
http://www.kroad.com/heritage/timeline-of-k-road/
Old Auckland Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/OldAuckCity/?fref=ts
Papers Past
Caerphilly Disaster
COLLIERY EXPLOSION. Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 123, 25 May 1901
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19010525.2.41?query=caerphilly
New Year 1900 New Century 1901
The FRETFUL PORCUPINE, Observer, Volume XXI, Issue 1149, 5 January 1901
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TO19010105.2.16?query=new%20century
The Children’s Living Union Jack
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19010610.2.36.7?query=royal%20visit%20living%20Union%20Jack
The Welsh Colliery Disaster
Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 124, 27 May 1901
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19010527.2.49.5?query=caerphilly
Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en
The New Zealand Herald
http://www.nzherald.co.nz
Timespanner
http://timespanner.blogspot.co.nz/
https://www.facebook.com/Timespanner/?fref=ts
