Books published by Linda Ruth Brooks

A white blanket of snow lay deep on the ground. Blistering cold winds brought sheet after sheet of swirling snowflakes. The 7.45 from Astonville was late. The clanking steam train only came twice a day.The town had once set their clocks by its arrival, but that was before the war. The women who lived in the valley just out of town noticed its lateness first. They put their children to bed by the sound of the whistle and the trail of steam behind the ancient grinding engine.However, they had other things to concern them. Ever since war broke out the routine of their daily lives had become unpredictable in so many ways.Now the war was over, but not the waiting.';Come away from the window, Beth,' begged her mother in a tired voice. ';You are fogging up the whole front window.'Beth sighed and stepped back a little, eyeing the circles of cloud her breath made on the glass. Grown-ups were so tiresome, she thought. Sometimes they didn't understand anything at all. Her mother had told her a hundred times that looking out that window wouldn't make her father come home any quicker. Truth be told, none of them knew whether Peter Renshaw had even survived the war, much less when he was coming home.Beth was too young to know that it wasn't her tireless vigil that irritated Miriam, her mother, but it was the visible hope that shone on her daughter's face that pained Miriam. A hope that mirrored her own. A hope buried deep inside a woman weary with waiting and exhausted from caring for three children. A woman with the toil-worn hands of a man.

Earthquake, a National Disaster Area and a volcano are all here. Along with friendships, partings, love and estrangement-the gamut of the human experience.We meet an indigenous family fighting to learn the truth about a loved one's death while serving his country. A son remembers a war-weary father who marched the Kokoda Trail, and a mother shares the joy of her three children. We pay tribute to the Stolen Generation and warriors defending the gentle giants of the sea-our whales. We share the love of a wife requesting her husband's surgeon to take care of her lover's heart and a family's devotion to a disabled son, with a unique gift for poetry, and deep insights into life.We read about the innocent joys of childhood, the love of grandparents and the extended family. So, here we are to share the kitchen pots, the tools of trade, the building of homes, living with hardship and the experience of integrating with other cultures. We hope that you will enjoy these stories and the journey back along memory lane, and realise that we are all a part of life's 'living history'.

Brady Harcourt returns to his hometown with his teenage daughter, Ebony, three years after the death of his wife. But instead of being the answer to his problems, the seachange looks like unravelling his family. Nothing is the way he remembered it. To make matters worse, he has to deal with Emma, a community nurse who'd give a Bolshevik a run for their money.Fifteen year old Ebony Harcourt is angry with her father. He's turned into Dadzilla. Leaving his corporate job and city life for what? He's obviously lost the plot. Enlisting the help of her feisty friend Jenna, she embarks on a quest to find answers about her mother's death. In their fearless efforts to uncover the truth, the girls stir up the locals and find trouble at every turn.Emma Tesler knows too much about the lives of everyone in the small seaside town of Noarlunga. She keeps their secrets well, although at times she has to bite her tongue. This is no mean feat for open hearted Emma. When Brady Harcourt arrives in town, her composure is sorely tested.Scarlett doesn't live here anymore reaches honestly into the issue of grieving. With her trademark humour and sharp observation, Linda weaves a tale of the adjustment and crossed purposes that come with loss. She brings the narrative to life with a unique cast of interesting characters, that all have their secrets, joys and dilemmas. In this deeply human story, we find peace, redemption, risk and resolution.

Callan the Chameleon lived in a tall lilly pilly tree with pink tipped leaves. The leaves of the lilly pilly tree grow very thick. Callan felt safe in the rustling tree that was home.Uniquely Australian, this story revolves around Callan and his bush animal friends, Emily the Echidna, Kyle the Koala, Katie the Kookaburra, Wesley the Wombat, Freya the Frilled Necked Lizard and other Australian animals. The book is illustrated with stunning pencil and watercolour artwork.

Georgia hides under the bracken fern. Her mother hits her to make her good. The nice man down the road gives her lollies that make her sleepy. Sometimes her brother Jackson hides her in his wardrobe. Her best friend Mittens the cat, listens to all her secrets. On her first day at school her special pencils are stolen. Afraid she will be in very big trouble, she runs away to the bracken fern that grows tall by the whispering creek, where the bower bird struts with his prize of blue buttons and the magpie feeds her babies. It is her safe place. She doesn't know about "real" safe places or that these things shouldn't be happening to her. When Miss Nelson, her teacher, finds her hiding place Georgia is even more afraid.Once in every lifetime, we should all see life through the eyes of a five year old child, hear their voice, sense the world through the unique perception of childhood. For to do this, is to perceive what they cannot know, protect them from what they cannot understand, so they don't have to hide. We are all guardians; every one.

Georgia hides under the bracken fern. Her mother hits her to make her good. The nice man down the road gives her lollies that make her sleepy. Sometimes her brother Jackson hides her in his wardrobe. Her best friend Mittens the cat, listens to all her secrets.On her first day at school her special pencils are stolen. Afraid she will be in very big trouble, she runs away to the bracken fern that grows tall by the whispering creek, where the bower bird struts with his prize of blue buttons and the magpie feeds her babies. It is her safe place. She doesn't know about "real" safe places or that these things shouldn't be happening to her. When Miss Nelson, her teacher, finds her hiding place Georgia is even more afraid.Once in every lifetime, we should all see life through the eyes of a five year old child, hear their voice, sense the world through the unique perception of childhood. For to do this, is to perceive what they cannot know, protect them from what they cannot understand, so they don't have to hide. We are all guardians; every one.This book is about what can happen to vulnerable, wounded children in their search for acceptance and real affection. I am privileged to add my support to Linda and this book. It will touch the lives of all who have the courage to read it. Dr Steele Fitchett