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I’m absolutely thrilled that Beneath the Shadows is released in the US and Canada today! Its journey began over ten years ago now, when I sketched out the first chapter in a small room in our little rented flat in Kent, south England. My central character Grace was with me for a long time, and after many years (and another novel!), the final chapter was written in our house on the west coast of Australia. Since then it has been a privilege to share the story with readers, and I’m delighted that from today it has spread its wings even further and reached such distant shores. Storytelling is the best job in the world for exactly this reason: it knows no boundaries, a story can be shared between people who are half a world apart as though they were sitting in the same room. So hello to everybody in North America who picks up Beneath the Shadows – I really hope you enjoy getting to know Grace and the colourful cast of characters in the little village of Roseby.

My final word of thanks must go to the fabulous team at St Martin’s Press and Minotaur, who have done such a fabulous job putting Beneath the Shadows together, and getting the word out. In particular, thank you to Anne Bensson, for showing such faith in a new writer, who lives so far away in the most isolated city on earth!col-md-2

I’m getting more and more excited about the release of Beneath the Shadows in the US and Canada on June 5th, 2012. I’ve already seen some lovely reader reviews from those who have scored advance copies from the publisher, and I’m so happy to be working with a wonderful team at St Martin’s Press, who have done a wonderful job on the book – just check out the beautiful cover for starters. I’m also thrilled to have not one but two New York Times bestselling authors in Heather Gudenkauf and Julia Spencer-Fleming being quoted on the cover. I’ll be writing more in the countdown to release. Meanwhile, a big hello all the way from Western Australia to my American and Canadian readers!

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Happy New Year everyone!

For me and my family, this month has been a blur of Christmas preparations, culminating in a wonderful week in Singapore. You can’t fail to get into the Christmas spirit there – it seems everyone has wholeheartedly embraced the festival, and the kids are treated to all sorts of rides, shows and activities. The schoolchildren singing carols in our lobby on Christmas Eve were particularly special. My only low-light was seeing shark fin soup in so many restaurants on Orchard Road. We’re shark fans in our family – in fact, two of the highlights of my life were seeing hammerhead sharks on a dive in the Galapagos, and swimming with whale sharks in Exmouth, WA. Many ocean and conservation experts tell of the plight of sharks and the ecological disaster that is unfolding as they begin to disappear from our seas. Turning the tide seems a daunting task but a critical one.

The New Year has also brought me a new-look website, a new blog … and, soon, a new book! Beneath the Shadows hits the shops in just a few weeks time, and I’m excited, nervous, and busy working on promotion. There will be a dedicated web page for the book on the Random House site that includes a short film, a trailer, an extra chapter, and background to the book, which will be going live in just a few weeks. In addition, I am doing events in the west in February and the eastern states in March – all details will be advertised on my site.

The wonderful team at www.holidaygoddess.com have a beautiful travel book coming at the end of this year too, and I’m very excited to be part of that project. Plus, there’s an idea that I hope to turn into a book draft by the close of 2011. Phew, it sounds busy – but then that’s just the way I like it.

From now on, I will be blogging regularly on writing, reading, and life in general…and I hope to have some guests dropping by to say hello too. Please follow me on facebook or twitter for regular updates.

Wishing you all the very best for 2011.

Sara F xcol-md-2