Soggy spring provides outback crime novel inspiration

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In Australia it’s been raining. A lot. The impact has been devastating for many communities, and I am among those who have been significantly impacted. But if there is one thing I’ve learnt having grown up on the land and living a big part of my life in rural Australia – you can’t control the weather.

However, you can use it for inspiration in your next crime novel.

I am taking my sweet time with the new crime fiction novel which Candice Fox and I planned on a napkin during the Sisters in Crime festival weekend, and it’s a whole new experience for me. Despite being tempted to launch in and write randomly every spare moment I have, I am holding onto the incredible opportunity of being around seven of Australia’s top crime writers for a whole weekend (for those who are new, check out my website for the full story). Even though Sulari Gentill seems to be able to write brilliant books as a ‘pantser’, I’m determined to change my approach and put the time into figuring out what is going to happen and when. It’s already made a big difference to how the story is evolving, and I’m finding plot holes and fixing them before I’m knee deep in them!

Forget dry dusty outback scenes, this crime novel will show a whole other side of the Australian outback in flood.

Although water is life and people in these far-flung Australian landscapes have lived through more droughts than they’d care to remember, there are so many devastating and heartbreaking stories that are not being told in the news from this flood so I will be using these as inspiration in my narrative. Like the family who have not been able to return to their home for several months because the roads are cut off by floodwaters, only to discover when a neighbour flew over in a helicopter that their beautiful homestead which they had been hoping was spared was under water. Then having to wait for goodness knows how long for the water to recede to go in an assess the damage.

Or the families who haven’t left their remote properties in months and are getting groceries and mail via helicopter, and are spending their days waist deep in water trying to save their livestock while dead animals float by. Whole towns are cut off, entire crops have been wiped out, and all the rural businesses who rely on being able to move around and get from here to there have ceased trading.

All the while watching the skies and wishing it would stop bloody raining!

Please don’t despair though, there are flood stories that will warm your heart and give you faith in humanity again – but then again, it is a crime novel so be prepared for a plot twist you didn’t see coming!

Meet the author: Melissa Pouliot Search for Sky

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Australian crime thriller fiction writer and bestselling author Melissa Pouliot is releasing her much awaited sixth crime thriller mystery novel, Search for Sky.
To kick this book baby into the world, I am going to be lurking in my favourite bookstore in the whole world on launch day.
Please feel free to come and hang out with me in Collins Merimbula next Tuesday 22-2-22 between 10 and 12. Extra points if you bring coffee! (PS I also like cake!)
Collins Merimbula have been super fans of my work since I published Write About Me in 2013.
They have had my crime thriller fiction books on their shelves ever since, and encouraged me to keep writing, and a whole lot more. And now they’ve taken on the distribution of my print books Write About Me & Found from The Missing Series, along with Find Me, When You Find Me, You’ll Never Find Me & Search for Sky from The Rhiannon Series. This is an absolute blessing for anyone who understands how much coordination goes into mailouts!
Over the next few months I will be involved in a range of book events around Merimbula, Tathra and the Bega Valley and if you would like me to come and speak at your book club, social gathering or bookish event, please don’t be afraid to ask.
  • Did you know I have created questions and answers for Book Clubs? I absolutely love Book Clubs, as I used to have one of my own. It expanded my depth and knowledge of books so much, plus it was a whole lot of fun! And discovering new authors was such a delight! Check out my book club Q&A page, and if you have any questions to add, get in touch!

New book release Feb 2022: SEARCH FOR SKY

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NEW BOOK COVER REVEAL

The moment you’ve all been waiting for (cue drum roll).
The next book in my Rhiannon Series is Search for Sky.
Release date: 22-2-22.
I took the background photo in September as the sun was setting on The Marra plains in outback NSW, where much of this book is set. The incredible coincidence is that I wrote half of this book in 2017 before I’d even been to The Marra…life really does work in mysterious ways 😉
Thank you again to Lara Walsh for your magical cover design.

Book 4 in the Rhiannon Series.

Pre-order Kindle e-book

In Australia Ayala Philips is still missing.
So is Keely Johnson.
So are thousands of others.
Their cases are getting colder and Rhiannon McVee’s hopes of solving them are fading.
But hope can come from the most surprising of places.
When someone starts leaving clues in the remote Australian outback, leading Rhiannon closer and closer to a suspected serial killer, will the next body she discovers be Ayala, Keely or someone else?
Crime fiction inspired by real life, written by the cousin of one of Australia’s most compelling and heartbreaking missing persons cases.

Fire recovery film on how books make a home

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How books make a house a home is the focus of a film about recovering from the trauma of Reedy Swamp, Vimy Ridge and Tathra fire through new books.

The Book Love for Tathra film, partly funded by a Bega Valley Fire and Resilience Grant, tells the story of how more than 3000 new book donations have created positive and long-lasting impacts in the fire-affected community.

Authors, publishers and individuals from across Australia donated more than $100,000 of new books to Book Love for Tathra after fire burnt more than 70 homes and damaged many more on March 18, 2018.

Local author Melissa Pouliot, who started the collection, presented the books at a community event in February 2019.

The Creary family, who were among the first Tathra residents to move into their new home just before the one-year anniversary, are among those who feature in the film.

“To be able to move into the house and straight away have new books to put on the shelf makes the house feel like a home,” Alexis Creary says.

Esteemed Australian author Jackie French, AM, who donated over 200 books to the collection and instigated significant donations from Australian Women’s Weekly and several major Australian publishers, also features.

“Every single book in this room has been given with the most enormous love and joy and incredible admiration for the community of Tathra, who is determined to survive,” French says. “You actually need joy as much as recovery…and this is joy! And this is more important because hopefully in a year, five years or 10 years, something like this is going to be the much more powerful memory than the hard things. You will look back and you will smile because you will remember the things done with friendship, love and community.”

Bega Valley Mayor Cr Kristy McBain says Book Love is a wonderful example of the humanity and generosity Australians have for each other.

“Seeing these books and seeing people excited to restock a library, no matter how small or large it may have been, is really heartwarming. From my point of view it’s one of the great reasons we live in the Bega Valley Shire is because of these amazing people that come together to help out their friends, their families, their neighbours,” Cr McBain says.

Sapphire Coast-based film maker Brent Occleshaw produced the film. Brent, who is also a volunteer fire fighter and was part of the fire-fighting effort at Tathra, said it was a privilege to bring the Book Love story to life on film.

“As firefighters, we defend life, defend property, and importantly, restore normality. ‘Restore normality’ involves helping this community become strong again and replacing books, the heart of people’s homes, plays a central role in doing that,” Brent says.

Melissa said the generosity from the Book Love donations continued, with leftover books still circulating in the community.

Books have gone to the Tathra Public School library, Tathra P&C Association for fundraising events and Bega Rotary Club. Proceeds from books sold at Rotary’s Winter Book Fair have purchased garden vouchers for a Garden Recovery and Open Gardens weekend in Tathra on the weekend of August 24 and 25. Book Love books will also be available on the Saturday at Tathra Surf Club and organisers will screen the Book Love film.

“Any funds donated for books at the garden event will go back to the community for garden projects, truly making ‘Book Love for Tathra’ a gift that keeps on giving,” Melissa said.

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