Sherbrooke author Jacqui Morley has been published for the first time. 36528
By Tania Martin
JACQUI Morley is living proof that dreams can come true.
The Sherbrooke author has just had her first book published after seven years of trying.
Ms Morley said it was amazing to finally see her work in print.
She said getting her first publishing deal was almost impossible.
In the end, she found an agent overseas, which led to her current publishing deal with Athena Press in the United Kingdom.
“It’s really hard to get your foot in the door – to get that first book published,” she said.
“To get someone to like your work – it’s so personal.”
She wrote her book, The Three Sisters, under the penname Penelope Cuthridge because she was nervous about putting her work out in public eye.
“I am excited, but also nervous because it’s like wearing your heart on your sleeve,” Ms Morley said.
“It’s a bit daunting having your work out there, but I am excited that I am pursuing my dreams and making a go of it.”
This upcoming author has always been creative and studied fine arts after leaving school.
She now uses her artistic talents in her books in order to draw all the illustrations.
Ms Morley, who juggles her passion for writing between her painting, work and family life, says living in the Dandenongs offered a perfect canvas.
“It inspires me, but has the right mix of reality to keep me grounded,” she said.
She writes surreal and fictional youth-adult stories.
“I try to have inspirational messages and words of wisdom in my stories,” Ms Morley said.
She has even used the story of Tecoma WWI digger Horatio Jones as a starting point for one of her stories.
Titled A Midsummer Day Dream, this story has been written like a Shakespearian play.
Jones was an engineer who lived in the Dandenongs Ranges and built a home made of flattened kerosene tins.
“In my story, I have altered the course of what really happened. As fate has it, I reunite Horatio and Caroline in true romantic style. They get a second shot at it!” Ms Morley said.
In the true story, Mr Jones returned home from the war to find his father’s business partner had stolen from the family business and was forced to release Caroline from their engagement.
He then moved to Tecoma with his two half sisters, Christina and Annie, and built a tin house.
Ms Morley was inspired to write about the WWI digger after visiting the historic homestead.
“I thought wow this rustic bush setting is perfect to begin a story, if you use your imagination,” she said.
“Then, one night I had a dream about a huge angel, he handed me a blank business card. He was long-haired and Bohemian. He wore a green poncho and it had a loose thread… I pulled the thread and it unravelled like a skein of wool and I woke up in the forest and so began the adventure.”
“Dreams are worth having, if you don’t follow your dreams nothing ever becomes a reality,” Ms Morley said.
The book is now on shelves at Belgrave Book Barn or can be ordered on line at www.athenapress.com.
Ms Morley is also getting ready for the release of her second book, Miranda, later this year.
