Join us as Meredith introduces her sixth book: All about Ella.

A keenly observed story about aging and its inherent vulnerability, about community and chosen family, about how family stressors shape us all, about trust and loyalty, and about standing up for yourself.

About the Book:

At 70, Ella’s world is upended, leaving her at odds with her three adult children, whose attention is fixed more firmly on her money than her ongoing welfare. After an argument with her son Anthony, she flees his Adelaide home for Cutlers Bay, a seaside town on the Yorke Peninsula. There she befriends Angie, a 40-year-old drifter, and becomes an irritant to local cop Zach. He’s keen to shift Ella off his turf, because Anthony phones daily, demanding his mother be sent home. And Zach just doesn’t trust Angie.

Ella warms to Cutlers Bay, and it warms to her. In a defiant act of self-determination, she buys an entirely unsuitable house on the outskirts of town, and Angie agrees to help make it habitable. Zach is drawn to the house on the clifftop, and finds himself revising his earlier opinions of Ella, and Angie.

• This event is free.
• Books available for purchase at event through South Seas Books & Trading
• Book signing
• Bookings required
• Arrive 10 minutes early for a 6.00 pm start

About the Author:

Born at Murray Bridge, Meredith spent her formative years in the Murray Mallee region of rural South Australia. After qualifying as a registered nurse, and then a midwife, Meredith experienced an interesting and varied nursing career practicing in a wide range of country health settings, including the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

She has worked in the Northern Territory, outback Queensland, rural and outback South Australia. She’s done agency nursing in London, and volunteer work in Vietnam.

When a friend challenged Meredith to follow her dreams and write, she saved up, took time off work, sat down at the computer and wrote her first novel. After the rejection letter that followed, Meredith realised that she needed to learn more about the craft of writing.

She attended workshops, joined a writers’ group and completed an Advanced Diploma of Arts – Professional Writing with the Adelaide Centre for Arts, graduating in 2009. And she continued writing, and reading lots of books.

In 2008 Meredith entered a short story entitled Waiting for Harry, in the Romance Writers’ of Australia’s Little Gems competition, successfully winning a place in the annual anthology.

From 2006 she spent several years as a casual correspondent for the Flinders News, having over sixty stories published during that time. Her first novel, The Country Practice was published in 2015.

Meredith lives with her husband and border collie Lily in the delightful Clare Valley wine-growing region of South Australia.

www.meredithappleyard.com.au

Be the first to know about our events!

Subscribe to the Victor Harbor Library

If you would like to be the first to know about our wonderful programs and events please subscribe to our email database: https://www.victor.sa.gov.au/library/subscribe

Our Programs and COVID-19

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, bookings are required for our programs.

Please arrive within 10 minutes of the session start time.

Limited bookings are available. If you are unable to attend, please let the library know in advance so others can join in.

Stay COVID-19 Safe

• Practise excellent hygiene - hand sanitiser and hand washing facilities are available
• Physical distancing is required in all sessions
• Do not attend if you're unwell, no matter how mild your symptoms are
• Please let us know if you can't make it so others can join in
• Programs may change or be cancelled as directed by the SA State Coordinator
• Masks may be mandatory depending on current state restrictions