Margaret Tanner reporting in for my very first blog at The Roses Of Prose. A proud moment indeed. I will be posting here on the 11th and 23rd of each month.
Well, I guess I should introduce myself to those who don’t know me. I come from the land down under, Australia
We have a fascinating landscape, beautiful white sandy beaches, rugged mountains that are snow-covered in winter. We have rain forests and deserts. In fact, believe it or not, Australia
The first white people to settle in Australia (1788), came mainly from England , Ireland and Scotland
Slowly a British society evolved based on the distinctions between convicts and free settlers, but as some of the convicts prospered once they gained their freedom, they tried to erase the stain of their convict blood and many of our early documents were destroyed. The discovery of gold in the 1850’s caused another wave of mass migration, this time comprised of many nations, although those from the British Isles were still the most dominant.
I am multi-published with Whiskey Creek Press and The Wild Rose Press. I enjoy delving into the pages of history as I carry out my research for the Australian historical romance novels that I love to write. No book is too old or tattered for me to trawl through, no museum too dusty, or cemetery too overgrown. Many of my novels have been inspired by true events, with one being written around the hardships and triumphs of my pioneering ancestors in frontier Australia
In the course of research, and also because I have always been interested in the 1st World War, I have toured the battlefields of France , Belgium and Turkey
I am a member of the Romance Writers of Australia, the Melbourne Romance Writers Group (MRWG) and EPIC. Oh, and I have won a few literary awards along the way too, but being a modest little violet, I won’t bore you with a blow by blow description.
If you would like to find out more about me and my books, my website is: http://www.margarettanner.com/
My publishers are:
The Wild Rose Press http://www.thewildrosepress.com/margaret-tanner-m-281.html
Whiskey Creek Press www.whiskeycreekpress.com
My next visit at The Roses of Prose blog will be on the 23rd August, so I hope you will drop by again and say G’day to me and my fellow talented roses of prose.
31 comments:
What a wonderful place to live! I have always wanted to see Australia. Love the pictures. Checked out your books on your lovely website. I love history, but never have had too much interest in WWI or WWII, but I have to say after reading your blurbs, you have peaked my interest. Looks awesome!
Hi Jerrie/Carrie,
Thank you so much for dropping by I really appreciate it. My website is lovely, but I can't claim credit for it, Rae Monet from TWRP did it for me and if I do say so myself, she did a brilliant job.
Regards
Margaret
Hi Margaret
Nice to get to know you more : )
Australia is a stunning country all right. We're a pretty spoiled lot to live downunder, if a tad far away from the rest of the world.
That was very brave of you to experience the jail. Did they close the door on you? *shudder* You're more game than I am, but a brilliant way to get into your heroine's head.
Hi LaVerne,
Thanks for dropping by, nice that Aussies and Kiwis are still sticking together and supporting each other just as our forebears did.
I don't know about being brave, I was actually scared witless, in case the cell door banged shut on me. The cell was at the old Melbourne Jail which had strong connections to the bushranger Ned Kelly. You can still see the gallows. Creepy place even in daylight. No amount of money would make me go there at night, although I understand there are night tours for tourists.
Regards
Margaret
Great intro, Margaret. I am so fascinated by your country. Congrats on your publications. Looking forward to your blogs.
Hi Margaret,
Wonderful pictures of Australia. And so nice to learn more about you. Barbara
Hi Brenda,
Thank you so much for dropping by. Glad you find Australia fascinating. We are similar to the US in many ways, but also different.
Regards
Margaret
Hi Barbara,
Thanks you. It is lovely being one of The Roses of Prose.
Regards
Margaret
Loved your intro about yourself. It matches you. Thank you for the invitation
Hey, Margaret. I'd love to visit Australia and most histories worth exploring are blood-stained in some way, aren't they? Great to meet you.
Chris
www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com
Hi, Margaret. Loved your photos and learning more about you! Your approach to history and research closely matches mine. If I ever get Down Under, I'd love to meet you.
What terrific photos and great intro to you and your home country. Love your website. I read The Reluctant Father - a super story.
A lovely intro, Margaret. Can you imagine our lives without the Internet? We'd never have the chance to meet lovely ladies, like you, from far away countries. We take this medium for granted so often; it's brought so many of us closer together.
Love the history, and pictures. Thanks for sharing!
It was a pleasure to meet you, Margaret. : ) I admire the great lengths you've gone to in research to make your books authentic. I have always been fascinated with Australia.
One question (maybe a stupid one, but...) as a penal colony - were the convicts just dropped off, or were they kept under lock and key?
What a great question? What did happen to the convicts when they were brought to Australia?
Margaret - lovely pix and descriptions - now I want to Oz even more! I understand what you're saying about the battlegrounds and graveyards - I was in tears when we visited in Normandie - all those white grave markers, disappearing into the distant horizon.Poignant stories in the smaller graveyards. My grandfather was 'MIA, Believed Killed', in Belgium in November, 1917. Gran never recovered from the loss.
Hi Margaret
Good to see you here! Great post about Oz and lovely photos. Hope you''re well and happy (and busy too, of course!)
Hey, Margaret, what a great mini-history lesson! And what a surprise to see a kangaroo as the first picture on your blog. I love it! It's great to get to know you, and I look forward to your many, many future posts.
Love the pics and the brief history lesson. Years ago, I read a romance by: don't remember. The title of the book was: I forgot. BUT it was about a British widow who chose a convict to marry to save her plantation. Of course, the convict was wrongly accused and somehow in the book that was proven. I read another romance set in Australia by a different author I can't remember by another title I've forgotten, lol! But in this one, the woman was sent to debtor's prison because she couldn't pay her father's gaming debts when he died. She was then shipped to Australia but the boat wrecked off shore and the hero rescued her. Both good books. Wish I could remember the authors. It was back in the 90's if anyone can help me with that. lol!
Hi lovely ladies, Sharon, Christine, Allison, Janine, Vonnie, Cynthia, Lynne, Jerri, Glenrys, Paula,Laura and Lilly. Thank you so much for dropping by, I appreciate it. Apologies for not answering you straight away, but it was the middle of the night (Oz time) when you posted. 9 o'clock in th morning here now.Glad that the kangaroo caught your eye.
Regards
Margaret
Hi Lilly,
Unfortuantely, I don't know which books you were referring to, but there have been quite a few written about the convict era in Australia. Hey, I wrote one myself,Savage Utopia, but in mine the heroine was sent to Australia on trumped up charges of trying to murder her incestuous father, when in fact it was self defence but no-one would believe her.
Regards
Margaret
Hi Glenrys,
We didn't visit Normandie, we concentrated on the WW1 battlefields. We did actually visit a huge American WW1 cemetery on the Somme in France, but off hand I can't remember the name of the place. A beautifully kept cemetery but sad and lonely because so few Americans go there.
I can understand your grandmother's anguish, it must have been terrible for her. We visited several cemeteries and battlefields in Belgium, so if you knew the name of the place where your grandfather went missing, I might have a photo of the area I could send you.
Regards
Margaret
Hi Lynne and Jerri,
What happened to the convicts when they arrived in Australia. The first lot actually built the prisons where the later convicts were housed. Many were put into work gangs (chain gangs) and constructed roads, buildings etc. all under the watchful eyes of English red coats.
Regards
Margaret
Hello Margaret, or should I say Gidday,
Waving to you from across the ditch in New Zealand.
Are you a follower of rugby? My nephew(NZ'er) and his wife live in Melbourne - she's a native so teaches her baby daughter to chant "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi, oi!" but dresses her in a black and white All Black's outfit!!
Hi Cherie,
Thanks for dropping by. Sorry, don't follow rugby, but I do live in Melbourne.
Regards
Margaret
G'day Margaret! :) Australia sounds lovely. Wish I could visit! Your descriptions of the landscape in your stories are so vivid, I almost feel I have visited, so thank you!
Hi Margaret, I had the privilege of visiting Australia, only Sydney twice, and enjoyed your beautiful country. I have pictures patting kaola bears, and tasted Tim-Tam and Vegemite. I read some of your books and love them.
Hi Cate,
Thanks for dropping by. I wish you could come and visit. I know you would enjoy yourself.
Regards
Margaret
Hi Mona,
Thanks for dropping by. Yes, I remember when you visited Sydney. Vegemite and Tim-Tams, two of our national foods. Vegemite is an acquired taste. The secret is not to spread too much on your bread/toast. But it is full of vitamins.
Rregards
Margaret
Hi Mona,
Thanks for dropping by. Yes, I remember when you visited Sydney. Vegemite and Tim-Tams, two of our national foods. Vegemite is an acquired taste. The secret is not to spread too much on your bread/toast. But it is full of vitamins.
Rregards
Margaret
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