February Postcards 2022

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Ventnor Beach, Phillip Island

When the blistering heat dissipates and the beaches no longer ring with the sound of children now tucked back in their classrooms… it’s February in Australia. The perfect time to roam the beaches and infuse my writing with all that charms me most about this island we are blessed to call home for half the week. A most suitable place to write, edit, and gear up for my next book release, Carry Me Close.

The last month of summer brings more celebrations for our family with the birthday of my Beloved. So we cook the foods and pour the drinks and count the blessings we bring in from our garden, as well as the greatest blessings that gather at our table.

This February, I planted viola seedlings in preparation for my Carry Me Close Twilight Garden Party Book Launch. Quite the mouthful for a small soiree ~ a playful nod to some of what features in this third book in the Blue Wren Shallows series. In the next few days I hope to share the cover and synopsis of this story, including our newest heroine, Viola Buckley, hence the profusion of violas now rising from their pots in my garden.

Until next time, and all the giddy goosebumps that come with a book release,

Happy reading,
Dotti

 

Silverleaves Beach, Phillip Island

Silverleaves Beach, Phillip Island

Silverleaves Beach, Phillip Island

Ventnor Beach, Phillip Island

Ventnor Beach, Phillip Island

John’s Birthday Party Table

The Fam-Bam

More Fam Bam

Delicious birthday cake baked by my darling daughter

White violas in pots

Purple violas in pots

Summer Lemonade – technically from our Australia Day gathering in January but too good not to share. And delicious. Thank you Sharon for the home-made lemonade cordial!

January Postcards 2022

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On the beach with my Valentine of 33 years.

I significantly reduced my social media use at the beginning of 2020, but over the last two years, I’ve captured as many photos of each day as I always had. The recent seasons may have been harsh, but the days each held a moment worth remembering, a smile worth sinking into, and blessings that should never be forgotten.

Here’s a peek into January 2022 ~ my slow return from a period of solitude and book-writing-in-the-shadows of a long pandemic we are all so ready to farewell.

The Australian summer sun is shining as bright as it always has, dear friends. And there’s EXCITING book news to share VERY SOON. Stay tuned!

Until then… here’s some of how we ushered in 2022.

Ventor Beach, Phillip Island

Gilbert the Cat ~ always up to some kind of mischief

Summer pretties at Crabapple House

Waratah Beach, Sandy Point, Victoria

Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt Stop #24

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This contest is now closed. Congratulations to Sandra Dufoe… winner of the Blue Wren Shallows Giveaway.

G’day Scavengers,

Welcome to the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt! If you’ve just discovered the hunt, be sure to start at Stop #1, and collect the clues through all the stops, in order, so you can enter to win one of our top 5 grand prizes!

  • The hunt BEGINS on 11/7 at noon MST with Stop #1 at Lisa Bergen
  • Hunt through our loop using Chrome or Firefox as your browser (notExplorer).
  • There is NO RUSH to complete the hunt—you have all weekend (until Sunday, 11/10 at midnight MST)! So take your time, reading the unique posts along the way; our hope is that you discover new authors/new books and learn new things about them.
  • Submit your entry for the grand prizes by collecting the CLUE on each author’s scavenger hunt post and submitting your answer in the Rafflecopter form at the final stop, back on Lisa’s site. Many authors are offering additional prizes along the way!

 

My name is Dorothy Adamek, writer of Australian Historical Romance, and I love it when my friends call me Dotti. I adore all things old-worlde ~ black and white floors, blue and white china, and licorice. Yum. Did you know licorice was invented in the 16th century? My most recent heroine also loves to nibble on licorice. And when you read my stories you will travel through time and across the globe, straight into Colonial Era Australia, with a dash of Dotti thrown in for good measure.

Yes, I’m a proud Aussie and love introducing my readers to our beautiful country and its courageous people.

You can learn more about me and my Blue Wren Shallows series set on Phillip Island, (two hours drive from my home in Melbourne) right here on my website and on Facebook and Instagram.

 

If you’re new to my Australian series, this is a great time to start with book 1, Carry Me Home ~ currently at the special price of 99c (ends November 11th) and you can find it here.

 

PLUS, you are scavenging through my Ink Dots Journal Page in a week of great celebration.

My newest book, Carry Me Away, released TWO days ago! And I’m delighted to welcome readers back into the 1870s pioneering world of Australia in her infancy.

 

Carry Me Away  – AVAILABLE NOW AT AMAZON 

 

When the Black Swallow sinks off the Australian coast in 1877, Australian midshipman Tom Darley rescues English passenger Ada Carmichael from the disaster that claims her entire family. News of the only two survivors enchants the world, but Ada needs to hide before secrets and old foes find her. Tom is chasing big dreams of a crumbling house he will convert into a small hotel ~ but the promising start he’s acquired now sits at the bottom of the sea.

Inexplicably entangled, Ada and Tom lean upon each other to make sense of the tragedy that’s displaced them. But when scheming journalists observe their affection they drag Tom into life-altering riches and a news-worthy romance he cannot resist. So he arranges for Ada’s protection where only he might find her ~ the quiet Phillip Island farm of his friends Shadrach and Finella Jones.

And that’s where real trouble finds them. When heroic promises fail to shelter, and love refuses to be silenced, only surrender will pluck Ada and Tom from where life has wrecked them.

 

 

Chris Hemsworth ~ Tom Darley, Carry Me Away

How Did I Pick My Most Recent Aussie Hero?

I know many authors have been smitten by Aussie actor Chris Hemsworth when they’ve gone looking for a romantic hero. He’s handsome and fights for what’s right. He often appears in hero material Pinterest collections and writing room vision boards. And with good reason. Look at those eyes!

But did you know Chris and his famous brothers were raised on Phillip Island in their teen years? Yes, they were. (Around the same time my family holidayed there every summer.) What better choice for my hero inspiration than someone who also holds the island among his formative memories and who returns there from time to time to visit his parents?

I’ve yet to bump into Chris Hemsworth in the Phillip Island supermarket. But I might, someday. And wouldn’t it be fun to let him know he’s the inspiration for a hero who walked the very shores that lap the island…. 140 years ago?

And if Chris and I ever discuss a Blue Wren Shallows movie, I’ll be sure to let you know.

 

 

Here’s the Stop #24 Skinny:

If you’re interested, you can order Carry Me Away from Amazon. 

Clue to Write Down: -Hal

Next Stop on the Loop: Camille Eide’s site! 

Good luck to all those entering for major prizes.

But wait, before you rush off ~ here’s another chance to WIN.

To celebrate the release of Carry Me Away, I’m giving away a Blue Wren Shallows Gift Pack to one lucky entrant. Enter the Rafflecopter form below to win Carry Me Home, along with the beautiful sounds and earthy aromas of the Australian bush!

This is an international contest ~ open to all.

Signed print copy Carry Me Home (book 1)

Blue Wren chirping soft toy

Olive oil soap made on Phillip Island

Australian-made Kakadu lip balm

Two Australian botanical notepads

Blue Wren Card – painted by renowned Melbourne botanical artist, David Reynolds

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Thank you so much for stopping by, and GOOD LUCK in your book gathering and new author discoveries. Fabulous readers like you are the reason we write, and I am ever grateful for each one.

Happy reading,
Dotti

 

 

 

 

Carry Me Away ~ Release Day!

Carry Me Away ~ Now Available on Amazon

Here in Australia, the first Tuesday in November is all about ‘the race that stops a nation.’

Sometime this afternoon, the historic Melbourne Cup will run and most of us who live in Melbourne are grateful for a sunny public holiday, even if we’re not into horse racing.

For me, this day is much more than a public holiday.

I chose today to release Carry Me Away because it’s the day my dad arrived in Australia, in 1950 as a post-war Greek immigrant, aged fifteen.

On that November day when his ship dropped anchor, the streets of Melbourne were deserted. Upon disembarking he wondered what kind of a ghost-town he’d rolled into. His father, (who’d arrived in Australia earlier that year) met him at the wharf and explained the people of Melbourne were enjoying a day off.

My dad’s arrival into Melbourne has always fascinated me. Displaced from all that was familiar, he stepped into what may have looked like an empty life ~ without a proper grasp on the English language, without a home to call his own, with no work experience and no opportunity for further education that he’d wished for in Greece.

My dad, Bill, (Vasili) just before he left Greece for Australia

But my dad’s story is one of triumph. Like many migrants of that era, he embraced his new identity with determination. He studied the language, he worked hard and created his own business. His roots dug deep and his Christian faith took hold. Together with my mum, they raised a family and created a full life beyond the wildest dreams of the fifteen year old boy who ran aground into an empty Melbourne-town.

Today he celebrates 69 wonderful years in Australia.

So on this day, I honour the journey that brought him home and shaped my own identity.

As an Australian author, I’m delighted to ‘land’ something of me, on this day, too. In tribute to my mum and dad and their immigrant experience, and in celebration of the many Australian stories of displacement I long to tell… it’s my pleasure to release the e-book edition of Carry Me Away, book 2 in the Blue Wren Shallows series into the wide world of fiction readers. (Print copies and Large Print copies available later this week.)

Woo Hoo!!!

Thank you to the many who’ve cheered my own author-race to this happy day. The nation may stop to watch the horses, but I will stop to give thanks for those whose stories inspire me to write… and those who choose to read them.

Happy reading,
Dotti

 

 

Carry Me Away ~ Now Available on Amazon 

 

The Loch Ard Disaster

I have often wondered about those who lost their lives when the Loch Ard sank off the Australian coast in 1878. It’s a tragedy that continues to capture the hearts of those who visit this majestic stretch of Victoria’s coastline along the Great Ocean Road. And for a country that’s welcomed immigrants and refugees onto its shores… this is one journey that did not end well for those who dreamed of a new start in a fresh world.

Named after the the iron ship that ran aground on the reef near Port Campbell, the Loch Ard Gorge will always be remembered for the wreck that claimed the life of 52 passegers and crew… and washed ashore only two survivors on the fateful day of June 1, 1878.

Loch Ard Gorge, Australia

The history-lover in me became swept up in the Loch Ard disaster when I learned the two survivors, Tom Pearce and Eva Carmichael, became full-blown celebrities in an era when social media came in the form of day old newspapers and animated drawing room discussions. Along with survival, the promise of romance wafted over their story in the hearts and minds of many who read of the incredible rescue of the orphaned English girl by the heroic Australian midshipman. Theirs would have been a romance unlike any other. And those who cheered their survival wanted to cheer for so much more.

The real Tom and Ada were not meant to enjoy a romance. Such was their fate. Much to the disappointment of Victorian era romantics, their futures never merged into happily every after. 

But I had come across the fascinating detail about those who survive a near death experience together ~ often bonding in ways similar to those who fall in love, with the same chemical responses flooding the body. So I took the buried bones of a romance already chewed by the imagination of generations past, and turned them over in my mind until Tom and Ada’s battles took on flesh and a real heartbeat. At least within my storyteller’s veins.

I played with the names of our hero and heroine, who became Tom Darley and Ada Carmichael. I changed the ship from Loch Ard to The Black Swallow, and wrote a fictional account of what may have shaped our survivors if affections had taken hold. And I set all this in the world of characters I’d already created, Shadrach and Finella, and their new home on Phillip Island.

If the real Tom and Ada could read this story inspired by their horrific entry into Australia that June night… I hope they would smile at the liberties taken …and the match I made of them.

Because now, 140 years later… my version of their romance is here for the telling.

To secure your E-book edition of Carry Me Away, please head on over to Amazon and pre-order your copy now at the early-bird price.

Happy reading,
Dotti

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Location, Location, Location

I’m really excited to share the full wrap-around cover of Carry Me Away, the beautiful creation of super talented Emilie Hendrix of EAH Creative, who patiently worked with me to achieve just the look and feel I imagined for Tom and Ada’s story. We used a stunning photograph of Australia’s Loch Ard Gorge, the shipwreck location and opening scenes of Carry Me Away, and set our heroine atop the cliff searching the waters for all she has lost.

The gorgeous cover model is my beautiful daughter, Sophie, and she was photographed by Jason Lau Photography on location in the heritage-listed gardens at Glen Isla House, Phillip Island’s elegant country-house accomodations. I met the current owners of Glen Isla House a few years ago when my husband and I spent a night in one of their historic guest rooms. Ian and Madeleine are warm and generous hosts who welcome their guests with big smiles and fabulous food. From them I learned about the house arriving as a kit home from America in the 1870s, and THAT planted a huge story seed in my author mind.

If the house arrived from America, might the kit and all its crates contain other treasures… or secrets? And if something had made its way from America to Australia, would the rightful owner ever appear… one day…. to reclaim it?

Glen Isla House, Phillip Island

I’ve had the best author-fun gathering story gems for the Blue Wren Shallow series and much of that began when Madeleine and I brainstormed ideas when I was at guest at Glen Isla. Carry Me Close, book 3 in this series will gather all the threads I’ve scattered in books 1 and 2, but for now… here’s some of our photo shoot at Glen Isla House and the collection I have been using for all of the Carry Me Away promotion. Can you spot the non-historical detail we had to crop out?

Some may wonder why I didn’t keep the stunning house and gardens in this cover. And the answer is simple. I’m saving ALL THAT for the next book, Carry Me Close. For now, it’s all about a shipwreck, those who survived it, and how they found the true pieces of themselves at Blue Wren House. (Which looks a lot like Glen Isla House) ;)

To secure your E-book edition of Carry Me Away, please head on over to Amazon and pre-order your copy now at the early-bird price.

Happy reading,
Dotti