Manuscripts - Long and Short Stories
There are many things I really love and among them is history. I have a passion for early Australian history, late British history, Roman history, Egyptian... well, anything older than 100 years (I'm almost history myself!). From that passion arose a story that I first wrote as a TV series - 1905. From there and knowing that my TV series would never be produced, I re-wrote it as a manuscript for a novel and, from that, I broke it down to a series of short stories.
The first full-length manuscript is titled Cut on the Bias; the second Along the Weft - but neither has anything to do with weaving 😁. Both long-form stories follow the life of an Australian bastard colonist from 1874 to 1905 and the violent events that led from innocence to murder and ultimate redemption.
The unpublished 'novels' begin in 1905 and intertwine a series of events from 1874 in flashback.
The first full-length manuscript is titled Cut on the Bias; the second Along the Weft - but neither has anything to do with weaving 😁. Both long-form stories follow the life of an Australian bastard colonist from 1874 to 1905 and the violent events that led from innocence to murder and ultimate redemption.
The unpublished 'novels' begin in 1905 and intertwine a series of events from 1874 in flashback.
Full-length Manuscripts
The blurb:
1905 England. Rebecca Davies – Australian, bastard, murderess – joins forces with Major Williams of the Met’s newly formed Special Branch to capture the kidnappers, rapists and murderers of three aristocratic women. The intended abduction of the fourth victim is thwarted but another woman is taken. Davies sets off in pursuit before that victim is savagely violated and killed.
Working against them is the perpetrator, a twisted, disgruntled ex-army officer, and some within the Special Branch who detest what Davies represents.
Davies is now fighting on all fronts to save her own life as Wills is blackmailed and forced to make a tragic choice.
Throughout the pursuit, Davies reflects on the cataclysmic events in 1874 that drove her from her beloved Australia to England, 31 years later, and the lowest point in her life.
She will prevail and others will die.
1905 England. Rebecca Davies – Australian, bastard, murderess – joins forces with Major Williams of the Met’s newly formed Special Branch to capture the kidnappers, rapists and murderers of three aristocratic women. The intended abduction of the fourth victim is thwarted but another woman is taken. Davies sets off in pursuit before that victim is savagely violated and killed.
Working against them is the perpetrator, a twisted, disgruntled ex-army officer, and some within the Special Branch who detest what Davies represents.
Davies is now fighting on all fronts to save her own life as Wills is blackmailed and forced to make a tragic choice.
Throughout the pursuit, Davies reflects on the cataclysmic events in 1874 that drove her from her beloved Australia to England, 31 years later, and the lowest point in her life.
She will prevail and others will die.
"Cut on the Bias" was a Second Rounder, Launch Pad Prose Writing Competition 2021(https://tblaunchpad.com/announcing-the-second-round-of-the-2021-launch-pad-prose-competition-1/)
and again a Second Rounder, 2023 Launch Pad Prose Competition 7th Annual ...always the bridesmaid...😢 |
Cut on the Bias - September, 1905
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Along the Weft - December, 1905 |
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The third and final part will be uploaded once it's completed.
I have extracted these flashbacks in the above manuscripts and set them as self-contained short stories.
And here they are:
I have extracted these flashbacks in the above manuscripts and set them as self-contained short stories.
And here they are:
Short Stories
"Lady Katherine" is a stand-alone backstory of the only child of the Laird of Glenross and the Countess of Chestermere who finds herself orphaned at fifteen and how she ably oversees her vast estates and comes to terms with her own sexuality. Lady Katherine, the Countess of Chestermere (suo jure), features in "Cut on the Bias", the first of a 3-part saga set in 1905.
Memoirs of a Bastard Colonist
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Memoirs of a Bastard Colonist
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Memoirs of a Bastard Colonist
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Memoirs of a Bastard Colonist
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Memoirs of a Bastard Colonist
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My sincere thanks to the many who have tirelessly helped, guided and encouraged me in getting this thing out of my brain and onto the page.
- BARB CROMIE, screenwriter, journalist and unstinting time-giver, who read, reread and re-reread every word and helped me polish my bits of rough-hewn rubble into what it is now. A ‘thank you’ simply is not enough. I am deeply indebted to her and her generosity of spirit.
- JOAN FAYLE, whose medical knowledge, grammatical expertise and interest in what I was doing, helped me to smooth out the bumpy bits. To her, a warm and fuzzy blanket of gratitude.
- SUE MOREY, my number one fan whose enthusiasm kept me going when I wanted to finish the book two-thirds of the way through. She’s earned her coffee and a million thanks besides!
- JUNE ROGERS, Executive PA and wordsmith, who appraised my words from the other side of the continent, my sincere thanks.
- IRENE di BONA, another friend who was generous with her time in reading parts and chapters as I churned them out. Many thanks for her persistence and feedback.
- I am also very grateful to my fellow-writers from the Australian Writers’ Guild who first heard my ideas about this story and helped me give it shape and substance in its early stage.
- And, of course, the Internet and its myriad fabulous websites: Wikipedia, Internet Archives, Trove, Collins English Dictionary, Roget’s Thesaurus et cetera, et al, where so much information was distilled to give my voice a measure of authenticity.
For Peter A Cross
who believed in me
who believed in me
The very fine print:
All rights by all media reserved
Copyright Susanna Bonaretti
Copyright warning: The whole contents of this work are copyright of Susanna Bonaretti.
No part of the contents may be reproduced or dealt with in any way that is inconsistent with the rights of Susanna Bonaretti under copyright law.
In particular, no part of this may be disseminated to a third party without the prior written permission of Susanna Bonaretti.
All rights by all media reserved
Copyright Susanna Bonaretti
Copyright warning: The whole contents of this work are copyright of Susanna Bonaretti.
No part of the contents may be reproduced or dealt with in any way that is inconsistent with the rights of Susanna Bonaretti under copyright law.
In particular, no part of this may be disseminated to a third party without the prior written permission of Susanna Bonaretti.