During the winter I’ve been focused on finishing book 5 in my Belleville series, so I’ve been almost invisible in the online world.

WINDS OF CHANGE opens in 1976, 34 years on from the beginning of JULIA’S STORY, time enough for a new generation to come to adulthood. But I was pulled back to this first book in the series by the release of the audio book by Ulverscroft in May this year. I find it hard to believe I wrote this book 10 years ago. NOTE: LIBRARY CLIENTS PLEASE ASK AT YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY – THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE ON THE uLIBRARY app OR CHECK OUT THE USUAL ONLINE PLATFORMS.

Do I remain happy with the first book? Would I change anything? Yes and no. It remains the story I wanted to tell and helped create the complex storylines that emerge later.

Some writers say they can’t stand to go back and reread their books. I enjoy it actually but it is also necessary. Why? Because, I’m writing a series and I care about continuity. 

Which doesn’t mean my characters don’t change. Just like all of us, their opinions change, their outlooks change and their experiences change them. 

The series began with three central characters:
JULIA – 18 when the series began
RICHARD – her elder brother, 22 when the series began, and
WILLIAM – the middle child, 20 years old.

It was only ever meant to be a trilogy, but somehow another book emerged. And then another one. I’m not saying definitively that book 5 is the end of the Belleville series, but it feels like it at the moment.

Combined with the two books in the PHILIPPE DUVAL (Belleville spinoff) series — readers first meet the American Philippe Duval in JULIA’S STORY — 7 books in total have emerged from a single idea.

That single idea was an Australian girl falling in love with an American Army officer during WWII while he was stationed in Australia. That idea came from my memories of my father telling me of the American camps near the family farm in Central Queensland. The American presence lived on in the memory of locals, long after the war had ended.

Link here to see information about all the books

For the love of writing …… and books. 

Judy