Elaine Blick

After writing about many fictional characters over the years, author Elaine Blick has at last told her own story.In many ways it has the surprising twists and turns of a plot of one of her novels, and will have readers exclaiming "Just fancy "There is the time she fell twelve feet from a tree and got up unscathed; the time she dealt with the unwelcome attentions of a stalker; and more dramatic still, her time in Soviet Russia when she narrowly escaped being held by the KGB.Her love of adventure has gotten her into some awkward situations, but through it all, Elaine attributes her remarkable escapes to supernatural intervention. As her father once said, "Elaine's guardian angel works overtime."Born in England during the Second World War, Elaine moved to New Zealand with her parents in 1947, where they lived in the same house in Auckland for twenty-six years. Elaine's dream had always been to return to England, and she finally did in 1969. Many of her amazing adventures began there.Today Elaine once again lives in New Zealand, at Clarks Beach, where her family spent every holiday while she was growing up.

Call of the Kookaburra is the third and final book in a series following several British convict women who were transported to Australia in the 19th century. Sent to a country with a harsh climate and environment, different in every way from what was familiar, the story relates how these women survived when they were uprooted from their homeland. Friendship grew among three women who were very different in background and temperament. Louise was from a middle-class background and was well educated. Lucy is sensitive and fearful. Peggy was born in a slum and is shrewd and streetwise. Yet all three became united under the teaching of the well-known Quaker prison reformer, Mrs Elizabeth Fry. This third book continues from A Shining Path. It begins in Bath, England, with Peggy's wedding in Bath Abbey, where she marries a French aristocrat. The emphasis then shifts to Jane Bell, one of Peggy's bridesmaids. Jane is not a convict but had been sent to New South Wales by her father, a vicar, because she was an embarrassment to the family. In the small school where she is posted, Jane gets involved with the headmaster and becomes pregnant. She doesn't tell him before he returns to England, although they become engaged the day before he sails. Jane is spared the scandal of having an illegitimate baby when her son is adopted at birth by Louise, who is now married to an officer who owns a farm outside Sydney.(About the Author)Elaine Blick was born in Salisbury, England, and moved with her parents to New Zealand when she was five. A retired schoolteacher, the author now lives in a small beach community. This is her thirteenth book.

The pampered daughter of a wealthy man, Alice has the choice between two eligible and attractive men. But this is the era of suffragettes, and Alice is looking for satisfaction in a career rather than marriage.A succession of hard knocks changes the once spoilt beauty into a compassionate woman, willing to put others before herself in a life of service.Set against the dramatic background of the Boer War, Alice's private story unfolds. Even in the midst of dirt, disease, and death, love is able to blossom.This epic wartime romance is played out under the South African sun.(About the Author)Elaine Blick lived in England for many years and taught school in London. "Although I grew up in New Zealand and had my education here, I now live beside a beach outside of Auckland, which is rather different from London." Now retired, she enjoys travelling and researching the historical novels she writes. This is her 13th book.

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow is a travelogue with a difference. Two retired women set off in a campervan from London to tour Europe. Neither has driven a campervan before, much less had any experience driving on the right.They journey through four countries and cover 4,000 miles, often bewildered by one-way systems and rapid changes of language, yet meeting kindness wherever they go. The women's varied and often bizarre escapades make for entertaining reading from start to finish. They experience being locked in an underground toilet in France, finding distant relatives in Germany quite by chance, and spending a frightening night freedom camping on the Riviera.For those who love to read about the touring experiences of others, and are pining to get out on the open road themselves, it's all here in this true and eccentric account. About the Author: Elaine Blick lived in England for many years and taught school in London. "Although I grew up in New Zealand and had my education here, I now live beside a beach outside of Auckland, which is rather different from London." Now retired, she enjoys travelling and researching the historical novels she writes. This is her eleventh book.

Torn from all that is familiar and dear, Louise finds herself in Newgate, that most notorious of British prisons. Here the innocent young woman must survive amongst thieves, prostitutes, and forgers, where catfights, drunkenness, hunger, and cold are a daily reality.But the worst is yet to come: a five-month sea journey to Botany Bay in Australia. In this male-dominated prisoner society on the other side of the world, women are regarded as a commodity, and those transported for minor crimes are treated as prostitutes.How can any woman retain her self-respect in such a setting? Yet one group of women coming out of Newgate managed it. Under the influence of Mrs Elizabeth Fry, a gentle Quaker, the female inmates in Newgate are taught to knit and sew, gaining confidence in themselves. Mrs Fry also opens a school for the prison's children.But most important of all, the Quaker woman shares a message from the Bible so these women can face their future with hope.About the Author: Born in England, Elaine Blick moved with her family to New Zealand when she was five. The retired teacher attended Auckland Teachers' College and Auckland University. This is her eighth novel. "I was inspired to write this book after reading a couple of biographies about Elizabeth Fry, the prison reformer. I was so impressed by the impact she had on the women prisoners in Newgate, when she went amongst them fearlessly taking only a Bible with her. I felt a book needed to be written showing how she affected their individual lives. I then went on to read widely about transportation to Australia."

The "Roaring Twenties" was the era of the flappers, those bright young things who cut their hair and raised their hemlines. But for Rhoda Pritchard, growing up in a mining town in the North Island of New Zealand, life wasn't easy. On her 11th birthday, Rhoda and her younger brothers and sisters stood by their mother's grave. The strong-smelling white flowers surrounding the coffin ever afterwards became the smell of death to Rhoda. But she was a girl who loved life, and from an early age learned a simple way to survive. This helped her through every setback and disappointment, especially when she and the other children were sent to England without their father, accompanied only by an unmarried aunt. In the new and unfamiliar English environment, Rhoda faces every challenge with courage. Though set in the 1920s, this heart-warming story will resonate with readers today who admire a character with grit and determination. About the Author: Born in Salisbury, England, Elaine Blick moved to New Zealand after World War II. She is a retired schoolteacher and divides her time between both countries. Her previous novel is Where the Bellbird Sings. Publisher's Website: http://sbpra.com/ElaineBlick

Nearly fifty years have passed since Elizabeth last saw the colonial house in Nelson, New Zealand, where she once boarded as a young teacher in 1962. Where the Bellbird Sings takes Elizabeth back in time to her memories of the house and the peace that she felt when she heard the call of the bellbird. Now widowed and seventy years old, Elizabeth returns when she hears the house is for sale. As she is shown through the rooms, she recalls in detail what the house had been like when her great-aunts and great-uncle lived there. Elizabeth hears the bellbird sing and is comforted, as its song always represented hope and continuity. When she is told by the agent that the living room is locked because the owners are using it for storage, this link with the past makes her feel faint. As she sits outside on the verandah, she remembers why the mysterious door is locked. Where the Bellbird Sings is an intriguing family saga, a remembrance of lost love and times past, but is foremost an unforgettable story. About the Author: Born in Salisbury, England, Elaine Blick moved to New Zealand after World War II. She is a retired teacher and now divides her time between both countries.Although her book is fiction, it is based on her teaching experiences. "When I heard that our old home in Nelson, which had been in the family since 1842 was going to be sold, I felt compelled to preserve its memory by writing a story set there." She is now writing her next book. Publisher's website: http://sbpra.com/ElaineBlick