Hi everyone,

If you’ve been following my blog, you know I’ve always been a bit of a “Reluctant Retiree“- mostly because I can’t seem to stop getting involved in one project or another!

And if you are new to my blog – welcome. How fabulous to have you along. I invite you to read on for my exciting news.

While I love sharing my travels and social musings with you here (and I still have days and days of last year’s visit to the United States to recount), many of you will know my attention has been pouring into three major writing projects. They are finally shaping up!

What’s on my desk right now:

• Louisa: An historical novel based on my great-grandmother. It’s a story close to my heart, following a woman’s struggle to find her own voice in a society that gave her no script to follow.
• Florence & Lucy: A journey into the ripple effects of intergenerational trauma and the long shadow of “illegitimacy”. Also written as an historical novel.
• Finding Florence & Lucy: A companion nonfiction work where I pull back the curtain on my own research and the real-life mysteries in the lives of the females who came before me.

Back in January of last year, (cue dramatic gasp) I triumphantly proclaimed that Louisa had signed on with the illustrious David Reiter of IP Publications. I boldly declared, in what can only be classified as a moment of sheer folly, my belief that no more revisions were necessary. Ha! Hope springs eternal, or so they say. I can honestly say, though, hand on heart, that every bit of tinkering has transformed the manuscript from a caterpillar into a dazzling butterfly. And now…

The BIG NEWS is that LOUISA is about to drop.

In coming blog posts, I hope to share “behind-the-scenes” snippets, research finds, and feedback from any early readers. In the meantime, I am thrilled to reveal the cover.

Without further ado, I give you, taa-daah … LOUISA.

If you – like me – have been anxiously awaiting her arrival, you can jump onto the publisher’s website and pre-order your copy, as a paperback or digital, in the currency of your choice. Here is the link:

Thank you for being part of this journey from the very beginning. I can’t wait to get her story into your hands.

Stay garrulous, Gwen Wilson