140 to Celebrate the Launch of Louisa!

/ Garrulous Gwendoline

The launch event for Louisa is a sell-out! 140 attendees are anticipated to join in the celebration at 2pm on Friday 29th May, at Links Seaside by Warrigal, in Wollongong, situated on the stunning Illawarra coastline.

I’m in conversation with SUZANNE LEAL, award-winning author of six novels. Suzanne is the perfect fit, as her new novel, The Year We Escaped, won the 2025 ARA Historical Novel Prize. Moreover, that book has just been shortlisted for the Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature at the 2026 NSW Literary Awards. It will be a privilege to be on stage with this wonderfully warm woman.

Suzanne is the founder of Thursday Book Club, a relaxed book club connecting readers online. Read more at www.suzanneleal.com

Now the RSVP date has passed, I can “relax” and leave the finer details to Warrigal, who are being exceedingly generous in supporting this event. Historically more associated with residential care, Warrigal also owns a number of what they call “community villages”. In the case of Links Seaside, we are doing a good job of convincing them we are a “lifestyle resort” – and that lifestyle will be on full show on the 29th May. The place will be bopping.

Sadly, my publisher, who is based in Brisbane, will not be able to make it on the day, but here’s also a big shout out to him, David Reiter of IP (Interactive Publications Pty Ltd).

I’m looking forward to welcoming everyone to our “home”.

Footnote:

And now I am turning my attention to library author talks. This is where I wish I had a personal assistant. It’s shaping up that hubbie and I will be on a NSW road trip for the first two weeks of August, so watch this space! Which reminds me, I must create an events page for this blog.

Exciting days!

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10 thoughts on “140 to Celebrate the Launch of Louisa!”

    • Yes. It’s a year ago that we had an online chat about it. I went and dug my photo album out of the garage as I think I have two photos of girls wearing national dress. Wrote a hundred words or so and maybe scanned the photos – and that’s a far as I got.

      FYI, We travelled from Sweden by train and bus to arrive in Trondheim. Boarded the Hurtigruten grocery run vessel to Aalesund. Day tripped to Geiranger Fjord – that was THE day. Then took the local buses down the coast to Bergen. A great trip, which ended with us taking the ferry from Bergen to Newcastle.

      From memory one of the girls was in light blue and the other more of a navy. Either way, it signified the area in which they’d been raised. I will get to it ONE day.

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    • Thank you so much Amanda. I get so behind in my blogging, but I will give it a shot.

      Believe it or not, I have a half-finished post about the day we celebrated National Day in Norway in the early 1990s. And I’m looking at the source material as I write this. xxx Gwen

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  4. I am sorry I couldn’t apply to attend the book launch as I know Suzanne Leal (used to teach her) and live locally but we will be away in our caravan for the first time in eight months. We squeezed it in between Brian Cox and Teen Sitting duties. Ten days away on the road via Canberra to visit my son for his birthday.
    Enjoy the book launch. I’m sure it will be great!

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    • I wondered if you were on the list, Linda. (I haven’t had the final version yet). I was conscious that any further delay with the date risked seeing people head away for the winter.
      Except you’re heading to it! Enjoy the time. xx Gwen

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