And so we come to TEARS OF THE MOON.

I had visited the pearling town of Broome during my TV days and was entranced with it's history. I knew it was a novelist's goldmine so I went and spent time there to reseach. Everything that happens to Lily at the start of the book happened to me (except I had met Aborigines before.)

I wanted to move more into mainstream fiction as I was being perceived as romance writer. The book became a turning point for me. It moved me into hardback and was published in the US and UK.

Each book comes as a strange gift and I wait for whatever fateful circumstance brings each novel to me. When a lost postcard from Guyana finally found me I returned to this exotic South American country where I had been posted during my diplomatic life. WHEN THE SINGING STOPS has a strong environmental/political/adventure/love story/ women's commitment/ conflict theme!

The title alludes to the rare golden frog found only in bromelliad plants at the lip of Kaiteur Falls in Guyana. When writing the book I asked professor Mike Tyler of Adelaide University's Zoology dept the name of this rare frog (hydroloxus bibi) and he told that frogs are the harbingers of the state of the health of the planet - "and when the frogs stop singing, the planet will die."

Another fateful connection led me to write THE SONGMASTER. In an airport I ran into a woman friend - a pastoralist from the remote Kimberley region of western Australia - whom I hadn't seen in nine years. I asked what she was doing and she told me she had been asked by a wise Aboriginal elder to gather a group of white people to come and sit down with his people and talk about how to bring black and white Australians closer together. She told me didn't know how or where she'd find the right people so dcided they'd find her. "You've found me, that means you must come, " she said. So off I went to the Kimberley and one of the most profound experiences of my life. You can share the journey in THE SONGMASTER.

My connection with the Australian film industry goes back to my childhood with Chips Rafferty and a young actor called Rod Taylor. My mother told me many stories of the early days of film and television and from my own research I knew that Australia made the world's first feature film. So I decided I wanted to write about the Australian film industry, the early days of radio and a larrikin aussie actor like Errol Flynn. I also was interested in the path men were travelling in the 1990's.

All my books are mass market, mainstream entertainment, yet there is a depth and complexity beneath the surface where I explore an issue or theme that interests, engages or concerns me.

In the case of SCATTER THE STARS I kept in touch with the men who had travelled to the Kimberley with me and I became aware that these older men were reflecting back on their lives with some disquiet and asking, "Is this all there is?"

I spoke with younger men and discovered that men in the 90s were feeling marginalised, vulnerable and somewhat confused. They were seeking what we all are - inner peace, contentment and a spiritual foundation in their lives. So I chose the main character to be an actor for they wear many masks and play many roles, often without knowing who they really are. It has been interesting to hear how this book has affected men and family and friends in their orbit. There are many different characters with very modern problems and issues in SCATTER THE STARS that readers identify with.

I try to make every book a little different, so that they are not predictable or formula. Though at the same time I keep the elements of page-turning storytelling that my readers seem to enjoy.

I feel so lucky that I am able to make a living doing what I enjoy most. I hope I bring a little enjoyment to you, my readers, as well.

Fond wishes.

Di Morrissey