I have been working on Kaleidoscope for some time – other, more important, things have kept pushing it to the back of the queue – nevertheless, it is now almost finished, and I hope that you will eventually find it interesting. All going well, it will be published later in the year.

At the centre of Kaleidoscope is Bridget O'Connor, 26 years old with an Irish Catholic background, a dislike of killing, and an unarticulated need to rise above what was considered to be women's place in society in the early years of the twentieth century.

The setting is the Central West of NSW, Australia, the year is 1917, and most of the world is caught up in what will eventually come to be known as WWI. In spite of Bridget's outlook on killing, she is thrown into a desperate situation where she has to question whether or not killing may sometimes be the only option. Kaleidoscope explores the familial ties that bind – both the present and the past – and the extent to which we are actually all dependent on those who have gone before us. How they coped, or did not cope, in the situations they confronted, is reflected, again and again, in the situations we face and how we respond to them.

“... no one could know Bridget’s story completely: different people knew unrelated parts of the story, pieces that were patched together to form new, often contrasting, stories. (...) no one can really know anyone else’s story. All we can ever have are the bits and pieces that, like the kaleidoscope, create their own patterns. ”

“ While she thinks about the boy (who is on his way to enlist) and what might be prompting him to enlist, another part of her wonders about right and wrong and how easy it can be for the two words to change places as in some stately, well choreographed, dance. Thinking of her own situation, she knows just how easily these two opposites can change places; she doubts that she has any right to pass judgement on others. ”

When published, Kaleidoscope will be available for purchase in on–line book shops.

Anyone needing more information is welcome to contact me.