Out now
Lighthouse Bay
1901: Isabella Winterbourne has suffered the worst loss a woman can know. She can no longer bear her husband nor his oppressive upper-class family. On a ship voyage between London and Sydney to accompany a priceless gift to the Australian parliament, Isabella is the sole survivor of a shipwreck off the sun-drenched Queensland coast. But in this strange new place, she finds she cannot escape her past quite as easily as she’d hoped.
2011: Libby Slater returns from Paris to her beachside home town to reconcile with her sister. But Libby, too, has a past that is hard to escape and her sister is not in a mood to forgive her. Strange noises at night and activity at the abandoned lighthouse raise her curiosity, and Libby finds herself investigating a century-old town mystery.
Isabella’s Gift is a story of love, secrets, and the power of forgiveness.
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Wildflower Hill
In 1920s Glasgow, Beattie Blaxland falls pregnant to her married lover Henry just before her nineteenth birthday. Abandoned by her family, Beattie and Henry set sail for a new life in Australia. But life is not about to follow the plan that Beattie had hoped for and fate will play her a cruel hand…
In 2009, London, prima ballerina Emma Blaxland-Hunter is also discovering that life can have its ups and downs. Unable to dance again after a fall, Emma returns home to Australia to recuperate. But on arrival she is presented with some surprising news – her recently deceased and much-loved grandmother Beattie Blaxland has left her Tasmanian property to Emma.
Told through the eyes of a young Beattie Blaxland and a contemporary Emma Blaxland-Hunter, this is an emotionally charged, seductive tale of self-discovery, secrets and surprises.
What people are saying about Wildflower Hill
“A gorgeous story of family and secrets and the redemptive power of love.” – Kate Morton
“complex characters – capable of love and hate, shame and redemption. Both Beattie and Emma find themselves having to start over, and it is for these two women that readers cheer and sympathize” – PublishersWeekly.com
“She [Freeman] made her characters come to life, the scenery visible through her words, and the story was believable and made me want to read more. 5 stars.” – Book Nook Club
“evocatively written” – Australian Women’s Weekly
“the reader is helpless to do anything but turn the page” – Bookseller & Publishing Magazine
“An ambitious and compelling saga” – ABC Morning Show
“This is one of those novels that you know from the beginning would be a page-turner, and then when you finish it you wish you hadn’t ended your journey (and wish for truly waterproof mascara). “ – Burton Book Review
“a vibrant yarn starring two strong, engaging heroines, whose adventures are anchored in beautiful evocations of place. It’s a story of overwhelming love and heart-cracking loss” – Who Weekly
“movingly thrilling and wonderfully romantic” – Woman’s Day
Click to purchase Wildflower Hill
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Gold Dust
In Cold War Leningrad, Sofi and her cousins Natalia and Lena hope for a different life for themselves. Their dreams of the West – of fame, wealth and beautiful things – sustain them through creeping poverty, the long shivering winters and the loss of their fathers. When the fall of the Soviet Union brings them new opportunities, the three girls decide that they will stop at nothing to make their dreams come true.
Each woman grasps at a new life in Europe and, for a while, it seems fortune has smiled on them. But gradually, things unravel as reality fails to live up to their teenage dreams.
Sofi’s life in a small village in rural France is idyllic, but her husband is remote and cool. Natalia shines on the red carpets and at the fashion shows of London, but her success is precariously reliant on another’s whims. Lena has two beautiful children and a loving husband, but in her mind her sister casts too long a shadow, and she becomes obsessed with the past.
Dissatisfactions prompt jealousies, rivalries and betrayals. As their relationships splinter, none of them is aware of a dark figure from their Russian years, and the bad luck that still lies in wait for them…
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Duet
Two women; twenty years; one guilty secret
In a tiny German village, young Ellie nurtures glittering fantasies of the opera stage. Her ambition sets her on a path of deception, greed and regret. In London, teenage runaway Angie transforms herself into Penny Bright, darling of the pop scene. But a violent attack leaves her crippled by fear and drug addiction.
One will steal the other’s life and lose her greatest love. One will try to run from her past but will ultimately have to confront her darkest memories. But both of their lives are linked in ways that they cannot even imagine.
From the London glam-rock scene to the opera stages of Europe; from a remote Greek island to the sun-drenched coast and silent outback of Australia; this duet’s final notes will not be sung until the heart-stopping climax, when a shadow from the past returns to claim them both.
What people are saying about Duet”
“If you enjoy the novels of Paullina Simons, you will love Duet” – The Courier Mail
“Romance, adventure, betrayal—and stunning ending that uncovers all the secrets” – Women’s Day
“a sprawling novel, filled with passion, greed, secrets, and lies… a well-told saga” – Australian Bookseller and Publisher
“an interesting and involving drama… good stuff” – Australian Women’s Weekly
