Fiona Palmer

In the contemporary new release from Fiona Palmer, The Long Weekend, four strangers attend a writing workshop retreat run by a bestselling author.

Wife and mother Alice, wants advice on crafting a memoir she hopes will reach women who share her experience of motherhood.
Simone, an Instagram influencer, has been contracted to write a book about her inspirational weight loss journey.
Buff gym owner Jamie, the only male, is coy about his aspirations.
Single mother Beth has come to the retreat at the urging of her sister Poppy, but what she wants to learn from their facilitator, Jan Goldstein, is not something that can be taught.

A largely character driven story, The Long Weekend explores several themes including trauma, loss, forgiveness, redemption, and self discovery. Prompted by a writing exercise, the five protagonists confront and let go of the secrets, mistakes and insecurities that haunt them. There is a lot of emotion in their individual stories, touching on a range of contemporary social issues, which Palmer handles sensitively.

There’s some drama between the characters. Alice and Jamie aren’t strangers after all, though they haven’t seen each other for years, Simone oversteps with her Instagram obsession, and Beth can barely hide her contempt for Jan. Even though it’s not terribly realistic, I liked the romance that flared between two of the protagonists. The connection that forms between all of the characters was more convincing, and I particularly enjoyed the epilogue.

The Long Weekend is an engaging and ultimately uplifting novel, an easy afternoon’s read.… (mer)

Tiny White Lies is an engaging contemporary tale from best selling Western Australian author Fiona Palmer.

When Ashley discovers her fifteen year old daughter is the subject of bullying both at school and online from her classmates, she is heartbroken. Already struggling to cope in the aftermath of her husband’s recent suicide, she suggests that they escape for the school holidays in the hopes of at least temporarily leaving bad memories behind.

After a difficult year that has left her feeling disconnected from herself, her husband and her device-obsessed teenage children, Nikki, inspired by her best friend’s idea for a vacation, suggests Ash and Emily join them at her husband’s cousins farm near Bremer Bay on the southern coast of W.A.

Ash and Nikki are delighted as their children adjust to a new tech-free routine, enjoying the ocean, bushland and farm activities Luke’s farm provides, but for the adults the lack of distractions becomes uncomfortable as the little white lies they have told one another, and themselves, cast a pall over their vacation.

A story of relationships, secrets, lies and love, there is plenty of high emotion, drama and even romance on offer in Tiny White Lies. Palmer briefly examines a raft of serious issues including mental illness, suicide, bullying, cancer, marriage difficulties, and body-image but its strongest focus is on the theme of disconnection.

I found Ash and Nikki to be likeable and sympathetic characters, though I don’t have much in common with either of them, I still felt they were relatable. As a mother of teenagers their concerns about their children, particularly in relation to electronic media use, are familiar, as are their children’s attitudes.

I loved the setting, having spent plenty of school holidays in southern Western Australia, and in both Albany and Esperance, which are west and east, along the coast, of Bremer Bay respectively. Palmer evokes the wild beauty of the area with its dense bushland and gorgeous white sand beaches, spending a few weeks at Luke’s farm would definitely be no hardship.

Written with warmth and insight into the challenges faced by modern families, I enjoyed reading Tiny Little Lies, as I’m sure all fans of Australian rural contemporary fiction will.… (mer)

Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ has been the subject of numerous retellings, especially of late, and to be honest, I was a little hesitant about selecting this for review. As it happens, my doubts were unfounded, Matters of the Heart by Fiona Palmer is a charming, delightful and thoroughly enjoyable adaption of the classic romance novel.

The story of Matters of the Heart doesn’t stray far from the original plot of ‘Pride and Prejudice, but it is effectively translated into a modern tale, exploring the themes of love, family, class prejudice, gender and of course, pride, in an Australian rural setting.

Palmer deftly reimagines the beloved characters of Pride and Prejudice, with the story focusing on Lizzy, the second oldest daughter of the Bennet family. Spirited, smart and passionate about working on the land, she is determined to ensure the success of their sheep farm, Longbourn.

The author introduces Will Darcy as the best friend of new neighbouring property owner, Charles Bingley. While Charlie and Lizzy’s older sister, Jane, hit it off immediately, Lizzy is less impressed with the wealthy Will, especially when she inadvertently overhears him make unflattering remarks about Longbourn’s viability under a woman’s (her) management.

Their relationship is beset by obstacles, not the least their poor first impressions of one another. Lizzy pegs Will as a snob, and he fails to give her the respect she is due.

Present also in the story are versions of Charlotte, as Lizzy’s best friend, Lizzy’s awkward suitor (Ken) Collins, and (Luke) Wickham, a charming rodeo rider who stirs up trouble, among others, including all of the Bennet sisters.

Crafted with wit, warmth and heart, even if you have never read, or watched, Pride and Prejudice, Matters of the Heart is an entertaining rural romance novel in its own right. I loved it.… (mer)

Isabelle (Izzy) Simpson has just returned home to the family farm in Western Australia after working as a farm hand elsewhere. Her family thinks she has been looking after children. Her father is adamant that Izzy is not to work on the farm which stems from the death of older sister Claire several years before. Izzy still blames neighbour Will Timmins for breaking Claire's heart. When her father is injured and hospitalised for several weeks, Izzy takes over all the work on the farm, her father believing that Will is doing it. Farming is Izzy's passion, and when she finds out the truth of what happened between Will and Claire, he might just become her passion also. And will her father finally accept Izzy on the farm, or will he lose another daughter? An okay read.… (mer)