Sweet Charity: Behind the Scenes in Charity Shops
My name is Monica McInerney and I am an addict. My drug of choice? Charity shops. As I push open the door, my fingers start to tingle. My eyes start…
Read MoreThe Technological Times are A-Changing
I have a confession to make. At 46 years of age, I’m behind the technological times – not with the younger generation, but the older. I use a bulky desk…
Read MoreLocations, Locations, Locations
Sometimes being a novelist is like having a film crew living in your head. There’s a casting agent picking characters, a wardrobe mistress dressing them, a scriptwriter developing plots and…
Read MoreBurned to a Crisp
Will my citizenship be revoked if I confess I hope never to experience a full Australian summer again? If I admit that three months of hot, dry days and hot,…
Read MoreThe Consolations of Cooking
I have a friend who goes running when she is feeling down. Another takes a long bath. Another reorganises her linen cupboard. I cook soup. Great big pots of it,…
Read MoreThe Aunt’s Story
The first time I tasted garlic prawns was at my Aunt Jacqueline’s house. I was thirteen years old, a country girl, the middle of seven children, raised on a diet…
Read MoreApartment Highs and Woes
I never expected to spend my first night in San Francisco wishing I could levitate. Or that instead of having good walking shoes for the hills and a warm coat…
Read MoreThe Expatriate Life
I think it’s time for a new word to describe someone living in another country. Expatriate – defined as out of one’s country – doesn’t cover it any more. The…
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