RoguesAngels: Life's Journey by Patricia S. Gibbons

Please welcome Patricia S. Gibbons author of Life's Journey

Patricia S. Gibbons Fischer will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Life's Journey

byPatricia S. Gibbons

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GENRE: FICTION / Biographical

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INTERVIEW:

1. I had previously written a book “The Rottweiler In Australia” – the first 20 years, and really enjoyed doing that. That inspired to write another and have not had the time until now.

2. It is primary about immigration to Australia in the 50’s when mostly it was Italians, Greeks and UK immigrants.

3. My husband and I have now retired and during Covid, I had plenty of time to write this book and I felt my life has been full & varied, and my grandkids were fascinated by my stores of my life. So there was my idea for a book. I had not considered writing the book any earlier, as I had to wait until my adopted children had told their children (our grand children) that they were adopted. I did not want to let the ‘cat out of the bag’ so to speak! I felt the time was right.

4. I am a qualified Classical Homoeopath and also an All Breeds Dog Judge. My husband and I were Primary Producers (growing, strawberries, raspberries, flowers etc) and I incorporated all these experiences into my book.

5. I am still very active judging dogs, I still practice Homoeopathy, and as a consequence of adopting two wonderful children, my husband and I now have 7 grandchildren who we adore and are very close to.

6. I am halfway through my second book, and it is a continuation of my first.

7. I am one of the characters in the book, I am Penelope.

8. This book is actually my life’s journey as a 9 year old emigrating to Australia with my family and my experiences in a new country and throughout my life.

9. No, I do not belong to a critique group, but plan to join one.

10. When I finished the book, I felt it would make a great TV series, like “A Place to Call Home”, but needed to be a book first. So I decided to submit the book for publication. I am now considering taking a course in Script writing as it seems an impossibility to find a Screen/Script writer.

11. The best advice was the book needed to be longer, but I had already submitted it for publication, so that is why I decided to continue on with the second book. I am still waiting for the worst advice !

12. Of course when I wrote my first book on The Rottweiler, I needed to do a lot of research, so I spent a lot of time outlining and researching that book. My second book “Life’s Journey” was all in my head from my life experience, so I just sat down and started writing. I could have added a lot more, but wanted to keep it flowing and interesting for the reader.

13. When something pops into my head, I write it down immediately and then include it in my writing where I can.

14. In the first book of “Life’s Journey” my favourite character is Penelope, which of course is me.

15. All three. The more variation the better.

16. There was so much more I could have added to the first “Life’s Journey” that I am now adding in the second “Life’s Journey” It is quite exciting for me bringing back all the good and bad memories from the past and elaborating on a few to make them more interesting for the reader.

BLURB:

Penelope, aged 9, and her family emigrate from the UK to Australia. This book covers her journey onboard the ship and her family's friendship with a Greek family. This friendship continues in Australia throughout their life's journey.

The book includes the life effects of being interfered with as a child, and the ups and downs of adopting children. Along the way there is mystery, murder, love and disappointment.

Patricia Gibbons keeps you intrigued and in wonder of what is to come.

An exciting read!

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EXCERPT:

September 19th, 1951, was my ninth birthday. The P&O Liner Ranchi pulled away from Tilbury Docks in the United Kingdom, bound for an unknown future in Australia, its engines roaring through the water, drowning out the singing from our friends and family gathered at the dock to bid us farewell. I could hear them singing and attempting to harmonise their favourite Vera Lynn war tune, ‘We’ll meet again’ as well as ‘Good night, Irene.’ The sights and sounds will stay in my memory forever.

My name is Penelope (the family calls me Penny), and the immigration of the family to Australia was a sad day for me, but a day of excitement and wonder for my mother Ada and my two sisters, Shirley, who was sixteen, Kate, fourteen, and my elder brother John, who was eighteen.

Dad had made the journey to Australia two years before, and mum longed to see him again on our arrival in Melbourne, Victoria. It was not long before this when Dad returned to the United Kingdom from the war. The family had been evacuated from our house in London when the Germans bombed it. We had so many unpleasant memories of the bombings in London, the air raid shelters, the Germans bombing our school, and finally having to evacuate to the country. After the war, when Dad arrived home, he decided there was a better life for us all in Australia.

Being in the Royal Air Force, it was not a difficult thing for Dad to ask for a transfer to The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and make the trip to Australia to set up house for us all in this new land. Dad had met several Australians while fighting in the war, and he grew to like their sense of fun and their outlook on life. They painted a picture of Australia in Dad’s mind as a land of opportunity, a great place to start a new life. As a number of his mates were stationed at the Point Cook Air Force base in Melbourne, he applied to be posted there, and it was granted. So on September 19th, 1951, we were on our way.

The trip to Australia took six weeks. We travelled through the Suez Canal, and it was an adventure for all the family. The giant liner was a huge playground for us. There were immigrants from the United Kingdom, Greece, Italy, and other countries on board, and one of the Greek families – The Papadopoulos family – became good friends with us all. They had three sons and a daughter. The boys were Sebastian, ten, who became my first boyfriend; Alex, who was just the right age at eighteen to be a friend for John; Theo, a good looking dark haired typical Greek boy of seventeen years, who was to become Shirley’s onboard romance, and last but not least, was a fifteen-year-old girl called Mia who was the right age as a friend for Kate who was very outspoken, Mia was quite shy and Kate bossed her around. It seemed to work out fine between them, and they became inseparable.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Patricia writes under the fictitious name of Patricia Gibbons. She has lived a busy life and some of her adventures are in her new novel, Life’s Journey, but not all:

In her teenage years singing and dancing were also one of Patricia’s loves and she appeared in a number of stage performances.

Patricia successfully bred Rottweilers for 42 years, and wrote her first book The Rottweiler In Australia about the first 20 years. She published this book back in the mid-1980’s. After becoming an All Breeds Dog Judge, Patricia judged Championship Dog Shows all over Australia, and she travelled overseas to judge in the UK, USA, New Zealand, Malaya, the Philippines and China.

Patricia has a Diploma in Classical Homeopathy and Bach Flower Remedies.

Connect with Patricia Gibbons

WEBSITEhttps://patriciagibbonsauthor.com/

GOODREADShttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59516112-life-s-journey

Get your copy of Life's Journey

AMAZON.COM https://amazon.com/dp/0228863643

AMAZON.CA https://amazon.ca/dp/0228863643

BOOKTOPIA https://www.booktopia.com.au/life-s-journey-patricia-s-gibbons/book/9780228863649.html

INDIGO CHAPTERS https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/lifes-journey/9780228863663-item.html

BARNES & NOBLE https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lifes-journey-patricia-s-gibbons/1140432238

BOOK DEPOSITORY https://www.bookdepository.com/Lifes-Journey-Patricia-S-Gibbons/9780228863649

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