I could not have been more ready for a new chapter in my writing life than I was with this story, my fifth published novel. Since the moment House for All Seasons made #5 bestselling debut novel in Australia (2013), I have continued to grow by challenging myself to do more, because success as a writer is not about duplicating what you’ve already done. Sometimes an author needs to change and be brave, both with their craft and dreams, and my dream has always included having my books available all over the world.

It is my lovely readers who keep me going in this topsy-turvy publishing biz and when ‘things’ get hard it is your eagerness for more books that makes me ‘suck it up and get on with it’. You encourage me to be brave and your connection online and lovely comments (and the reviews and word of mouth to your fiction-loving family and friends) help me make the big decisions. So, please keep spreading the word and recommending people read my books. I especially need help to reach readers outside Aus/NZ. Wherever you live, please tag me if you post your photo with my book online somewhere. (You’ll find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.)

If someone had told me that I would one day be working with Rosie de Courcy, who edited Maeve Binchy’s books for twenty-three years and who back in 1976 sat cross-legged in her lounge room until late into the night reading an unpublished manuscript titled The Thorn Birds, I would have said, ‘Pull the other one and pour me wine’. But here I am. Rosie and Head of Zeus CEO, Amanda Ridout, championed my manuscript all the way from the boldest pitch (i.e. seriously crazy) to this beautiful book in your hands. In fact, the entire Head of Zeus team shared my dream to see A Place to Remember reach more readers.

So, first and foremost, Head of Zeus, thank you for giving my story the wings to soar and to settle into the hands of readers all over the world. Australia is such a uniquely beautiful place it is a privilege and a joy to write stories that bring readers to my part of it.

Rosie de Courcy… What can I say? You and your editing team of Clémence Jacquinet and Sophie Robinson have been fabulous. And you were so right about Hazel Orme. Under her guidance, I was able to push myself to make the story worthy of the prettiest cover ever, thanks to Art Director Jessie Price. What a thrill that you were able to acquire the painting Rockhampton Queenslander by Noosa artist John Newman. To have the painting that inspired the look and feel of my Ivy-May homestead feature on this cover has made the book all the more special.

Every story I write starts out as a small kernel of an idea. It’s nourished, takes root, and grows into a book, but there is always a dedicated bunch of people who sprinkle the magic needed to let it flourish and to ensure it’s found on lots of shelves. Thank you to the Sales and Marketing team, in particular: Victoria Reed, Suzanne Sangster, Clare Gordon and the International Publishing team at HarperCollins (AU) who support Nicola Woods.

As a family saga spanning thirty-five years, A Place to Remember has been my most ambitious novel to date and the story and the setting would not be anywhere near as powerful if not for the very real and wonderful bunch – The Barrett family et al. When I arrived for a short stay with the Barretts in 2015 (how we first met is a story in itself) I already had a completed draft of this novel set around Noosa’s hinterland. But the inexplicable pull of that intriguing Capricornia region was such that I had to rewrite the story to fit the landscape. Thank you, friends, for letting me park my caravan in the middle of the action while I finished this story. Your real lives on the land added a special something and took my story to a level I’d never imagined. (And that short stay in the paddock turned into a long one.)

Thank you Marie, David and Gina for sharing your family’s history over the occasional glass of wine. To Annika, Ryan, little Alyssa, and baby bump Asher (and the team who help operate the delightful Henderson Park Farmstay Retreat) thank you for the experiences – yes, the prairie oysters made the story. And thank you for letting me steal some of your often hilarious and sometimes poignant descriptions of life ‘around the ridges’. A special thank you to Annika and Ryan for the lessons, for sharing so many favourite things, and for teaching me to pause before the business part of the day.

Before I sign off, special recognition must go to the delightfully different muses I was fortunate to have on my doorstep at Henderson Park – literally – while I wrote. I loved sharing my day with the kangaroos, the horses, Pretty Boy (the big black Brahman), and Ed (his horny mate), and of course the working dogs (and Dash the dachshund who thinks he’s a farm dog).

Meet all my Henderson Park writing muses at:

If you’d like to follow as I travel Australia in the purple and white caravan I call Myrtle the Turtle, or for information on my other novels, join me on

Happy travels.

Jenn J. xx