Böcker av Kayla Danoli

Set in the period from the1820s to 1860s, this is a story of loss, love, heartache, and new beginnings, that spans five countries. It is Sarah Erskine's life story.

An invitation to a long lost friend's milestone birthday party comes as a surprise. The prospect of three old friends spending two weeks on a tiny Caribbean island swapping stories and catching up after a decade of no contact intrigues and excites investigative journalist, TESSA McNALLY. But, after her holiday gets off to a shaky start, Tessa soon finds herself wondering if accepting her friend's invitation wasn't a mistake. Nothing is as she expected. Even the birthday girl now seems a stranger, and is nothing like the woman Tessa knew all those years ago.A severe tropical storm on the night of birthday party results in the loss of power and communications on the island, and brings celebrations to an abrupt end. The storm also brought with it a series of grim events. What is behind the events? Who is responsible? Why is it all happening now? Tessa must find answers to those questions if any of them are to leave the island alive.

How resilient is the human condition? In 1868, a Danish family immigrating to Australia is shipwrecked on the way through Torres Strait. The mother and several children are lost. Only the father, his eldest daughter and nephew survive to embark upon the new live they planned in this new land too far from their homeland. Kindness and opportunities that present almost from the moment of their rescue lead to a different life from the one they planned. The story charts their new lives through all the highs, lows, joys and tragedies thrown at them over the ensuing decades. It tells of a family's adjustment to their new life in an embryonic settlement on the central Queensland coast. It also follows the life of a young girl as she blossoms into womanhood and becomes a mother. Just as in real life, that fateful shipwreck isn't the only tragedy to intrude in this family's lives.

In her early-30s, ELLEN JENNINGS (nee Grimsby) finds herself widowed with four small children and another due in a matter of weeks when her husband, Southend Sugar Milling Company Secretary, William Jennings, dies suddenly. She believes her husband’s treatment by the company is responsible for his death and all the misery and grief that follows. She vows revenge.As her husband is no longer a company employee, she has only a week to vacate the cottage they occupy on the company’s estate. With no money and nowhere to live, she seeks the support of her long-estranged father. His reluctant but conditional support propels Ellen into a world darker and more heartbreaking than she could imagine.Fate works in mysterious ways and, although her journey is not a happy one, and is often traumatic, the outcome makes it worthwhile. Along the way, as her life takes many twists and turns that bring joy or heartache, her evolving family and friends are drawn into each new drama as it confronts Ellen.

OYSTER POINT, a small Queensland coastal town is dying.As a child, EZRA GREEN and his father arrived here at the very beginning of the settlement. He knew and was part of the dream for the future of the town. A century and a half after his arrival in the town, he watches what was once a magnificent dream slowly die. Although now deceased for many decades, he remains at Oyster Point to protect his legacy. However, as everyone knows, a new mine is Oyster Point’s only hope for survival… a new mine, and people willing to pursue their dreams.Entrepreneur Geoff Robinson’s foresight and courage to gamble on the future of the place creates new hope, and a cyclone that devastates much of the area provides opportunities. A new supermarket and the Harbour Plaza shopping complex rise from the rubble. The place’s future looks assured when a new mine for the area receives approval. Harbour Plaza’s opportunities lure many to the town to pursue their dreams.Unseen, Ezra Green watches over the Plaza and all that happens there. When he determines situations involving Harbour Plaza’s discrete ‘family’ of tenants require his help to achieve desired outcomes, he steps in to assist, smoothing the way and nudging things in the right Direction some dreams achieve reality, while others become nightmares. In the latter case, difficult though it might be, life lived as a nightmare for some period is the better outcome than a life ruined. So many dreams, so many different stories … happy, successful, romantic, heartbreaking, poignant… it’s all there in Harbour Plaza. In spite of his efforts, many unresolved dreams and desires remain. The owners of some of those dreams or desires are unaware of them at this time and cannot foresee what lurks in their future.But Ezra’s legacy to the town is no more, and the last of his family line charged with maintaining that legacy is gone too. Should he stay for a while longer, or finally bid farewell to Oyster Point? It has been an interesting and exciting year, not to mention a busy one at times. There remains more work to do for those unfulfilled dreams and desires. Would the universe deem it remiss of him to leave behind unfinished work? He has no wish to sully his reputation after all this time spent on doing good works.In reflecting on the past year, some of its more memorable stories come flooding back. He chooses to share his recollection of those stories and events as he deliberates on his possible departure from – or continued residency at -- the Harbour Plaza.