Mothers' Day

The new rural drama from the bestselling author of Red Sand Sunrise and Heart of the Sky.

Burra District Hospital's maternity unit is under threat and will close for births unless a new obstetrician can be found. Midwife Noni Frost needs a miracle.

A single mum, Noni lives with her young son, Harley, and her Aunt Win, a free spirit and the beating heart of Burra Guest House. Noni's world is disrupted when Iain McCloud and his pregnant teenage daughter Jacinta move into the guesthouse to await the birth of her baby. There's instant chemistry between Iain and Noni, although he has no plans to stay on in town. But when Jacinta shares explosive family secrets with Noni and an unexpected crisis occurs, everyone's lives come crashing down around them.

Set among the white gum trees and flowing waters of the NSW northern rivers, this is a heartfelt and dramatic story about new babies, new friends and new loves, which shows that when strong women come together in a time of crisis, they can overcome even the greatest odds.

Drawing from her life as a rural midwife, Fiona McArthur shares her love of working with women, families and health professionals in her books. In her compassionate, pacey fiction, her love of the Australian landscape meshes beautifully with warm, funny, multigenerational characters as she highlights challenges for rural and remote families, and the strength shared between women. Happy endings are a must.

Fiona is the author of non-fiction book Aussie Midwives, and lives on a farm with her husband in northern New South Wales. She was awarded the NSW Excellence in Midwifery Award in 2015.

Mothers' Day
Penguin Random House
Author: Fiona McArthur
ISBN: 9780143785811
RRP: $32.99

 

Interview with Fiona McArthur

Question: How did you come up with the idea of Mothers' Day?

Fiona McArthur: As a midwife, mums come in all shapes and sizes, certainly all ages, and I love all pregnant mums and new babies. I had a first scene in my head with an antenatal class teacher and the struggling single dad of a teen mum. Some of the most inspiring mums have been those women who were very young, and very determined to do the best for their pregnancies and be a good role model for their children. But their needs are different to a mum who has a stable partner and a secure home.


Question: Are the characters based on anyone you know?

Fiona McArthur: Jacinta isn't based on any young mum, just a meld of those strong young women I've met, heard about, and count as friends many years down the track. Mums, all mums, are incredible. And the caring older woman who mothers the new mother is another hero I adore. When I had four kids under the age of five, the lady next door was one of those women. She saved my sanity and the essence of why she helped crops up in my writing often.


Question: How much of your inspiration comes from real life and real people?

Fiona McArthur: The broad concepts of challenges in life and society are real but I know I can't build a character on someone who is real because they won't act the way I want them too. I tried once and learnt that very early on I couldn't give them the freedom without the real person interfering with my characters choices. 'She wouldn't say that or do that' is a killer for letting a plot evolve. I need my characters to chatter away with their own voices to help steer the story. I'm not a plotter so they help me make it up as we go along.


Question: What advice do you have for aspiring writers or artists?

Fiona McArthur: Find your process and stop beating yourself up that it's not the same as someone else. Same goes for daily word count. Some people can write five books in a year. My first book took ten years to finish. I've written over forty since I was first published in 2000. For a while my process was the last minute rush to deadline. But I got there. At present, it's 500 words a day and that works beautifully for where I am now. But whatever you do, start and keep going, even a little like my 500 words a day, and you will find yourself at the finish line typing THE END. My favourite quote I heard Nora Roberts say, "You can fix a bad page - but you can't fix a blank one!"


Interview by Brooke Hunter

 

Mothers' Day
Penguin Random House
Author: Fiona McArthur
ISBN: 9780143785811
RRP: $32.99