'Our Little Town' outlines the life, spirit and character of a Victorian fishing village through the voices of one family across five generations. Elsie Johnstone has captured the views, thoughts and memories of 28 members of a Lakes Entrance clan that traces its origins back to William Carstairs, one of the town's original founders and a legendary professional fisherman.Rather than a dry history, it is a colourful, living re-creation of what it was like to grow up in a town of only...

Elsie and Graeme Johnstone's powerful two-part story traces the fragmentation of a well-intentioned marriage through to its irretrievable breakdown and a chilling finale that stays with the reader long after the final page is turned.Set in Ireland and told in two voices – Her Story and His Story – it tells of Stuart and Jennifer, meeting at a time when they both feel marriage and parenthood has passed them by. He is a reliable insurance salesman lacking confidence with women. She is...

The only alternative to ageing is death, and author Elsie Johnstone is old. She has a wisdom and a cynicism earned from experience. But does anybody want to benefit from her thoughts and advice? Not likely.In this anthology of poems, she is going to tell you anyway!Born in the 1940s, after World War 2, Elsie Johnstone is one of the Baby Boomers. The world had been through two wars and a long depression and, at last, the sun shone and there was hope. Life was simpler then in...

The word 'angel' comes from Sanskrit and Greek words meaning 'messenger.' All cultures, in all periods have believed in the spirit world and have honored Angels as the 'information link' between the spiritual and the physical.At birth we are all assigned a Guardian Angel, whose job is to guide us through life's sorrows and triumphs. We should love our Angels and pray to them each day for health, healing, prosperity and guidance.Give your child an edge by bestowing a name that...

Too structured to fall into the category of grunge poetry; low on literary worth, but high on story telling. I call my poetry, 'Gippsland Shabby Chic Verse'.It's raw, uncomplicated, tells a story in simple language that is easy to read. And most of it rhymes!Hopefully, my poems will take my reader on an emotional journey to experience what makes beautiful Lakes Entrance and East Gippsland unique amongst places.This is a book of collected poems of time and place, compil...

The mask has been removed and a virus has decimated the Catholic Church. Disclosures about the systemic child abuse and the criminal cover-ups have brought the institution to its knees. Will it ever recover?This book of poems compiled in 2020, the time of the virus, documents one person's journey through the various stages of Catholicism, from true believer to agnostic. Many of the poems are light-hearted glimpses at the absurdity of the dogma we were taught as children, others give...

Too structured to fall into the category of grunge poetry; low on literary worth, but high on story telling. I call my poetry, 'Gippsland Shabby Chic Verse'.It's raw, uncomplicated, tells a story in simple language that is easy to read. And most of it rhymes!Hopefully, my poems will take my reader on an emotional journey to experience what makes beautiful Lakes Entrance and East Gippsland unique amongst places.This is a book of collected poems of time and place, com...

The mask has been removed and a virus has decimated the Catholic Church. Disclosures about the systemic child abuse and the criminal cover-ups have brought the institution to its knees. Will it ever recover?This book of poems compiled in 2020, the time of the virus, documents one person's journey through the various stages of Catholicism, from true believer to agnostic. Many of the poems are light-hearted glimpses at the absurdity of the dogma we were taught as children, others giv...

Ethel 'Ma' Johnstone planted her garden on a barren block of land carved out of the Australian bush. She embarked on the project with little knowledge but with much hope and optimism for the future in her heart. Fifty years later, the seeds and plants had grown and matured and her garden had morphed into a beautiful haven.At the same time, her husband Christopher put his trust in his skills and in the future, embarking on a new business that would reward him by providing for his fam...

Too structured to fall into the category of grunge poetry; low on literary worth, but high on story telling. I call my poetry, ‘Gippsland Shabby Chic Verse’. It’s raw, uncomplicated, tells a story in simple language that is easy to read. And most of it rhymes! Hopefully, my poems will take my reader on an emotional journey to experience what makes beautiful Lakes Entrance and East Gippsland unique amongst places. This is a book of collected poems of time and place, compiled in the season o...

This is the third book in the trilogy – Lover Husband Father Monster, Her Story; Lover Husband Father Monster, His Story and now, Lover Husband Father Monster, The Aftermath.In Books One and Two, the story is told in two voices – his and hers - of how Stuart Hoare's abuse and control of Jennifer, his wife and mother of his three children for fifteen years, culminates in a tragic family disaster.Stuart is a successful businessman, the family live in an upmarket Dublin suburb a...

WHEN it came to handling the impact of COVID-19, Australia summarised the global paradox.On one hand, it was the world's pin-up nation for dealing with the deadly emergency, keeping cases and deaths down to a handful compared to the spiralling statistics of the US and Europe.On the other, this approach came at a heavy mental and physical cost for its citizens, as Come On Victoria! I'm Done. outlines.Lives were saved, but Elsie and Graeme Johnstone, in both...