Welcome to Carinya

Every great historical fiction novel needs a setting that feels alive

For my novel, An Unlikely Home, the setting isn’t just a backdrop – it’s a character. Inspired by a grand Victorian villa, that once belonged to my family, I’ve resurrected a past full of drama, heartbreak and hidden scandals.

Today the house, built in Queen Anne Style in 1891 sits lovingly restored to its original glory in a quiet harbourside suburb of Sydney. But as readers of history, we always ask the same delicious question: Who knows what really went on behind that grand façade over the last century?

I do. And I can’t wait to share those secrets with you.

Fact or Fiction?

Carinya is the fictional name I have given this house. Her recent owners most likely have no idea that their beautiful home is the subject of a book. For that reason, her exact location and most recent profile must remain a secret from you the reader.

The photograph below (taken in 1929) hangs in a frame on my bedroom wall. My great grandfather, Frank purchased Carinya in a dilapidated condition after she’d been abandoned by the original owners at the end of WW1.

Whispered Conversations

The spark that lit the flame, was a whispered conversation between my father and my grandmother in 1967. After an unspeakable tragedy in the kitchen of the house in August that year, the house had been left to a stranger. Who was he and why were we never allowed to mention the name of the house again?

As an impressionable fifteen-year-old with a vivid imagination and a passion to write, I hugged that tantalising conversation to myself for a very long time. It wasn’t until I retired from my teaching career that I began to research and write the story I knew I had to write.

Bringing Carinya to Life

After almost a decade of researching, writing and rewriting my novel, when I held the first copy of An Unknown Home in my hands, I knew exactly where to launch her. The house stands very close to a peaceful and beautiful park with stunning harbour views. The winter day was cloudless and unseasonably warm and wearing my favourite colour red, drinking the very champagne my protagonist Val enjoyed, I celebrated outdoors with my fellow writers, friends and family. After the official proceedings we all walked a few metres to the black wrought iron front gates of the house and posed for photos.

Let’s step back into the 1960s together.