Well, it’s safe to say, this week I experienced possibly THE highlight of my writing career so far and there have been a lot of wonderful moments.
But on Thursday night I attended the Australian Book Industry Awards at the New South Wales Art Gallery – my book THE PATERSON GIRLS was on the shortlist and this was such a surprising and wonderful honour in itself, but I honestly never imagined that it would WIN! 
So imagine my utter surprise when Juliet Ridden, editor of The Australian Women’s Weekly, announced the winner and said ‘The Patterson Girls by Rachael Johns.’ I was sitting at a table with my wonderful publishers and it was such a special moment!! I managed to take the stage without falling in high heels (hey, I rarely wear such things) and hopefully thanked all the people who helped make this happen.
Me and my wonderful publisher, Sue Brockhoff!
The evening was a wonderful celebration of Aussie publisher and authors and of course the current worrying issue of The Productivity Commission Report was on everyone’s minds and spoken about by many of the speakers and award winners. This is a worrying time for Australian authors, publishers and therefore readers. If you care about Aussie publishing, please take the time to learn more about what the recommendations of this report mean for the industry and voice your horror to your local government ministers. To learn more, read this fabulous speech by Richard Flanagan that he presented on the night.
Some of the fabulous team from Harlequin Books that were there on the night!!
Lastly, I want to extend my congratulations to the lovely and hugely talented Annabel Blay, Senior Editor at Harlequin Books Australia for receiving the Beatrice Davis Editorial Fellowship. Honestly, couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person. x
Nola de Sales
Congratulations Rachael. Very well deserved.
As a fellow West Aussie I am loving reading your books, I recently got through 3 of them on holiday in NZ! Once I start they are just so hard to put down!
I look forward to meeting you this week at the Author meet n greet in Orelia.
admin
HI Nola – so pleased you’re enjoying the books. See you soon! x Rach!
Glennis Farrell
I have just finished reading The Patterson Girls and loved it, except for your unnecessary use of the ‘f’word. Why do you find it necessary to use it?
admin
Hi Glennis – thank you so much for your message. So glad you enjoyed my Girls and I’m sorry if some of the swearing offended you. I do think carefully about using swear words in my books but as people use them in real life, I will include them where I think it works. For example – a character who NEVER swears and then is suddenly put in a dramatic/shocking situation might swear to show their strong reaction. And as in real life, some characters will swear more than others. But I really appreciate you letting me know and promise to really think hard in future about whether a swear word is necessary or not. I will try to use them more sparingly. Thanks for taking the time to let me know your feelings. x Rach!
Jenny Colley
Hi Rachael firstly congratulations on achieving this awesome award it is well deserved. I have just finished reading my 7th novel of yours..of course “The Patterson Girls” and I have to disagree with Nola…your books aren’t hard to put down….they are impossible and often I find myself at 3AM still reading!!! Good job I don’t work ha ha Anyway I just wanted to say The Patterson Girls is your best book yet please keep them coming. I might also add that at 63 I don’t particularly care for some of the language but it is what it is and to be honest sometimes ‘FU#%’ is just the right word to use – it says it all!!!!!
I even use it myself when the occasion warrants 🙂
Maybe one day we will see you in the Great Southern WA have a very Merry Christmas
Vicki Ayars
Love your books, recently picked up “the McKinnels of Jewell Rock”, and while I realise these are not your newest books I would love to know what happens to the rest of the family.
admin
Hi Vicki – thanks so much for your interest. There is a third book in the series – the first two are in THE MCKINNELS OF JEWELL ROCK anthology you have and the third is called THE SINGLE DAD’S FAMILY RECIPE. It’s available digitally from Amazon, iBooks, etc or you can order a print copy from Booktopia or Book Depository. Happy reading. x