On Thursday last week, an unexpected email arrived on my desktop. ‘The eagle has landed’ was typed into the subject box and the sender was my delightful publisher at Murdoch Books, Diana Hill. A very few advance copies had arrived in their office and she had posted one to me…it might arrive today or tomorrow. My heart skipped a beat and my stomach turned summersaults. My temperature escalated and I felt slightly sick. In the midst of preparing for a day of work-related activity in Sydney, this message was completely out of the blue…..I hadn’t expected to see a real copy…..an actual book, for ages.
I finished the urgent tasks at hand then walked, with some apprehension (stupidly sweating on a cold day) to the postbox, reckoning it highly unlikely a package would be there already. But there it was. It isn’t every day that a brown paper packet contains something of such magnitude. The result of two years of discussion, writing and photographing what constitutes almost thirty years of my life. To say it’s been an anxious time would be a bit of an understatement! That I still feel very small about being invited to write at all, remains the way I feel – people have achieved far greater things. The book is just about us, our house, our garden and the food we like to eat. I’ve written it because people kept asking me to, then started asking why I hadn’t? And so….in the end….when Diana approached me, I thought I ought. I must admit though, I do still feel a bit uncomfortable about it!
But now there’s no going back. It’s a weighty, handsome volume. I haven’t finished reading it through yet, in its final form. But Daniel’s images are captivating. Viv’s design work is masterful. And so far, I see Jane has reinstated one of my lines that had been cut! I’ve had an amazing team urging me on, at Murdoch Books, and they deserve my heartfelt thanks. As does Daniel Shipp….how lucky I am to have had such an excellent photographer and thoroughly lovely man to work with.
So here is your sneak peak. It won’t be out ’til 1 October. Open Garden on 15 & 16 October will be staged in celebration of the book’s release and of course, I’ll have plenty of copies here then! For those who have already asked, I’ll let you know when I can take advance orders, but I just couldn’t let this somewhat auspicious moment go by without a little mention….it’s not every day such an exciting package arrives in the post!