There's None So Blind

The previous short story, Threading Pearls, was inspired by my mother’s mother. I’ve a lot more family history to utilise in my writing, in particular a branch of my father’s family.

His maternal grandmother’s past was a mystery. Adopted by a New South Wales family on the Hawkesbury, it wasn’t until a decade ago I uncovered her story. And what a story!

My quiet, jam-making great-grandmother had, unbeknown to her, a duke for a 3xggrandfather, and another an earl. These connections lent added notoriety to her great-grandfather’s scandalous 1790s divorce, and provided inspiration for my short story, There’s None So Blind.

The story appeared in a 2009 Romance Writers of Australia anthology, when twigs and leaves of my newly-discovered branch of the family tree were still being revealed, and I was playing the game “what if”. The short story in turn inspired my novel, The Heart Has Its Reasons.

I’ve since uncovered some more amazing characters, inspiration to write further stories, not the least my great-grandmother’s grandfather, son of the divorcé. Back in the days of sailing ships, he (the black sheep of the family, I suspect), travelled from England to India and back again, married his first wife in Paris, went to Canada where my great-grandmother’s mother was born, returned to England, then sailed to Australia. His wife died here, his first family (3 girls, l boy) remained in Australia, he remarried, and with the beginnings of his second family he fled his creditors (to Canada again), then lived out his final years in Florida. His siblings led equally fascinating lives. Tonnes of inspiration!

But first, There’s None So Blind. Then the much expanded version, The Heart Has Its Reasons, due for release in November.

There's None So Blind is available for FREE by clicking this link https://www.bronwynhouldsworth.com/books

followed by the cover of the book. Enjoy.