Newsletter Dec 2021 no 2

Hi all you wonderful readers – May you enjoy some time out with family and friends and find time for some interesting reading. It’s time to take a break and refresh ourselves for the new year which is so close now.
The photo on the left is of the Hanukkah menorah and Christmas tree standing side by side on the Cairns Esplanade where I live. On the right, I’m checking out a bookshop.

REVIEW ON AMAZON OF MY BOOK SECRETS AND LIES BY A NATIVE AMERICAN

PAR

5.0 out of 5 stars Good to read the Truth!

Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2021
As an individual of native heritage in another country, I perhaps read this novel in a more aggressive manner, looking for perhaps bias of the White woman writing “our” history and
Thinking she really knew what way. I did not find that at all. I felt she wrote from the voice of the people. She was able to share their pain, their distress, and their loss. I highly recommend this novel for anyone of any country, as our stories are very similar. The story of the first people, and what happened to us when another people decided that they wanted to take what was ours and makes it theirs. Then telling us we needed to become them. Taking away our heritage, telling us to act like them, but when we did they put us on the lowest rung of their system. I recommend this novel and would read more novels by this author. I received this novel in advance. I choose to write a review for this novel and the opinions here are my own.
 

BOOK LAUNCH OF “SECRETS AND LIES”

Thanks to all the wonderful people from around the world who spoke at and attended the book launch of my latest book. What an interesting time! We had a special appearance by Lex Wotton who is in the book. He spoke about the death in custody at Palm Island and the riot that followed and his jailing over the riot. Others who spoke were my editor from England, reviewers of my book from South Africa, the USA and Australia including a lawyer for the Mabo case Greg McIntyre, readers from Malaysia and Australia, David Jack who prepares the photos for my books, and my wonderful husband Norman who wrote the foreword and facilitates my time to write.

This book has been no 1 best seller in Public Law on Amazon Australia for about 2 weeks. Here is the US link which will take you to the AU link – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095SDW3LY

BOOK OF THE MONTH FEATURE

This is my review of “Shaland’s Jewish Travel Guide to Malta and Corsica.”

Shaland’s Jewish Travel Guide to Malta and Corsica” is a masterpiece in bringing to light the unknown history and rich cultural treasures of Malta and Corsica which are situated in the beautiful Mediterranean Sea but off the beaten track for most tourists.

Author Irene Shaland’s experience as an art and travel writer, educator, and theatre reviewer brings a richness and depth not normally found in travel guides. Her husband, Alex, an internationally-acclaimed photographer has contributed a huge number of amazing photos that bring the story to life.

And this is much more than a travel guide. It also opens the door on the Jewish story of Malta and Corsica. As Jewish migrants from Russia to the USA, they bring unique insights to this travel guide. 

Many gems of information for the curious are revealed like the first alphabet, the temples built well before the pyramids of Egypt, and much more, but you need to read it to find out. You will be surprised at how pivotal these two small islands were in the history of Europe. When you pick this book up, you’ll not be able to put it down.

Even if you don’t plan to travel there, you’ll be carried along as Irene’s skills as a detective and researcher draw you into this amazing story.” –Barbara Miller, an author of ten books,  a psychologist, sociologist, historian and activist.

If your Amazon account is in the US (www.amazon.com), please follow one of the links below to take a look at the paperback or eBook edition of Irene’s book:

Link to Paperback edition 

Link to eBook (Kindle) edition 

INTERVIEW RE MY CHAPTER IN BOOK “SUCCESS CODE”

I wrote a chapter in this book on “The Power of Vision” and it was based on the principles I followed at a conference Norman and I and our team hosted in Cairns in 2006 where about 3,000 people attended. The link is – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CKD5GR8/

Question –What is on your reading list for the upcoming holiday? Let me know via email

Newsletter Sept 2021

Hi all you wonderful readers – I’m blessed to be living in Cairns in the Sunshine state of Queensland and we have only had 3 days of lockdown due to Covid-19 this year, faring much better than crowded cities like Sydney and Melbourne coping with the Delta strain.

In fact, except for the QR code requirement at venues, life has not changed much in Cairns since Covid-19 struck. My best wishes go out to all of you who have had your lives curtailed by many restrictions. A big hug to all of you who have been doing it tough. I only hope that during this time, you’ve been able to use it creatively to try out new things and to catch up on things you didn’t have time to do before. Maybe you even have more time to read books. Anyway, there is light at the end of the tunnel, so all the best.

Below are 2 photos taken by Norman of the Cairns Esplanade at night. Maybe we should be called a City of Lights.

During NAIDOC Week (National Aborigines and Islanders Week), I was interviewed about my new book Secrets and Lies

by Trevour Timms of Bummera Bippera Indigenous radio in Cairns
for National Indigenous Radio.
Here is the short but lively interview:

Mp3 format

High Maximum quality (WAV) file
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1s9j-9RqC5l3NPsI3ORLXd-vbDWSmrW5d/view

SPECIAL PROMOTION

FREE EBOOK – White Woman Black Heart from 14-18 Sept on amazon – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CCMV6CP
Oppressed Aborigines forced off their land at gunpoint. Over a decade later, one passionate young woman would take up their fight. Melbourne, 1970’s. Twenty-three-year-old university student Barbara Miller always stood her ground, even when it made her an outcast in her own family. So when she became a radical Christian advocate for social change, she didn’t think twice about joining the movement for Aboriginal justice. Boldly relocating to tropical Cape York and linking up with a Black activist and mentor on the frontline, she plunged into a life-changing battle despite the State’s threat of legal prosecution.

14-18 Sept the following ebooks will be reduced to 99c on amazon.
The Dying Days of Segregation in Australia – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GF864Q6
Did the deep north of Australia experience racism, discrimination, and segregation? Yes. But it was different from the deep south of the USA. A system similar to South African apartheid existed on Aboriginal reserves like Yarrabah in Queensland till as recently as 1984.

White Australia Has A Black History
https://www.amazon.com/dp/064847223X
Some say he was Australia’s Martin Luther King. William Cooper saw his Aboriginal people dying around him and decided black lives matter. Starvation and discrimination took their toll. He became passionate that they should have a voice in Australia’s federal parliament.

Shattered Lives Broken Dreams
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084Q4SSTX
The Nazis shatter glass and shatter the lives of European Jews at Kristallnacht, the start of the Holocaust. An Australian Aboriginal, William Cooper, leads the campaign for civil rights for his people who are dying of poverty and mistreatment around him. 1938; two worlds, far apart. Cut to the core after Kristallnacht, can he do anything to stop it?

BOOK OF THE MONTH

There were certainly plenty of good books to choose from. The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku is not new but it is certainly acclaimed. It is the WINNER OF THE ABIA BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR 2021.

Life can be beautiful if you make it beautiful. It is up to you. Eddie Jaku always considered himself a German first, a Jew second. He was proud of his country. But all of that changed in November 1938, when he was beaten, arrested, and taken to a concentration camp.

Over the next seven years, Eddie faced unimaginable horrors every day, first in Buchenwald, then in Auschwitz, then on a Nazi death march. He lost family, friends, his country. Because he survived, Eddie made the vow to smile every day. He pays tribute to those who were lost by telling his story, sharing his wisdom, and living his best possible life. He now believes he is the ‘happiest man on earth’.

Published as Eddie turns 100, this is a powerful, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful memoir of how happiness can be found even in the darkest of times.

  • SHORTLISTED FOR THE ABA NIELSEN BOOK BOOKSELLERS’ CHOICE – ADULT NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021
  • SHORTLISTED FOR THE INDIE BOOK AWARDS FOR NON-FICTION 2021
  • LONGLISTED FOR MATT RICHELL AWARD FOR NEW WRITER OF THE YEAR 2021 

Interview I did with ABC Radio Cairns for Reconciliation Week on my book Secrets and Lies

 

REVIEW FEATURE

Authors depend on reviews so I help other authors out with reviews when I can so I have decided to feature a few occasionally in case you’re interested. They are usually inexpensive and quick to read as ebooks on amazon.

Instead of the reviews this month, I have included an exciting opportunity for you with a feature called BOOKS YOU MIGHT LIKE.
They are from other non fiction authors. Check it out now – https://storyoriginapp.com/to/RWP8CwX

 

Question- What is your favourite book and why in a few words? Or a book that impacted you as a child? Let me know: 

bmiller-books@bigpond.com 

One of the books that impacted me in childhood was Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, an 1852 anti-slavery novel that had great impact in the US.

 

CAIRNS – CITY IN A RAINFOREST – PAINTING BY ABORIGINAL ARTIST MUNGANBANA. If you want to see more, go to www.munganbana.com.au