self-publishing – Barbara Miller Books

With all the bad news the last few months, I hope you have some light reading you can do occasionally. Or even some books to read that are stimulating and intriguing and take you on an interesting journey.

These are my two memoirs which are really histories as well and how I came to be part of the story. Secrets and Lies: The Shocking Truth of Recent Australian Aboriginal HIstory, A Memoir is my second memoir. This is one interesting review:

This passionate and deeply researched book shines a light on what Aboriginal really means. The author’s unique style of gonzo journalism is fascinating, and illustrates the power of on-the-ground reporting. Despite it being a work of history, this story feels incredibly timely, given the ongoing political battles for First Nation rights in other parts of the globe. All told, Secrets and Lies is an eye-opening and fearless reflection on a vital topic.

Self-Publishing Review

White Woman Black Heart: Journey Home to Old Mapoon, A Memoir. See one of many reviews:
This is a highly engaging and inspiring memoir. At its centre is the story of Mapoon which has all the elements of a great drama with the violent expulsion of the community in 1963 and their triumphant return eleven years later. As the author explains she came almost by chance to be at the very centre of the drama which in turn dramatically changed her life. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in political and social change over the last 50 years.

Professor Henry Reynolds,FAHA FASSA University of Tasmania, eminent historian and award-winning author

For more information see

Secrets and Lies book trailer

BOOK OF THE MONTH FEATURE

Picking up a new book and losing yourself between its pages for the afternoon — or into the early hours of the morning — is one of life’s simplest pleasures. And 2024 is already shaping up to be a brilliant year for books. Let’s have a look at refinery29.com’s list of the 27 Best New Books of 2024.

White Australia Has A Black History Book

William Cooper Gentle Warrior: Standing Up for Australian Aborigines and Persecuted Jews is the first book by Barbara Miller on William Cooper and tells his amazing story and that of the Australian Aborigines’ League as they work for the uplift of their people and stand up for Jews at Kristallnacht, the start of the Holocaust when Aborigines were not citizens in their own nation. The two books pictured here are updates on that book, one focusing on his contribution to Aboriginal causes and the other on his support for Jewish people.

FIND THESE WILLIAM COOPER BOOKS WHCH GO TOGETHER- HERE

Launch of Dying Days of Segregation book launch at Yarrabah Aboriginal community

Have You Always Dreamed of Being a Published Author? – The Successful Author Kit is for You.

Bestselling author Barbara Miller has produced the following guides to help you on your way to fulfilling your dream. It is called the Successful Author Kit. She knows what it takes to have a successful writing career. You can get the following guides in the kit:

Guide to Choosing Your Niche
Guide to Finding Your Book Topic and Title
Guide to Structuring Your Non-Fiction Book, and as a bonus
List of Resources for Authors

If you would like more information, check it out HERE

My books can be found at the Munganbana Reef and Rainforest Aboriginal Art Gallery at 33 Lake St Cairns, at Cairns Books bookshop at Cairns Central Shopping Centre, on Amazon, and here on my website.

Happy reading!!

THE EUROPEAN QUEST TO FIND TERRA AUSTRALIS INCOGNITA: Quiros, Torres and Janszoo

Left – Who were the first Europeans to set foot on Australian soil and where did it happen? Find out in “The European Quest to Find Terra Australis Incognita: Quiros, Torres and Janszoon.” Check it out here.

Right – Available as an audio book – a first-hand account of the Holocaust from a Polish Jewish woman who faced death daily in “If I Survive.” Find out more here. Happy reading!!

Hi all you wonderful readers – I usually only send out one newsletter a month but as there is an international book summit in early June you may be interested in, I will send some info on that shortly. There may be aspiring authors reading this who want to enter the self-publishing milieu or seasoned authors who’d like some tips from experts in the field. I’m privileged to be one of the many contributors with a session on writing memoirs.

White Woman Black Heart full cover 3D HD

White Woman Black Heart: Journey Home to Old Mapoon, a Memoir

Kindle Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating read.
Reviewed in Australia on March 18, 2022
Verified Purchase

Just finished reading this book. Couldn’t put it down. To see people’s names in it that I know was amazing.
So glad it had a happy ending & people came home. The community is going from strength to strength now. A new church opened recently. The Rugapayn store is being run by locals and is due to be upgraded. I miss being there.Find the book HERE

Secrets and Lies: The Shocking Truth of Recent Australian Aboriginal History, A Memoir
Amazon Customer

5.0 out of 5 stars Important History lesson!!
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2022
Verified Purchase

As an American, I learned something new from this book. Either Voice Treaty Truth in Australia or Black Lives Matter in America, this book brings out many eye-opening critical social issues and an opportunity to adapt and change for a better world.

Check it out HERE

If I Survive: Nazi Germany and the Jews: 100-Year Old Lena Goldstein’s Miracle Story
Review from Amazon
Meera
4.0 out of 5 stars Not a memoir!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 4, 2022
Verified Purchase

This is a hard read, mainly due to the fact that only 1/3 of this book is actually about Lena Goldstein and the rest is a timeline of the atrocities done to the polish Jewish community and what they faced. Hard to read and even harder to stomach. Saddening to see the difficulties and hatred brought on by so many. I applaud this woman for sharing her story and what I did learn of her survival was a large mixture of determination as well as good deeds returning the favour. I hope some people can learn from this.

Find it HERE

The Dying Days of Segregation in Australia: Case Study Yarrabah

Monica Rubombora
VINE VOICE
5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting!
Reviewed in the United States
Verified Purchase

This book resonated a lot with me. As someone that has lived on the African continent all my life (and in South Africa the last 27 years), I could see the parallels with the apartheid regime & the current unresolved land wrangles & struggles of indigenous people on the continent. I kept saying OMG! OMG! this is where these guys here got these crazy ideas of separation from! Gosh! The experiment worked! And now we are still feeling the impact.

I like the way the author, Barbara Miller, has documented the historical progress of the indigenous people in this book. It is definitely a well-researched book and I hope it can be used as a history book in schools around the world. It has certainly given me hope in humanity once again.

Check it out HERE

Left – Barbara delivering her books to a bookshop in Port Douglas

Right – Munganbana Norman Miller presenting a canvas painting to Aviva Wolff of the Sydney Jewish Museum at the earlier launch of Barbara’s White Australia Has A Black History book. The canvas is a replica of the cover of Barbara’s first book William Cooper Gentle Warrior.

White Australia Has A Black History: William Cooper And First Nations Peoples’ Political Activism
PAR
5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for All Not Just Australians!
Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2022

First let me begin by saying that I am of Native heritage, so I perhaps took a look at this novel in a different light than others, but perhaps not. As I read this novel, I often felt tears, and silent sobs, I read the struggle and thought there are so many of us around this world who are struggling yet today to be heard. This novel was written with such feeling, and honesty, a living history, not just facts, and liturgy, but her words breathed the life into what was and what is! Barbara Miller is a gifted author who has found her passion and has invited along for the journey, to learn, to grow, and to look at our own selves, and our countries history, what have we done? What have we left undone? What is the next step that can be taken? Shortly our world will be recalling International Holocaust Remembrance Day. We have children who have never heard of the Holocaust and there were so many disseminations in so many countries. Thank You Ms Miller for teaching us all a lesson, by reminding us of the history of what was!

Find it HERE

Shattered Lives Broken Dreams: William Cooper and Australian Aborigines Protest Holocaust

Brian Aird

5.0 out of 5 stars Actions to Words
Reviewed in the United States on March 25
Verified Purchase

…The response of the indigenous people of Australia to Germany’s injustices and outright attempts of annihilating the Jews in Germany during the Nazi regime is reminiscent of the 1960s in America when the African-Americans were fighting for equality.

Added to the amazing actions of the Aborigines, as wonderfully disclosed to the reader in this book, is that they themselves did not enjoy their own personal freedoms in Australia. However, they were fighting for the rights, indeed the lives of others. Recognition for the native people of Australia wasn’t realized until decades later…

Shattered Lives Broken Dreams: William Cooper and Australian Aborigines Protest Holocaust Number 2 by Barbara Miller is a comprehensive, motivational and inspirational narrative that captures the actions of standing up to the inhuman treatment of others. Added to the education and study of this extensive chronicled period of time is the inclusion of memorable photographs. The combination makes for a remarkable reflection of this dynamic time period.

The author has gifted the reader with an incredible and exhaustive work that captures the spirit of the protest as well as the burning heart of the movement’s leader William Cooper.

Check it out HERE

Question – WhO IS YOUR FAVOURITE AUTHOR AND WHY? Let me know via email

BOOK OF THE MONTH FEATURE

Sister Girl: Reflections on Tiddaism, Identity and Reconciliation (New Edition)
By Jackie Huggins
Book description

“The pieces in this seminal collection represent almost four decades of writing by historian and activist Jackie Huggins. These essays, speeches and interviews combine both the public and the personal in a bold trajectory tracing one Murri woman’s journey towards self-discovery and human understanding. As a widely respected cultural educator and analyst, Huggins offers an Aboriginal view of the history, values and struggles of Indigenous people.

Sister Girl reflects on many important and timely topics, including identity, activism, leadership and reconciliation. It challenges accepted notions of the appropriateness of mainstream feminism in Aboriginal society and of white historians writing Indigenous history. Jackie Huggins’ words, then and now, offer wisdom, urgency and hope.”
Check it out HERE