Well now that I have finished writing the Little Girl Dead series, I can tell you that I have an exciting new book that I have been working on.
I’ve taken a departure from the crime and mystery genre to go exploring into a historical fiction set at the Mayday Hills Lunatic Asylum, in Beechworth, Victoria (now known as the Beechworth asylum). I had made two trips over to the asylum, taking my bestie with me and using the fact finding mission as mini holidays. They run ghost tours there and I’ve had a couple of experiences myself. It’s a dead set creepy but awesome place. They even had night vision goggles. In case you were wondering, we stayed on the grounds in a hotel called the Linakar Hotel. It’s a fantastic art deco hotel that has great ambience. Close by, there’s the George Kerferd Hotel which is the converted nurses’ quarters.
The book is called Mayday and follows William Blake who is incarcerated at the asylum for public drunkenness. At home he has two children and a wife, Mary who will go to any lengths to have him released.
While in the asylum, he falls victim to a vindictive Superintendent who makes it his business to try the latest psychiatric treatments on William, essentially torturing him. Can Mary get him out or will he have to come up with a daring plan to escape on his own?
I really enjoyed writing this book. I went into research mode; you do not want to look at my browser history. Beechworth was a gold mining town and the local council is dedicated to keeping as many buildings as preserved as possible. You can even send a telegraph, my son had no idea what it was when I sent it to him.
I researched housing, clothing, psychiatric treatments and explored the asylum myself. I had an absolute ball writing this novella and I hope that you’ll all enjoy reading it.
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