Scattered Stones: Book 2 in the Riverstones Series (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780473449124)

Michelle says how the saga began... I had an idea for a historical novel that was percolating in my coffee pot brain but wouldn't flow onto the page - a condition called Writers Block. Then, I had an ear operation and as I was coming out of the anesthetic I had the most amazing dream. A dream so real I felt I could almost touch the wood paneling on the walls of the Long Gully Pub, Skippers Canyon, New Zealand. But the process was all back to front. I wrote the book, then spent hours in the library researching before finally visiting the place. Travelling into Skippers Canyon was a family adventure. My brother-in- law, sister- in-law, nephew and I drove into Skippers canyon in a small 4WD jeep filled to the gunnels with camping equipment. It's a harrowing, heart-stopping road definitely not for the faint hearted. We stopped at Long Gully, the site where Riverstones is set, and where the remains of the old hotel's chimneys can still be seen. That night we camped by the Skippers schoolhouse, and the next day we set off to find the ghost town Bullendale. I've never been good at directions, or taking them, we walked for 6 hours, crossed the river at least 80 times, and have yet to find Bullendale. Had we kept walking, I was convinced we would end up in Hokitika. Next time I go in, I'm taking someone who knows where they are going which should save several hours walking, and the soles of our shoes. I wish I could be a prolific author and pop out books, but for me writing the Riverstones series has been an elephant pregnancy. I've spent hours at libraries, looking up Papers Past on the internet, and visiting museums trying to get a feel and knowledge of the past so the novel would be authentic. I hope I have achieved that. During that time, I discovered so many incredible stories I wanted to write them all, but couldn't, and so I concentrated on Mary Healey's story and Riverstones was finally born. And now it's sequel, Scattered Stones continues the Healey family saga but fear not, their journey isn't over and the third book in the series is well underway.