ESSENCE
The Essence Chronicles: I
When Abbey Shader is summoned to Ethra, a land where human qualities roam free in flesh known as Essences, her life and the universe as she knows it splits open before her.
With the expansive secrets of humanity at her fingertips, Abbey’s strength of will and heart are put to a test no amount of time or meticulous study could have prepared her for.
Left to decide between the comfort of the familiar and the potential enlightenment of the strange, Abbey is thrust into a journey that demands more of her at every turn. She must learn to trust what she sees, and trust what she can’t.
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Essence is the first instalment of the young adult fantasy series, The Essence Chronicles.
LUMINESSENCE
The Essence Chronicles: II
Having chosen to accept her role as the Melder between Earth and its parallel dimension Ethra, Abbey Shader will now discover exactly what her task involves, with the guidance of an eclectic mix of companions.
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While striving to make sense of her new world, Abbey begins to uncover more of Zac's past. Time splits as the history of the Nellerwood family is revealed, whilst Abbey realises the importance of understanding the past in order to change the future.
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Luminessence is the second instalment of The Essence Chronicles trilogy.
OPALESSENCE
The Essence Chronicles: III
Abbey Shader's world split apart the moment she was summoned to Ethra, but yet another shocking revelation has thrown her into a spin and a battle she was not prepared to face.
With Wade, Zac and the Essences determined to locate the Dark Mouth - believed to be a Possession Point left behind by the Essence of Evil herself - Abbey must look beyond the past to focus on the task before her.
In the aftermath of Preo's fiery destruction, Finn Hunt and Neason Morton are enlisted to accompany Altan Gorgon on the same perilous mission south. Altan, denied support by the Gage and fuelled by a desperate desire to fulfill his father's dying wish, will stop at nothing to reach the Dark Mouth before Wade Hakes.
As the race ensues, the Dark Mouth waits, armed for a fight that no tangible weapon can hope to match.
Opalessence is the third and final instalment of The Essence Chronicles trilogy.
THORNE
Prequel Novella
Thorne is an Essence. Existing in Earth's parallel dimension Ethra amongst eight others like him—and yet each crucially different—his eternal purpose remains unchanging. He must contribute to a system of free will where human spirits are supplied with a series of key qualities.
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A gaping flaw presents itself when Kayna, an Essence of the darkest nature, wreaks havoc amongst the people of Ethra.
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The Essences face a difficult decision. Are they to clean up the messes forever left in Kayna's wake, or defy the freedom they were granted in the beginning to capture her?
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Are you a newcomer to The Essence Chronicles?
Though a prequel to Essence, Thorne may be read as a standalone novella; an introduction to the enchanted world of Ethra and a vital turn in the history of the Essences.
CORNER
Novel
Dorothy possesses three fears. Strangers, judgement, and liking boys who won't like her back.
When her insistent mother persuades her to fill a waitressing position at Uncle Ray's restaurant, Corner, Dot is forced to leave behind her cuddly cat Kramer and the safety of her room to confront an ever-present anxiety bound to all three of her fears.
Gradually, the faces of Corner begin to fill her emptiest spaces, until one particular night changes everything.
After an unforeseen attack, Dot rapidly loses herself in an all-consuming darkness. But the hands that reach to find her aren't those she would have expected, and Dot soon realises that sometimes the brightest lights are only a step away from the dark.
ALL THESE PRESENCES
Poetry Anthology
All These Presences publishes poems by creative writing students at Avondale College alongside work by a selection of established Australian poets. Like the three earlier volumes it follows, Wording the World (2010), Here Not There (2012) and A Way of Happening (2014), it is a unique collaboration between writers at very different stages of learning and practising their craft.
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Poetry writing is an intensely personal expression of experience. The poems themselves, however, have a magical ability to move from silence into a world
of unexpected conversations and deep connections, not only with readers, but also with other poets. All These Presences is an exciting illustration of that connectedness. It is a vibrant gathering of presences: a fresh and wide-ranging collection of new and mature voices from Australia’s contemporary poetic community.
ON FIRST LOOKING
Poetry Anthology
On First Looking publishes poems by student writers at Avondale College of Higher Education alongside work by some of Australia’s best contemporary poets. It is the fifth volume in a project which has run over the last decade, and like the books it follows, this anthology introduces a diverse range of poetic voices and places them within the context of a wider poetic community.
With a nod in homage to John Keats’ poem, ‘On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer’, this collection celebrates a long tradition of connections between writers.
It is a unique showcase for work by new and mature poets, all of them united by poetry’s gift of bringing us the world as if it has been looked at for the very first time.
GHOST STORIES:
A Zimbell House Anthology
Ghost Stories features twenty-four short tales by twenty-three new international writers that are sure to make you laugh, cry, and send tingles down your spine. This anthology has something for everyone that entertains the idea that ghosts have unfinished business with the living.
'WITH OR WITHOUT US'
2018 Literary Nillumbik Anthology of Writing
The Alan Marshall Short Story Award (AMSSA) celebrates the art of writing and honours the life and work of Australian literary icon, Alan Marshall.
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The AMSSA was founded in 1985 and is presented by Nillumbik Shire Council in partnership with Yarra Plenty Regional Library and in association with Writers Victoria and Australian Society of Authors.
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'With Or Without Us' - a short story by Hayley Gabrielle - claimed the Local Prize for 2018.