An unforgettable journey will unlock a lifetime of lies. . .
English artist Storm Cizekova grew up believing that her mother died when she was born. But then Storm finds a photo of herself in the heart of the Australian desert - and in her mother’s arms.
Haunted by unanswered questions, Storm embarks on a journey of self-discovery that will challenge everything she holds dear: her family history, her art, even her relationship with her partner Max. Who is she really, and where does she belong?
Her search will take her from the snow-covered Malvern Hills in England, to the rich red heart of the Australian outback. Retracing her mother’s footsteps through the stark beauty of the outback landscape, Storm hopes to find the courage to confront some shocking truths from her past and the strength to face her future.
Excerpt
. . . Words have power. They change people. They cause revolutions, both social and personal. They flatter, they please, they move. And they hurt. I have never believed in the old proverb ’sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me.’ Like many others, I learned from experience that like stones, words can be weapons, and they are dangerous. The wrong word can break something inside a person. A stray sentence, overheard by a child, can burrow deep, building layer upon layer of scar tissue around it, changing the course of that child’s life, so that they live every day in reaction to it. As a child I was drawn to words, but I was also afraid of them. Reading helped me to see that like stones, words can be used to create something powerful and beautiful. Much later again, I realised that like a stick used to splint a broken bone, words can also be used to heal.
Writing began as a source of solace in my turbulent young adult years – though looking back now, I see how turgid my creations were. But eventually I began to develop a style, a voice and a small amount of self discipline. I began to understand that writing wasn’t all about inspiration. That becoming a writer was equivalent to agreeing to a lifetime’s apprenticeship. At least 90% of writing is craft based, which involves learning many technical skills – building three dimensional characters, plotting, structuring, exposition, pace, tension, description, dialogue. . .Over time these skills developed. I wrote short stories and travel pieces – some of which were published. I completed a BA in writing and literature and then went on to do an MA in creative writing in Britain. To support myself I began assessing manuscripts for literary agents and publishers in the UK. Then, back in Australia I continued editing, taught creative writing, and eventually went back to my early love - myths and symbols.
Despite many setbacks, I have continued to write, with small successes – publications and grants - luring me on every time I was tempted to give up. Nowhere Man, my first novel, about a homeless man living on the streets of London, was a study of identity and statelessness. It found me agents in the UK and Australia, and was admired and rejected by publishers who believed it was too bleak to sell as a first novel. I wrote another novel, Gathering Storm, less bleak, but still exploring the same themes, this time through family history and genetic inheritance, but also from a broader cultural perspective, in relation to nationhood and citizenship. In seeking the truth about her past, the protagonist, Storm, searches forwards in the form of a journey, backwards into history, to the source of her problems and metaphorically inwards to uncover the wounds which have formed her. As the story unfolds, Storm moves towards an understanding of psychological and physical exile and finally towards resolution of the conflicts within herself. In a way Gathering Storm is a coming-to-self novel. It is a work of fiction but its themes mirror my own. (more…)
