SNUGGLES A Rand McNally Elf BookANNE ANDERSON for ‘Blackie’s Children’s Annual’ captioned Helping MummyA 1960s children’s mini picture book published in EnglandThe Sugar Mouse Cake Book by Gene Zion and Margaret Bloy Graham 1964The Sugar Mouse Cake Book by Gene Zion and Margaret Bloy Graham 1964Tina was a little white mouse who lived in the flour pantry. At night when everyone had left the Bakery, Tom baked little cakes especiallyf or her. Tina thought they were the best cakes in the world and nibbled each crumb with squeaks of delight. She was very clever and Tom taught her many tricks. When he said, “Alley-oop,” Tina turned a somersault. When he said, “Hold,” Tina remained perfectly still. And when he played his music box, Tina danced. Tina loved to dance more than anything else. Fritz Baumgarten, Christmas in Gnome Country bakeryEs Weihnachtet Sehr (an Austrian picture book) by Sybille DennigerMarie Fischerova Kvechova, CzechoslovakianMarie-Madeleine FRANC-NOHAIN [1878-1942] Alphabet In Pictures 1933 play kitchenVladimir Vtorenko – Tales of the Brothers Grimm, Old Woman In The Forest kitchenRichard Scarry’s Chipmunk’s ABC by Roberta Miller, illustrated by Richard Scarry (1963)Good Housekeeping’s Cookery Book Illustrations By Fred Reeves and Douglas Woodall, Ebury Press London 1948Good Housekeeping’s Cookery Book Illustrations By Fred Reeves and Douglas Woodall, Ebury Press London 1948The Doubtful Guest by Edward Gorey (London 1958)Let Me Fix You A Plate A Tale of Two Kitchens by Elizabeth LillyLet Me Fix You A Plate A Tale of Two Kitchens by Elizabeth Lilly double spreadFritz Baumgarten, Christmas in Gnome CountryBarbara Cooney (1917-2000) illustrations for Mother Goose 1964 in French bakeryAnton Pieck (Dutch,1895-1987) – The baker is blowing the horn to alert customers to the opening.Helen Allingham – Baking BreadStanley EKMAN 1913 ChicagoFour Young Women Frosting Cake, no sign. From1952 Dow Plastics ad
Fourteen-year-old Mona isn’t like the wizards charged with defending the city. She can’t control lightning or speak to water. Her familiar is a sourdough starter and her magic only works on bread. She has a comfortable life in her aunt’s bakery making gingerbread men dance.
But Mona’s life is turned upside down when she finds a dead body on the bakery floor. An assassin is stalking the streets of Mona’s city, preying on magic folk, and it appears that Mona is his next target. And in an embattled city suddenly bereft of wizards, the assassin may be the least of Mona’s worries…
CONTEMPORARY FICTION SET IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND (2023)
On paper, things look fine. Sam Dennon recently inherited significant wealth from his uncle. As a respected architect, Sam spends his days thinking about the family needs and rich lives of his clients. But privately? Even his enduring love of amateur astronomy is on the wane. Sam has built a sustainable-architecture display home for himself but hasn’t yet moved into it, preferring to sleep in his cocoon of a campervan. Although they never announced it publicly, Sam’s wife and business partner ended their marriage years ago due to lack of intimacy, leaving Sam with the sense he is irreparably broken.
Now his beloved uncle has died. An intensifying fear manifests as health anxiety, with night terrors from a half-remembered early childhood event. To assuage the loneliness, Sam embarks on a Personal Happiness Project:
