Friday Fiction Feature: The Lost Blackbird

This week’s Friday Fiction Feature is The Lost Blackbird by Liza Perrat.

Several years ago, whilst watching the film Oranges & Sunshine, I was horrified to learn of the child-migrant scandal that occurred during the latter part of the 20^th century.

I found it hard to believe that 150,000 children had been shipped from British children’s homes to a “new life” in distant parts of the Empire.

Fallen on hard times, thousands of British parents signed over legal guardianship of their children, who were shipped away to solve the problem of child poverty and to populate the colonies. Some parents were not even consulted, their children being shipped across the world without even their knowledge.

Supposedly going to a better life, these children –– some as young as three-years-old –– suffered terrible physical, mental and physical abuse.

The Lost Blackbird is a work of historical fiction but it does reflect the true, harsh reality of this shameful perversion of justice. And, through my fictional characters and storytelling, I hope to make readers more aware of how much these children, and their families, suffered.

But why a blackbird, you might ask?

As is often the case when I start writing a novel, I didn’t have a suitable title. I wanted a bird to feature, to harmonise with my other 1970s Australian stories: The Silent Kookaburra  and The Swooping Magpie (currently under revision).

When a fellow author pointed out the term “blackbirding”, I immediately saw its significance in relation to my story. “Blackbirding” describes the practice dating back to the1860s, when thousands of Pacific Islanders were taken to Australia to work on plantations, often by force or trickery. 

While not technically slaves, the wages paid were well below what European workers earned.

And when a beta reader mentioned that blackbirds are not native birds to Australia, but were introduced by UK workers to remind them of “home”, I knew I’d found my perfect title.

LIZA BIO:

Liza grew up in Australia, working as a general nurse and midwife. She has now been living in France for twenty-seven years, where she works as a part-time medical translator and a novelist.

She is the author of the French historical The Bone Angel series:

Three French village midwife-healers. Three stories spanning six hundred years. Three women linked by an ancient bone talisman and bonded by living through turbulent times: the Black Death, the French Revolution, the WWII Nazi Occupation. Each brings its own threats and dangers, in this boxset of historical novels based on real event https://www.books2read.com/u/4AYXWN.

Each story can be read as a standalone.

Spirit of Lost Angels https://www.books2read.com/u/49D5JY

Wolfsangel https://www.books2read.com/u/bxZPlk

Blood Rose Angel https://www.books2read.com/u/3nYylx

The first book in Liza’s Australian series, The Silent Kookaburra https://www.books2read.com/u/4EyaqO is a domestic noir, psychological suspense set in 1970s Australia.

The second in the series, The Swooping Magpie is currently under revision.

Get your copy of The Lost Blackbird E-book: mybook.to/TheLostBlackbird

Read The Lost Blackbird for free if you have Kindle Unlimited.

The Paperback version will be available shortly.

Sign up for new book releases and receive a FREE copy of Friends & Other Strangers, Liza’s award-winning collection of Australian short stories.

If you enjoy Liza’s books, follow her on BOOKBUB: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/liza-perrat

WEBSITE: http://www.lizaperrat.com/

BLOG: http://lizaperrat.blogspot.com/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Liza-Perrat-232382930192297

TWITTER: @LizaPerrat

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