A time of celebration – and a tribute to my brother

Last night, we launched The Undercurrent at Riverbend Books in Bulimba (Brisbane). It was a lovely night and I’m so grateful to everyone who came out and shared in the celebration.

Special thanks to Christine Bongers for launching (and asking great questions), my editor Mandy Brett from Text Publishing for coming up from Melbourne, my niece Katie for travelling up from Adelaide and the team at Riverbend Books for another beautiful launch event.

There was also a great deal of sadness waiting beneath the celebrations. My brother Steve – who has been at every launch even though he lives in Darwin, and who was intending on being at this one – passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on 20 July 2017.

I managed to say a few words in dedicating the night to Steve, and I wanted to repeat them here:

Steve would have been here tonight with his wife Debbie, daughter Kelly and her partner Mitchell. He and Debbie have been here for every launch. The whole family, including my nephew Aaron, was here two years ago when we launched Burn. 

I’m still in shock at losing him, to be honest. He was one of my favourite people. Almost all of our photos together are of eating, drinking or laughing, and that sums up how we spent our time together. He was a gentle soul, who was also a third dan black belt in Zen Do Kai. He was practical and sensible, but would laugh so hard he’d cry at the most inane things (like the dancing donkey in Nanny McPhee. Watching him watch that scene made me laugh so much I cried.) 

Steve loved his family more than anything, and they were adamant I still go ahead with this launch. So I’d like to dedicate tonight to Steve.

Despite the sadness, it was a lovely night – and a wonderful distraction. I am truly blessed to have such incredibly supportive family, friends and readers.

Here are some shots from the night:

   

  

   

And here’s one of my favourite shots of Steve and me.

 

 

6 Comments

  1. Ashley says:

    Wow, such a mix of emotions! Many congrats on your new release, and even more sympathies to you and your family. Thinking of you here in Canada and wishing you all the best.

    1. Paula Weston says:

      Thank you Ashley. I appreciate that.

  2. Darryl minerds says:

    You are amazing Sis, you make us all proud and I know Steve was not only so proud of you and your achievements but was so excited to be going to this launch too
    Love you sis
    Xxxx

    1. Paula Weston says:

      Thanks bro. Love you too. xxx

  3. Lea says:

    You are such an inspiration. I am yet to read one of your books and clearly I need to make time to get started, but having had the privilege of knowing what an amazing person you are, I’m sure it will be worth the wait. Hats off to you. Xo

    1. Paula Weston says:

      Thank you. That’s very kind. 🙂

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About Me

I’m the author of the Rephaim series and The Undercurrent.

For my day job, I’m a writer-journalist-professional communicator, where my writing involves a lot less profanity.

I grew up in regional South Australia and now live in the Scenic Rim with my husband and a retired greyhound.

If you’re interested in how I came to land a publishing deal, you can read the short version in this post from August 2011. There’s a longer version (in a guest post) here.

Paula Weston

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