Emma Ashmere

The first review of The Floating Garden has just appeared on MD Brady’s US blog Me, You and Books.
Here’s a few lines of what she had to say:

4 Stars. “The Floating Garden is a fine example how fiction can be useful in expanding our understanding of the past.  It is also simply an engaging narrative.  I would love to know more about her thoughts and her process for creating this. I enthusiastically recommend this book to other readers, especially those who care about Sydney, and those interested in a new type of historical fiction.”

You can see the full review here:
My thanks to MD Brady!

And – Colleen from The Ravens Parlour Bookstore has kindly posted this review on their facebook page:
4 and 3/4 Stars
“This is a very polished debut novel from Australian author, Emma Ashmere. In 1926 the Sydney Harbour bridge is under construction, and entire streets of houses are being demolished in the name of progress. For Ellis Gilbey, this means the end of her way of life as a landlady as she is forced to look for rental accommodation elsewhere. With only a week to go before her house is to be vacated, Rennie Howarth knocks on her door seeking refuge for one night, and this chance encounter sets in motion a chain of events neither could have forseen. With these two female protagonists, from very different backgrounds, this novel brings to glorious life an interesting chapter in Australia’s history. A worthwhile read.”

Thank you Colleen!

Emma’s short stories have been widely published including in The Age, Commonwealth Writers Magazine adda, Griffith Review, Overland, Review of Australian Fiction, Sleepers Almanac, and on three Brisbane billboards for #8wordstory. She was shortlisted for the 2019 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, 2019 Newcastle Short Story Prize, 2018 Overland/NUW Fair Australia Prize and 2001 Age Short Story Award. Her debut novel The Floating Garden was shortlisted for the 2016 Small Press Network MUBA prize. Her short story collection Dreams They Forgot will be published in September 2020 by my new publisher Wakefield Press.