YA Fantasy, YA Paranormal
Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
1958- 59 Florence Italy
Melissa, a shy parentally abused teenage girl, feels lost in a
transnational high society world that drives her to the depths of
despair.
But her attraction to the very human Kasho, who has snippets of philosophy
to impart, eventually enables her to develop her own strengths.
But Kasho doesn’t dwell physically on Earth.
Melissa’s realistic story traverses class, gender, and power dynamics. She
is expected to walk or is bullied into walking, a certain path required of
her class, including marrying a certain man.
It’s only when she connects with Kasho, a native man whose values are
in-line with hers, that she finds a kindred spirit who truly sees her.
In an age of bullying and teen suicide, the resonating lesson throughout
the story is “There is always a way of making your life
better.”
But how will she and her best friend, Daisy, find it?
About the Author
Camilla Chance has always been a writer. She was born in 1940 and lived in
London, where, when she was 18, her first novel was accepted by a then-large
publishing company for publication. Although her father forced her to
withdraw from this contract as she was still legally his
“property” until she was 21, the writing bug never left her. Her
family moved to Australia and she graduated in Arts from Melbourne
University. When she was 22, she became a member of the Baha’i faith,
and its spiritualism and acceptance have influenced her subsequent writing
as well.
Camilla has had many interesting and varied occupations. She’s been a
lyricist for an international performing group The Kuban Cossacks, a high
school teacher, and an editor for Faber & Faber Publishers in London.
Upon returning to Australia, she wrote book reviews for two prestigious
Australian newspapers – The Age and The Australian. And she also
married and became a mother as well.
Camilla has also been an advocate for Australia’s indigenous peoples,
in part because of her Baha’i faith’s belief in unity and also
because of her extraordinary 27 year friendship with Banjo Clark. Banjo
Clarke’s life and teaching were the crux of her best-selling
Australian book, Wisdom Man. Camilla took the highlights of her friendship
with Banjo and created a book that was an instant best seller in Australia,
and in its second edition won American USABookNews.com Award for best
multicultural work. It also gained Honorable Mention at the London Book
Festival. Camilla was also the first non-Aboriginal to receive the
prestigious Unsung Hero Award from Aboriginal people for her dedicated
friendship and work for them “behind the scenes.”
Melissa and Kasho,2018 and is a young adult novel set in the transition
period of 1959. It’s a fantasy, love story, with a heavy dose of rock
and roll, taking place in Florence Italy.
Currently, Camilla is at work on her autobiography, a companion piece to
the Australian Bestselling Wisdom Man, called WARRUMYEA: THE LEFT-HANDED
WOMAN
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