I’ve had the pleasure of creating the cover art and fern motif for this book, which was launched with warm enthusiasm at Fullers Bookshop, Hobart on 5 August.
I couldn’t stop reading Daughter of the Plateau once I started. It held me throughout. Some of the themes of isolation, and reinvention of self, struck a strong chord with me. The immersive love of country known so intimately and the gratitude for all that. I admire how Karen Harrland reminds us how to observe nature, birds and places so thoroughly that they become a touchstone for a healing connection to place and welcome us back there through our familiarity.
I’m proud to have my artwork on the covers and at the chapter beginnings of this new novel. This artwork is a monoprint depicting wild Tasmanian mountain ranges with some of the plants you would find in the rugged country between the Central Plateau and the remote West Coast of Tasmania.
Congratulations to Karen and 40 South Publishing!
What does it mean to have no place to call home, and no family to turn to?
Manna, named for the regal white gums and yellow-tailed black cockatoos of the Central Highlands of Tasmania, was a wild, strong, fiercely independent child.
But Manna’s life was torn apart, first by her mother’s abandonment, then by her father’s coldness. Craving connection, yet wounded by her past, Manna pushes away the last of the people she cares about.
Wild places can heal but are they enough? A whale stranding and an encounter with a silver-haired woman force Manna to reckon with the elemental forces within and around her.
Grieving and alone, she must tear open old wounds and confront the people she once loved the most, if she is to reclaim her identity as a daughter of the Plateau.
‘Karen Harrland’s story unfolds with blood and tears and yet has the warmth of a remote hut’s fireside in a snowstorm.’ Bob Brown, environmentalist
‘A born storyteller, Karen Harrland delivers a suspenseful and confronting Tasmanian drama.’ Don Defenderfer, author
‘…a love letter to Tasmania’s immense landscapes and powerful coasts.’ Stephenie Cahalan, author
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A fabric designer, ecological activist, plant advocate and professional printmaker from Hobart, Tasmania.
Deborah WACE acknowledges the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first inhabitants of the nation and the traditional custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work
