For the Love of Books

In early November 2024, a group of lovely people gathered at Café Tara, The Gap to celebrate the launch of local Author Penny de Jong’s debut Flying with Fred. It was lovely to see Penny’s friends and family supporting her as she spoke about the inspiration for the book while travelling in Ireland, and to hear a reading from the book by one of her daughter’s.  

The book is a non-fiction about the life of Penny’s father Pilot Fred Bright, who survived flying 1,015 hours during World War II. A Toowoomba boy with a lifelong obsession with planes, he trained in Australia, Britain and Canada, and flew in aircraft which included Gypsy Moths, Fleets, Wellingtons, Halifaxes, Fairchilds, Ansons, Douglases, Liberators, Defiants and Dakotas. Penny got to know her father better through her research and her writing and you can hear the pride and love in her voice when she speaks of the whole experience. Copies of the book are available through various online stores such as Booktopia and Amazon.  

Another home-grown author launched a new book late last year. Ashgrove local CT Mitchell launched the third in his Jack Creed New York series, “The Vice President Is Missing”.

In this gripping financial thriller, the Vice President of NT Finance, suddenly disappears without a trace during a routine public appearance. As the city of New York plunges into chaos and conspiracy theories abound, seasoned Australian Detective Jack Creed on loan to the NYPD, is called in to lead the investigation. Creed, known for his relentless pursuit of justice and his uncanny ability to solve the most complex cases, faces the most daunting challenge of his career. To purchase copies of the book head to CTMitchellBooks.  

Happy Reading!

Author: Sarah Krause @sarahsbookchat

Giveaway!

CT Mitchell is offering a giveaway to a lucky Western Echo reader – signed copies of each of the 3 books in the series! To enter – head to the Western Echo competition page.