Leave The Wake Behind is the debut novel of author, Christie Heart. The novel was conceived and developed from the storylines contained within 12 of her original songs - one song for each chapter - and became a riveting standalone read which has sold out in printed form and is now only available through library services in Victoria. The book comes with a Cd of the songs that inspired it.
It is a tale of great love, loss, friendship and personal transformation. It contains supernatural themes and spans two lifetimes bound by a curse and the tenacious hold of a single love. The prologue depicts an incident that occurred in the Southland of New Zealand in the late 1800's. The opening chapter shifts to present day Australia and on three female friends who share a house in the thriving alternative culture of inner-city Melbourne. On an auspicious night out, one of the young women meets a traveler from Invercargill, New Zealand. The events which unfold will impact the lives of all in ways they could not imagine. The narrative takes the reader on a physical and emotional journey that culminates in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, where an Alaskan backpacker holds the key to releasing the chains of the past. In order to step boldly into the future our characters must leave the past "the wake" behind.
Christie is a member of the World Writers Collective https://www.worldwriterscollective.com
Her first prize winning short story Sand and Locusts can be read on the above website. In 2019
the story was published in the Melbourne Writers Social Group Anthology, A Winter Selection of Short Stories. She is currently working on a fact-informed, fictional novel about a feisty social worker.
Under the pen name of Miranda Lewis, Christie also writes children's books. She recently completed a young children's book and is in the final stages of a chapter novel for older children.
Christie has written poetry, published in the anthology, Wind Rain and Mud, 2004. In 2008, while working for NGO, Project Respect, she researched and compiled an informative fact and safety guide for women considering entering the sex industry, The Manual, based on the personal experience of women in the legal sex industry in Melbourne. In 2011, the guide was translated to Korean and distributed to women in Korea by the Salem Foundation. Christie updated and re-edited a pocket version of The Manual in 2015.
It is a tale of great love, loss, friendship and personal transformation. It contains supernatural themes and spans two lifetimes bound by a curse and the tenacious hold of a single love. The prologue depicts an incident that occurred in the Southland of New Zealand in the late 1800's. The opening chapter shifts to present day Australia and on three female friends who share a house in the thriving alternative culture of inner-city Melbourne. On an auspicious night out, one of the young women meets a traveler from Invercargill, New Zealand. The events which unfold will impact the lives of all in ways they could not imagine. The narrative takes the reader on a physical and emotional journey that culminates in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, where an Alaskan backpacker holds the key to releasing the chains of the past. In order to step boldly into the future our characters must leave the past "the wake" behind.
Christie is a member of the World Writers Collective https://www.worldwriterscollective.com
Her first prize winning short story Sand and Locusts can be read on the above website. In 2019
the story was published in the Melbourne Writers Social Group Anthology, A Winter Selection of Short Stories. She is currently working on a fact-informed, fictional novel about a feisty social worker.
Under the pen name of Miranda Lewis, Christie also writes children's books. She recently completed a young children's book and is in the final stages of a chapter novel for older children.
Christie has written poetry, published in the anthology, Wind Rain and Mud, 2004. In 2008, while working for NGO, Project Respect, she researched and compiled an informative fact and safety guide for women considering entering the sex industry, The Manual, based on the personal experience of women in the legal sex industry in Melbourne. In 2011, the guide was translated to Korean and distributed to women in Korea by the Salem Foundation. Christie updated and re-edited a pocket version of The Manual in 2015.
