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Wendy James Wendy James i(A6135 works by)
Born: Established: 1966 ;
Gender: Female
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Works By

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1 1 y separately published work icon A Little Bird Wendy James , Seattle : Lake Union Publishing , 2021 23162022 2021 single work novel crime thriller

'A homecoming snares a young woman in a dangerous tangle of lies, secrets, and bad blood in this gripping novel by the bestselling author of An Accusation.

'Running from a bad relationship, journalist Jo Sharpe heads home to Arthurville, the drought-stricken town she turned her back on years earlier. While some things have changed―her relationship with her ailing, crotchety father, her new job at the community newspaper―Jo finds that her return has rekindled the grief and uncertainty she experienced during her childhood following the inexplicable disappearance of her mother and baby sister.

'Returning to Arthurville has its unexpected pleasures, though, as Jo happily reconnects with old friends and makes a few new ones. But she can’t let go of her search for answers to that long-ago mystery. And as she keeps investigating, the splash she’s making begins to ripple outward―far beyond the disappearance of her mother and sister.

'Jo is determined to dig as deep as it takes to get answers. But it’s not long before she realises that someone among the familiar faces doesn’t want her picking through the debris of the past. And they’ll go to any lengths to silence the little bird before she sings the truth.'

Source : publisher's blurb

1 y separately published work icon The Accusation Wendy James , Sydney South : HarperCollins Australia , 2019 15439442 2019 single work novel thriller

'A bizarre abduction. A body of damning evidence. A world of betrayal.

'Eighteen-year-old Ellie Canning is found shivering and barely conscious on a country road, clad only in ill-fitting pyjamas. Her story of kidnap and escape quickly enthrals the nation: a middle-aged woman with a crazy old mother has held Ellie in a basement, chained her to a bed and given her drinks from an old baby's sippy cup. But who was this woman and what did she want with Ellie? And what other secrets might she hide?

'When the accusation is levelled at local teacher Suzannah Wells, no one seems more bewildered than Suzannah herself ... to start with. The preposterous charge becomes manifestly more real as she loses her job and her friends. And the evidence is strong: a dementia-affected mother, a house with a basement, a sippy cup that belonged to her long-dead daughter. And Ellie Canning's DNA everywhere. As stories about Susannah's past emerge, even those closest to her begin to doubt she's innocent.

'And Ellie? The media can't get enough of her. She's a girl-power icon, a social-media star. But is she telling the truth?

'A powerful exploration of the fragility of trust, and the power of suggestion, from the author of The Golden Child and The Mistake.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

2 2 y separately published work icon The Golden Child Wendy James , Sydney : HarperCollins Australia , 2017 10320731 2017 single work novel

'Can bad children happen to good mothers? A totally absorbing novel, for readers of Liane Moriarty, Jodi Picoult, Lionel Shriver and Christos Tsiolkas.

'Blogger Lizzy's life is buzzing, happy, normal. Two gorgeous children, a handsome husband, destiny under control. For real-life Beth, things are unravelling. Recently returned to Australia from America, tensions are simmering with her husband, mother-in-law, and even her own mother. Her teenage daughters, once objects of her existence, have moved beyond her grasp and one of them has shown signs of, well, thoughtlessness ...

Beth hopes things will improve once they are settled in their new home and the girls start school. Reluctant to leave, her daughters seem to adapt to their new circumstances, and the younger, Charlie, shines in her unaccountable but customary way. Then a classmate of Charlie's is callously bullied and the finger of blame is pointed at Beth's clever, beautiful child. Shattered, shamed and frightened, two families must negotiate worlds of cruelty they are totally unprepared for.

This is a novel that grapples with modern-day spectres of selfies, selfishness and cyberbullying. It plays with our fears of parenting, social media and the refuge it provides, and it asks the question: just how well do you know your child?' (Publication summary)

1 6 y separately published work icon The Lost Girls Wendy James , Melbourne : Penguin , 2014 6780852 2014 single work novel

'Curl Curl, Sydney, January 1978.

'Angie's a looker. Or she's going to be. She's only fourteen, but already, heads turn wherever she goes. Male heads, mainly . . .

'Jane worships her older cousin Angie. She spends her summer vying for Angie's attention. Then Angie is murdered. Jane and her family are shattered. They withdraw into themselves, casting a veil of silence over Angie's death.

'Thirty years later, a journalist arrives with questions about the tragic event. Jane is relieved to finally talk about her adored cousin. And so is her family. But whose version of Angie's story – whose version of Angie herself – is the real one? And can past wrongs ever be made right?

'The shocking truth of Angie's last days will force Jane to question everything she once believed. Because nothing – not the past or even the present –

is as she once imagined.' (Publisher's blurb)

1 Sangfroid Wendy James , 2012 single work short story
— Appears in: Review of Australian Fiction , vol. 2 no. 6 2012; Review of Australian Fiction , Omnibus vol. 2 no. 2012;
1 Books That Changed Me : Wendy James Wendy James , 2012 single work column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 17 June 2012; (p. 18)
1 Truth Lies and Intrusions Wendy James , 2012 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 24-25 March 2012; (p. 20)
1 10 y separately published work icon The Mistake Wendy James , Camberwell : Penguin , 2012 Z1844930 2012 single work novel 'Jodie Garrow is a teenager from the wrong side of the tracks when she falls pregnant. Scared, alone and desperate to make something of her life, she adopts out the baby illegally – and tells nobody. Twenty-five years on, Jodie has built a new life and a new family. But when a chance meeting brings the adoption to the notice of the authorities, Jodie becomes caught in a nationwide police investigation, and the centre of a media witch hunt. What happened to Jodie's baby? And where is she now? The fallout from Jodie's past puts her whole family under the microscope, and her husband and daughter must re-examine everything they believed to be true' (publisher blurb).
1 She Ain't Heavy Wendy James , 2010 single work essay
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , May vol. 5 no. 4 2010; (p. 14-15)
'Wendy James had conflicted feelings when her sister [Rebecca James] landed a million-dollar publishing deal for her first novel.' (Editor's abstract)
1 10 y separately published work icon Where Have You Been? Wendy James , Crawley : UWA Publishing , 2010 Z1657357 2010 single work novel thriller

'Susan and Ed Middleton are perfectly content with their lives. Two kids, two cars, a solid brick bungalow in a respectable beaches suburb. They're good people, model citizens. There's barely a ripple in the surface of their happy existence. But when Susan's older sister, who vanished as a teenager, reappears to claim an inheritance, everything is set to change...

Karen - now known as Carly - has had a tough time during the past twenty years: drugs, prostitution, prison. At least that's what she tells them. As Carly insinuates herself further and further into the Middleton's lives, suspicions are aroused - is she really Susan's sister, returned from the dead? If she isn't Karen, who is she? And, imposter or not, why is the Middleton's relaxed and comfortable world suddenly spinning way out of control?' (Publisher's blurb)

1 History and Fiction Wendy James , 2009 single work essay
— Appears in: Meanjin , Summer vol. 68 no. 4 2009; (p. 15-16)
1 8 y separately published work icon Why She Loves Him : Stories Wendy James , Crawley : UWA Publishing , 2009 Z1597004 2009 selected work short story 'These are tales of fugitive lives: dazzling portraits of women and men on the run; from their present, their past, their future – from themselves…

'Here, finally, is the complete collection of short fiction from award-winning author Wendy James. Holding a discerning mirror to seemingly ordinary lives, James captures recurring themes of love, betrayal, passion and guilt to show just how vulnerable and intricate the human heart really is. Whether narrating from the living room of a contemporary marriage, from the wheel of a desperate getaway car, or while composing an elaborate diversion in 18th century Salzburg, James has the rare ability to wryly comment on humankind with unnerving clarity and precision.' (Publication summary)
 
1 End of Season Wendy James , 2009 single work short story
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , May vol. 4 no. 4 2009; (p. 23)
1 9 y separately published work icon The Steele Diaries Wendy James , North Sydney : Vintage Australia , 2008 Z1501002 2008 single work novel

'The only child of two famous but self-absorbed artists, Zelda Steele is adopted by her parent's patrons when she is just a baby. Great things are expected of this privileged young woman, but at twenty-seven Zelda is dead, leaving two young children and a body of work that only hints at her promise.

'Years later, Zelda's daughter Ruth returns to her childhood home to find the diaries her mother is rumoured to have kept. What they reveal will send Ruth on a journey into the past - and transform her future in ways she can't even begin to imagine.

'Weaving together the narratives of three very different women, living in vastly different times, The Steele Diaries paints a rich and evocative portrait of the Sydney art scene from the thirties to the seventies, and examines the eternal conflict between maternity and creativity, motherhood and self.' (Publisher's blurb)

1 Brush Off Wendy James , 2006-2007 single work short story
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 19 December-9 January vol. 124 no. 6551 2006-2007; (p. 98-101)
1 Takes Two Wendy James , 2006 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 5-6 August 2006; (p. 2)
James suggests two interpretations of a fictional middle-aged, male character.
1 A Defence of Creative Writing Wendy James , 2006 single work column
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , June-July no. 282 2006; (p. 44)
Wendy James argues the case on behalf of university-based creative writing programmes.
1 Character References Wendy James , 2006 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 8-9 April 2006; (p. 2)
1 10 y separately published work icon Out of the Silence : A Story of Love, Betrayal, Politics and Murder Wendy James , Milsons Point : Random House , 2005 Z1220342 2005 single work novel historical fiction 'Out of the Silence is a stunning debut novel about three Australian women from very different worlds: Maggie Heffernan, a spirited working-class country girl; Elizabeth Hamilton, whose disappointment in love has served only to strengthen her humanity; and Vida Goldstein, a charismatic suffragist from Melbourne and the first woman to stand for Parliament in Australia. When Maggie's life descends into darkness after a terrible betrayal, the three women's lives collide.' (Publication summary)
1 Diving (About Swimming and Writing) Wendy James , 2001 single work prose
— Appears in: TEXT : The Journal of the Australian Association of Writing Programs , April vol. 5 no. 1 2001;
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