The Mangrove Mystery

Welcome to Sally's book-a-day-for-2017 blog. If unfamiliar with the blog, scroll down.

The Mangrove Mystery (Post 80)

The Mangrove Mystery (2002) is one of the books I wrote under the pseudonym Joseph Corella. It's a bonsai novel, told turn about in First Person by thirteen-year-old Ruby and nineteen-year-old Oliver.
Ruby and her younger sister Gem are puzzled but pleased when their big brother Oliver invites them to visit him in Queensland. Their parents are not included, but that's okay, because Aunt Evie is invited as well. The girls marshal vague Evie through the flights and Oliver meets them at the airport.

Oliver, as he tells us, mentioned to Aunt Evie that she ought to visit him sometime. To his bewilderment, she took him up on the offer. Hastily, he invited his sisters along as well.

Unfortunately for Oliver, the girls are determined he is to keep his promise of taking them out in his boat. It keeps getting put off, but finally they corner him on their last day. There's plenty of time for fun on the Mangrove River before their plane leaves... right?
This is a comedy of family relationships. It's based heavily on fact, as the little problem that besets the voyagers on the river is the one that beset my daughter, me and my son when we visited him in Queensland. The river was actually the Bohle River The things Ruby sees are the things we saw. Rereading the book fifteen years on reminded me of details I had forgotten, but one of the most striking things is the way Evie is presented... at over sixty she seems more elderly than I would write her now. Hmm, maybe that has to do with my own current age! 

About the Blog 

Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)

The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service, post a comment and I'll get back to you.