SOPHIE’S SISTER (2020)
Okay, so it’s got very little (almost nothing, in fact) to do with my watercolours, but I’m allowing myself a little indulgence here …
My first book, Sophie’s Sister.
Award-winning author PAMELA HART (who also writes under the name Pamela Freeman) wrote the following:
‘If you’re tired of predictable, stay-at-home novels, Sophie’s Sister is for you. Alternately dreamlike and shocking, Paine’s deeply-felt depiction of the Australian landscape meshes seamlessly with her larger theme of what makes a satisfying life.’ – Pamela Hart
Read what it’s about, below, and then scroll down some more for some reader reviews!
SOPHIE’S SISTER - WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Sophie doesn't know there's a dead girl in her head.
Georgia and Sophie met before they were born. They would've been twins, but Georgia didn't survive the pregnancy. No-one ever knew there were two of them, but Georgia managed to stay with Sophie; she became a constant inner voice in Sophie's life - an often conflicting one to Sophie's own, as well as a largely annoying one; one who tried to push Sophie towards a more exciting life. Sophie, however, was content with her life and didn't like being pushed.
Sophie is a graphic designer and illustrator; happily single, although curious about a man in a broad-brimmed hat who she passes while out walking with her dog, Cujo. When work hands her the opportunity to join freelance photographer Clinton West as he drives from Perth to Sydney to cover a story for publishing company Gedup'n'go - a dive at Cocklebiddy Cave, deep below the Nullarbor Plain - she turns it down. Georgia's anger and frustration at Sophie's boring life, however, reaches boiling point. She decides to break free and go without her.
Sophie's Sister allows us to see what happens when both sides of a 'sliding doors' moment unfold. As we follow their parallel lives over the following weeks, Georgia certainly finds the excitement she was craving. But at what cost?
Sophie stays in Sydney doing what she usually does - working, spending time with Cujo, her mum and her friends, preparing for and attending a school reunion - while Georgia sets herself free and is living the adventure of her life. She's interacting with wildlife and seeing so much of Australia, particularly its southwest corner, as she travels with Clinton. He is also a surfer with an enormous appreciation for the country's beauty, but lives with the sadness of his wife's death five years earlier. Getting to know Clinton and the fascinating people they meet along the way allows Georgia to question her beliefs about how a person should or shouldn't live their life, and whether she has been unfair to Sophie all these years. In Georgia's absence, Sophie learns that Jack, a love interest from her past, is diving out at Cocklebiddy.
Travel across this incredible country with Georgia as she learns more about her sister, and life - about what makes a person content - than she anticipated. Through the extreme sport of cave diving, and the force of Mother Nature, Sophie's Sister explores the fine line between life and death. It uses the extraordinarily beautiful, dramatic and dangerous landscape of inland Australia as its canvas. What are the expectations we place on ourselves and others when it comes to excitement and contentment? Dreams don't have to be big. The small ones mean just as much.
SOPHIE'S SISTER WINS SILVER
Sophie's Sister, Nina's debut novel, won a Silver award in the 2020 Global Ebook Awards, Popular Literature Fiction category.
Available from Gleebooks in Sydney and all the usual online booksellers!
WHAT READERS HAVE SAID ABOUT SOPHIE’s SISTER …
'What an awesome emotional & glorious book'
'Most enjoyable and thought provoking'
'The use of the dead twin as the narrator ... not only was an effective device but added a touch of mystique'
'A delightful, if at times quirky commentary on Australian society'
'The narration device is a brilliant concept'
'This is a book that certainly provokes a range of emotions in the reader and is well worth the experience'
'I thoroughly enjoyed every page'
'It's a great read, if you don't have your copy yet get one! The perfect antidote to social isolation'
'I loved it but read it slowly, not wanting it to finish'
'It is one of the best books of Australia I have read'
'Congratulations to you on an excellent debut novel'
'Just finished this brilliant book ... You write so beautifully Nina'
'I will be recommending it to friends'
'A beautifully written story'
'You really make the surroundings come to life'
'I'm in awe'
'So beautifully written!'
'I couldn't put the book down. It's too good a book not to be read by all'
'I was blown away by the storyline and the beautiful descriptions of the Australian countryside, it was as if I was there'
'An amazing story'
'The more I read, the more I wanted to read!'
'5 out of 5'
'You have written it so well it is easy to read, and a wonderfully imaginative idea'
'I absolutely loved it!'
'The story being narrated by a spirit being certainly captured my attention from the start and the study of human nature and all its foibles and complex relationships added a whole other dimension to Sophie's Sister'
'A fascinating read'
'Wonderfully evocative of central Australia'