Cynthia Lindenmayer came to book writing rather late in life. At age 62 she published her first book, Reflections of a Queensland Country Girl, an authentic account of aspects of her early life in rural Queensland, a complement to her late father's bush pioneering tale, Walk a Mile in My Shoes (Tom Collins, 2000). In 2002 she ventured into feminist fiction, with her first novel, Myra's Escape from the Shadows, a robust tale of a middle aged woman's search for love and adventure after betrayal in her marriage.

In 2009, Cynthia published her second novel, Guilty Secrets. This was a sometimes steamy tale of intrigue, romance, betrayal and violence (including domestic violence) in an Australian setting. Widely distributed, it led to Cynthia's appearance, with Brady Halls, in an amusing segment on Channel 9's A Current Affair (see below).

Sample

(from Chapter One)

When Simone reached her parked BMW sports, she opened her briefcase to remove her car keys. She always carried her briefcase to her assignations with Teale, as a sort of camouflage. As she took hold of her keys, her eyes fell on the packet of condoms she always included in preparation for these visits, but that she consistently neglected to use in the heat of passion generated by their mutually all-consuming lust. With a slightly rueful smile, she also took her mobile phone from the briefcase and turned it on as she unlocked the car. Sliding in behind the steering wheel, she heard the tell-tale tone of a text message arriving. Quickly scanning her message inbox, she found an sms from the party planner she had engaged to organize her daughter Sasha's 21st birthday party, asking her to phone him. She made a mental note to do so later as she started the car and steered it in the direction of her home.

Approaching the driveway to her luxury home, Simone felt some relief when she recalled that her husband, Lee, had mentioned that morning that he had a late appointment this evening. She did not look forward to his arrivals home. It was not that they had blazing rows. Sometimes she wished they did. At least they would then have some sort of a relationship. Instead, they were like strangers sharing a luxurious living space. If she tried to broach a subject of mutual interest to him (such as her growing concern that their two daughters were beginning to go off the rails) he would simply shrug, and say, " I can't handle this after a heavy day's work! I need to unwind," before heading straight into his home theatre to turn on the gigantic plasma television set at full volume. He would then pour himself a glass of wine from his well-stocked cellar, before settling down to watch the world news, in isolation. He would stay there, gulping his wine until she would eventually call him to eat the dinner that had, in any event, always been prepared in advance by one of their two casual housekeepers. After dinner, if he did not disappear into his study for hours, he would be working out in their home gymnasium.

As she paused in the driveway for the automatic garage door to fully open to admit her car, she saw her new next-door neighbour standing on the balcony of his home, looking down in her direction. He smiled and waved at her in an overly-familiar manner, a salutation she returned, politely, but without enthusiasm. In the brief time she had known George, she found she did not much like him. He was over-friendly, with the habit of invading the personal space of anyone he happened to be talking to, making it difficult for them to move away from him. His conversation invariably revolved around himself, and Simone could always feel his leering eyes undressing her as he spoke. Sometimes he became so animated in his recounting of some real or invented exploit of his own, that little globules of spittle sprayed from his cavernous mouth, threatening to drench his unfortunate captive audience. At that moment, little did Simone know how large a part this obnoxious neighbour and his family would come to play in her future life.

Links

Read more on Google BookSearch

Interview 1 with Peter Dick (ABC Radio)

Interview 2 with Peter Dick (ABC Radio)

Interview with Brady Halls, A Current Affair, Channel 9 (WIN). With permission.

Article in the Central Telegraph (Biloela)

Sunnybank Hills Library (Brisbane) event

Cairns Post articles on Guilty Secrets and on Facades