Mortgaged Goods
A story of love, lies and shocking secrets
The adored adopted child of a stoic immigrant couple, corporate lawyer, Natalie (Nata) Dreyer, is beautiful, ambitious, talented and successful. She has achieved all that her father drove her to strive for, and when she marries the rich and charming Karl Albrecht, it appears her dream future is assured. But Nata's adoptive parents are keeping a secret.
An unplanned pregnancy presents challenges for Nata and the narcissistic husband who has been raised to demand perfection in every aspect of life. The premature birth of their son almost destroys them both.
Karl has his own secrets, and now he must confront the fear that his sins led to a tragedy. And then, when he is sure things can get no worse, he is forced to face uncomfortable truths about his own family.
Meanwhile, Nata is uncovering the truth of her past, and doing so releases her from the prison her ambitions created.
Can Karl forgive his own sins, learn to accept imperfection, and come to appreciate the true meaning of love?
"Mortgaged Goods" confronts us with heart-wrenching questions about our capacity to forgive, to love, and to sacrifice.
Mortgaged Goods is a work of Women's fiction, but also a legal drama and family saga.
Set in Melbourne, Australia.
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“Powerful stuff wrapped in beautiful words... Cobcroft explores the intense emotions of self-confidence and the fortitude of the human spirit. ”
“...a story that will grab readers from the very first words and won't let go until the very last... Mortgaged goods is exciting, full of surprises, and just a fantastic read. Any reader who loves an intriguing piece of contemporary women's fiction should absolutely pick up this book. ”
- 280 pages
- Paperback
- 5in × 8in
- Black & White
- 979-889734004-0
The Pencil Case
"they stole us white kids too..."
The story of the 'Stolen Generation' is now well-known globally, but politics drove the lie that this was solely a race issue.
Approximately 92,000 white Australian-born children, aged between 3 and 15, were stolen from family homes by negligent or misguided welfare officers, often for no valid reason. These children were typically institutionalised, abused, neglected, and denied contact or knowledge of loved ones who, in many cases, attempted to continue contact and even to reclaim their offspring and provide them with a loving family home. Welfare workers removed children in preference to implementing other readily-available and cost-effective remedies such as helping parents access benefits to which they were legally entitled. Boosting the number of children in care ensured funds continued to flow to the Government department that employed these workers and to the institutions that housed them. Many welfare workers received generous gifts from Homes that operated at substantial profit by depriving children of all but the most basic essentials.
At age 15, these children were thrown onto the streets, poorly educated, psychologically damaged, alone, and with minimal or no support.
In addition to the many benefits accessible to Aboriginals solely on the basis of their face, a formal apology has been made to those who were stolen and to their descendants. Stolen whites have received neither formal acknowledgment nor compensation.
"The Pencil Case" is the minimally fictionalised story of one man who was stolen in childhood from a loving family. Although a totally factual biography would be impossible given the effects of trauma on memory and the sensitivities of some of the characters involved, this story was written to expose the ugly truth.
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“`The Pencil Case' is a very powerful story, a story of a child and his sister, taken from parents who loved them to a place where no-one loved them. Paul's parents were unable to provide decent housing, and sometimes he went hungry. So he was sentenced to a harsh prison for children, a place where living conditions were worse, he was always hungry, and he was routinely beaten by perverted evil women who liked to think they were `Brides of Christ.' If he hadn't refused to be confirmed as Catholic at the age of 12, he would have been taken to a different place, a place run by priests, a place where it is alleged that many suffered sexual abuse. Instead, he was beaten even more severely than usual, and taken to a different home, this time a home where the boys were treated far better. A quote from the book: `Water-laden clouds blackened large expanses of grey sky and the wind cried and swept the town pavements clean of their litter the day Ern Stanley gathered up the voluminous legal file he had compiled over a month of journeying with me through time, and we drove through the gates of Dubbo airport. Later, Ern would remark that he came to associate the black day with the black story I told. Over a month of travel, listening, and observation, I had forced him to confront, full force, the ugly side of the society that fed him, and it scarred him.' I have read the whole of this story, and also feel scarred. It is hard to stop thinking about it - so powerful. This is not a story of something a long time ago, or of a place far away. Paul is very close to my own age, I know the towns he speaks of. It is set in the fifties, an era of prosperity for Australia, and civilised values - civilised values apparently not shared by the Catholic church and its employees. The nuns separated brothers and sisters, allowed them no contact with family, deprived them of personal possessions, even of the clothes they arrived in, dressed them in poor clothes and half starved them. As if this was not enough, the poor children were repeatedly told they were scum, just as their parents were scum, and they were beaten on a regular basis. `The Pencil Case' is a story that should be heard.”
“The Pencil Case is one of the most powerful exposes of the crippling effects of the withdrawal of love that I have ever read. The experiences of the main character come roaring off the page with deep emotional impact on the reader. You really want the man to find peace and love and wish fervently that he may do so.”
“I love the descriptive power of this writer. The writing has just the right balance, not too flowery but giving rich sensual detail that paints the scene. Biographers can get caught up in distracting details, but not here. Not every facet is outlined, allowing the reader to fill the gaps in a satisfying way. Perfect for me. The narration is totally credible and very moving. I felt fully engaged with Paul and could see the world through his eyes. I sincerely hope this work receives the light of attention it deserves. Excellent.''”
“I've only just begun your book, but I am already amazed at both your writing ability and the deeply emotional story you have to tell. I was immediately drawn into Paul's backstory, completely captivated by the early family life and the unimaginably poor living conditions. You paint beautifully with such colorful words, and I felt as if I was right there...craving the loaf of bread and scared to death of the snake. ... The honesty, the pain, the truly raw humanity here draws me in, and I know it will carry me on through your work. Giving you highest stars. A beautifully-written, utterly moving piece of art.'”
“I think that it is an awesome book. This story must be told. As a mother, my heart went out to your husband over and over again. Lorraine, you are an awesome author. You write extremely well.'”
“If I could have marked this book as 10/10 I would have. The writing is first rate, the descriptions are precise and evocative, and my feelings of sorrow, disbelief and outrage engendered by the story are entirely genuine. I have been reflecting on this account for days, aware of how ignorant I have been; I simply cannot conceive, for example, of any system that tolerated the theft of youngsters from their homes on the basis of their poverty; thefts overlaid by systematic lies and deceit. Not only that, but the levels of sadistic cruelty inflicted on young minds left me reeling and shocked. There are political angles here which I do not comment on. As a story, an account that reveals incredible ignorance, cruelty and complacency, TPC is worth reading. Thank you, Lorraine.”
- 326 pages
- Paperback
- Black & White
- 979-889734005-7
A Will of Deceit
Will disputes are games of lies, but the dead sometimes tell tales.
'A Will of Deceit' is a frame narrative. That is, it's a story within a story. The outer story is of lawyer Brittany McFarlane's challenging dealings with the personality-disordered Joanna Wynne, whom she agrees to represent to challenge Joanna's mother's last will. But there is an intertwined inner story of trauma and injustice that occupies the major portion of the novel.
Although complete fiction, this story was inspired by true events and, in particular, by events that highlighted certain gross injustices and the grave flaws in the Family Provisions Act and its implementation.
At its heart, "A Will of Deceit" is a character study of complex psychologically-disordered individuals, highlighting the manner in which they behave and the impact of that behaviour on their own lives and the lives of others. It also highlights the manner in which such individuals are able to manipulate the legal system, and the flaws in our justice system that invite such manipulation and abuse, resulting in grave injustices.
While not exactly classifying as a 'thriller', the novel has elements of a psychological thriller while classifying as a family and legal drama, with elements of literary fiction.
READER ALERTS:
'A Will of Deceit' is classified as 'mildly explicit'. It contains some adult content. Minimal references to spousal and child abuse and paedophilia and very occasional profanities. Every attempt has been made to minimise and manage adult content and language as tactfully as possible without compromising the story line.
As the story is primarily set in Australia and written by an Australian, English (UK) spelling is used.
- 316 pages
- Paperback
- 5.8in × 8.3in
- Black & White
- 979-889832005-8