Harriet Vale
Novelist · Castlemaine, Victoria
Click the paper — or tap Start typing — and write the first line of your novel.
The books
Three novels-
The Dry Creek Letters
First lineThe letters started arriving the week the creek ran dry, and none of them were meant for us.
In a drought-struck goldfields town, twelve-year-old Nell intercepts letters addressed to a woman who left decades ago — and starts writing back.
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A House Called Winter
First lineNobody in town could remember who named the house, only that it had always been cold.
Two sisters inherit a stone cottage outside Maldon and the forty-year-old argument that came with it.
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Salt for the Road
First lineMy grandmother kept a jar of salt in the glovebox, for luck or for snails, she never said which.
A road trip along the back roads of central Victoria, a borrowed station wagon, and a grandmother with one last address to visit.
About
From the deskHarriet Vale writes novels about small towns, long memories and the weather. She grew up above a newsagency in Bendigo, spent years as a court reporter, and now writes in a weatherboard cottage in Castlemaine with a cattle dog called Biro.
She drafts every first line on a portable typewriter bought at a clearing sale, then moves to a laptop for everything after. She teaches the occasional workshop, answers every reader letter eventually, and has strong opinions about scones.
I write the first line on a typewriter because it can't be deleted. Everything after that is allowed to be messy.— from a talk to a local writers' group
Events
Coming upSat 17 Oct · 3pm · Castlemaine
Launch: Salt for the Road
A reading and signing at an independent bookshop on the main street. Free — RSVP by email.
Thu 5 Nov · 6:30pm · Kyneton
In conversation: writing small towns
An evening talk in the town hall supper room. $15 including supper.
Sun 22 Nov · 11am · Online
Book club Q&A: A House Called Winter
An hour on video with readers and their questions. Free, bring a cuppa.
Sample events and prices — dates are illustrative.
For book clubs
Questions to start withChoose a book for five questions your group can start with. Harriet can also join clubs of six or more by video for half an hour — ask by email.
The Dry Creek Letters
Letters from the desk
Four a year: what I'm reading, what I'm writing, and the occasional recipe. No fuss, easy to leave.