Many years ago, the Captain and I lived on the Queen Charlotte Islands. The name of the islands has since been changed to Haida Gwaii, but it’s still the same remote, wild place. It was a magnet for adventurous nature-loving people back then, and even now it attracts a certain type. Among those who want to live the non-urban lifestyle, you’ll find:

fishermen who feel a burning need to risk their lives in horrendous weather,

adventurers who love the amazing scenery,

people who love nature and animals,

people who love the solitude of lonely beaches, and beachcombing.

My novels about the Charlottes and the West Coast are mainly about women living in  “a man’s world.” It is rough and tough for them, but somehow, they grow stronger as they face the challenges of island life. Of course, love is always in the wings. It is with these elements in mind that I wrote three of my five novels: The Wind Weeps (free download on Amazon and Smashwords), its sequel Reckoning Tide, and now my latest novel, Marlie.

Below the book cover image, I have copied the latest review of Marlie, in the hope of interesting you in reading this book that is dear to my heart.

I love Anneli Purchase’s work. It is straightforward in the way that Nature is straightforwardly pragmatic and indifferent to suffering, ego or justice. This we know, but the shock never diminishes.

This story is set against the scenery of the wild where you hunt to eat and bad men get what a bad man can take. Strong men and women suck it up and the only snowflakes are under the wheels of your truck or blizzarding in on the pitiless wind.

Marlie is a woman from the city starting over maybe in the liberal belief that you ever can. There is no fake sentimentality here. She finds happiness but only via conflict and brutality. Nature respects no weakness but only men are truly cruel for pleasure. Survival and the perception of beauty allow a space for romantic love in this atmospheric and beautifully written story. If you love the mechanics of writing look out for the poetry of vocabulary from the stern roller through to humpies in the scuppers.

You will need to shower off the sea salt when you put this book down. I read this story in the heat of an Italian summer but I was there in the Charlottes looking north to Alaska. Now that is writing talent.

*****

You can find Marlie on all the Amazon sites. Just go to amazon.com or amazon.ca, or amazon.co.uk and type in Marlie. If you have an e-reader other than Kindle, you can find Marlie on Smashwords.com. It is affordably priced so as not to break the bank.