Fiona McIntosh would like to live on a cliff. Her husband may not enjoy gardening at such a perilous point!
Fiona is a lady whose characters in ‘The Lavender Keeper’ are living on the edge…not the edge of a cliff but on the edge of danger. the story is set in world war 2 and the two pivotal protagonists find themselves entwined in the war in a very active way. Lizette, the heroine is trained as a spy/secret agent, and here Fiona’s meticulous research comes to the fore as we learn the reasons behind Lizette being chosen for the task, her beauty, her multilingualism and the fact that women were often chosen for such services because they “were better at lying!” Fiona tells me that agents came from all walks of life including acrobats, teachers, nurses and more ordinary women.
The Lavender Keeper is not only about the second world war, although that is it’s setting and milleau. The story is also about the ‘keeping and protection of lavender’ and it’s place in one of the world’s great ironies. How after the war the stocks of pure lavender were depleted in Provence and the ingenuity of a man, who on the assumption that if lavender flourished at 40 degrees north in Provence it was logical that 40 degrees south would provide a suitably fertile environs of hot dry summers and long harsh wet winters. He took some seeds from the French Alps and transported them to Tasmania. It was the case that lavender did flourish in Tasmania and so we have the remarkable situation of Bridestowe Lavender Farm in Launceston being the world’s provider of pure lavender oil and exporting to Europe including the original provider Provence!
‘The Lavender Keeper’ is a tremendous tome that can’t tell this whole story in just one instalment and that is why fans of the book will be thrilled to know that Fiona has already penned a sequel which will follow our hero and heroine on their journey to Tasmania and to fictionally recreating a lavender farm from the seeds in their possession. The sequel is possibly due out later this year. The great thing is the novel and it’s sequel have almost entirely been written in Tasmania! Although based in Adelaide, Fiona and her husband also reside in the Huon Valley.
Fiona believes the creative nature of Tasmania, due in part to its slower pace of life, has enabled her to do so much more in less time than she would have achieved in her home of Adelaide. In fact being in Tasmania has tripled her productivity.
Fiona says that life in Adelaide can sometimes be beset with distractions, family life, social events to attend and just general busy days but that business and worry all changes when she comes to Tasmania, a natural homebody she finds that even with the best intentions to see more of Tassie she is content to spend time at her home, rural in nature, close to the calming influence of water. She enjoys simple pleasures here, watching her hubby playing with the dog in the garden and her favourite pastimes of baking and of course drinking coffee! Added benefits include the friendliness and generosity of neighbours that share their home-grown vegetables with Fiona.
Here, Fiona’s biggest distraction are the parrots which at the time of speaking, Fiona tells me are chirping away in the background
Fiona says that Tasmania has made her philosophise and ponder things she would normally not think about, for example she tells me of one instance of when she and her husband were sitting outside in perfect tranquillity and started to ponder do insects think?
A big event for Fiona and something she looks forward to is the weekly trip to the supermarket in Hounville for which she is able to put on some lip gloss! (which is all Fiona really needs as she is as pretty as her heroine Lizette!)
The answer must be asked that with such a tremendous tome full of action and adventure that TV or movie makers must be eager to dramatise the story. Fiona is well aware of the story’s potential for dramatisation and would welcome this!
Fiona may be the acknowledged queen of the blockbuster or as it has been described ‘adventure, romance’ as well as being a queen of fantasy fiction but her own early upbringing in part in West Africa with her gold-mining father might be considered interesting material for a book but Fiona is not that keen on biography, choosing instead to incorporate instances from her life experience into her works of fiction as well as sourcing her rich imagination for her fantasy fiction. It seems that both genres will keep Fiona busy for some time and that coffee machine will keep on percolating along.
Fiona is speaking about ‘The Lavender Keeper’ at Fuller’s Bookshop on Thursday 12 of April at 5.30 pm.
Paula Xiberras
