Cecily Paterson is the author of three novels for teenage girls and several non-fiction Christian books for adults. She grew up in Pakistan as an ex-pat, spending five years at an international boarding school before returning to her birthland of Australia. She now lives in a tiny tourist town in New South Wales with her husband, four children and two dogs. Cecily's ambition is to write two novels a year for the next ten years.
Awards and nominations:
Invisible, Cecily's first novel for girls was nominated for the Cybils Bloggers Awards in 2013 and was a semifinalist in the Amazon Book of the Year Awards 2014.
Publisher's Weekly said this about Invisible: "In this exquisitely written story, 12-year-old Jazmine, who has some hearing loss, is drifting in a self-imposed isolation after the sudden death of her father. Problems at school lead her to working on a production of “The Secret Garden” with an understanding teacher. So far this is a standard plot. Then, Jazmine begins to blossom and make new friends. But the author works within the trope to examine Jazmine as she blunders toward a better life. The writing and pacing are tight, the secondary characters well drawn. The metaphor of deafness as alienation is not overstated. There are also twists that save the story from being mawkish. The garden Jazmine plants dies in an early frost. The bully does not have a tragic reason for being cruel. For those going through teenage angst or those who remember it well, this book explores the fear and confusion beautifully, with a touch of dry humor. Jazmine is not only passing from miserable isolation to happy participation; she is also developing the empathy that comes from paying attention to more than her own misery. This could have been trite and preachy, but the author skillfully turned it into a stunning account of the reinvention of a compelling and sympathetic character."
Love Tears & Autism, Cecily's memoir about her son's journey with autism, won third place in the Australian Christian Book of the Year Awards in 2012.
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Charlie Franks is always fine, unlike her drama queen twin sister, but this time, she might not be alright.
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Jazmine is finally happy, but what happens when every one around her changes yet again?
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13 year old Jazmine has hidden away from life but when she takes part in her school play she's forced to confront old feelings and the mystery of what happened to her Dad.
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Thirteen year old fashionista Coco Franks has just become part of the popular group at school when her Dad announces he's moving the whole family to the country.
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