Secrets at Hanging Rock

2nd Edition cover.

The Miniseries is being shown in the UK, raising interest in Secrets; SALES of my book have increased 20X in July. 

Foxtel are running a series based on Picnic at Hanging Rock so the sequel I wrote is discounted as an eBook on Amazon; half price. https://www.amazon.com.au/Secrets-Hanging-Rock-Alan-Watchman-ebook/dp/B00DDXHPHM

Also available as paperback from the Australian publisher :http://www.vividpublishing.com.au/secretsathangingrock/

Motor Neurone Disease

Fund raising for research to combat this horrible disease that claimed my brother in February.  Please donate (see details @)


https://walktod-feetmnd2018.everydayhero.com/au/team-sj?fb_action_ids=10215857253649448&fb_action_types=og.shares

Motor Neurone Disease Association of South Australia (MND)

TEAM SJ

I'M WALKING TO DFEET MND

This team was created in memory of my uncle Stephen Watchman who lost his battle with MND in February 2018 (Mahlah Beaumont).

Mistress and Child?

In 1896 an oil painting and an engraving depicting a mother testing the gums of her baby were shipped by Harriet Cooper from London to her favourite niece in Sydney, but they arrived after the niece died. Since then the artworks were inherited through the Australian family along a path of ownership known by family members.

Lavinia Zappi, a painting conservator from Bologna on an internship at the National Gallery of Victoria is asked to review documents pertaining to the art before the gallery curator decides to exhibit the painting thought to be by Renaissance artist, Parmigianino (Francesco Mazzola). Zappi is drawn to the painting because of the remarkable likeness of the woman’s painted profile and a miniature portrait of her grandmother. Is she related to the woman in the painting who the owners think was the mistress of the artist? Is the painting an original work of art from 1527 lost from the records of art historians and Italian museums? What is the name of the child and is Parmigianino the father?

Synchrotron

I have been analyzing the results from the recent X-ray analyses from the Synchrotron in Melbourne. The project aimed at scanning an oil painting considered an original by Parmigianino and painted about 1527 in Bologna. Previous scanning microscopy and diffraction investigations of one small fragment of pigment were inconclusive in identifying the green colorant of the woman's robe.  The Synchrotron provided full element maps across the entire canvas, the first for a Parmigianino painting (if that is what it is). All the maps, except zinc (Zn) are consistent with pigments of the Renaissance. Art historians know that zinc oxide and carbonate were used as white pigments manufactured in the 18th and 19th centuries so it seems at first glance that the painting is a copy. However, the Synchrotron only identifies elements and not minerals so while Zn is present the actual pigment is unknown.

No green zinc-rich mineral is known except associated with copper in a form of malachite (rosasite), a natural carbonate used by Renaissance artists. The next phase of the research is to identify the minerals present in the woman's robe.

Other indications from the Synchrotron analyses indicate that the painting is original with possible later modifications, so the Mistress and Child painting could be of Renaissance age. 

Roses from Ashes - new novel

This new novel is about four children who grew up in Coromandel Valley in the 1960s and their adventures along the Sturt River. Following those carefree days the reader finds out about their adult lives. One is a girl and the others are boys including the author; one of Aboriginal descent and another who contracted polio as a baby. The target audience is teenagers and aims to highlight differences in lifestyles, family issues, health problems and the challenges life brings. It reveals contrasting responses and how the four battled against a diverse range of obstacles to make successful lives.

Book Review

"Congratulations on Serpent Salt. What an exciting and gutsy book. I couldn't put it down. It provided heart pounding excitement during your twisting and turning plot. One virtually lived every moment with the characters. What was most impressive too was how the action blended with your travelogue that provided interesting details about the different countries, villages and terrains. You really did your homework; almost as though you'd been there personally. Who needs a James Bond book when you're putting out the adventures of Dr Mark Altree and his sidekick Dan? People don't realize how interesting geology can be and where it can lead!!!"

Anne Stacey, Adelaide 20 February 2017.

Vivid Publishing

My latest novel "Serpent Salt" is being printed by Vivid Publishing in Fremantle, W.A.  The eBook can be downloaded from Amazon;

https://www.amazon.com.au/Serpent-Salt-Alan-Watchman-ebook/dp/B01ILMZJH2

Back cover

"Russian criminals steal railway freight including the radioactive chemical ‘hex’ disguised as drilling salt and destined for Iran’s secret nuclear enrichment program.  Determined to retrieve the toxic compounds, Iranian agents design a devious plot and kidnap geologists working for gold exploration companies in eastern Turkey to establish their credentials as legitimate buyers of the salt.  Australian friends of one of the geologists, Mark Altree become concerned by his disappearance and collaborate with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to pursue their Iranian captors, free Altree and foil the recovery of the uranium fuel.  The thrilling chase across Georgia and Turkey involves collusion, double agents, murders, explosive action and romance.

Instead of solving murder mysteries in Australia, such as in Yarraman Gold and Solstice at Flinders Cove, Altree’s chance involvement in this recent drama tests his endurance and life saving skills."

My other novels are:

No Time for Tears

Secrets at Hanging Rock

Love in War

Yarraman Gold

Solstice at Flinders Cove

and

Who Killed the Girls? under my pen name Jane Bell.