Deborah Challinor (Author of Behind the Sun)

Deborah Challinor鈥檚 Followers (229)

Deborah Challinor

Born

in New Zealand

January 01, 1959

Website

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Historical Fiction, History

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Born in Huntly, she holds a PhD in New Zealand history from the University of Waikato. Challinor has worked as a fulltime writer and historian since 2000.

Primarily known for her historical novels, Deborah Challinor鈥檚 first published books were non-fiction history books, including the best-selling Grey Ghosts: New Zealand Vietnam Vets Talk About Their War (Hodder Moa Beckett, 1998).

Her first historical novel, Tamar, was published in 2002 and has been reprinted six times. Tamar is set in Auckland, Hawke鈥檚 Bay and South Africa and covers the period from 1879 until the Boer War. The series continues with White Feathers (2003) and Blue Smoke (2004).

Union Belle (2005) tells the love story of a young woman caught up in the 1951 waterfront strike, Born in Huntly, she holds a PhD in New Zealand history from the University of Waikato. Challinor has worked as a fulltime writer and historian since 2000.

Primarily known for her historical novels, Deborah Challinor鈥檚 first published books were non-fiction history books, including the best-selling Grey Ghosts: New Zealand Vietnam Vets Talk About Their War (Hodder Moa Beckett, 1998).

Her first historical novel, Tamar, was published in 2002 and has been reprinted six times. Tamar is set in Auckland, Hawke鈥檚 Bay and South Africa and covers the period from 1879 until the Boer War. The series continues with White Feathers (2003) and Blue Smoke (2004).

Union Belle (2005) tells the love story of a young woman caught up in the 1951 waterfront strike, and Kitty (2006) is set in the Bay of Islands in nineteenth century New Zealand. Both novels have been at the top of the New Zealand fiction bestseller list.

Attention to historical detail is an important part of writing for Challinor. 鈥業 base my novels on actual historical events, and it鈥檚 very important to me to research those events in depth and to present them accurately,鈥� she says.

Reviewing Union Belle in North and South magazine in April 2005, Warwick Roger commented that: 鈥榊ou can smell the beer and cigarette smoke in the public bar of the Huntly Hotel, hear the band at the Saturday night dances at the miner鈥檚 hall 鈥� it鈥檚 a book I kept sneaking back to whenever I had a spare quarter hour, eager to advance the story.鈥�

Fire (HarperCollins, 2007), Challinor's seventh novel, is set in Auckland during the hype leading up to the royal visit of 1953, but is based on the Ballantyne鈥檚 department store fire of 1947 in Christchurch. A powerful and dramatic story of passion, ambition and greed, it became a number one bestseller.

Amber, the sequel to Kitty, was published later in 2007 and also became a bestseller. Amber opens in New Zealand in 1945, on the eve of the Northern War in the Bay of Islands, in which Kitty is caught up. Sent to Auckland away from the fighting, Kitty encounters an orphaned part-Maori girl she names Amber. Together they return to the Bay of Islands, where both Kitty must risk her own life to save Amber鈥檚.

Isle of Tears (HarperCollins NZ Ltd, 2009) is a story about 14-year-old Scottish immigrant Isla McKinnon and her younger brothers and sister. When they are orphaned they are adopted by Taranaki Maori and become caught up in the wars in Taranaki, the Waikato and the Bay of Plenty.

A revised edition of Challinor鈥檚 Grey Ghosts (HarperCollins NZ) was published in 2009. This edition included a new chapter on how the New Zealand Vietnam veteran community has fared since the book was first published in 1998.
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14 posts
Deborah Challinor's Blog

Deborah Challinor isn't a 欧宝娱乐 Author (yet), but they do have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from their feed.

Literary Legacies and Longjohns

What I'm reading: Kate Atkinson, Life After Life; Anita Heiss, Am I Black Enough For You?; S.J. Watson, Before I Go To Sleep.

In a little less than three weeks I'll be on my way to Invercargill at the very bottom of the South Island. And, yes, I will be packing longjohns and a warm coat. I'm off down there to speak at the Book Lovers' Dinner, which is part of the Readers and Writers Alive! prog Read more of this blog post »

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Published on April 10, 2013 22:02

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Combine Editions
Deborah Challinor鈥檚 books

Average rating: 4.17 · 11,640 ratings · 813 reviews · 26 distinct works 鈥� Similar authors

	Behind the Sun (Convict Girls #1) 4.23 avg rating — 1,234 ratings — published 2012 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tamar (Tamar Deane Trilogy #1) 4.21 avg rating — 1,013 ratings — published 1998 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Girl of Shadows (Convict Girls #2) 4.23 avg rating — 908 ratings — published 2013 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Kitty (The Smuggler's Wife #1) 4.13 avg rating — 904 ratings — published 2006 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Tattooed Heart (Convict Girls #4) 4.38 avg rating — 835 ratings — published 2015 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Silk Thief (Convict Girls #3) 4.24 avg rating — 781 ratings — published 2014 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Amber (The Smuggler's Wife #2) 4.16 avg rating — 636 ratings — published 2007 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	White Feathers (Tamar Deane Trilogy #2) 4.32 avg rating — 592 ratings — published 2003 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Blue Smoke (Tamar Deane Trilogy #3) 4.31 avg rating — 543 ratings — published 2005 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Black Silk and Sympathy (Tatty Crowe #1) 4.12 avg rating — 559 ratings — published 2024 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Deborah Challinor…

Series by Deborah Challinor

Convict Girls (4 books)
by

Deborah Challinor

4.26 avg rating — 3,758 ratings

The Smuggler's Wife (4 books)
by

Deborah Challinor

4.11 avg rating — 2,451 ratings

Tamar Deane Trilogy (3 books)
by

Deborah Challinor

4.27 avg rating — 2,147 ratings

The Restless Years (3 books)
by

Deborah Challinor

4.04 avg rating — 1,526 ratings

Tatty Crowe (1 book)
by

Deborah Challinor

4.12 avg rating — 556 ratings

More series by Deborah Challinor鈥�

Quotes by Deborah Challinor (?)

“smeared a balm over the end of it.”
― Deborah Challinor, The Silk Thief

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“remotely”
― Deborah Challinor, The Jacaranda House

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Polls

Voting for March 2019 Group Read - HISTORICAL FICTION

Ambulance Girls by Deborah Burrows

23 votes, 41.8%

Behind the Sun by Deborah Challinor

20 votes, 36.4%

Under The Spanish Stars by Alli Sinclair

12 votes, 21.8%

55 total votes

10 comments

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Book Loving Kiwis: April 2013 Nominations	11	28	Mar 14, 2013 01:33PM
Book Loving Kiwis: Isle of Tears	4	21	May 03, 2013 12:13AM
Aussie Readers: Autumn Reading Challenge - 1/3/13 - 31/5/13	659	245	Jun 01, 2013 07:19PM
Book Loving Kiwis: Group Read Challenge 2013	3	37	Jul 26, 2013 12:46PM
Aussie Readers: The place for all your Aussie Authors for 2013	51	142	Aug 25, 2013 09:06PM
Around the World ...: Janine - Circumnavigator	69	157	Oct 16, 2013 11:08PM
Aussie Readers: November Challenge - Historical Fiction PLUS TBR	278	141	Dec 03, 2013 07:03PM

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Deborah Challinor鈥檚 Followers (229)

Deborah Challinor

14 postsDeborah Challinor's Blog

Literary Legacies and Longjohns

Combine EditionsDeborah Challinor鈥檚 books

Series by Deborah Challinor

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

14 posts
Deborah Challinor's Blog

Combine Editions
Deborah Challinor鈥檚 books