It was a real pleasure to welcome Australian author Joanne Nicholson to Being Anne in March to talk about her book In Another Life. And it’s an equal pleasure to welcome her back – her latest book, Positive, is now available for kindle via Amazon in the UK and US.
Ruth spent her twenties travelling and having fun. Now that she is in her mid-thirties she is desperate to settle down, get married and most of all have a baby – but is it too late? With a loudly ticking biological clock, she finds herself navigating her way through Internet dating, IVF and support groups. Ruth goes to extreme lengths in order to achieve her goal of becoming pregnant. When she finally gets a positive test result from the doctor she is in shock.
Her family and friends rally around her, offering love and support, as Ruth tries to keep a positive frame of mind as she prepares to become a single mother.
Set in Sydney, Australia, this page-turner is at times light hearted and witty, whilst at other times heart wrenchingly sad.
If you enjoy Liane Moriarty’s novels, you should definitely consider reading Joanne Nicholson’s book Positive.
Here’s Joanne to tell us more…
Thank you to Anne for hosting this post on Being Anne. With four gorgeous kids and having been happily married for almost twenty five years, I thankfully missed out on being in the position of the main protagonist Ruth in my novel ‘Positive’ who finds herself in her mid-30s and desperate to have a child. In my twenties, while I was up to my eyeballs in nappies and playgroups, many of my friends chose to travel extensively and focus on career, with the thought that children would naturally happen later in life. Fast forward twenty years and things haven’t necessarily panned out for them the way they expected.
The stories I’ve heard about my friend’s disastrous online dating interactions have had me simultaneously in stitches and at the same time horrified at the thought of them having to trawl through lots of strange men looking for Mr Right.
Over the last few years I have noticed a trend in friends of mine giving up on finding love and instead going through IVF with donor sperm to realise their dream of having a child.
In Positive I wanted to explore the conundrum of the modern woman in her thirties who has not found a partner and has to start looking at alternative methods to have a child while still fertile. I also wanted to draw upon the importance of support and friendship from the women in their lives that make being single not only bearable but also fun.
It is a huge commitment to make for any person who plans on being a single parent and it is a rollercoaster ride that takes an emotional, psychological and physical toll on people. In Positive when Ruth finally gets confirmation of a positive test result from her doctor, she is in total shock. Her life is turned upside down but the support of her friends helps her to embrace her situation.
I don’t write heavy literary fiction, rather Positive is a light, easy read that will make you laugh, make you cry and may even make you want to sing karaoke.
Thank you Joanne – wishing you every success with this one!
About the author
Joanne Nicholson is an Australian author who juggles parenting four kids with trying to exercise, socialise, manage sporting teams, complete mundane chores and write. She loves boating, reading, pilates, listening and playing music, playing basketball and spending quality time with family and friends.
She has published three contemporary women’s fiction novels, Positive, Intuition and In Another Life, a YA novel Music Score and short stories, Horrorscopes and Spirits. All of these titles are available on Amazon Kindle.
Thanks for introducing me to this one Anne.
Joanne’s fun and enthusiasm shines through this post – I love it. x