Hunter region author, Anne Keen, has released her first fiction novel which is primarily set in Gloucester.
Anne Keen is journalist, documentarian and passionate storyteller. While working as a print and digital journalist in regional Australia, she began her path into documentary filmmaking. Her first solo project, Undermining a Community was selected for the 2020 Far South Film Festival. Shortly after, she co-founded Treechange Films.
Keen was born in Canada and worked in news and production for Global Television and Entertainment Tonight before moving to Australia in 2000.
Published by Belbora Mountain Press, Karamea House is a modern coming-of-age story that exposes the challenging moments people can face at any stage in life on their journey to becoming their 'true' self.
"The story is reflective of what it can be like growing up in a small town," Anne said. "While it is set in Gloucester, it's not about Gloucester in particular, it's more of a social commentary on what it can be like growing up in a vacuum."
In the book Sara Johnson has been raised in an extremely restrictive home. The story begins after her parents are killed in a car accident and she is sent to live in the foster home, Karamea House.
Torn between the strict religious group she grew up in and her new eclectic foster home, Sara embarks on a divided journey of self-discovery in a new world of sexuality, banishment, love, lies, and violence.
After years of feeling like a character in her own story, controlled by her parents without the ability to make her own decisions about her life, her clothes, her friends, her future, she is suddenly exposed to a way of life she didn't even know existed. A life filled with exploration, encouragement, and acceptance.
"One of my test readers describes Karamea House as a 'great people book' because it transverses across generations and touches on a range of issues that people can face when trying to figure out who they are," Anne explained.
As a former journalist at the Gloucester Advocate, Keen spent many years writing about the community. "It has given me an insight into how people think and behave in different situations. And while some of my inspiration is from Gloucester, Karamea House is strictly a fiction story," she says.
