This image is the cover for the book Black Velvet

Black Velvet

Journeying to dusty Kununurra in the top north-west of Australia with her small son, Jono, Jacky meets and marries metallurgist Will with whom she has a daughter they call Aggie. It is her relationship with Poppy, a sprightly aboriginal woman who lives next door, bravely raising her four children while her husband Jake is incarcerated for murder that drives the events of Jacky’s life. It is she who delivers Poppy’s fifth child into the world, a light-skinned little girl called Velvet who becomes part of the family. How close the connection is between the two families becomes clear when Jake is released from jail. He takes one look at Velvet and sees instantly she is a white man’s child. His violent reaction is the catalyst for Jacky leaping to the defence of the little girl with whom she shares an unexpected bond.

Jillian Marie Dyson

Born in Birmingham, United Kingdom, E J Hadley was one of the three siblings brought up by working-class parents. At seventeen, she started a journey that took her to countries far and wide and through adventures one would never expect. She didn’t return to the UK until twenty-nine years later. It was during the first year of her return to the UK that she started to note down events of her life. Whenever she told people about her life and events, they would all listen in astonishment. Some fifteen years later, E J Hadley put pen to paper and started writing her life story. She is a well-travelled and well-spoken lady who has more than just an ordinary tale to tell.

Austin Macauley Publishers