Lyanda Lynn Haupt – författare

"It''s a great country, but never trust it, son. It''s beautiful but it''s treacherous."Adam Ross had seen the way his country could destroy a man. Growing up in the Australian outback in the first half of the twentieth century with no formal education, no parents and no one to love him, he learned to fend for himself. But when he forms an unlikely friendship with Jimmy, who works in the Opal mines, his luck begins to change. The land that stole Adam''s father gives him an opportunity to start anew. Armed with determination and ambition, Adam treks west to carve himself an empire. However, success doesn''t come easy and Adam, a man who spent much of his life devoid of love, soon finds himself caught between two women. Torn between his love for his cold-hearted wife and his mistress, Adam must make decisions about his future and the type of man he wants to be.

This stunning sequel to Adam''s Empire, centred on his remote sheep station Kalinda, tracks the development of Adam''s family. Having grown up as a poor orphan child, Adam finds himself financially secure, in love and a father. But Adam''s new found bliss is short lived. His relationship with his lover, Nellie, collapses under societal pressure and lawyers are threatening to take away his young daughter. When WWII breaks out, Adam enlists in the army and finds himself stationed in Nazi-occupied Greece. Heartbroken and far away from everything he knows, will he decide to give love another chance?As the decades pass, the lives of Adam and his family will intertwine in ways they never expected. Kalinda, set against a backdrop of some of Australia''s most stunning scenery, explores the lengths people will go to for love and what it really means to be a family.

On May 27th, 1784, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart met a flirtatious little starling who sang (an improved version of!) the theme from his Piano Concerto Number 17 in G to him. Knowing a kindred spirit when he met one, Mozart wrote "That was wonderful" in his journal and took the bird home to be his pet. For three years Mozart and his family enjoyed the uniquely delightful company of the starling until one April morning when the bird passed away.In 2013, Lyanda Lynn Haupt, author of Crow Planet, rescued her own starling, Carmen, who has become a part of her family. In Mozart''s Starling, Haupt explores the unlikely bond between one of history''s most controversial characters and one of history''s most notoriously disliked birds. Part natural history, part story, Mozart''s Starling will delight readers as they learn about language, music, and the secret world of starlings.