Home Fires: a community rebuilds after a devastating wildfire

Home Fires by Fiona Lowe is a drama about one small town recovering from a devastating wildfire. The aftermath will expose many secrets and change their lives in more ways than one. The town of Myrtle, nestled in Victoria’s beautiful Otway Ranges, was devastated by a lethal brushfire. What was left was smoldering ash, everyone’s lives have changed. The story follows three women in particular: Claire Cartwright, Bec Petrovic, and Sophie Doherty. These women have very different lives and backgrounds but will come to find that friendship and support in each other will be their survival. Eighteen months after the fire, after the media frenzied attention has gone, Myrtle stands restored but deeper wounds are still festering in the community. When one secret reveals many more secrets that will rock the town to its foundations, these women must decide whether to band together and find a peace for themselves and their beloved town. 

Home Fires is a haunting tale of everyday people who must fight for their lives, their families and their town. Ms. Lowe has a beautiful gift and a keen eye for the foibles of humanity and weaving them into a story that resonates beyond just the Australian countryside. The story features a very real event known as Black Saturday, February 7, 2009 when multiple fires merge into one major emergency. At the end, 173 people would lose their lives and thousands were left homeless. Ms. Lowe dives into the characters’ psyche before and after the fires and how they were forever changed. One word of warning, the story slowing, and I mean slowing, builds as the house of cards begins to grow bigger and bigger and it only takes one shiver to cause it to fall. When that one shiver happens, the story rages like the wildfire that destroyed the town. I highly recommend Home Fires. 

Home Fires is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook.