An Inch of Love, An Inch of Ashes

About the Book

An Inch of Love, An Inch of Ashes is the story of an anguished search by a woman for a meaningful and productive life.

But how can Calinda Carruthers truly love anyone when all she knows is betrayal and abuse of trust? As a child, she longs for her father, Frankie. He deserted her mother, Hazel, when he ran off with a dancer from Bobby Le Brun’s travelling tent show. Calinda's great ambition in life is to find him.

By taking her to a dodgy screen test when the girl is only thirteen, Hazel sets Calinda up for a sad life. As a grownup her troubles intensify when she is referred to psychiatrist, Dr Hal Hatter, who compounds her problems.

About the Author

Leone Britt was born in Orange, New South Wales, Australia. She graduated with Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism (Communication), majoring in English Literature, from Charles Sturt University. Apart from many years of reporting and sub editing, Leone has had various jobs including taxi driver, radio announcer, nurse, and she worked as a bread carter on a red chariot-style cart with a white horse for The Store Bakery in Newcastle aged 21. She's won two national poetry competitions writing as Leone Marten, with poetry published in major newspapers and journals. Most recently her short stories appeared in Quadrant Magazine and Meanjin and another commended in The Canberra University Short Story Competition. Her work appeared in Patti Miller’s book, Writing Your Life, and she won the chance of having esteemed author and journalist Margaret Simons as a Mentor through Australia's only national writers' centre, Varuna, the Writers' House, in Katoomba. With Margaret’s valuable assistance, the early stages of this book were written. This is Leone's first novel.