Her sixth novel, Sisters of Freedom, is due out in March, 2021. Since then she written four more best-selling novels: Worth Fighting For, War Flower, In A Great Southern Land and Where Fortune Lies. This work gained critical acclaim and finished at #3 for debut novels in Australia in 2015. Work then began on her first major novel, Gallipoli Street. During this time she also co-wrote two books with her father, A Brush with Light and Secrets of the Brush. A multi-faceted career path followed in marketing and teaching, along with the completion of education/arts degree with specialities in literature, music and environment. The perseverance and ultimate triumph she witnessed during those years left her inspired to follow in his footsteps and pursue her own creative aspirations. When she was twelve her father Kevin Best left his established career in the stock-market to become one of Australia's best-loved artists. She also began to fill every blank piece of paper in the house with stories and drawings of her own and dreamt of becoming a writer one day. An avid reader, she devoured her mother Dorn's extensive library and was often found trying to finish a chapter by torchlight late at night.

The youngest of six children, her childhood was spent exploring the local bush and playing music with her siblings and close neighbours. Sometimes these men are even blamed for the acts of war they are forced to perform, the greatest injustice of all.Mary-Anne O'Connor nee Best grew up in Wahroonga in the Bushland Shire of Hornsby-Kuringai, northern Sydney.

It’s more than an address it’s a journey, for when a soldier goes to war everyone he loves goes with him and when he brings it home they carry it too. Then one day I opened a blank document on my computer screen and wrote two words: Gallipoli Street. Flower Power.Īs I grew up I pondered over this family legacy I carried Anzac Day seemed more and more tragic to me every year as I reflected on what Australia has sacrificed in the name of war. They understood that it was tragic, that it destroyed lives, that it really just shouldn’t be allowed and that all you really needed was love, sweet love. They protested against this terrible fear, this thing called War that had caused so much pain in my family. From a child’s perspective, they got everything right.

I loved these young people, this ‘hippy’ generation. A man called Whitlam was at the helm now, university was free, people sang songs about peace and put flowers in soldier’s guns. I was never allowed to stay in the room but even as a very young girl, I could see change occurring. I was the youngest, as I said, so I was born right at the end of it all, however, I do remember black and white images flickering on the TV and someone talking about a place called Vietnam.

Gallipoli Street by Mary-Anne O'Connor