About Cheryl Irwin Books
As a young woman, I moved from the United States to my husband's family farm on the Canterbury Plains in New Zealand. The original farm house was still there, although in a state of disrepair. I walked in and immediately started imagining what the lives of the people who first settled here would have been like. There were many clues to how they lived: the huge cast-iron cook stove, the butter churn, and the copper urn for heating the washing water were all in their original places. Fragments of lace curtains hung in the broken windows and wafted in the breeze over the abandoned brass bed. I immediately knew there was a story that needed to be told and I would tell it. I knew some of the history. My husband's great-grandfather had emigrated from Northern Ireland to New Zealand in 1863 and worked building roads until he had enough money to buy land. He purchased Fairfield in 1873 and, soon after, married a maid from a neighbouring farm. So I started my story based on these facts and created a credible storyline by researching sea voyages to New Zealand, what the Rakaia Township was like, and other details. What I wasn't prepared for was the strength of the characters to create their own story through my imagination. All I had to do was listen and write as the story unfolded. Another Word for Sister is a love story and yet also an exploration of individuality, the body/soul relationship, the lost divine feminine, and the reality of death. Another Word for Sister is my first novel. I am also an artist. You can see my artwork at: www.cherylirwinarts.com
