In this beautifully produced book, Caroline’s daughter, Louise, joins with writer Michael Collins to gather together the memories of some thirty interviewees. The result is a wonderfully inspiring collection celebrating the life of Caroline Simpson, OAM, through the eyes of family, friends and associates. Complemented by many photographs and by reproductions of artworks from Caroline’s personal collection, this is a portrait of a resolute, passionate, never-to-be-forgotten personality from Sydney’s recent history, a woman who overcame so much to achieve so much more.

For this project, Louise engaged the services of a professional ghostwriter and researcher, Michael Collins; over thirty interviews were conducted with Caroline’s family, friends and associates.

Michael Collins interviewed the contributors, prompted their memories, visited places of reference, and delved deeply into the Special Collections in the State Library of NSW. He has been commended for the emotional support he gave Louise Dobson, particularly at the start of the project.

“We talked to Michael Collins as a ghost writer about this great book idea we had and then he met with us weekly to inject confidence, crack the whip, provide technical know-how, and sort Kristina out when she was frightened of swearing in print. Michael sat down with us and helped us structure and plot out our book. Then, he sorted out some of our warped publishing and publicity ideas, put us on to the best editor in the country, and continued to touch base with supportive murmurings and brow stroking.”

My adult children decided that I should write the story of my life, and arranged that Michael should be the person to make that happen. Michael did make it happen, despite my procrastinations at times in editing the drafts. There was also a gentle tug of war over how the story should be told, in so far as how to make an interesting/exciting story out of a Mr Average’s life. In all that, Michael’s structure for the story held up well despite some of my changes. Michael adapts well to the client’s personality, to extract a story. He is forthright and patient.

Confessions of a Female Private Investigator, Tiffany Bond’s ‘provocative, raw, and exhilarating autobiography’.

Tiffany Bond spent nearly four years in the Queensland Police Service, a year of which was undercover in the prostitution unit. As a Private Investigator specialising in infidelity, she shares her experiences through stories designed to entertain and help people who find themselves in similar situations to those she encountered.

Tiffany Bond said: ‘Michael helped me extract happy, exciting and sometimes painful memories, and put them into a magnificently written structure.

‘My book is designed to entertain and help support people, which became a reality with Michael’s assistance. Michael was always there for me with an understanding word if needed, and his sense of humour made the whole experience an incredibly rewarding journey.

‘Michael is a skilled and competent writer and now a very good friend.’