Queenslander

Farms collect broken things. Things awaiting resurrection.

Since getting out of juvie, Ronnie Madonna has built a tentative life in Lionheart working as a farmhand for Nev at Upsend Downs, but one thing is still missing: her daughter Rainbow.

When she realizes she has a chance to get Rainbow back, she must prove she is a responsible adult and a good mother. Her quest will take a village, and will force her to confront demons from her past. Will she follow her football dreams to Brisbane or put down roots on the land that holds a mysterious power over her and her boss?

Ten years ago, jaded former war photographer Nev Bickerman woke to a pregnant teenager smashing the family room with a cricket bat. Now, Nev is far too professional to admit she’s falling in love.

Welcome to Lionheart, aka “Line Hat,” a small town between the Outback and the rainforest healing from colonial scars, where climate change threatens both agriculture and eco-tourism. Gritty and hilarious, with emotional momentum, Queenslander is the first book in this Australian family drama series about a close-knit village of misfits and monsters.

"A moving story about queer family, identity, and belonging set on a sheep farm in Australia, Queenslander shows how people can atone for their past mistakes and discover who they're meant to be.”

—Milo Todd, nationally bestselling author of The Lilac People