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Bridgetown setting for new book

Tristan WheelerManjimup-Bridgetown Times
Monique Mulligan launched her book Wherever You Go at Bridgetown Library on Saturday.
Camera IconMonique Mulligan launched her book Wherever You Go at Bridgetown Library on Saturday. Credit: Supplied

Author Monique Mulligan visited the Bridgetown Library on Saturday to launch her new book Wherever You Go.

About 20 people showed up to make the author feel welcome.

“It made me feel very welcome and really engaged with hearing about the book and why it was set in Bridgetown,” Mrs Mulligan said.

The book is set in a fictionalised version of Bridgetown, dubbed Blackwood, a setting Mrs Mulligan said she picked due to her love of the town.

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“Bridgetown is a place I love personally, it just felt like the right setting for the story, a story of people looking for healing and a tree change and a place to find each other again,” she said.

Some of Bridgetown’s landmarks are mentioned in the book and others are transformed for narrative purposes.

“The farmer’s market gets a bit of a mention, it’s really focusing on her love of cooking, both highlighting any specific local produce, but really just saying the region is known for its great produce,” Mrs Mulligan said. “There are obviously changes, I’ve embellished the bakery somewhat, made it more an artisanal style bakery and I’ve added in a cafe that matches more closely what I think my character would have.

“There are other aspects that are very familiar and I’ve had readers come to me and say they can tell it’s very obviously Bridgetown.”

Mrs Mulligan said launching the book in the basis for its fictional setting was a surreal feeling.

“You’ve got these people who know their town so intimately, it’s almost a little more intimidating than doing it up in Perth, where you don’t feel like they’re going to be checking every single word that you’ve written, but they were just so welcoming,” she said.

Copies of the book are available from Barney & Fleur in Bridgetown and online in e-book form.

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