Susanna Bonaretti is a writer whose creative work has long centred on performance-short films, musical theatre, and song lyrics. Cut on the Bias, her debut novel, began as a television mini-series concept but soon evolved into a sweeping historical narrative when its protagonist refused to be constrained by twelve episodes.Fascinated by strong women on screen (think Salt, Xena Warrior Princess, Wonder Woman and, yes, even Calamity Jane and Lucy Ricardo-and so many more), Bonaretti set out to explore how one particular young woman might respond to brutality inflicted on the vulnerable. The more unchecked the violence, the more vengeful the justice-and the deeper the downward spiral. What began as an impossible television project, with its ambitious scope and period detail, ultimately found its true form as a novel.Italian by heritage, Australian by choice, and an Anglophile by cultural passion, Bonaretti draws on her love of Australian colonial history and Edwardian England. Her writing blends meticulous research with emotionally resonant storytelling, revealing the frayed edges beneath the official record.She lives in New South Wales.susannabonaretti.com