Sulari Gentill Books In Order

Publication Order of Rowland Sinclair Books

Publication Order of Hero Trilogy Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Anthologies

Sulari Gentill is an award-winning Australian author that writes crime novels set in the 1930s and fantasy stories revolving around classical mythology.

+Biography

Sulari Gentill was born in 1971 in Sri Lanka. While she was still a baby, her family began to trek all over the globe. By the time she started school, they were living in Zambia. It was there that Sulari learned to speak English.

Though, the family did not stop their migratory ways until they got to Australia. Sulari was six-years-old at the time. She spent her childhood in Brisbane and made many pleasant memories at her local school where she had many friends and discovered her passions.

Sulari was initially determined to study Astrophysics and she even pursued the field in University. However, it did not take the author long to realize that the stars might not be for her.

So she turned to the law. The legal field couldn’t maintain the author’s interest for long, though practicing law definitely sparked her creativity. By the time she stopped practicing law, Sulari knew she was destined to write fiction.

And that is exactly what she did. Sulari Gentill didn’t really plan the transition. She just decided to write one day, and then she took steps to make her dream happen. Sulari was driven to act because she realized her overactive imagination would be best served producing fiction rather than fighting court battles.

Sulari has a husband and children. They live on a farm in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains of NSW. There she grows French black truffles for her family and animals.

+Literary Career

Sulari Gentill had no idea what she wanted to be as a child. She considered becoming a writer. But she also thought it would be great to be a movie star, a poet, possibly even an astronaut.

Sulari was an ordinary child. She let her imagination lead her towards whatever career caught her fancy. The author’s love for space and the stars was ignited by her father. Sulari remembers lying on the lawn with her sisters and looking up at the stars.

Her father had a penchant for not only describing the constellations to her but injecting Greek Mythology into his stories. The experiences always filled Sulari with wonder and probably sparked her interest in fantasy.

It was also here that the author’s desire to become an astrophysicist was born. And she came very close to achieving that dream. Sulari’s family initially settled in the riverside suburb of Yeronga upon moving to Brisbane, but the author eventually moved to Canberra and enrolled at the Australian National University to study astrophysics.

Her awe and wonder were crushed almost immediately when she was told that the constellations she loved were just balls of gases. The mathematical quantification of the stars and even space ruined any desire Sulari had to become an astrophysicist.

So she determined to find a subject that had no math in it. Law was the only thing that appealed to her. Interestingly enough, becoming a corporate lawyer was the best decision Sulari could have made.

She found that her job basically came down to storytelling. The best lawyers were the ones who could tell such good stories that they got other people to agree with them. It wasn’t long before Sulari stumbled into writing fiction.

There was no plan for Sulari Gentill to become a writer. But once she decided that her future lay in publishing, she committed to it. Sulari initially wrote fantasy stories inspired by the mythology her father taught her.

Her transition into the crime fiction arena was driven by her husband. Michael is an English and History teacher. He is also responsible for researching Sulari’s stories and editing her manuscripts.

Michael often struggled with his wife’s fantasy novels. He couldn’t wrap his head around the names of her characters, let alone the mystical concepts. He often implored her to produce more grounded fiction. And she was initially happy to ignore him.

But after a while, Sulari realized she did not care what genre of story she produced. She had fallen in love with the craft of writing, and even the idea of producing crime fiction more likely to appeal to her husband was an inviting challenge.

That was how the Rowland Sinclair series of novels were born. Sulari Gentill’s work was earned her a Davitt Award for Best Adult Crime Fiction.

She has also been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize.

Sulari is a very fast writer. She can have a book ready to go in three months. Her speed comes from the fact that she doesn’t plot. The author is comfortable simply sitting down and writing her story in chronological order.

She allows the stories to develop on their own as she puts sentences on the page. For Sulari, there is nothing better than sitting at her computer and getting immersed in her story.

And Sulari doesn’t even bother with revisions. Her first draft is what she normally sends out to her editors. Sometimes they will give her notes and comments and she will initiate a select few changes.

But other than that, Sulari’s ideas hit the page fully formed and ready for consumption by readers. She cannot explain how her writing process works. She just knows that she enjoys it immensely.

+A Few Right Thinking men

Rowland Sinclair is one of the elites of Australia. An artist and a poet, Rowland spends his days indulging in his hobbies and passions. ‘Sinclair’ is a respectable name in the 1930s, commanding considerable influence.

So Rowland, who has a talent for scandal, doesn’t make many friends among his family. Even as the harsh economic times leave thousands stranded on the streets without jobs, Rowland enjoys a privileged life awash with impeccable tailoring because of his access to the Sinclair fortune.

But as the Great Depression pushes his nation to the edge and tensions mount, Rowland finds his sheltered life threatened.

+A Decline in Prophets

Even as the world dances on the edge of crisis in 1932, Rowland Sinclair is one of that elite that has the privilege of enjoying the luxuries of the R.M.S. Aquitania as he makes his way home after a couple of months abroad.

Rowland shares the luxury liner with a menagerie of characters, from men of God to mystics. Despite the tension in the air, civility is maintained, at least until people die. Then everything changes.

3 Responses to “Sulari Gentill”

1. Elsie Brimblecombe: 3 months ago

   Dear Sulari.

   I would like you to know how much I enjoy your books written in the Rowland Sinclair series. I have read four so far, not in order, and was absolutely entranced by each one.

   I particularly like the historical backgrounds you choose and I also like the main characters, Rowly and his group of arty, loyal and irrepressible friends.
   Each book I have read has an historical background which I am able to relate to very well. The first, set in Shanghai, No 9 in the series, fitted in to all I could remember of my studies of the Far East when I was at university in the mid-fifties.

   The second, was set in Sydney during the time of the opening of the Sydney Harbour bridge. I read a book years ago about the rebellion being planned in Sydney at the time. One which DH Lawrence apparently inadvertently came across, and used In his Australian novel, Kangaroo.

   The third, introduced the landscape gardener, Edna Walling, with whom I am very well aware, plus others like Kingsford Smith.

   Finally, the book I have just finished reading, A Decline in Prophets, encompasses the activities of the Theosophical Society, which I have always been interested in since I was young. My maternal grandmother was a devotee in the late 1890s. They are a fascinating group of people both gifted and bizarre.

   Thank you Sulari, I have all these books and look forward to reading more.

   Best wishes from Elsie Brimblecombe BA; BEd.; MEd. (by research thesis)

   Reply
2. David DeLuca: 3 months ago

   Greetings!

   Just finished reading “Crossing The Lines” and was so disappointed when it ended. It was that good! Usually I identify with the protagonist but it seemed that both Madeleine AND Edward shared equally in that role.

   A truly mesmerizing and original work…congratulations!

   Looking forward to reading the rest of your novels.

   Regards,

   David

   Reply
3. Brooke Jarvis: 1 year ago

   Hello Ms Gentill,
   You are a marvellous writer! I have thoroughly enjoyed The first 10 audio books in the Rowland Sinclair series. The next book, Shanghai Memories is not yet available through our library ‘Hoopla’ service and I will wait impatiently for it. The reader, Rupert Dugas is so talented!Thank you!
   Regards from Ontario Canada,
   Brooke

   Reply