Chrissie Bellbrae

Chrissie Bellbrae’s first stories were crafted playing families with dressmaking patterns at her mother’s feet as the sewing machine hummed in the background. While working in education, she undertook a Fiona McIntosh Commercial Fiction Masterclass and completed her first historical fiction manuscript. She hasn’t stopped writing since.

Chrissie's dual narratives transport readers from past to present, inspired by a combined love of history and fascination with genealogy. Drawing on the lives of her forebears, she typically depicts women during times of social and emotional change. The result is characters who live far more remarkable lives than her ancestors experienced.

She enjoys an open fire, an oaky chardonnay and a great book—typically anything historical. When not reading, writing, ocean swimming, or watching her beloved magpies, Chrissie looks forward to visits from her children and grandchildren and to sharing her stories with them.

Chrissie acknowledges that she lives and writes by salt water on the coast of Wadawurrung Country.