Valletta-based writer Josephine Burden is celebrating the publication of her first book, Washing up in Malta.  Washing up in Malta is about travel – but it is more than that. It is the story of two women, mother and daughter, whose journeys around the world start and finish in Malta.  Grace sets out in life from Malta and her daughter, Jessica returns towards the end of her life. As they travel, the struggles of the 20th century, World War, the Middle East, Maltese migration and Malta’s journey to independence all shape the stories of the two women. Liberation movements of the era influence their experiences of coming of age and falling in love. The lives of the two women play out in very different ways yet they each find a path to independence that mirrors Malta’s journey to nationhood. “When I started writing Washing up in Malta over a decade ago, I was using transcripts of my mother’s stories about growing up in Malta that I had recorded a few years before her death,” explains Burden. “The book had a different title then, but as I shaped the story and included some of my own experiences in coming to live in Malta, I found that Grace and Jessica made several of their life decisions over a bowl of washing up. The change of title happened in the final edit earlier this year!” Washing up in Malta is already proving popular in Australia, New Zealand, California and the UK. Marina in Brisbane, Australia, writes: “The people and the relationships fascinate me and now I understand why you are in Malta. Thank you so much for your story. I hope many people hear it and find treasures in it.” Washing up in Malta will be celebrated at an author’s talk and book-signing to be held in Inspirations Restaurant at St James Cavalier in Valletta on 27 November, starting at 6pm. The book is available from www.authorhouse.co.uk