Happy Friday and greetings from sunny Brisbane! Once again I’ve ventured north, this time for all the fabulousness that is GenreCon. A weekend of non-stop chatter, laughter and learning is about to ensue and I can’t wait!

Just as I can’t wait to introduce today’s Friday Feast guest, Australian author Karly Lane. Karly has been on my auto-buy list since I devoured her debut novel North Star in record time. I loved it so much that I shot off a gushy fan-girl email the moment I finished, telling Karly how much I loved it and looked forward to the next. Karly’s next two reads, Morgan’s Law and Bridie’s Choice were as un-put-downable as North Star and now she has a new one out, excitingly titled Burnt. Sexy title, gorgeous cover and a completely hooking blurb. You’ll want this book!

BURNT

Seb Taylor and Rebecca Whiteman were high school sweethearts dreaming of a future together when one terrible night forever changed their destiny.

18 years later, Rebecca has brought her children back to the town she left behind, to start a new life.

Seb, an elite SAS soldier has returned home injured, angry and grieving to face a town that hasn’t forgotten and a father who has never understood him. 

With a failed marriage behind her, two children to support and a heavy breather who won’t stop calling her; the last thing she needed was for her first love to make a sudden reappearance in her life.

From bestselling author of Morgan’s Law and Bridie’s Choice comes a story of love, forgiveness and bravery that will touch your heart.

I bet Burnt will touch your heart. You can own a copy right now with just a few clicks. For a paperback copy, try Amazon, where you can also buy the ebook for your Kindle. Other ebook resellers include Barnes and Noble for Nook and iTunes. Instant reading fun!

Now please welcome our globetrotting guest, Karly Lane…

So two Australians walk into a bar in Louisiana…

The last few weeks for me have been a whirlwind of travelling and experiencing new things—food being one of the best. On a previous visit to America I’d discovered that there were quite a few differences between Australian and US food. McDonalds, for example…now you’d think that an international conglomerate like Macca’s would have a standard menu and be the same whether you were in Aus or the US. They don’t.

You think you’d be pretty safe ordering a coke? You’re not.

‘What KIND of coke would you like?’

Ok, so maybe I’ll just have lemonade. ‘I’ll have lemonade, thanks’.

(Much to my delight, their lemonade is ACTUAL lemonade! Like REAL lemon, lemonade!)  The equivalent of what we call lemonade is Mountain dew ( in case you were wondering.)

Okay, so food…well, let me tell you, when we stopped in New Orleans (Neworlands) with friends, we had the BEST food. We were taken on a gastronomical delight of new food and flavours that we’ve decided we must try and recreate for our family back home.

First stop, we were taken to the French Quarter of New Orleans to experience the Majesty that is a Beignet (French donut). Oh-Em-Geeeeee! This delicious contraption is amazing!

At lunch time and we were introduced to such delights as Crawfish Etouffee and Seafood Gumbo in quaint little restaurants that you can find scattered alongside the bayous all over Louisiana.

Our host ordered Frogs Legs, which actually were more the size of chicken drum sticks and I was VERY happy not to have seen one of these ginormous frogs on our travels!

Our hosts entertained us with a family meal which consisted of Chicken Gumbo, Boudin (Cajun sausage with pork and rice), Jambalaya and for desert a King cake, which is kind of like a big donut filled with custard-type stuff, and comes with Mardi Gras beads and a plastic baby that gets thrown in and whoever finds it… nope, you aren’t supposed to get pregnant, you’re supposed to host the next party! How cool is that!

They’re also big on their cocktails. Some, like the Grenade, I decided not to try. However we did have a Hurricane. But my favourite drink of choice was a Margarita…a frozen Margarita.

Needless to say we gained a few pounds in the few short days we spent in and around the New Orleans area!

Karly, what a ball you must have had! Discovering new tasty delights is one of the best things about travel and you sure did some tasting. Everyone I know who’s been to New Orleans has loved it and I think I’ve just raised it a notch on my bucket list. Thanks so much for sharing some of your trip with us, that was great fun.

So my footloose and fancy-free Feasters, what location ranks highest on your bucket list? Do you long for the rarefied air of Machu Picchu? Perhaps a stroll down a Parisian boulevard or adventure rafting in some far-flung location is more your thing? Me, I really, really want to go to Greece. Think of all that ancient history and fantastic food!

So for where does your heart hanker? Curious minds wish to know.

Speaking of hankering (oh, I am the segue QUEEN!), keep your eye out for Karly’s December release Poppy’s Dilemma which is a book very close to Karly’s heart and one I cannot wait to read. In the meantime, sink your teeth into Burnt!

If you’d like to learn more about Karly and her books please visit her website. You can also connect via Facebook and Twitter.