Welcome to Teaser Tuesday where I share snippets from new and past releases and works-in-progress, and sometimes con author buddies into doing the same.
Whoop! I’m home from the Romance Writers of Australia conference and road-trip to my hometown of Mount Gambier, South Australia. Both huge fun but last Sunday saw us suffocating under a mountain of washing. By the time we’d finished the peg basket was empty and the poor Hills Hoist groaning under the weight of all those winter clothes. Fortunately, unlike Melbourne and Mount Gambier, Newcastle is being gorgeous weather-wise and everything dried easily. On the downside… ironing. Urk.
The conference left me very inspired. RWA conferences always perk me up. Hanging with my tribe – people who understand and celebrate romance writing – is such a positive experience. If you’re an aspiring writer, I can’t recommend our conferences and the value of membership enough. Find out more on the Romance Writers of Australia website.
Travelling home did wonders too. Many of my books are set in south-east South Australia or far western Victoria and although I was brought up in the area and have lots of memories it’s always good to reacquaint myself with the setting.
Jim and I had lovely time driving around Kongorong, a dairy farming district to the south-west of Mount Gambier and my inspiration for the setting of Scarlett and the Model Man, my next Levenham Love Story novella (you’ll meet Scarlett in Eddie and the Show Queen). We also visited the Grampians region, near where Elsa’s Stand is set, and the western district area that The Country Girl’s setting is based on.
Watch out in coming weeks for some This Writing Life posts on the conference and road trip.
Now, on to what we’re here for.
This week on Teaser Tuesday I’m featuring Wayward Heart. For two reasons:
1/. I wanted to remind you that its current super-bargain price Australian promotion ends on September 1st and there’s not much time left if you want to take advantage, and
2/. I got such a kick out of visiting both the inspiration for Rocking Horse Hill (Mount Schank) and Admella Beach (Browns Bay), locations that feature heavily in Wayward Heart, that the book has been on my mind.
Also, it’s a gratuitous opportunity to tie back to Eddie and the Show Queen (releasing September 10th) by featuring a little bit of Eddie’s brother Harry. Yeah, a loose association but I’m making it anyway!
This is a snippet from Josh and Emily’s wedding rehearsal scene, where big shy Harry tries to get advice on dealing with Summer, the girl he’s fallen head over heels for…
They were halfway down the aisle when Harry attempted to quiz Teagan about what to do about some girl he’d met. Before Felicity, Digby hadn’t had the greatest success with women either, but Harry’s ineptitude put him in a class of his own.
‘You’re a woman,’ Harry said to Teagan.
‘I know this will probably come as a shock to you, Harry, but yes, I am.’
Catching Digby’s eye, Jas grinned and tilted her head towards the couple behind as if to say, ‘Have a listen to this.’
‘What?’ asked Harry, clearly flummoxed by Teagan’s answer. ‘Oh. Sorry. Didn’t mean it like that. I mean, you must think like one.’
Jas fell out of step as she listened in, slowing Digby with her.
Teagan’s bemused silence was broken by a sulky ‘Forget it’ from Harry.
‘Sorry,’ said Teagan, bubbling with suppressed laughter. ‘Can’t now.’
‘Definitely can’t,’ whispered Jas before calling loudly to Harry over her shoulder. ‘Girl problems, Harry?’
Which only brought Em in on the farce. ‘Does Harry have girl problems?’
Everyone stopped walking and turned around to face Harry, who was looking even sulkier than he’d sounded.
This scene makes me smile a lot. Poor Harry, he’s so bumbling but so sweet and very different to his brother. Shyness is definitely not something Eddie from Eddie and the Show Queen suffers!
Wayward Heart is currently heavily discounted in ebook but you’ll need to be quick. This promotion ends September 1st. Australia only.
Purchase your copy today from:
Booktopia | Angus & Robertson | Dymocks
Amazon.com | Amazon.au | Amazon.uk
Kobo | iBooks | Google Play | Barnes & Noble
If you’d like to learn more about Wayward Heart and how I came to write Digby and Jasmine’s story, check out Of Beaches And Brothers, And Friends to Lovers, The Story Behind Wayward Heart. For another except and other cool stuff, visit its dedicated book page.
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