Open that box of chocolates hiding in the back of your cupboard and quaff the lot because it’s time to celebrate Scarlett and the Model Man’s release day. Yippee!
Ooh, I’m excited. Can you tell? I’m doing little wiggle-jiggles in my chair right now because I KNOW you’re going to love Scarlett and Sam and their journey to happy ever after. It’s totally sighworthy. I’m getting all heart-fluttery just thinking about what you lucky duckies are in for.
He might be the perfect model, but is he the right man for Scarlett?
My heartfelt thanks to everyone who pre-ordered a copy. Depending on where you are in the world, your book should be hitting your e-readers veeeery soon. To those who ordered personally signed print copies, you’re probably holding them right now. Give cover model Sam a kiss for me!
For those who love the thrill of the release day one-click, it’s time for you to exercise your finger. Click-swipe-tap now to secure your copy of Scarlett and the Model Man from any of these retailers.
amazon.com | amazon.com.au | amazon.co.uk
Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play | Barnes & Noble
Booktopia | Angus & Robertson | Bookdepository
Personally signed copies of Scarlett and the Model Man are still available for purchase for only $18, including postage to your Australian postal address. Fill in this form to secure your copy. Orders also include a gorgeous Scarlett and the Model Man bookmark.
Now, as is tradition on release day, here are some secret things about the book.
Six Secret Things About Scarlett and the Model Man
1/. This is the most…
Personal book I’ve written for a while. Scarlett’s loss of creativity was inspired by my own battle. 2018 and 2019 were tough years, let me tell you, but I made it through. Will Scarlett? You’ll have to read the book to find out!
But if you’d like to learn more about my creative (and other) dramas, check out When Life Becomes Fiction, the story behind Scarlett and the Model Man, complete with glamorous photo of moi in hospital.
2/. Regular followers will know…
That it’s a rare book that doesn’t have a theme song or songs. What’s also rare is for a Eurovision Song Contest song not to make it onto the playlist. Because I luuuuuurve the Eurovision Song Contest and have done so since it first hit Australian screens twenty-plus years ago.
Scarlett’s number one theme song doesn’t come from Eurovision. I just talked about Eurovision because… LOVE! Eh hem. It’s a song that released way back in 1982 and I fell head over heels in love with. It’s also a song I’ve wanted to use as a story theme for a very, very long time. Probably since I first heard it.
I can also imagine Sam listening to it on repeat. You’ll understand why when you read the book.
What’s the song? One Perfect Day by The Little Heroes.
Also on the playlist were:
Call Me Maybe – Carly Rae Jepsen
Nothing Breaks Like a Heart – Mark Ronson (featuring Miley Cyrus)
Home – Kobi Marimi (because there had to be a Eurovision song in there somewhere!)
Show Me What I’m Looking For – Carolina Liar
3/. Scarlett’s art is…
Based on that by two-time Archibald Prize winner Del Kathryn Barton. Her work is amazing. I was lucky enough that during the writing of Scarlett and the Model Man The Nightingale and the Rose exhibition – a collaboration between Barton and filmmaker Brendon Fletcher to bring Oscar Wilde’s fairytale to life – was on at Maitland Regional Library. Perfect inspiration!
If you get the chance to see this exhibition, take it. It’s brilliant. Here’s a video to give you a taste.
4/. This is the first time...
I’ve had a bare-chested man featured on the cover of one of my books. Man-titty is everywhere in Romancelandia but I’ve never been blessed with one before. This chappie is my first. He’s a beauty too. Very Sam-like.
And very much how Scarlett sees him…
No six-pack, gym-junkie here. Just a toned, healthy man who farmed for a living and surfed for recreation. A man whose belly she’d like to run her tongue over.
Indeed!
5/. As a present to myself…
For writing Scarlett and Sam’s story, I bought myself a beautiful necklace featuring artwork by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt. The pendant is made of 
porcelain and has detail from Fulfillment, one of Klimt’s “Golden Phase” paintings.
I don’t usually reward myself with presents like this. Normally it’s champagne on release day and that’s it, but this book symbolised so much for me (see secret thing #1 above for reasons) that I wanted to attach it to something tangible. What better than a beautiful piece of wearable art?
I do feel Scarlett and Audrey Wallace would approve.
6/. There’s a special…
Surfing beach featured in the book called The Shark Hole. I took inspiration for it from the landscape to the west of Port MacDonnell, a lovely fishing and holiday village at the very bottom tip of South Australia. This isn’t a good photo but it should give you an idea of the ruggedness of the coastline.
If you ever get the chance to visit Port MacDonnell, do so. It’s a wonderful place and the library and community centre has a fabulous maritime museum detailing the area’s history and many shipwrecks. You can also stop in the historic customs house, visit poet Adam Lindsay Gordon’s home Dingley Dell, snorkle or dive at the spectacular Piccaninnie and Ewens Ponds, and stuff yourself silly with locally caught southern rock lobster. Bewdiful!
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I hope you enjoyed this little look behind the scenes at Scarlett and the Model Man. As mentioned in point one, there’s more to be learned in When Life Becomes Fiction, the story behind Scarlett and the Model Man.
If you’re after an excerpt, check out its book page on this website or these Teaser Tuesday blog posts where I share snippets from the story.
Or better still, buy the book!
amazon.com | amazon.com.au | amazon.co.uk
Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play | Barnes & Noble
Booktopia | Angus & Robertson | Bookdepository
Or purchase a personally signed print copy direct from me by filling in this form.
Thanks to all who helped me get Scarlett and the Model Man into virtual stores and your lovely hands, including my editor Alex Nahlous from Alexandra Nahlous Editing Services, cover designer Kellie at Book Cover By Design, and my wonderful writing friends, especially the Battlesticks girls – those ladies are the best. And finally, my Jim. The hero of my life.
Happy reading everyone!
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