Author Book Signing Event at Waipuna Conference Centre, Auckland on Saturday, 16 August, 5-6pm12/8/2014 I would love to see you at this Auckland event! Meet Marie Force, James Scott Bell, Nalini Singh, Barbara DeLeo and many more of your favourite authors. Come and meet me for the chance to win a copy of All Quiet on the Western Plains.
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This week has seen the centenary of the commencement of World War One. It ended or changed millions of lives, including my grandparent's. He was a volunteer - a married man with three young children - when he joined up in 1915. Although serving as a Pioneer in the Royal Engineers on the western front until the end of the war, he was one of the lucky ones who came home. Seventeen million combatants and civilians died in the war. However, my grandfather's homecoming wasn't the one either he or his wife would have envisaged. Before he returned, she died in March 1919 from the Spanish 'flu pandemic which killed between 50-100 million people worldwide. There are millions of stories sadder or happier than this one. One good thing that will come from commemorating the centenary of World War One will be that more of these stories will come to light. Did members of your family serve during World War One? If so, leave a comment for me - I'd love to hear about them.
In the spotlight today is Queensland-based author Susanne Bellamy whose latest novel Engaging the Enemy was released yesterday. Tell us about yourself, Susanne. I love travel—new places, new faces, different cultures and endless possibilities. I’ve cruised from Australia to Britain and back through the Suez Canal when I was a child, trekked in Nepal and Vietnam, lived briefly in Noumea, visited western Europe and west coast America among other places. Let me repeat—I love travel! And history. People’s stories fascinate me. Past and present lives and relationships and the mysterious ways Fate works. Even how I met my husband—Fate. Wonderful and mysterious. And so my stories explore people engaging with the mate that Fate created for them. And the wonderful and mysterious ways in which they meet. I should probably thank the flat-mate who locked me out of my new house years ago which led directly to meeting my husband. But that’s another story! Check out my story boards on Pinterest for White Ginger, One Night in Sorrento and Engaging the Enemy as well as works in progress, including the Emerald Quest for Entangled Publishing. See what else you can find! What's your latest book Engaging the Enemy about? Andie and Matt both need the same building in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD. Matt wants it to atone for his past and Andie’s future is tied up with the fate of the old pink granite home. Their differences should keep them apart but the building brings them together in ways neither could have foreseen. What do you think reader will enjoy most about it? It’s a Romeo and Juliet story but with a happy ending. Bright passion wars with conflicting needs and serious chemistry. I hope readers enjoy the tension and the sizzle! Who/what was the inspiration for this book? An abandoned red-brick building I spotted during my first tram ride in Melbourne. It looked like it needed some TLC and what better than to have not one, but two people itching to renovate it! Perhaps there was also a touch of the ugly swan story in the building. My protagonists were able to look beneath the city grime surface to discover the beauty within. I love that idea of what’s on the inside counting for more than the façade we present to the world. What qualities do you instil in your heroes and heroines? I adore heroes and heroines with sense of humour, intelligence, passion and a sense of social justice. Engaging the Enemy’s hero Matt is Irish with ideas about justice shaped by his Irish background. Family is paramount to him; he would do anything for those he loves, as would Andie. These qualities are responsible for their choices and contribute to the central conflict. Our personal histories shape who we are but our choices determine who we become. Willingness to change and grow as a person is essential, as is accepting challenges in life and forging our own path. We have the luxury of a peaceful country that allows us scope to set our own challenges. Within this broader context, Andie and Matt do learn to love and to live. What was the hardest part about writing this novel? Funnily enough, it was not getting caught up in a secondary character’s love life! Lexie Hamilton-Smythe is Andie’s best friend and has two men interested in her. There were times when I wanted to explore her story, even while loving writing Andie and Matt’s story. Where to next? A Season to Remember is a Christmas anthology of four short stories written by four south-east Queensland authors. We write in a variety of genres and this free gift collection will reflect our diversity. There is a sea theme running through each story but I can’t give too much away just yet. However, it will be available in late November. Check out my Facebook page and website then to receive your gift! And 2015 will see the release of the Emerald Quest series through Entangled Publishing. Five authors and a two hundred year search for a fabulous emerald and diamond necklace. Mine is the fourth book in the series. Set in Hawaii in 1960, it is the story of Evangeline Abbott, English heiress, and Lucien Martineau, an Island plantation owner. It’s a delicious story. After White Ginger, my debut novel, I absolutely loved revisiting Hawaii for this one. Congratulations on your latest book Susanne! Thank you for joining me to talk about it. Thanks for hosting me, Isabella. I’ve enjoyed my visit so much. Blurb One building, two would-be owners and a family feud that spans several generations: all relationships have their problems. Andrea de Villiers can’t lie to save herself. But when developer, Matt Mahoney, buys the building she and a friend have established as a safe house in the Melbourne CBD, she decides that protecting The Shelter is more important than her aching heart. She will confront Mr Mahoney, and she will emerge victorious. There are no other options. But Matt has other plans for Andie, and she soon finds herself ensnared in a web of well-meaning lies and benevolent deceit. To protect the building and the families that depend on her, Andie agrees to play the part of Matt’s fiancée, and play it convincingly. But lies soon bleed into truth, and what was once a deception starts to feel all too real. Can Andie accomplish her goals and protect The Shelter, without losing her heart to the charming Irish developer? You can find Susanne at the following sites: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susanne.bellamy.7 Twitter: https://twitter.com/SusanneBellamy Website: http://www.susannebellamy.com/ Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/susannebellamy/ Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard Buy links: Escape: http://www.escapepublishing.com.au/product/9780857991768#popup Amazon: http://www.amazon.com.au/Engaging-The-Enemy-Susanne-Bellamy-ebook/dp/B00LGDXHZA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404452861&sr=8-1&keywords=9780857991768 iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/engaging-the-enemy/id895324558?mt=11 Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=9780857991768 Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/engaging-the-enemy-5 Excerpt From Engaging the Enemy: Andrea de Villiers couldn’t have orchestrated the accident better if she’d planned for a year instead of just one night. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres were almost finished as she edged closer to the group of Melbourne’s wealthy charity patrons and supporters and lined up her tray of drinks with Matt Mahoney’s chest. One second to launch. She took a deep, steadying breath and stepped forward. His blonde companion’s arms drew a giant circle in the air, collided with the edge of her tray and Mr. Mahoney, corporate developer and all round jerk, was instantly wearing expensive champagne as an accessory to his Armani dinner jacket. Round one to Andie. Served him right for refusing to meet her. He brushed futilely at his shiny lapels and a thrill raced through her. I did it. Andie-never-puts-a-foot-wrong-de Villiers had done the unthinkable. If only she could tell him who she was, her triumph would have been complete. Thanks for joining me Susanne to talk about Engaging the Enemy. I can't wait to read it! After seeing a beautiful photograph of a flock of budgerigars taken in central western Queensland, I knew I must include them in the novella I was writing, which was set there. Wild budgerigars are green and yellow, and zoom around in large flocks living on the arid and semi-arid grasslands and woodlands of outback Australia. The colours that have been bred into the domestic gene-pool though are amazing - grey, lilac, blue and white. I like yellow-faced blue ones. My family always had a pet budgie while I was growing up in Brisbane. This tradition began shortly after my parents arrived from England in the 1950s. A family friend who bred them helped my mother attain 'the budgie knowledge'. To be able to teach one to talk you are best off getting a male bird just out of the nest, and you must keep him away from other budgies so he wouldn't learn to chirrup. Following a succession of pet budgies - Peter, Paul, Lucky, Tiny and so forth - came 'Ricky', our last budgie and the one I remember most. He was green and yellow, and very tame. He lived for many years and was an outstanding fellow. He enjoyed flying around our large living room at night and would perch on my shoulder or head tweaking my hair, nibbling my earrings and talking in my ear. He said many words and phrases, as well as wolf-whistling - a bit of a lad! I'm not sure whether budgies are as popular as they used to be. People now seem to keep cockatiels and all manner of glamourous parrots as pets. Do you have memories of a pet budgie? Or have you seen flocks of them in the wild? Leave a comment, I would love to read your stories. Introducing the inestimable Nikki Dee Houston - finalist in the Erotic Romance category of the First Coast Romance Writers 'National Excellence in Romance Writing competition', with her debut novella, All Fired Up! Woo Hoo! For a great read, get All Fired Up and find out what everyone's talking about. Want to know more? Go to: http://www.nikkideehouston.com/ Follow Nikki Dee on: Facebook Twitter Buy Link: Amazon After a wonderful weekend away at Aaronlee Retreat, Mt Tamborine in southern Queensland, my works-in-progress are coming along nicely. Rain and chilly weather made perfect writing conditions! I now have a English Civil War novella close to sending off to publishers and another historical rural romance, set in Queensland, well and truly started. My writing buddies - Noelle Clark, Kendall Talbot, Tania Joyce, Anthea and Matt - all made great progress on their latest works. Look out for some great new stories from us all! Recently I had the pleasure of visiting five western Queensland towns - Blackall, Barcaldine, Aramac, Isisford and Longreach. Each was different, with something that distinguished it from the others. As I'm interested in all things historical, I loved the Blackall Wool Scour, the Masonic Temple and the Memorial Park with its artillery pieces. At Barcaldine I admired the railway station building, was astonished by the Tree of Knowledge, intrigued by the Masonic Temple's exterior painting scheme, and loved the streetscape with its evocative old hotels, testament to its worker and wool history. Aramac is a small town that obviously loves its heritage. The main street has former banks with residences, and a handsome post office. The hospital is a beautiful building dating from 1910, and the school with its early buildings seems an oasis of calm. At Isisford, sited near a crossing of the Barcoo River, I found that a precursor crocodile fossil had been discovered nearby - Isisfordia duncani - and a replica can be seen at the Outer Barcoo Interpretation Centre in town. The former district hospital, dating from 1892, is still there, 70 years after nationalisation of all community-run hospitals in Queensland. You can fish in the famous Barcoo at Isisford, which must be pretty special. Longreach, of course, is the biggest of these towns - a mecca for grey nomads who fill the tourist park sites, and rightly so. The western central railway line comes to town, bringing other tourists drawn by the Stockman's Hall of Fame and the QANTAS founders' museum, and also by the many other attractions of this part of Queensland. Longreach has many heritage buildings including its railway station, a large Art Deco hospital dating from 1940, a large classically-inspired shire council building, and numerous examples of early houses - low-set and verandahed. I can't conclude without mentioning the amazing country between the towns - wide plains under a vast blue sky. I'm looking forward to visiting again. Next time I'll take the train to Longreach to see more of this amazing country along that route. Which towns in western Queensland do you think are great? Leave a comment - next week the author of the one I like the most will receive a copy of my historical rural romance - All Quiet on the Western Plains. If you're interested, a round-up of reviews from this week's book tour for All Quiet on the Western Plains can be found here: http://www.isabellahargreaves.com/news-and-events.html. The winner of a copy of the novella has been drawn. Congratulations if it was you!
Jack Edgarson: The Great War ended six years ago, but not for me. I relive it in my dreams. If that isn’t enough for any man, sometimes I wake up miles from home after sleep-walking. The time I found an axe in my hand convinced me to move to western Queensland – beyond the end of the railway line. It’s safer for others that way. Now I’m a cattleman running my property with just a couple of temporary stockmen and a cook. I keep to myself. It’s best that I stay away from people. Well, that’s what I thought until Fleur Armitage, an English nurse, turned up in town. Now, I’m torn between keeping true to my promise to stay clear of people and my compulsion to see her, to hear her soothing voice, to inhale her rose scent that reminds me of gentle summer evenings in England before my war began. Fleur Armitage: I’ve come to western Queensland to forget the past. As a nurse, I worked in clearing stations and general hospitals during the Great War and saw a lot of suffering and death. My fiancé was killed in action in 1918 and my sister and her daughters died in a bombing raid on Margate in England. I went home to mother in 1919, but she caught Spanish Flu and soon passed away, like so many others. I felt adrift in the world and didn’t dare get close to anyone in case they were taken from me. Until Jack Edgarson. He saved my life. Now I want to know who he is – to solve the enigma. He’s not making that easy. My Life, Loves and Passions:
4.5/5 "This was a beautiful love story. It was a short story and very well written. I love how they were able to see past the pain and love each other. A great read if you love romance! " http://mullenarmyfamily.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/all-quiet-on-western-plains-book-review.html |
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