Here is the cover for the new book due out on the 28th Feb this year. I love the old shearing shed in the background, i’ve been in a few that look similar so it’s nice to have something that relates.
Also below is the trailer for Heart of Gold…just a little something so you know whats to come. x
On Thursday, 25th November I will be in Perth at Dymocks Carousel for a special day they are having. I will be there at 10 till 11-ish if anyone is around and wants to say ‘hi’ or get a book signed. I believe Juliet Marillier will be there at 12 also.
While I’m in Perth I will be catching up with my darling cousin, Megs for some girl time. A movie is on the cards….new Harry Potter movie will be out too!! Yes, I have all the books. Read the first one when I was a teachers aid in a pre to year 3 class. The teacher was reading it to the kids and I found myself totally lost in the magical world. That was over 7 years ago!! I can’t believe it was that long ago…wow. My daughter wasn’t even born.
Seeing as Heart of Gold is only 3 and 1/2 months away from release date…I have been thinking about the launch. Yep, I’m excited! Have a few things up my sleeve…so watch this space in the next few months. Will also have the first chapter to put up soon, along with the book trailer…once i get a final copy of the cover!! Yay.
Up on the Penguin website is the blurb for Heart of Gold… which is also below. See what you think?
Catherine-Jean Wishart – or CJ as she prefers – is a hardworking young country girl with a heart of gold but a tough and challenging life. She works long, strenuous days in the male-dominated world of the shearing sheds, but at home things are even harder. Her father has never recovered from an accident years earlier and his violence is tearing the family apart.
When strong, handsome Lindsay arrives on the scene, he brings fun and laughter into CJ’s life. He even teaches her to shear, and they look set for a bright future together. But then tragedy strikes again, and CJ has to dig deeper than ever before. With help from her best mate Irene and a dear old farmer called Burt, CJ learns that when you stay true to yourself and open your heart, anything can happen.
From the bestselling author of The Family Farm comes this heartwarming and uniquely Australian story of love overcoming adversity.
Well I had so much fun at the Romance Writers Association Conference in Sydney. Look at where we were right on the waterfront at Coogee! On Thursday I attended a workshop and we had Wendy Harmer – http://www.wendyharmer.com/ – who is an author of chick lit, hen lit and YA books and a well known comedian. Yes she had us in fits of laughter as she showed us some of her nags from her book Nagging for Beginners. Hilarious stuff.
We had one of the writers from the Underbelly series talk and many others. We were fed well also…one of my favourite parts…the choc éclairs were scrummie.
On Friday afternoon it was the big book signing event and I was positioned next to Bronwyn Parry. It was great to finally meet Bron along with Helene Young who you can all find on http://www.outbackromances.com/
I also got to meet Bec Sampson who was in an online critique group who helped crit the first few chapters of my book that’s due out in March next year. Yes MARCH next year….i can’t wait.
I spent some time with my publisher and met another Penguin author Katherine Scholes. I got her to sign my copies of her book too. Already finished one and loved it.
I will have some more photos and updates of my trip but when my husband returns home on the weekend with my camera.
We meet family in Hopetoun over the weekend to celebrate our niece’s 1st birthday. We arrived friday night to a mess as the caravan park had huge amounts of rain a few days before and our anix showed just how much. Hmmm….a bit of cleaning was needed but thankfully we had it sorted quickly. We had rain most of the first day…wish I could have brought some home with us as we still have a few farmers who haven’t done any seeding yet. No hair pulling and screaming going on yet but the stress is still there…and the question about wether to seed or not! Come on mother nature…spare us a little bit!
But our last two days were great. This picture is where we fished one afternoon and we couldn’t have asked for a better day. No wind!! Amazing in Hopey. And salmon was caught for tea. *yes – my eating to walking ratio was blown out of the water but it was a weekend off…and it was too cold so I had to eat lots!*
Well we have booked our tickets, we are off to Melbourne and Sydney…mainly to visit family and so I can attend the RWA conference in Sydney. I’ve never been to one before andIi will finally get to meet Bronwyn Parry and Helene Young. Bronwyn is also up for a Romantic Book of the Year award and I’m glad I will be over there for all the excitement! Fleur McDonald is also up for the same award….so even more reasons to be excited. Congrats to them both along with all the other finallists!
As for my own news…at the meeting I got the thumbs up for my next book, offer will be on its way this week and then into the nitty gritty. Book cover, title, final edits and working on the book trailer also. I might even get back to work on book 3 if I have time.
But for now I have pumpkin scones that need cooking as I have a friend coming over this afternoon, I can’t wait!
Here is book two. Still unnamed, but I’ve been calling it Clean Cut for want of a better name. I have just finished putting all these changes onto the computer! Easier said than done. But it’s a huge weight off my mind now its done. I then had a house cleaning frenzy…believe me it was well overdue!!
I went off to Lake Grace on Friday to do a talk for the Volunteers at the Visitors Centre. Beautiful spot there, if you’re ever in Lake Grace you must drop in and have a look around! Next week I will be off to Newdegate to catch up with the local bookclubs at the library for a chat. Not looking forward to the night time driving along the back gravel roads, will have to take the ute and watch for roo’s.
Next on my list of things to do is collect pictures on shearing for the website and start making the book trailer! (Hopefully we will pick a name for the book soon lol)
I was lucky to be speaking at the Lipstick in the Limelight event for 2009 in Wagin [Otober 27]. All about empowering rural women, it was an initiative of the Wagin Woodanilling Landcare Zone and an amazing day.
I met some wonderful rural ladies (90 attended) and we had Maggie Dent speaking up first.
Maggie is an author, parenting and resilience specialist and inspirational presenter. She is currently running seminars nationally and internationally that increase awareness in the importance of building personal and professional resilience.
Her topic was Wonderful Juicy Wise Women! I was blown away by her talks which were spot on the money and very very funny. I feel blessed to have met her and after a minute of meeting her you couldn’t help hug her and feel loved.
Her words of wisdom were wonderful. Girls don’t aim for perfection … its not possible, and that we need to take time out for ourselves … real time out, not having a cuppa whilst doing the dishes, feeding the kids and mopping the floor.
Girlfriends are important too, and to eat that choc muffin, as you never know how long you’ll be around … enjoy life.
I took away a lot of valuable lessons and I can’t thank Maggie enough for her little book on Black Duck Wisdom.
Maggie had us all relaxed so I was ready when it came time for my speech on The Family Farm and my journey.
Among other speakers keep an eye out for Gary Warden and his exciting Days of Change program which aims to help West Aussies to take simple steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 2010.
It was a great day and I will be going back in 2011 when it’s next on! Well done girls.
On Monday, 6th July, I will be at the Midland Gate Shopping Centre at Dymocks from 1pm. I am still to set the rest in concrete but will keep you all posted.
