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I’ve been wanting to read and review a book for Australian Women Writers challenge for a while now, but everything I’ve read has been in my own genre or not relevant. So when I finally had time to pick up Bronwyn Parry’s new book Dead Heat, and finished it in record time (due to the fact I couldn’t put it down), I realised it was one that fitted perfectly for AWW challenge.

A big fan of Bron’s earlier books As Darkness Falls and Dark Country, I knew I would enjoy her third. I’ve had the great pleasure of meeting Bron, who is lovely and generous. I was delighted to know that after recovering from brain surgery she was back into writing and so it’s wonderful to see Dead Heat on the shelves. Good on you, Bron!

I couldn’t put this book down. I loved Jo. Such a strong woman, smart and determined to help Detective Nick even through all the horror.  She is someone I would have idolised, with an outside job, brilliant mind and strength. Of course, the book being set in the hot rugged country also sucked me in.

And I can’t forget Nick. Oh, how I would have liked to seen a visual of him doing his Aikido routine. Nick, even though damaged from his childhood and undercover stint in the police force, was strong but still caring. I loved that Jo could read him like a book, even when he’d had years of acting undercover.  The murders and the connections were great and made for a truly engaging read. Bron’s characters were well rounded, I associated with them, even the minor ones. It all came alive so vividly in my mind.

Thanks Bron for another great book. Looking forward to the next one.

****

National Parks Ranger Jo Lockwood is often alone in the wilderness, and she likes it that way – until she discovers the body of a man, brutally murdered.

Detective Nick Matheson’s new posting to the north-west of NSW is supposed to be an uneventful return to normal duties and a normal life. He knows organised crime from the inside out and suspects that the victim in the camping ground is not an isolated murder.

Jo is committed to helping the investigation but she has seen the killer’s face and now she’s at risk. Nick’s determined to protect her but as the body count starts mounting, his past and present collide, threatening the people he cares about most.

Trapped in rugged country in scorching summer heat, pursued by hunters who can’t affort to fail, Nick and Jo will need to trust each other completely, and use all their skills and knowledge if they want to survive.

Brooke Kingston is smart, capable and strongwilled ­ some might even say stubborn ­ and lives in the beautifulHunterValleyon her family property. More at home on horseback than in heels, her life revolves around her beloved ‘boys’ ­ showjumpers Poddy, Oddy and Sod.

Then a tragic accident leaves Brooke a mess. Newcomer Lachie Cambridge is hired to manage the farm, and Brooke finds herself out of a job and out of luck. But she won¹t go without a fight.

What she doesn’t expect is Lachie himself ­ a handsome, gentle giant with a will to match her own. But with every day that Lachie stays, Brooke’s future on the farm is more uncertain. Will she be forced to choose between her home and the man she’s falling for?

 A vivid, moving and passionate story of love and redemption from the author of Promises.

*    *     *

Thanks for having me on your blog, Fiona. I’m a major fan of your books so it’s a real delight to be here.

So you’re a footy supporter and a keen golfer? Do you get to play often?

Cheer, cheer the red and the white! Oh yeah, I LOVE my footy and my darling Sydney Swans. As everyone knows, they’re quite the most handsome bunch of lads getting around the AFL.

As for that frustrating game called golf, I try to play at least once a week and more frequently in the summer. It’s great exercise and despite suffering days when I want to throw my clubs in the dam, I love the game. Such a pity I have little aptitude for it. But I try hard and have a lot of giggles, so that’s what counts.

Did working in the ag and turf seed industry give you lots of fodder for your stories?

Sort of. There are experiences I can draw on, and some I have, but so far it’s been mainly technical pasture information. Maybe in the future I’ll sneak in some true-life events. Well doctored to protect the innocent, of course!

 Your love of horses shines through in your books Promises and Heart of the Valley. What was your horse like? Did you have more than one?

I called my first horse Mysty, thinking it was the most romantic name in existence, completely oblivious that it’s one of the commonest horse names around. I even spelled it funny, just to add to the mystique. Ahh, the romantic notions of 10-year-old horse-mad girls!

She was the funniest horse. She’d drink coffee, eat cheese sandwiches, and loved attention. I adored her but she was only 14.2 hh, so not much bigger than a pony, and eventually I had to get a bigger horse. That was Dinks and he was sweet creature too. A few ex-racehorses came and went, but the one I hoped I’d go on with after uni ended up being sold because my job made it impossible to care for him properly. Mysty only died a few years back, aged thirty, which is very long-lived for a horse. Probably because she was so spoiled!

Are there any other genre’s you like to read? What have you waiting in your TBR pile?

I adore crime fiction, especially the really gritty British stuff from the likes of Mo Hayder, Ian Rankin and Val McDermid. I don’t mind the odd thriller either. Tom Rob Smith’s Soviet-set thrillers are amazing page-turners, and I love Australian authors Jaye Ford and Bronwyn Parry. I’m a big fan of quirky stories too, like Andrew Nicoll’s The Good Mayor, Helen Simonson’s Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand and Michael Zadoorian’s The Leisure Seeker. Oh, and I mustn’t forget Colin Cotterill’s Dr Siri series, which starts with The Coroner’s Lunch, or French writer Fred Vargas’ Commissaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg books. Wonderful!

As for what’s on my to-be-read pile, where do I start! I can’t stop adding to the rotten thing, and it’s worse now I have e-readers and don’t have to worry about shelf space. My pile contains a LOT of rural romances, and I’m especially looking forward to burying my nose in Rachael Johns’ Jilted when it releases in June. Rach is my critique partner and though I’ve read the manuscript in draft form I’m still very excited to read the finished book.

As I write this I’m reading Kate Morton’s The Distant Hours. After that I have Stone’s Fall by Iain Pears in my sights. His An Instance of the Fingerpost and The Dream of Scipio are two of my all-time favourite books.

Your new book is out, so that means publicity. How are you handling it all?

I’m having a ball! It’s a little easier this time round with Heart of the Valley because I know what to expect. Besides radio, I’m doing a lot of blogging, which i a lovely way to interact with readers, plus I’m also giving quite a few library talks. People are wonderfully supportive. It’s very heart-warming.

What’s next for Cathryn? Have you got more books in line?

Oh, you bet I have! I’m currently hard at work writing my next book which is proving to be a lot of fun. It’s set in far western Victoria and has some great characters, including a sexy, scarred hero and a feisty but damaged heroine. The banter between those two is a hoot to write, as is the mad goose the heroine discovers she’s inherited. I’m having a fabulous time thinking up naughty adventures for it.

If you’d like to know more about Cathryn and her books, please visit her website. You can also connect via Twitter and Facebook. Thank you so much for stopping by Cathryn. See you in August on the Gold Coast for the next RWA Conference.

Cathryn Hein was born in South Australia’s rural south-east. With three generations of jockeys in the family it was little wonder she grew up horse mad, finally obtaining her first horse at age 10. So began years of pony club, eventing, dressage and showjumping until university beckoned.

Armed with a shiny Bachelor of Applied Science (Agriculture) from Roseworthy College she moved to Melbourne and later Newcastle, working in the agricultural and turf seeds industry. Her partner’s posting to France took Cathryn overseas for three years in Provence where she finally gave in to her life-long desire to write. Her short fiction has been recognised in numerous contests, and published in Woman’s Day.

Now living in Melbourne, Cathryn writes full-time

I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy!  As I read I can hear Karly’s voice and her humour coming through the words on the page. Always a delight.  Now I’ll let Karly tell us about her new book……

It’s really lovely to be dropping by to chat with you and your readers, Fee, about my new release Morgan’s Law. Thanks so much for asking me.

Well, book two! I’m so excited to be releasing another book—but it just doesn’t lose that nerve wracking, happy, sick, nervous felling that goes along with a new release coming out does it? (I totally hear you, about those nerves Karly :/ )

Morgan’s Law is another rural community based story, and centres around Sarah Murphy who is on a rather strange quest for her grandmother, who passed away a few months earlier. It was her Gran’s dying request to have her ashes returned to a small town no one in Sarah’s family had ever heard of. Armed with a letter, a roughly sketched map and an old photo, Sarah heads off to Negallan in search of her Gran’s final resting place.

What Sarah discovers along the way only raises more questions instead of answers and her digging around begins to stir trouble amongst a local family who are not happy about Sarah asking so many questions!

Now of course you know, being my book, there’s gotta be a hunk somewhere in there and Morgan’s Law is no different! Enter Adam Buchanan, sexy local farmer and Sarah’s love interest. I hope you like him as much as I did! I’m not sure if I want my characters to compete exactly—but Adam has some pretty big boots to fill if he’s going to size up against John, from North Star–I keep getting lots of feed back from readers that John was a favourite—so we’ll have to wait and see what everyone thinks about Adam!

I really grew attached to these characters and the book touches on some really relevant issues in rural communities today. There is a serious side to this book, but there is also a touch of humour, a dash of suspense, and did I mention, a hunky farmer???!!  (It wouldn’t be a Karly Lane book without a touch of humour. I love books that make me smile & laugh.)

Thanks so much for having me Fee-and I loved The Road Home-another winner to add to the Fiona Palmer books on my shelf already! Well done!  (Thanks, Karly! Cheers for taking out time to blog. I know how busy you are with promo right now.)

Karly Lane lives on the beautiful Mid North Coast of NSW in Australia. A certified small town girl, she is most happy in a little town where everyone knows who your grand parents were. She writes women’s fiction – everything from romantic suspense to family sagas and life in rural Australia. She has romantic suspense titles published with The Wild Rose Press and Eternal Press under Karlene Blakemore-Mowle and her latest release, North Star is available now. A wife and mother of four children, working part time as a pathology collector by day, she manages to squeeze in her writing whenever and however she can. She is a proud member of the RWA Australia.

But we had a little bit of excitement in out tiny 5 house town last week with the arrival of two fellas from over east. Andre, and his camera man Jono, flew, then drove, to our wheatbelt town to do some filming for Penguin for an online clip.  I was overjoyed that Penguin were putting in the effort but totally freaked out by the cameras. I don’t talk great, I have a brain and mouth which don’t tend to communicate to each other very well. So for the two days I was nervous as hell. (made worse by the nice young handsome crew!!)

Anyway after catching a sunrise shot I took them, and my uncoopertative kids, up to the rock. We had the perfect weather while they were here, which was a stroke of luck.

So while my daughter was trying her hand at being a moody 15 year old (she’s nearly 9) my son was a total hyped up ratbag. (to put things nicely) I was stressed out enough without their added part. :/

After lunch we headed out to the lake where the guys got to try out their water proof camera on a ski. Alas, I’m not as good as my dad, who can do a beach start and not even get wet. So I’m sure Andre has some laughs while searching through the footage of my stack while trying to get up. They also had camera’s set up to watch the sunset over the lake. Mother Nature put on a perfect display as usual.

Here you can see the camera on the single ski. Also Andre having a ski on the wake/skate. We all wanted to send him back home to Melbourne after he got up first go and never got his hair wet!!  I must also thank the Garards & Jensens for the use of their gear and boat! Was a specatcular arvo and lots of fun.

I can’t wait to see how all the shots turn out.

The next day started early, with Jono out of bed before the sun and setting up his cameras before filming Mum and I going for a morning walk. Then afterwards they filmed me doing the mail run. I had to say some stuff on camera….Do you think I could remember a few little lines??? Heck no. It went in one ear out the other! (And my friend Tessa, who was laughing and saying take 4, take 5, didn’t help either. Oh we had plenty of laughs) Its amazing how my mind went totally blank as the fear of making an idiot of myself took over.

Then to top off my bogan/redneck image (as someone put it) I got in my dads speedway car for some sideways action shots. Only it left me with a sore hip, because I couldn’t quite fit my hips and butt in my dads tiny racing seat!

After lunch I took them out to the Erindale gates and along the Tin Horse Highway near Kulin. Finally I was starting to relax and could manage to say a few things without too many nerves but then it was time for the guys to head back to Perth. Typical.

Hopefully the guys had a good time in our neck of the woods. You are welcome back anytime!  By now Andre will be back at work, trawling through the footage trying to put together the clip. It should be finished in a few weeks. After watching all the shots they took, I can’t wait to see how it’s put together.  I will post the link when its up for you all to see. (that’s if its not too embarrassing!!)

My mum is away so I’m back doing the mail run for a few weeks. But i’m not complaining, it is great to get out and drive around the country side. My first port of call was Burnside Farm where I got to catch up with Coco (who, last time i’d seen her, was called Sparky lol). I had lots of cuddles and couldn’t belive how much she’d grown. Does she look like she’s laughing?? lol

Then, when I went to drop Hendry’s mail, I had to fight with a dead tree to reach their mail box. It sure made a pretty sight the way the top of the tree had crashed into the ground. I walked through it like a dead stick jungle. It was very sturdy. Wonder how long it will last. (would make a great bonfire )

 And nearby one of Jane’s horses kept guard over the farm. You can see more of her metal horses on the Tin Horse Highway, which was mentioned in my latest book The Road Home.

Now i’ll leave you with a couple of photo’s I took on my way home from Hyden after a patchy storm had gone through. The sky was just a delight and my phone camera probably didn’t do it any justice, but you get the idea. This is where I find my inspiration.

He was from Kulin and brought land in Pingaring and married etc. He had a son and three daughters, my mum being the oldest. At some stage he brought more land, which he named Erindale after my Aunty Erin, who is the youngest. And so he made up these gates.  Later in life they sold the Erindale block so they could retire to Albany and the main farm, Gumlea, my Uncle continued to run.

Even though another famer owns the land now, its still nice to drive past and see the history still standing there. It was the reason why the farm in the book is called Erindale. My grandad passed away when I was sixteen and he was a special guy who made lots of farming toys later in life. As a kid I would spend holidays with them in Albany and grandad had wooden swords, a buggy and other fun things to play with. Here is one of his tractors that I have.

He made heaps of farming equipment and even trucks with flat bed trailers full of wool bales that my gran had stitched, filled and marked with the farm name.  Because he’d spent his life with these bits of machinery he knew them well and the detail on his toys were amazing. And what he used to make them, even more so. I hope he would be chuffed to see his gates in my book and I hope he’s proud.

Book’dout

Beauty and Lace

And all the comments on my facebook page are wonderful. Thank you all so much for taking the time out to comment on The Road Home or share your photo’s of it.  It really makes the hard slog so worthwhile.  There are more reviews due in some papers and magazines in April as well as radio interviews. This is while I head to Perth for a small tour.  These are my dates…

Tuesday 10th April – 12.30pm Talk Event Dymocks Hay Street & City Library. 

Wednesday 11th April – 6.30pm Talk Event Dymocks Morley & Ballajura Library.

Thursday 12th April – 6.30pm Talk Event Wanneroo Library – 23 Dundebar Road, Wanneroo – more details to come.

Thursday 12th April – 11am I will drop by Dymocks Joondalup to sign a few books.

I can’t wait to get to the city for some shopping time as well as meeting everyone.

It’s been a busy week, as I have been trying to do one last read through on Book 4 before I send it to my publisher.

I used up two lots of sticky tags with all the changes I need to correct, but it does look pretty. Now it’s time to fix them on the computer version, send them off and the contract for it is already in the mail. Then its onto book 5, which needs a lot of research. :/

In the meantime I hope you enjoy reading The Road Home. It’s meant to be an easy, un-put-downable read that leaves you with a warm and fuzzy feeling. :)

Here I am with Lockie who set up the signing. Great display in his shop window.  I was there for just over an hour signing and big thanks to those who dropped by to get a book.  Love meeting fans, young and old. And I caught up with friends, which was great.

We had the whole gang (kids) so we went to Venice after for lunch and then a stop by the shops for a quick look. (When you live that far from shops, its a delight to be able to check them out. )

My flowers from the signing.

We stayed the night in Albany, staying with friends who’s house has a gorgeous view of the ocean.  We went for a walk along Middleton beach and the fresh sea air was just what I needed to clear my head as we got up early to make it to Albany in time for the signing. 3hr trip with kids who think their throat is cut when they are hungry and ‘how many towns to go’ ‘are we there yet’ etc etc can leave you with such a headache. I won’t go into detail about our trip home but think moody daughter who didn’t get to listen to ‘her’ music and a son who can find a million unrelated questions to ask.

But the view outside was gorgeous and I zoned out my kids and tried to plan my fifth book. Wost thing was I figured out my last chapter! It was brilliant in my head, just wish I had a pen and paper to write it all down. Must start taking some notes now and get these ideas all together. They are squished in my head along side the library talks, publicity and stress of the new book release date this week. Lucky for me I have some chocolate in the house to help combat this stress.

If you are interested I am answering Juliet’s 10 awkward questions.

And here is a review of The Road Home.

Describe a normal (which I know would be hectic) day for you?

Well The Boss is usually out the door by 6:30am at the lastest, so we’re up around 5am and I’ll get his lunch and make sure he’s got everything he needs for the day. The kids have to on the bus by 7:55am so once The Boss has gone I turn my attention to dragging two sleepy heads from their beds, forcing breakfast into them and making sure their bags are packed. If I could have a dollar for every I’ve said “Are your bags packed?’ and still found a lunch box on the bench I’d be rich!

From then it really depends what is going on outside; I might head out to help with lamb marking, shearing, pull a fence down, weigh lambs… The list is endless. I don’t often have days at home, but I love them when I do.

What are some of the challenging farm jobs you have?

Pulling fences down for me, is the hardest job. I’ve got a bit of a problematic back and that job just about kills me! Of course when you’re shifting sheep and you have to haul a full wool ewe into the back of the ute, that isn’t easy either.

I’ve found since I had kids, I’m not as strong as I used to be so it’s the lifting I have hassles with. Doesn’t mean I can’t do, just means I need to work smarter and not use brute strength and ignorance, which is the method I usually prefer!

I love this photo of Fleur. This is where I picture her editing, in the corner of a dirty shearing shed, or in the farm ute, or bouncing around in the chaser bin at harvest time.

Could you list some of the more yuckie thinks of farming? (people wouldn’t believe half the stuff farmers do like pulling out lambs, moving dead sheep etc? Have you got some good ones Fleur?)

I think the worst job I’ve ever had to do is Semen Catching. Oh yeah, laugh all you like and don’t bother with the jokes, I’ve heard them all before! As a stud breeder, you have to make sure any ram or bull you sell is fertile. For bulls, this means we ‘milk’ them – getting them to ejaculate into a jar and then the vet looks at the semen with a microscope. There is ‘something’ about being down on your knees in the dirt, with a jar, underneath a one tonne animal waiting for it, well, you know. And it’s not a good ‘something’!

But yeah, then there is the usual of pulling dead lambs out of ewes, pulling sheep out of dams and the hot, dusty days in the sheep yards, when we come out looking like a dirt monster. But it’s the sunrises, sunsets, gentle rain, new born lambs and calves that make all the horrible things not rate a mention!

(When I was a rousie I’d have to clean up the ‘mess’ on the floor so it didn’t get into the wool. It could be poo or blood or both. You really scrubbed your hands good after each day lol)

When you were young what things did you dream about doing?

Being a singer. I think that was the main one. (That was never going to happen…) I wanted to be a physio when I was in Year 11 but I knew I wouldn’t be able to get the marks and the pull home to Glenroy (our station) was too strong. I love that place with all my heart and it’s where I set my first book, Red Dust. Not sure how I ended up here in The West, really…

If you could travel anywhere where would you go and what would you do?

I want to go to Italy and eat! I’d love to go to Yorkshire and see where James Herriot set all of his books – I’ve got a desire to walk along the wild moors, he wrote of, with the wind whipping around my body, feeling the icy air and maybe even see the snow. And I want to go and visit my home much more than I do. At this stage I only get back to SA once every couple of years. I’ve got a brand new niece I want to meet, so I’m desperately trying to get back there soon.

Growing up in the country in SA, what did you get up too? Were you an out doors kid?

Oh yeah, I was never inside. I was always up a tree or on the roof, reading, on my bike, playing sport or causing mischief somewhere. There’s a train bridge on the outskirts of Orroroo and I used to ride my bike down there and walk across it. I don’t know why, when the track hadn’t been used in years, I’d get half way, always hear a train and freak out! I never made it all the way across, just turned and ran back from where I came, when I thought I heard the whistle!

I spent a lot of time in the trucks with Dad too. My parents owned a fuel distributorship based in Orroroo but our deliveries covered about a quarter ofAustraliaso we’d be gone for a periods at at time. I loved the time I spent with Dad and the country I saw. One of Dad’s favourite tricks was to ask me if I wanted to go on a run with him, during the week. Of course I’d jump at the chance, but Mum would shake her head and say, no, I had school. Later Dad would swing past the school and pick me up and we’d take off together. He’d ring Mum from the closest phone box and make all sorts of weird faces as he pretended Mum was getting stuck into him. I don’t think she ever did; she knew him too well!

(I was like you Fleur, I spent a lot of time in my dad’s trucks doing trips to Perth taking grain and coming back with fertilizer. Loved it)

Living in the country we don’t get to the city that often. What are some of the things you like to do when you get there? (Fast food is usually our treat lol)

Yep, takeaway and book shops for me. I love being able to go to the Food Courts and chose anything from Pizza to Asian to Hungry Jacks.

It’s always such a treat to be able to walk into a large book store and see books everywhere. There is so much more choice in the city for both kids and adults. I can spend hours just searching the shelves for new new authors, old favourites and see what is new.

You have just started working on Silver Gums. Can you give us a sneak peak of what we might expect?

 Silver Gums is set on theNullarbor Plain, one of my favourite parts of the country. Tessa is a wild child with a checkered past. She’s been sacked from her high powered job and, with no where else to go, she heads back to the station she grew up on. But she is consumed by guilt and has many demons chasing her. Poor Tessa has a lot to work through!

Oh, great can’t wait for it Fleur. It’s a shame it takes so long to write a book. We spend a whole year geting it all ready and then its read in a day or two at most.

Now Fleur has generously offered a signed book, so please leave a comment to be in the chance to win it. Maybe you could tell us what things you got up to as a kid?  I’ll draw the winner on the 20th March.