Small Town Storm, CLUE Award Winner!

I am beside myself excited to share that Small Town Storm came first in the Chanticleer Book Reviews & Media CLUE Awards for Thriller, Mystery, & Suspense Fiction! 

It went through *seven* rounds of judging, isn't that extraordinary?

I'm so, so thrilled and flattered. Thank you, Chanticleer, the contest coordinators, and the judges - you've put the hugest smile on my face.

The CLUE Awards First in Category Winners

A Year in Review

As the 2013 Romance Writers of Australia annual conference approaches, I'm finding myself thinking back to this time last year, and shaking my head.

So much has changed. Relationships have strengthened and dissolved, my family has gone through some tough knocks and my work life has evolved so much that I'm struggling to capture it all in my annual review. But what I want to explore in this blog is how far I've come as a writer.

This time last year, I was hugging my first contract to my chest. Destiny Romance had yet to announce itself and I was practicing an excerpt from Small Town Storm, my first book and Destiny's debut romantic suspense title, because I was lucky enough to be doing a reading at the launch. I attended the conference with a blue first sale ribbon stuck to my name tag, and marvelled at how different it felt to be one of them. The authors.

Little did I know that I would return the following year with five published titles and a RUBY nomination for the very book I'd launched - my first baby, Small Town Storm. And instead of visiting the ARRA author signing event, I'll be signing at it. If you'd told me all of this last year, I wouldn't have believed you.

This last year has been a whirlwind. After Small Town Storm's release in August last year, I released The Man Plan in December, again with Destiny Romance. In January this year I released Unforgettable with Escape Publishing, then in April and July Destiny Romance and I released the first two novellas in the Homeland series, Ask Me To Stay and Ask Me For More. The third novella, Ask Me For Tomorrow,  will be released in October and something very special is coming in December.

It's little wonder I'm exhausted, but adrenaline and I have become really good mates. We go way back and it's a relationship I see myself embracing for the rest of my life. Amongst the countless things I've learned, I've also had to teach myself how to embrace down-time. I'm a planner. If you leave me to my thoughts for too long, I'll not only plot out the next few weeks of my life, but a book or two.

Yet for all my foresight and planning, I could never have guessed I'd be where I am now.

And standing here. looking around, looking back and looking forward - dreaming of what's to come - I can honestly say, I'm so, so happy.

For all of you presently standing in the shadows, I hope that you, too can look back in time and marvel. For those who dream of being published - it's never been a better time to crack into the industry - the opportunities are everywhere in both digital and print. And for those of you who have been on this journey with me this last year, thank you. From every inch of my swollen heart, thank you.

Here's to another year together.

Imagine where we'll be then!

An 'element' of reader beware...

Today is the official publication date of the first book in the Homeland series, Ask Me To Stay.

I am very proud of this book, and I'm endlessly grateful to those who have already downloaded it. This title was - incredibly - a buzz book on iTunes the day before its official release. I'd love to get the names of everyone who's bought it, knock on their doors and hug them. But, you know... invasion of privacy, and all that.

So instead, I'll say this.

Reader beware.

If you have read any of my other titles, or if you have downloaded this one expecting a certain degree of romance - I need to warn you that Ask Me To Stay is a little different. It focuses almost entirely on the fractured relationship between brothers Ethan and Dean. There is a romance subplot in this novella, but the first in the Homeland series is - to my mind - contemporary/rural fiction with romantic elements.

I think I'm incapable of writing a book which doesn't feature two people falling in love - that's just what keeps me interested in the story. But some of the early reviews of this title seem to suggest that the degree of romance took some readers by surprise.

Read this title to read about family. About redemption and reputation and second chances, both for the heart, and the soul.

Ask Me For More and Ask Me For Tomorrow are infinitely more focused on romance. Ethan and Sam's relationship arc continues throughout the second and third titles as readers explore Cal and Dean's stories; so you will get the romance that you crave. There will be stomach-dropping nerves, black-moments and soul-stirring intimacy.

I promise you all of this and more.

Destiny Romance's first series, coming soon.

I'm on a countdown. It's less than a month before the release of the first book in my novella series. It's been given a new town name, a new series title, and an official release date; and any day now, the cover should be arriving in my inbox.

Leonai has become Hinterdown. For various reasons, the top two being the ease of pronunciation and avoiding the hint of fantasy. This is not a fantasy novel by any stretch of the imagination. Ethan, Cal and Dean's stories are hopefully as real as fiction gets. Which is a strange claim to make. But I've aimed for natural dialogue, realistic timelines and reactions, a rich country atmosphere and people so friendly and complex that readers will hopefully feel like they know them.

The new town name was inspired by the Hinterlands, and in my imagination it looks very much like a town I visited once in the Upper Hunter Valley. I'll be talking about this town in a later blog post.

Because each novella features a returning character, someone who - for reason or reasons explored throughout the series - left the town and found cause to return - the title was shaped around the magnetism of home.

So without further ado, I introduce to you all, The Homeland Books and book one, Ask Me To Stay. It will be released on April 15, and will include an exclusive excerpt of book two, Ask Me For More.

I will be on a blog tour next month to promote and discuss the first title, and I would love to read your comments and share a bit of the story with you. My blog tour schedule is below, and there will be everything from interviews, to blog posts and giveaways.

15 April: The Book Vixen (link)
16 April: Book'd Out (link)
17 April: Sassy Book Lovers (link)
18 April: Ex Libris (link)
19 April: You Gotta Read Reviews (link)
20 April: Jenn J McLeod's Author Harvest (link)
22 April: Juanita Kees' Kees 2 Create (link)
23 April: Ros Baxter Ink (link)
24 April: Romance Australia Author Spotlight (link)
26 April: Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer (link)
27 April: Satin Sheets Romance (link)
28 April: Susanne Bellamy's All The World's A Page (link)
29 April: Melissa's Mochas, Mysteries and More (link)
              Nas Dean's Romance Book Paradise (link)
30 April: Lily Malone's Left Field With Lily (link)
1 May: Page Flipperz (link)
4 May: Bookish Ardour (link)
5 May: Nicki J Markus (link)
6 May: Clean Romance Reviews (link)
7 May: Ramblings From This Chick (link)
22 May: Louise Reynold's Cooking The Books (link)

I can't wait to introduce you to Ethan and Samantha. And if you read the series, you may understand why I'm also so excited to introduce you to little Nina.

ARCs will be on NetGalley within a few weeks. If you're a reviewer or blog host and you would like to know more about the series, I would love to hear from you. I've also launched a newsletter, so sign up through my web page (link) if you want to know things before anyone else.

The list above is subject to change. Hopefully the kind of change that makes for a longer scroll! ;)

Happy writing and reading. I'm off to sail around the bay.

Elise

The lovers' month, and the long awaited first kiss.

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, my mind's on romance. I'm thinking about the first time eyes meet, the first date, the first kiss... I have my own experiences to reflect on, but this lovers' month has also got me thinking about the first fictional couple who stepped out into the big wide world with me.

In August 2012 I was a launch author with Penguin's Destiny Romance, and I had the great privilege of reading an excerpt from my launch title, Small Town Storm, to an assembled crowd at the Romance Writers of Australia national conference. It was the first time I introduced Jordan Hill and Erica Lawrence to the public, and even today, these complex characters are never far from my mind.

So I'd like to share a special moment of theirs with you.

The moment that Jordan and Erica finally kiss.

Happy Valentines Day to all of you, may you be spoiled somehow, may someone attempt to touch your heart, and may you smile more than you do on a typical day.

A bit of background first:

It all began with love. The pure, innocent kind that only an eight year old heart can know. But when a family tragedy tore apart her family, Erica was literally dragged from the arms of her best friend, Jordan.

Nineteen years later, the young boy with a plastic police badge and a hero complex has grown up to be a detective, and the fragile, broken little girl has become a vet, letting only animals touch her distrusting heart. But both are dogged by the shadows of that night and independently make the decision to return home.

In Olinda she is known as Erica Lawrence, the charming but emaciated little girl that was poisoned by her mother. Her return is the best gossip the town has had in years, and everyone is convinced that love between the pair is inevitable. All eyes are upon them, watching and waiting.

But their trip down memory lane is interrupted by two brutal murders, and Erica appears to be the next target.

The townspeople are jumping at shadows and pointing fingers in every direction, Jordan’s team has gone rogue, conducting their own investigations and nominating their own suspects, and his objectivity has been clouded – Erica’s safety is now his primary concern.

Even as the horror creeps ever closer, Jordan and Erica are drawn together. The need for answers that once consumed them doesn’t burn so brightly now, and when their hearts begin to align, they dare to do something neither has had the courage to do before: look forward.

On the precipice of confessing their love –the world appears to be against them.

* * *

 

Erica laughed and settled back against the wall. Her eyes shone in the feeble torch light, the thin beam reflected in her eyes. She rolled her head towards him and smiled.

Jordan shifted so that she could rest her head against his shoulder. ‘If that git Elliot didn’t upset you, then who did?’

‘Beth.’

Jordan raised a brow. ‘The woman with the poison tongue. What did she say this time?’

Her fingers flexed in his hand. ‘She cornered me when I was coming out of the bathroom. She was digging for dirt, as usual.’

‘That’s our Beth.’

‘Anyway, all she wanted to talk about was you and me. Said the town was fooled, thinking Elliot and I were an item. She knew better, she said. Wanted a confession of sorts so I snapped at her and told her to mind her own business.’ There was a long pause as Erica gathered the courage to continue. ‘Then she said I was just like my mother: secretive and impulsive in love. She said . . . ’ Erica hiccupped, too mortified to continue.

Jordan winced and released her hand so he could drape his arm around her shoulders. He pulled her towards him as sobs shook her body. They sat like that until her rasping breaths subsided, then he pushed her back and cradled the sides of her face.

‘Listen to me. I can understand how that would have hurt you. But you are nothing like your mother.’ He waited as she nodded. ‘She was a famous, attractive and stubborn woman. You are obviously none of these things.’

Erica gave a watery laugh.

Jordan smiled. ‘Seriously though, your mother was a monster. No one could possibly liken you to her and believe it. Don’t let a nasty piece of work like Beth convince you otherwise.’

She melted into his arms and buried her face in his shirt. Very gently he pressed his lips to the top of her head. When he spoke again, he murmured into her hair. ‘As for impulsive in love . . . of all people, I can attest to that being rubbish.’

Erica lifted her shoulders slightly. And he would have traded almost anything to know what she was thinking.

When she finally answered, his breath caught. ‘I don’t know. Maybe I am impulsive. I fell in love a long time ago – very hard and very fast.’ Her face moved against his chest, and it felt like she might be smiling. ‘I fell in love with a boy. He had a police badge and a hero complex.’

Very slowly, she sat up and stared into his eyes. The darkness cast shadows along the lines of her face. ‘Then I fell in love again. With a man. He has a police badge and a hero complex, too.’

The air sizzled with tension.

It would have been the moment to kiss her, but Jordan forced himself to wait just a fraction longer. It surprised him that he could think clearly when she was pressed up against him this way. It made it harder still, that her mouth was lifted and her eyes were on his lips. But there was something he needed to do first.

His hand slipped beneath the jacket she wore and fumbled in one of the inside pockets. He withdrew his wallet and flipped it open, then pulled something free. When he angled the flashlight over the small item on his upturned palm, the slice of light illuminated a small plastic bag. In it was a delicate silver chain and a small blue bird pendant.

‘It would seem,’ Jordan said softly, staring at the old necklace, ‘that I fell in love with you at the same time.’

Seemingly overwhelmed, Erica closed her eyes. Tears slid down her cheeks and Jordan moved in to kiss them away. He clasped the chain around her neck and pressed his lips to the spot where the pendant lay against her throat. It sat much higher than it had when she had worn it as a child.

He lowered his mouth to hers.

And his mind blurred. She tasted sweet and somehow familiar, as if they had kissed before – if only in his dreams. Her tongue grazed his lower lip and he thought he would break with urgency.

He drew back and kissed the sensitive flesh of her neck, curling his fingers in her thick hair. Her sighs quickened his pulse and brought his lips back to hers.

When at last they separated, their hands still clinging to the other, there were no words. So for the longest time they sat in warm silence.

In Jordan’s mind there was no doubt that he had just experienced his last first kiss. This was it – this was that great love that people spoke of. He smiled into the darkness, which somehow seemed much brighter now.

 

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

I'm delighted to be part of The Next Big Thing Blog Hop. I've been asked to answer ten questions about my new work and then tag other authors to do the same. So without further ado, see below for a scoop on my upcoming romance novella (the first of a series - so excited!), and follow the links at the bottom to continue the hop. If you have any questions, I'd be delighted to answer them. If you're a reviewer and you're interested in reading and discussing the title, please contact with me about acquiring an ARC - I'd love to hear from you.

1: What is the working title of your book?

Ask Me To Stay

2: Where did the idea come from for the book?

I was participating in the international 3-Day Novel Contest and I wanted to write a short, emotionally satisfying story about returning home with an undeserved reputation. All I knew when I sat down to start it was that the novella featured two estranged brothers and their best friend, a death and a lie. Then fingers went to keyboard and an entirely unexpected first sentence appeared. After that, I was hooked. I had to finish Ethan's story.

3: What genre does your book come under?

Contemporary rural romance - the setting is a fictional small town in country New South Wales, Australia.

4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

In my wildest dreams, Ethan Foster the story's male protagonist would be played by Jared Padaleki. His brother Dean would be played by Jensen Ackles and their best friend Caleb O'Hara would be played by Alex O’Loughlin. Samantha O'Hara, Ethan's high school sweetheart, could be played by Ellen Page. In my mind, little Nina Foster looks a little like child actress Ashley Boettcher, and her brother Rowan like child actor Owen Best.  

5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Ethan Foster has been protecting a secret for almost a decade, but when he faces losing everyone he's ever loved all over again, the past becomes too heavy a burden to bear.

6: Is your book self-published, published by an independent publisher, or represented by an agency?

Contracted by Penguin's Destiny Romance, scheduled to be released April this year.

7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Three days. I wrote into the early morning, all through the day... I achieved nothing else for an entire long weekend.

8: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Perhaps Kelly Hunter's Wish and Rachael John's Jilted. Both are rural contemporary romances. Kelly's is a novella about two people trying to come together despite a traumatic past and the scrutiny of a small town. Rachael's female protagonist returns home notorious and persecuted for running away many years ago. My character Ethan is the same, he has an undeserved reputation and a childhood sweetheart who still stirs his heart.

9: Who or what inspired you to write this book?

The challenge of drafting a complete work under an absurd deadline was what initially inspired me. I wanted to see if I could do it, and what I could produce under pressure. Prior to that, I kept imagining a man driving through the night, led home by the magnetism of family and obligation.

10: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

This is the first in a novella series about the lives and loves of Ethan, Cal and Dean. The second and third novellas are expected to come out later this year, so you don't have to wait long between reads. There's a strong focus on family, forgiveness and self-sacrifice, and a gorgeous little girl who stole my heart. The story begins a few days after a tragedy but don't be put off by that because it's also very light-hearted; I want you to laugh and sigh. This story will make you feel good, author's promise!

Thank you to Patricia Zick for inviting me to join the blog hop. Patricia's Next Big Thing Blog Hop post is here. Please take some time to visit her website and blog and read about her latest release, contemporary literature novel, Trails in the Sand. 
Web: www.pczick.com
Blog: www.pczick.wordpress.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PCZick
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PCZick

See below for a list of fabulous authors you should acquaint yourself with:

Keziah Hill

Author of steamy erotic romance and romantic suspense, Keziah has been recently published with Momentum, and Harlequin imprint, Escape Publishing. 

Web: http://www.keziahhill.com

Blog: http://keziahhill.com/blog/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KeziahHill

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KeziahHillAuthor

Jennifer St George

Contemporary romance author of The Convenient Bride talks about her latest release with Penguin imprint, Destiny Romance, Seducing The Secret Heiress, here. 

Web:  www.jenniferstgeorge.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JenStGeorge/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jennifer.s.george.31?fref=ts

Imelda Evans
Published with Destiny Romance, Imelda's debut novel Rules Are For Breaking was a finalist in the 2012 ARRA Awards Favourite Contemporary Romance category.
Blog: http://imeldaevans.wordpress.com/blog/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Imelda_Evans
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImeldaEvansAuthor

Louise Reynolds
Another wonderful Destineer, Louise's title Her Italian Aristocrat takes contemporary romance readers abroad.
Website: http://www.louisereynolds.com.au
Blog: http://louwrites.wordpress.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LouiseHReynolds
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LouiseReynoldsauthorpage

M.O Kenyan
Author of  Shades of Spring 1964: Letters to my daughter; you can connect with her the following ways:
Web: http://t.co/0G7bLz2o
Blog: www.mokauthor.wordpress.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MOK_Author
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MokAuthor?ref=hl