Giveaway

It's cold out there, so time for a BOOK Giveaway!

Margareta-Admin — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 08:16:14 +0000

It's cold out there, so time for a BOOK Giveaway!

Margareta-Admin Wed, 15/06/2016 - 6:16 pm

Oh my Gosh. I think winter has finally hit our hills with a vengeance. The thickness of the frost on the ground yesterday morning had us thinking it had snowed! I could only cringe on behalf of my poor Jacaranda Tree snug under it’s super-bag (top) and layers of mulch (bottom) and send a prayer up to the heavens it wasn’t going to take affront at the cold and curl up and die. Due to us living beside a huge lake, we don’t generally get severe frosts here, but as the lake is currently very low, it was Jack Frost’s turn to get even. Brrrrr … was the only thing to say, and pulling on the down jacket, followed by earmuffs, was the only thing to do.

The Farm Boy drove the ute to the bus-stop with his head hanging out the side-window to see the track, (the front windscreen simply refroze), and the school bags had to be wrestled from the ice trying to glue them to the old tray-back. Even Ange wasn’t happy to be dragged from her nice warm kennel to brave my early morning trudge up and down the hills to check the stock and troughs.

Saturday was also icy with, I swear, tiny flakes of snow in the rain. The wind knifed straight through you and of course, the Princess needed to ride her pony. Lightning wasn’t overly happy to have his cosy rug taken off and be made do something, so he was a cranky-pants. Subsequently mum ended up riding the pony to get his ‘cantankerous beans’ out of the way, so the Princess could have a nice ride. I had five layers on, resembled a Michelin woman, and could barely move, so H had to heave me onto the horse, even though the steed is only 13 hands high. It was quite the sight. At least if I had’ve come off, I would’ve simply rolled to the bottom of the hill. There was that.

Oh dear it's chilly in the hills at the moment!

The rest of that freezing cold day was taken up with important stuff, like reading and baking, much more civilised things to do when the weather is so disgusting. I was able to dispense with at least three layers and curl up in front of the fire with some chocolate, cups of tea and a good book. Bliss, I tell you.

Which leads me to three very interesting books, I’d like to mention to you today.

The Amazing Mrs Livesey, Freda Marnie Nicholls

One is from our friends at Allen and Unwin, and is written by my mate, Freda Marnie Nichols. It’s the remarkable story of Australia’s greatest imposter and is called THE AMAZING MRS LIVESEY.

Now, if you’re a Richard Fidler fan like me, you may have caught up with Freda’s interview a number of weeks ago detailing how she came to write this story and titbits from the book itself. If you didn’t catch it here’s a link to the podcast.

It turns out that the notorious Ethel Livesey was a serial fraudster and confidence trickster. She had over 40 aliases, eight official marriages, four children and five divorces in a time when divorce was completely scandalous. Her remarkable life stretched across the world with claims she was a cotton heiress, wartime nurse, opera singer, artist and close friend of the King, just to name a few.

Freda, in association with Luita Frances Aichiner, Ethel Livesey’s granddaughter, has written an impressive tale, which had my eyes riveted to the page, right to the very end. I can’t believe this woman got away with all that she did! Thank goodness, for her sake, the internet wasn’t around. She wouldn’t have lasted a day, which, would have been a very good thing for those she duped! Her cheek was gobsmacking.

I asked Freda how she came to write this incredible story.

“While catching up with a girlfriend for lunch, she started telling me about finding out some fascinating things about her paternal grandmother, and that she appeared to be an international con woman. She was having difficulty finding her father’s birth certificate and I offered to help. From there we found out so many incredible facts and stories. I decided to talk with my publisher about it, and THE AMAZING MRS LIVESEY was born.”

And what a story it is!

With thanks to the lovely folks at Allen and Unwin, I have one copy of THE AMAZING MRS LIVESEY to give away! All newsletter subscribers will be entered into the draw. Result, next week so stay tuned …

Central Station, True Stories from Australian Cattle Stations

Over at Central Station - where men and women of the Australian Outback come together to share an insight into their lives - the good, the bad and the dusty; they have released a book. And I'm in it! Just a little bit excited about that ... My story, 'Our Extreme Sea Change' is the first in this colation of true stories from Australian cattle stations edited by Jane Sale and Stephanie Coombes and brought to you by ABC Books. It's the type of book you can pick up and put down at the conclusion of each story, but you long to return to it. For those who have worked on stations, the book will bring back a ton of memories and for those who wonder what it would be like, it will inspire you to get out there and give it a go.

You can buy the book at any good bookstore and also online. Here's what it looks like.

And you can find out more at the Central Station Blog, and perhaps even win yourself $250! http://www.centralstation.net.au/win-250-with-our-new-book/

The other book that hit my roadside mailbox is completely different.

BOOTS OFF, APRON ON, is a cookbook from the kitchens of stations in outback NSW. And don’t you just love the name?! It is so descriptive and true. It happens every day at my house.

I was alerted to this particular book’s existence by my friend, Sarah McConnell, from ABC Broken Hill. You all know how much I love cooking, especially when the recipes are delicious and involve ‘everything is right there in the pantry’ fare. I have quite a collection of these station/homestead/farm cooking books, and swear by them all. You can’t go past old-fashioned, down-to-earth country cooking. But then, I guess, coming from a line of good, old-fashioned country cooks, I’m biased!

This particular cookbook is created by the Broken Hill School of the Air. It’s beautifully presented in hard cover, with some wonderful photo’s just to break up the prose. I so wish I had this book last year when I was cooking on the station in Western Australia’s Pilbara. The section on savoury smoko’s would’ve been particularly fabulous as I was running out of ideas by the end of mustering.

Boots Off, Apron On

In it, I've also found THE most AWESOME banana cake recipe aptly called the 'Best Banana Cake' and shared in the book by Glendara Station. I thought I had a good Banana Cake happening, but I tell you, this one is so much better. The recipe makes a large cake, is moist, and postively scrumptious. Here is one of the two loaf pan cakes made using the recipe this morning.

I asked co-editors, Pixie Moses (Mt Westward Station) and Bree Wakefield (Banoon Station) what inspired the book and where they planned to invest the funds raised.

“We decided to create the updated version of the School of the Air cookbook to mark the 60th anniversary of the school. It has been a labour of love. A huge project with big results. Our first print sold out in 1 month! The recipes are tried and tested recipes submitted by our school families, teachers & governess'. Ranging from traditional homestyle meals to modern side dishes & desserts as well as a chapter featuring thermomix recipies. The gorgeous station photographs through out the book have been as well received as the recipes themselves. It really showcases our unique outback lives. Funds raised from the books will be used towards something major for the school that will benefit the students for years to come.”

I for one, can see this beautifully presented, hardcover cookbook becoming one of my everyday ‘go to’ references.

You can read more about the book and purchase your own copy here: http://www.bootsoffapronon.com

And finally (because I seem to have gabbled on forever), last weekend, I made a new dish, a winter warmer, Chicken and Potatoes with Garlic Parmesan Cream Sauce. (I want to lick the screen just saying it.) It was a hit at the homestead with even the kids digging in without any complaints. WINNER! So, I thought I'd share it as you might be looking for a winter warmer recipe this weekend for your family. I can highly recommend it. It's 'Damn Delicious'! You'll find the recipe at http://damndelicious.net/2016/05/08/chicken-potatoes-garlic-parmesan-cr…

Until next week, and amongst other things like editing LAKE HILL, I'm going to keep vacuuming with my Stihl (STIHL LOVE IT! :)) to stay warm!

Margareta xo

Tags

Winter

Frost

Giveaway

The Amazing Mrs Livesey

Freda Marnie Nicholls

Central Station

True Stories from Australian Cattle Stations

Book Cover - Boots Off Apron On

Jenn J Mcleod on her new book Season of Shadow and Light

Margareta-Admin — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 05:38:41 +0000

Jenn J Mcleod on her new book Season of Shadow and Light

Margareta-Admin Thu, 16/04/2015 - 3:38 pm

Today I'd like to welcome, Jenn J McLeod to the Voice of the bush. Jenn is a friend of mine who I met through Romance Writer's of Australia. Recently she and her partner sold up their property and fulfilled a lifelong dream of buying a Winnebago and are now writing their way around Australia. I am so envious of all the pictures of the glrious beaches they visit posted on Facebook. What a way to live your life!

Jenn is also the author of three books, House for All Seasons, Simmering Season and now Season of Shadow and Light. She's here today to tell us more about her new book and to give you the opportunity to win all three!

Take it away Jenn ...

The Seriousness of a Smile

Just look at that photo of you, Margareta! You have the best smile, which is why I’m here talking smiles today. The other reason is because one of my Season of Shadow and Light characters, Paige, has a few unusual issues to overcome. Her smile is one.

While researching this story I learned a lot about our little mood metre. Did you know, for example, there is nothing straight-forward about a smile? Genuine or forced, a smile requires considerable muscle activity.

Paige learns this one day from ‘rehab guy’ while he’s manipulating her muscles (and she’s wishing she wasn’t too old—and too married—to take advantage of lovely Lance with the long fingers. Poor Paige sure could do with a lift given what I put her through in this novel.) When it seems everything she trusts is beginning to betray her, she leaves her husband at home and sets off on a road trip with six year old Matilda and Nana Alice in tow. But stranded amid rising floodwaters, on a detour to the tiny town of Coolabah Tree Gully, Paige discovers the greatest betrayal of all happened there twenty years earlier and that someone knows that truth can wash away the darkest shadows. The question is…

Are some secrets best kept for the sake of others?

With three early industry reviews already in, I am super excited about this story of secrets and love, family loyalty and trust—the kind that takes years to build but only seconds to wash away.

I reckon these reviews are better than chocolate. This one has me grinning from ear to ear.

“Jenn J McLeod delivers her best yet – a winning story of self-discovery, acceptance, renewal and coming home, in a distinctively Australian setting.” http://www.writenotereviews.com

Speaking of chocolate and grins . . . Did you know a smile will trigger your brain’s reward mechanism in a way that not even chocolate can, with some research suggesting you’ll get more pleasure from smiling than from eating 2,000 bars of chocolate. (Ahh, I truly doubt that!) But, as smiling also results in the production of endorphins, or happy hormones—just like exercise does—I’m thinking, Margareta, our smiling while writing could be considered exercise. Therefore the occasional bar of chocolate definitely won’t hurt. Right?

Children smile 400 times a day on average, so researchers suggest you will feel happier around children. (Hmm? Not sure about that one either.) But I have to admit I did enjoy creating Paige’s six-year-old daughter, Matilda. (Thanks to Author Kate Belle for lending me some of her little Miss Nine quirks and conversations to get me into a 6 y.o. frame of mind!)

The fact that happy adults smile only 40-50 times a day, but on average most of us smile only 20 times, means we could learn something from our children.

If you’re looking for ways to smile more, Margareta and I suggest a good book? You’ll always find something to giggle over in ours. With practice you’ll even notice how smiling will start to affect you and those around you in a positive way. Best of all, your smile can be detected when you write an email, or pick up the phone. People will sense that smile right away. I wrote this blog post with a smile. Can you tell?

How about one of my favourite ‘smiley’ excerpts—that also happens to involve Lovely Lance. This scene evolved after I read that a researcher in San Francisco identified 19 types of smiles and put them into two categories: polite “social” smiles which engage fewer muscles, and sincere “felt” smiles that use more muscles on both sides of the face.

Excerpt – Season of Shadow and Light

The pair walked in step and in silence, Paige wishing she had dark glasses too. Sunglasses and her big floppy hat would help hide any facial twitch that was, according to Lance—the lovely rehab guy with the lovely hands—common to every liar. He’d offered her some advice the day she’d been lamenting her new lopsided lips.

‘On the bright side,’ he’d said, ‘muscle defects like yours make it harder to detect a lie. You never know when that might come in handy.’

Paige was confused. ‘Lying?’

‘Maybe recognising a lie in others,’ he offered, a little embarrassed.

‘Oh, and how do I do that?’

‘It’s all about how these muscles under my fingers work. Consciously created smiles form differently from natural ones. You’ve got a little muscle in here—the risorius.’

Paige had wished she could feel Lance’s long fingers lazily tracing the small muscle at the corner of her lips, but that part of her face remained numb—unlike the not so numb part between her legs that at that moment was making her want to open her mouth and suck on that lovely long finger.

‘I’m probably boring you with the details, Paige,’ Lance said, though Lance didn’t speak. Lance crooned.

‘Not at all. Tell me more. I’m . . . fascinated,’ Paige returned, wondering if her mouth had twitched ‘Liar’ just then.

If it did, Lance seemed oblivious—to the twitch, the lie, and to her inappropriate carnal thoughts about those fingers of his.

‘That risorius muscle tends to pull the lip oddly. Not so much up, but sideways.’

‘Won’t this mouth of mine also mean no one will know if I’m being genuine? I’ll simply be sneering at everyone the same way those horrid, grouchy women in the supermarket express queue snarl if you have too much in your trolley. Great!’

He laughed. Lance had a lovely laugh to go with all his other lovely bits. ‘No, not what I’m saying. In fact, there’s another bright side if you consider the orbicularis oculi muscles that cause crow’s feet around the eyes when the zygomaticus major and zygomaticus minor muscles raise the lips of a real smile.’

‘Really? And what’s that?’ Paige asked, pinching back her own smile.

‘You won’t have as many crow’s feet. Well, on one side anyway.’

‘Gee, thanks, Lance, I feel so much better after that explanation.’

‘Give a guy a break. I’m trying to put a positive spin on things. I want to help you feel good.’

She’d laughed aloud suddenly, actually frightening the hunky hospital worker with the Hollywood looks, who doubled as a personal trainer on weekends.

I’ll feel good if you carry me off to bed and make mad, passionate love to me.

She’d settle for a bit more risorius muscle massaging.

Lance’s physio workouts had ended up being psychological workouts as well. While the twenty-something year old was way too young for anything other than her imagination, he’d made Paige realise what was missing from her marriage. There was no spark, no surprises, no laughter.

Paige had had few reasons to smile, until landing in Coolabah Tree Gully.

Now, write a comment while you are still smiling and you could be a winner!! J

Win - 3 x Book Pack Giveaway

For your chance to WIN all THREE Jenn J McLeod novels* simply leave a comment below. From now until the end of May Jenn drops into some of her favourite author blogs to say hello to readers old and new. She'll then collect the comment names from each author blog post, picking a lucky winner from one major draw and announcing the name end May on her blog.

If you’d like to find out more about Jenn and her contemporary women’s fiction about small towns keeping big secrets, head on over to her website or, like me, follow the Facebook and Twitter fun.

Website: http://www.jennjmcleod.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JennJMcLeod.Author

Twitter: @jennjmcleod

*Book Pack: House for all Seasons (#5 Top Selling Debut novel, 2013), Simmering Season, and Season of Shadow and Light. (Australian postal address only)

Cheers. I look forward to seeing you at my place soon, Margareta, for my #WriteRoundOz Author Series. www.jennjmcleod.com

Wow, so Jenn's coming to visit us up here on our hill sometime soon. How exciting! We'll see you at the Glen, Jenn. (Oooo and it even rhymes!) Thanks for being at the Voice of bush today.

Tags

Giveaway

Season of Shadow and Light

Jenn J McLeod

And the winner of Rose River is ...

Margareta-Admin — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 09:06:50 +0000

And the winner of Rose River is ...

Margareta-Admin Fri, 20/02/2015 - 8:06 pm

Drum roll ... after an incredible amount of entries to win one of the first copies of my new book, ROSE RIVER, we have drawn a winner.

But first (I know - you hate it when I do this but I just want to say a few words ...:), I would like to extend a warm welcome to all my new newsletter subscribers and thank you for becoming a part of our great community here at The Voice of the Bush. I'd also like to wave a big hello to my ongoing subscribers and thank you for your continuing support. If there's anything you'd like me to chat about here on the site, please drop me a line and we'll see what we can do.

As of March 2, I'll be on the road in NSW, ACT and VIC, with the tour for ROSE RIVER (more details where and when shortly). If I'm at a library or book store near you, please come say hello and mention we're mates on this site. I'd love to meet you.

And now ... the winner of a personally signed copy of ROSE RIVER is ... TANYA LAWLER from South Australia!

Congratulations Tanya. Please contact me with your address and I'll post your book on Monday!

Happy Reading!

Margareta x

Tags

Rose River

Giveaway

Great books for Father's Day ...

Margareta-Admin — Wed, 03 Sep 2014 04:28:55 +0000

Great books for Father's Day ...

Margareta-Admin Wed, 03/09/2014 - 2:28 pm

Every now and then I get sent books to review for publishers. Today's two great reads have come courtesy of Allen & Unwin and just in time for Father's Day. Read to the bottom and you could win a copy of each great book!

BACK OF BEYOND - FREDA MARNIE NICHOLLS

The Back of Beyond, Freda Marnie Nicholls

BACK OF BEYOND is a pearler of a novel from the delightful Freda Marnie Nicholls. I first came across Freda's work when she collaborated with sister, Zelie Bullen, a renown animal trainer (think War Horse, Charlotte's Web & Racing Stripes) on Zelie's autobiography, LOVE, SWEAT & TEARS (2013). Autobiography's usually aren't my favourite reading matter due to their often dry tone. They just don't hold my interest for very long. This is not the case with Freda's books. The prose is down-to-earth, honest and almost lyrical in parts. The subjects of her attention have led intriguing and fascinating lives. They are the people you would meet down the street, or at a BBQ and have no idea of their backstory unless someone else told you.

In BACK OF BEYOND Freda authentically captures the voice of former sheep shearer, dingo trapper and horse breaker, Hugh Tindall, as he reminisces on his extraordinary life in outback Queensland. I was hooked from page one as I felt Hugh was in my head, telling me about his life on the land in an era where times were tough and living was hard. Respect and admiration for his wife, fellow workers and the outback itself, shines through this novel as Hugh recounts his life in a dry and laconic manner.

From a poor man's selection on the Diamantina in 1928, to owning six large stations with his family. From shearing his first 100 sheep a day at the age of sixteen, to organising sheds in the long running 1956 shearer's strike, Hugh gives a an honest account of life in isolated outback Queensland where the tough survived or died.

I tip my hat to Freda Marnie Nicholls for the manner in which she has crafted this story, allowing the distinctive voice of Hugh to become the "voice of the novel", something some autobiographical novels fail to do. It is also a novel which is very easy to read and not a hard slog. Full credit also goes to Hugh, for having the courage to share his story with us. So often we don't write this kind of literary gold down and thus, rich tales of a bygone era are lost in the dust motes of the past.

Out of all the books hitting the shelves in time for Father's Day, BACK OF BEYOND is the one I will be buying MY father, as I know he will love this easy-reading recount of Hugh Tindall and his extraordinary life.

MARBLE BAR - ROBERT SCHOFIELD

Marble Bar, Robert Schofield

We were behind the eight ball when it came to MARBLE BAR by Robert Schofield. Neither my husband nor I had read his earlier book HEIST which introduced the larger-than-life character of Gareth Ford. HEIST, from all accounts, was a ripper of a yarn and as I gave this particular book to my man to read purely with Father's Day in mind, I think that did affect, in parts, his overall enjoyment of the story. Backstory often adds another layer to the pleasure of a subsequent book.

Nevertheless he came back to me with a positive response to this more traditional crime-y action type novel. Said the storyline was realistic and made even more so by the setting, the extremely hot, dry and dusty Marble Bar, in W.A.'s Pilbara. Population 200. 'It's a wild west meets Lee Child kind of book ...' he said. 'And it's very Australian.' I think that Aussie tone of novel is depicted beautifully by the opening line.

'Let me ask you something, alright? You ever see a snake eat a kangaroo?'

(My webmistress is a "bit of a crime fiction fan" and she's read and reviewed both books on her site.)

Robert Schofield (photo credit Ross Swanborough)

I asked Robert Schofield a few questions. Why did he decided to write Heist? What made him want to write a crime novel and what sort of research did writing both Heist and Marble Bar involve? I was also intrigued as to why he chose Marble Bar as the setting for his second book. This was what he told me ...

I am a structural engineer by training: born, raised and educated in England. I started my career working in an architectural practice, but back in 1990 I followed a girl to Australia, and not finding much call for architectural engineering in Perth I switched to the gold mining industry.

Over the last twenty years I have been travelling back and to the Goldfields, and I’ve been collecting stories. Everyone has a story to tell, and most people only need a drink inside them before they’ll tell it. Gold breeds tall tales of lost reefs, fake nuggets, robberies and swindles; a continuous history of wheeling and dealing that is as rich today as it was during the gold rush. Tales of fortunes lost and dreams crushed, filled with modern-day characters who are just as colourful as those from history.

I found it hard to believe that a town bursting with so much history, with a catalogue of such great characters and stories, had so few books written about it. There was a rich seam of stories to be mined, but it never occurred to me that I might be the one to dig into it.

The idea for HEIST came on a site visit to an abandoned gold mine in the desert, and was inspired by conversations with mine workers in the wet mess. Nobody who works in the gold industry will admit it, but they all harbour secret fantasies about robbing the place. That’s the power that gold has over men. They lie awake at night trying to conjure elaborate hypothetical schemes for stealing gold. It’s only ever just that, wishful thinking, but if they get drunk enough they might share their ideas. A gold robbery seemed the ideal vehicle to tie together all the stories I had gathered in Kalgoorlie.

MARBLE BAR is the sequel, following my characters north into the Pilbara. I’d been on a trip to the town several years ago to work on a mine nearby, and had spent an afternoon drinking in the Ironclad Hotel. Marble Bar’s claim to fame is that it is the hottest town in Australia. They have a sign there that tells you this, with a digital read-out that displays the current temperature. It takes a special kind of person to live there. You need to be mad as a cut snake. I suggested to my agent that it seemed like the perfect setting for a book.

My agent replied that he had another writer on his books, a gold prospector who had lived many years in and around Marble Bar. As a writer I am very attuned to synchronicity, and I wasn’t going to ignore such kismet. That introduction lead to several others, and I spent some time up in Marble bar, staying at the Ironclad, travelling the country and listening to its stories.

Marble Bar was founded during the gold rush at the end of the nineteenth century, but at the beginning of the twenty-first century it finds itself surrounded by the iron ore boom; but it has barely touched the town. It made me think about who should benefit from the mineral wealth lying under Australia: should it be the multinational mining companies, the Chinese steel mills, the super-rich entrepreneurs, the men and women sweating in the mines, the taxpayer, the general public, or the traditional owners?

Both BACK OF BEYOND and MARBLE BAR are published by Allen & Unwin and are currently available at all good bookstores and online.

I have a review copy of each of these novels to give away. Comment below or on my Facebook page and go in the draw to win!

Tags

The Back of Beyond

Freda Marnie Nicholls

About Alissa Callen's BENEATH OUTBACK SKIES (and a giveaway)

Margareta-Admin — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 07:33:54 +0000

About Alissa Callen's BENEATH OUTBACK SKIES (and a giveaway)

Margareta-Admin Tue, 17/06/2014 - 5:33 pm

Today on my blog, we're hosting a lovely girl I met in Dubbo, whilst on tour last year for HOPE'S ROAD. She is also a rural author with Random House, Australia, and along with that, a wife, mother to four rug-rats and is somehow keeping it all together in this mad world just like me. We really clicked and so it's with great delight I'd like to introduce you to Alissa Callen.

Alissa Callen

Alissa's got two books out at the moment, one in both print and ebook, the other ebook only. They're both rural romance novels and we have her latest one, Beneath Outback Skies (in print), to give away thanks to Random House, Australia! So if you're an avid lover of this genre and you haven't checked out Alissa's novels, I suggest you venture forth. Make a comment on the blog below or on Facebook and you'll go in the draw to win. But first, let's hear from Alissa herself ...

Thanks so much Margareta for having me over {smiley}

When I’m not writing I play traffic controller to four children, three dogs, two horses and one renegade cow who really does believe the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.

I am lucky enough to live on a small slice of rural Australia in the beautiful and diverse central west of NSW. We have vivid pink sunsets, chilly pale sunrises, roasting sunshine and finger-numbing frosts. We also have had a summer bushfire in our front paddock and a one-in-twenty-year flood that washed away our river pumps. But we wouldn’t live anywhere else.

I love writing stories that encapsulate the rural way of life and that pay homage to the resilience of bush communities. Beneath Outback Skies owes its genesis to the years we lived further out west. Our time there was characterized by extreme drought and I will never take water for granted again. On the long and arrow-straight drive to the closest regional centre, I’d pass a burned out old house and this ruin became the inspiration for Killora Downs. Further east there are thankfully still standing historic homesteads and I used these to fashion Paige Quinn’s beloved home, Banora Downs.

Despite the ongoing drought and the hardships Paige, her wheelchair-bound father and the local community endure, Beneath Outback Skies is a story of strength, courage and hope. It is also a story of secrets, romance and redemption.

I hope you enjoy visiting my fictional small rural community of Glenalla as much as I enjoyed creating it for Beneath Outback Skies and the second book in the series, Down Outback Roads.Happy reading {smiley}

Beneath Outback Skies, Alissa Callen

Beneath Outback Skies

Paige Quinn will let nothing and no one distract her from caring for her wheelchair-bound father, Connor, and fighting for her remote, drought-stricken property, Banora Downs. Least of all a surprise farm-stay guest named Tait Cavanaugh, whose smooth words are as lethal as his movie-star smile.

Except Paige can't help noticing that, for a city-boy, Tait seems unexpectedly at home on the land. And he does ask a lot of questions. It doesn't matter how much he helps out or how much laughter he brings into her life, she soon suspects he is harbouring a big secret - the real reason he has come to Banora Downs.

You can buy Beneath Outback Skies from your favourite bookseller:

Booktopia
Collins Booksellers
Dymocks
Angus and Robertson

Down Outback Roads, Alissa Callen

Down Outback Roads (ebook)

Sometimes you need to give yourself permission to fall in love.

Kree Garrett's younger brother Seth is all the family she has left, so when he goes missing in the Australian outback, she doesn't think twice about leaving her American home to find him. When Seth is rescued Kree vows to find a way to thank the small town of Glenalla. It isn't long before she falls in love with the tight-knit rural community. But is it really the town she's falling for?

Ewan Mackenzie has given up everything for his brother's family, but he can never give enough to assuage his guilt at what happened one dark night, years ago . . . Ewan knows he doesn't deserve a second chance at happiness, but when beautiful, open-hearted Kree stays to fight to save his home town, he finds it hard to keep his distance.

Can Kree and Ewan leave their pasts behind for long enough to find a future together?

You can buy the ebook from your favourite online ebook store:

US Amazon
AUS Amazon
Itunes
Google play
Kobo

As I said earlier, we have ONE print copy of BENEATH OUTBACK SKIES to give away, thanks to Random House Australia. To go in the draw to win, make a comment below or on Facebook and your name will go into my cake tin! GOOD LUCK!

Tags

Alissa Callen

Beneath Outback Skies

Down Outback Roads

Giveaway

Signed Mountain Ash Giveaway Winner

Margareta — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 00:19:40 +0000

Signed Mountain Ash Giveaway Winner

Margareta Fri, 28/02/2014 - 11:19 am

Thank you so much for all your enthusiasm for the launch of MA. We had a fabulous night. There's a blog post to follow with pics so if you're interested keep an eye out for that or come back to my site later today (it takes a while to load the pictures!)

In the meantime, we'd like to announce the winner of the signed copy of MOUNTAIN ASH is Lyn Heffernan. Congratulations Lyn! Contact us here, and we'll have your signed copy in the post for you.

MOUNTAIN ASH has hit iBooks if you're looking to download to your kindle/iPad/iPhone/Kobo etc - here's some links to get you there:

Kindle

iTunes

Kobo

For all the print book lovers (like me!), it should be available at a good bookstore near you during the next few days. It's already in Gippsland (and I hope Allie doesn't mind - I've "borrowed" her picture of the first copy of Mountain Ash sold in Bairnsdale!) and W.A. from accounts.

Where are you going to find your copy? If you'd like to, send us a pic of you and your book, MOUNTAIN ASH, and we'll post it.

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Mountain Ash

Giveaway

We Have a Winner and Because It was Fun, another Giveaway!

Margareta — Thu, 09 May 2013 11:42:56 +0000

We Have a Winner and Because It was Fun, another Giveaway!

Margareta Thu, 09/05/2013 - 9:42 pm

We had some wonderful entries for the Aussie Author Month giveaway where we asked you to tell us about your favourite characters in my book. After a lot of trouble, a huge amount of trouble, picking, finally - our winner is:

Madeline McCluskey

Madeline, I'll be in touch via email to sort out getting your prize to you.

Now, because that was so much fun ... and because I've now got my new beautiful, glossy, luxurious looking 'complete with gorgeous tassel' bookmarks (can you tell I love them), lets do another giveaway. And this time you don't have to do anything except enter!

Please wander over and stick your hat in the ring (or at least a comment):

Mothers Day Giveaway

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Mothers Day

Giveaway

Aussie Author Month Giveway - Win Stuff :)

Margareta — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 09:13:39 +0000

Aussie Author Month Giveway - Win Stuff :)

Margareta Tue, 16/04/2013 - 7:13 pm

It's April, which means AUSSIE AUTHOR MONTH so what better time to do a giveaway for fans and readers of Rural Romance style books.

There's a prize for a lucky local, and for overseas readers over at the Competition page - so please join in and enter to see if you can win :)

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Aussie Author Month

Giveaway

Hope's Road Giveaway - Reminder

Margareta-Admin — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 09:56:08 +0000

Hope's Road Giveaway - Reminder

Margareta-Admin Thu, 21/02/2013 - 8:56 pm

Just a final reminder as we're going to draw the winner from the newsletter subscribers tomorrow - so if you'd like to have a chance of a free copy of HOPE'S ROAD - please sign up

Newsletter Subscription

Promise you won't be driven mad by lots of newsletters (although we will send one out once the winner is known :) )

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Hope's Road

Giveaway

Hope's Road Giveaway

Margareta-Admin — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 04:39:26 +0000

Hope's Road Giveaway

Margareta-Admin Thu, 14/02/2013 - 3:39 pm

Now it's your turn (I hope) to get a Happy Surprise when the mail delivery arrives at your door or post box or roadside 44 gallon drum.

Because (I hope), you'll sign up to our brand spanking new, should (hope)fully be a reasonably regular newsletter:

http://www.margaretaosborn.com.au/newsletter/subscriptions

(Hopefully) you won't scream when you see the word 'newsletter' because yes, I know, every man, his dog and Damara are producing newsletters these days. And seriously, the amount of mail coming across MY kitchen table drives me nuts, let alone what you're dealing with. So instead of the word 'newsletter' I (hope) you'll insert 'what the heck is happening at the patch of bush that belongs to that Osborn woman' instead. I promise you it'll be short, sweet and (I hope) funny. And it'll have pictures. I love pictures.

Once you all sign up, on Friday the 22nd I'm going to randomly pick out a name from all the subscribers (okay so we'll put everybody's email addresses in my hat and get the kids to pick one out. ((Hope))fully they don't kill each other in the process...)

Then that lucky person will get, in their mail, a brand spanking new, apart from the signature and personal inscription on the front page, copy of HOPE'S ROAD!

(Hands up everyone who hopes I get bored with this hope malarky soon...)

Tags

Hope's Road

Giveaway

Giveaway

It's cold out there, so time for a BOOK Giveaway!

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Jenn J Mcleod on her new book Season of Shadow and Light

The Seriousness of a Smile

Excerpt – Season of Shadow and Light

Win - 3 x Book Pack Giveaway

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And the winner of Rose River is ...

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Great books for Father's Day ...

BACK OF BEYOND - FREDA MARNIE NICHOLLS

MARBLE BAR - ROBERT SCHOFIELD

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About Alissa Callen's BENEATH OUTBACK SKIES (and a giveaway)

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Signed Mountain Ash Giveaway Winner

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We Have a Winner and Because It was Fun, another Giveaway!

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Aussie Author Month Giveway - Win Stuff :)

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Hope's Road Giveaway - Reminder

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Hope's Road Giveaway

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