Purchase your copy of Paperbark Hill today. Need to catch up first? Magpie's Bend, Bottlebrush Creek and Wildflower Ridge are all reader-voted top reads! Find them in your favourite book shop or via the links above.

More books coming your way!

I’m delighted to have signed contracts for another two books with Allen & Unwin. I’m very proud to write for this wonderful Australian publishing house and I can’t wait to bring you more rural romance stories in 2024 & 2025. That might seem quite some time away, but given it takes me about a year to write a book, then another nine or so months for my publisher, editors, cover designer and typesetter to work their magic, I’ll start work on the 2024 book real soon.

Events coming to a close

I’m sending this weekend’s email from the lovely South West Victorian fishing village of Port Fairy. If you live locally, there’s still time to book your tickets for the Port Fairy Literary Weekend this weekend. There’s a slew of fab events today and tomorrow  (September 3 & 4), including my ‘Perfect Match’ panel discussion with Ellie O’Neill and Alison Reynolds, hosted by Rob McDonald.

I was also thrilled by the warm reception in Western Australia last month. It was my first time in WA and between book events, writing workshops and the RWA conference, I had a lovely day exploring Rottnest Island and celebrating a major win for my good friend, Kaneana May. Kaneana and I first met at the Romance Writers Australia conference in Sydney pre-publication, and we’ve been firm friends and conference room-mates ever since. Her second novel All We Have is Now took out the major RWA prize of the year at the awards night, the icing on the cake for a brilliant weekend.

Many thanks to WA reader, Cindy for a fabulous walking tour of Fremantle and also to Koorliny Arts Centre and Duncraig Library for inviting me to speak about Paperbark Hill. It was a treat to meet readers at these two fantastic events and I’m grateful for the amazing hospitality I received while visiting.

This weekend concludes promotions for Paperbark Hill, thanks to everyone who came to one of my talks, tuned into a live event or podcast, or sent bookish friends in my direction. If you missed the events and want to know more about rural romance, Pam from the Writes4Women podcast arranged a great panel on the genre recently. If you’d rather watch it on video, you can find the episode on YouTube HERE.

Now that I’m shifting the newsletter to quarterly, you’ll want to keep an eye on my social media, so you don’t miss the free monthly Zoom events for Library Lovers with Maya Linnell and the Libby App. We’ve got financial advisor Victoria Devine and podcaster and author Dani Vee on the show on September 21 and then Jane Harper and illustrator Richard Pritchard on October 19.

News from around the property...

As you might have guessed from the changes to my newsletter schedule, things have been a little hectic around here! The bottle-fed lambs are fully weaned and going great guns (although three are very Houdini-like and now wear ridiculous triangular plastic collars that stop them barging through the fences). Our ewes and heifers have also enjoyed some romance recently, so we will have more babies in the paddock before long, the chickens are finally starting to lay again, after a long winter hiatus and the the beach sunrises keep making me smile.

I’ve also just started a massive rewrite of my 2023 book A Place in The Vines. This manuscript has taught me that no matter how good my intentions are, the characters and plotlines will run riot and throw the whole novel into disarray if I don’t keep a tight rein on things. So it’s back to the drawing board as I get in with the red pen and start the third draft of April and Connor’s story. Wish me luck!

Gardening - There are blossoms on the fruit trees, colourful buds on flowers and baby magpies fossicking for worms in my garden, which means it must be spring! It’s so nice to see the garden waking up from winter, isn’t it? I’ve got my summer seeds on standby ready to start sprinkling them throughout the garden once the soil warms up.

I’ll also sow tomato seeds and dahlia seeds in the next few weeks, so they can start germinating inside, and I’ll be lifting, dividing and replanting my dahlia tubers around Melbourne Cup Day. This year I’ve grown a sacrificial crop of broad beans on my top dahlia patch to hopefully improve the soil, I’ll keep you posted on the results. If you’re unsure about dividing your dahlias, the Victorian Dahlia Society has plenty of tips on social media.

Baking - I’ve been delegating most of the baking to my children this month, and it’s rewarding to know they can open a recipe book, choose something that takes their fancy and follow the steps without much assistance. For dinners, I’ve been switching out my old favourites with new meals, including several winners from Leah Itsines’ Good Food Made Simple, out now with Murdoch Books. Full of flavour and fresh veggies, nobody in the family noticed the four cups of spinach hidden in the one-pot chicken or the pumpkin pasta. Winning! This is quite lucky, given my 12-year-old’s love for baking sweets, especially this carrot cake, which works just as well dolloped into muffin trays for easy lunch-box-sized serves and these ANZAC biscuits.

Spring author spotlight & giveaway

This newsletter, you’ve got the chance to win a compulsive crime novel from talented Aussie authors, Petronella McGovern and Kylie Orr. The Liars was a gripping mystery that kept me guessing until the very end (out this month with Allen & Unwin) and Someone Else’s Child cleverly explored the moral issues lurking around childhood illnesses and Go-Fund-Me campaigns (out now with Harper Collins). Both are excellent reads from authors I’ve been lucky enough to spend time with in person! Head to my website to find out more about their writing routines, books and industry advice.

I loved seeing Paperbark Hill on holidays in Noosa, Queensland (thanks for this photo, MC!) and to Erica in NSW for sending this great picture with her prize from last month’s newsletter. Happy reading ladies!

Well, I’m off to sneak in a little writing before the smorgasbord of author events in Port Fairy. Wherever you are this spring weekend, I hope you have something great to read, something tasty to eat and bees buzzing around your backyard. Thanks again for letting me pop into your inbox regularly to share what’s been happening in my writing, baking and gardening world. I love this little newsletter community and hearing your updates too. I’ll have another newsletter out in December, in the meantime, you can find me on Instagram or Zoom for Library Lovers!

Until next time...