Rescued Hearts...
A stand alone e-book novella, first printed in the Paw Prints of Love Anthology. This story first saw the light of day in the Romance Writers of Australia annual short story contest in 2007 - my first year as a member. It missed the cut for the anthology, and I always knew I'd go back to it. When the call went out for Anthology participants for the Gumnut Press Pawprints of Love Anthology, I thought "why not?" There's so much to love about Stonecrest Bay, the fictional town in Western Australia but how could I move a story set in Brisbane to WA. I started to revise this story sitting in a pub in my mum's hometown of Emmaville NSW. We'd been down for a funeral, and it was early the next morning, and I was sitting in the beer garden with a coffee and my writing notebook. The night before we'd talked and laughed and reminisced and I'd spent looking at the photos on the walls. One in particular, of motorbikes lining the road outside the pub caught my eye. And so the story began to take shape. What if you met a man who was only in town for one night? What if you shared a magical night, away from the doldrums of your normal life in the small town you were stuck in? What if, years later, you decided to cross the continent to look him up? Rescued Hearts was born, and I got to tell Nick and Beth's story. As with all my stories, there are bits and pieces that friends and family will recognise - the pub in Emmaville, a love of macrame, markets and homemade lemonade. There's an exploration of the "Sons of Anarchy" love of a bad boy on a motorbike. And most importantly rescue - I've met so many people involved in volunteering for animal rescue - our local vet who does cat desexing in their own time, the receptionist at the vet specialist who rehouse greyhounds, and writer friends who rescue, rehome and adopt. Together they are a community, and that's the community I wanted Beth to encounter. Available from March 31st at e-book retailers , Booktopia and direct from Gumnut Press . How exciting is this? The stories from Paw Prints of Love Anthology are being released individually, one each month for the next 10 months.
I loved Stonecrest Bay, with its relaxed coastal feel, its community of animal lovers and I can't wait to revisit these stories. The first story - All the Good Stuff, releases today and my story Rescued Hearts is available as an ebook for pre-order now . Great prices too. It's been a bit quiet round here lately, but that's because EE, Danielle and I have been busy with final edits on Tangled up in Blue. It all started with a discussion over dinner over a year ago, and now we're in pre-release, with our newest book due to hit the shelves 30th November 2020.
We're very excited. Along the way we've learned more about editing, publishing, and each other than I ever thought possible. So what's it all about? Think Australian small towns, family secrets, estranged sisters and unexpected romance. There are three separate stories and each of us has brought something new and exciting to the compilation - there's fortune cookies, baking, coffee, sherbet cones, antique hip flasks, diaries, postcards, adventure racing, annual festivals and most importantly love - unrequited love, instantaneous love, rekindled love, forbidden love and sisterly love. Oh, and there's bowerbirds.... I can't wait for you to read it. 2020 has been a mix of highs and lows this far, and as I do every winter solstice, I like to have a think about where I've been, and where I'm going.
As I write this, my washing is hanging on a washing line that won't see sun again until late August, and the wind is howling around the back end of the house. Tomorrow, when we're doing our virtual Gold Coast Half Marathon, they're saying it will be one of the coldest mornings of the year. So maybe not a singlet... COVID-19 has made 2020 seem awfully long. I'm relatively unaffected - I still go to an office to work (still have a job), still go to the farm (with my cross border exemption paperwork) and to the shops once a week. Running training restarted two weeks ago, the gym reopens this week. I've discovered some new takeaway options, and I've stayed well. I've stayed home. But we've lost a few during this time - a brother in law, a cousin, a friend's doggie bestest friend, and a stranger whose path crossed mine on his final day on earth. When I think about that, and how difficult funerals and grieving are when you are social distancing, I realise how lucky I am to live in Australia. The death toll in other parts of the world is staggering, and I'm not sure how the families affected are coping. I know my twitter feed is full of mentions of loss at the moment. It makes writing, or promoting a book, difficult. My long awaited theatre trilogy is coming in late July/early August, and I am so excited to see it hit the shelves. I hope it brings some joy to readers, in a world that seems remarkably devoid of joy at the moment. A while ago, Danielle, Elaine and I went to a writing retreat unlike any we'd done previously. There was great food, peace and quiet and a challenge to think differently about our writing. Tangled up in Blue was born. Fast forward to September last year, and another rural trip, this time to the towns where the book was set, and our stories were written and ready to be integrated into a single timeline. Tangled up in Blue releases Spring 2020 in print and ebook, and Danielle, Elaine and I are very excited. When I saw the call for the Paw Prints of Love Anthology I knew I wanted to write something for it - it was an Australian contemporary romance continuity, novella length and had pets in it.
I sat down to write it having just stayed at a local hotel in a town in the middle of NSW, and with memories of a 1995 trip to Western Australia firmly in my mind I started writing. And I'm thrilled that my story was accepted. I really enjoyed writing Beth and Nick's story. I hope you enjoy it too. Beth Taranga arrives in Stonecrest Bay with big hopes for the future and when she meets Nick Morton, those hopes grow. Can Beth and Nick put the secrets of the past behind them to find love? Pre-Order your paperback copy or your ebook now. Releasing April 29th 2020 One of my favourite romance reading pleasures is a linked continuity or series, so when I saw the call for submissions for Gumnut Press's Paw Prints of Love Anthology, I knew I would be submitting.
Back in 2007, when I first joined Romance Writers of Australia, I subbed two shorts to the Little Gems competition. The first, a futuristic, was published in the anthology. The second, a contemporary, just missed the cut. My new writing group all agreed - my futuristic voice was much stronger than my contemporary voice - so I started writing futuristic, with the occasional dabble into the world of contemporary. In 2019, my submissions to publishers are almost always contemporary - because futuristic is such a niche market that its difficult to sell. I'm still working on my space operas and alternate futures, but only to self-publish. One day... But back to the 2007 short that didn't make the cut. It has a move to a new town, there was a sexy stranger who had rescued a dog that had puppies, there was sweet romance. So when the anthology call came, I knew I had to dig it out. A month later, it was unrecognisable. There was still a move to a new town, still a sexy stranger, still a litter of puppies, but everything else had changed. I added 5000 words, a bad boy on a motorbike, macrame, a cruise ship and a heap of emotion. I sent it off, knowing that even if it didn't make the cut it was a much better story. The photo above is me signing the contract for Rescued Hearts to be included in the Anthology. Note the Romance Writers of Australia pen. Without RWA there would be no contract, so this is my official signing pen. And the moral of this story:
Rescued Hearts, in the Paw Prints of Love Anthology, will be published in print and e-book in 2020. I'm thrilled to announce that Follow Your Dreams has been accepted into the Romance Writers of Australia Sunstone Anthology. I know I've said it before - I love writing short.
Congratulations to the place-getters and all the other Little Gems for 2016. A special shout out to Fiona Marsden who had two entries accepted. Officially, there are more Fionas than any other christian name this year, so you can't be unhappy about that. Sunstone anthology will be available in digital and POD from August 2016 from the RWA shop.. |
Fiona Greene AuthorWhen you set out on a journey and night falls, that's when you will discover the stars." Archives
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