8 Reasons to Love Chardonnay and Shooting Stars

Meet Kate Singleton.

Before I get to the 8 reasons for meeting Kate – a big thank you to wonderful author Alissa Callen for tagging me in this reader-friendly blog hop titled: Meet My Character.

I’ve known Alissa for some time now and we’ve struck up a great friendship – we were also two of the first digital-imprint (eBook only) authors to be taken to print with our mainstream publishers here in Australia. Not a bad achievement and one we’re both hugely proud of!

Alissa Callen: rural and small town fiction. Dusty Road. Secrets. Romance.

When Alissa Callen isn’t writing she plays 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. After a childhood spent chasing sheep on the family farm, Alissa has always been drawn to remote areas and small towns, even when residing overseas. Once a teacher and a counsellor, she remains interested in the life journeys that people take. She also is partial to historic homesteads and country gardens and has been known to drive hours to see an open-garden. She currently lives on a small slice of rural Australia in central western New South Wales.

Alissa writes rural romance from Australia to Montana. Find out about Alissa’s character, Rhett Dixon, from Her Mistletoe Cowboy, set in the big-country sky of Montana over at Alissa’s webpage

Drum roll...

I’ve tagged two fabulous authors to continue the blog hop with their own Meet My Character next Thursday (6th Nov).

Below, you’ll meet authors Janet Gover and Heather Garside and discover something about their much loved Australian rural fiction books.

Yes, folks! We’re all about small-town, country stories here – set in big, beautiful countries.

Okay, back to me! Let’s meet Kate from 12 Days at Silver Bells House

1. What is the name of your character?
Kate Singleton (first seen, briefly, in The House on Burra Burra Lane). 

2. Is she fictional or a historic person? 
One hundred percent fictional - although I kind of like her so much I wish she was real. I love the quirky, bright, inquisitive and loving parts of her.

3. When and where is the story set? 
As the title might suggest, 12 Days at Silver Bells House is set twelve days before Christmas - in a very small rural town in Australia’s New South Wales Snowy Mountains (no snow though! There’s a heatwave). This story is part of my Swallow’s Fall series.

4. What should we know about her? 
Kate saw a shooting star in New York just before this story begins and felt it was a sign. She’s on a quest to organise her life and the many issues her fashion designer business is throwing at her, but she doesn’t know where to begin and thinks the country is the answer.

5. What is the main conflict? What messes up her life? 
Jamie Knight messes up her life! He’s the stonemason, master builder who owns Silver Bells House – Kate’s holiday retreat where she expected to be alone with her Chardonnay and her worries. The country also messes up Kate’s life. She’s a city person at heart – or so she thinks.

6. What is the personal goal of the character? 
Kate needs to find her raison d’etre after a few backstabbing issues with her fashion house business partner, but has no idea where to start looking. Her best friend, Sammy (from The House on Burra Burra Lane), offers her the chance to get away from it all and enjoy what should be a solo Christmas in a country cottage with nothing more than a cask of Chardonnay and a dozen packets of salty pretzels.

7. Can we read more about 12 Days at Silver Bells House? 
Most certainly. See links below!

8. Is 12 Days at Silver Bells House published?
12 Days at Silver Bells House is out now for pre-order and will be released on 22 November when it will download to your chosen eReader ‘just like that’ – and just in time for Christmas.

Pre-order now from:

Amazon US
Amazon Australia
Amazon UK
Amazon Canada
iTunes
Google Play

So that’s Kate – and now, I’m delighted to showcase two authors I’ve known since I became published. I asked them to continue this blog next Thursday (6th November). Both write fabulous Australian rural fiction and rural romance and I’m dying to know which characters they’ll choose next week for Meet My Character.

Janet Gover’s webpage 

Janet Gover Romances the Outback

I grew up surrounded by books. Both my parents loved to read and they shared that love with me. In the tiny Australian bush town where we lived, there wasn’t a lot to do except read and ride my ponies. As it’s pretty hard to make a living out of riding ponies, I guess I was always going to be a writer.

After some fun-filled years at Queensland University (during which I passed the occasional exam), I became a television journalist, first in Australia, then in Asia and Europe. I got to see and do a lot of unusual things. I met some interesting people, including one Pope, at least three Prime Ministers, a few movie stars and a dolphin.

My first published novel, The Farmer Needs A Wife was released in 2009. It might not surprise you to learn that it was set in Australia and featured men on horses.

Australia, horses and men still feature in my writing – although I have written one book without horses in it. There were penguins instead.

I travel a lot – and many years ago in Hong Kong, I met an Englishman with green eyes – which explains why I now live in London. My travels inspire me – but it seems that when I write, I mostly come back to the place I grew up.

Some things you never leave behind.

Heather Garside’s blog

Heather Garside Rural Romance Author

Heather grew up on a cattle property in Central Queensland and now lives with her husband on a beef and grain farm in the same area. She has two adult children.

Heather has previously published three historical romances and has helped to write and produce several compilations of short stories and local histories.  The Cornstalk was a finalist in the 2008 Booksellers' Best Award, Long Historical category, for romance books published in the USA.

Breakaway Creek was a finalist in the QWC/Hachette Manuscript Development Program and was released by Clan Destine Press in 2013.  It is a rural romance with a dual timeline. Her recent release is Tracks of the Heart, a collection of three short stories.

Heather works part time at the local library, at home on the farm and helps produce a local monthly newsletter, amongst other voluntary activities.

Thank you Alissa, Janet and Heather! I had fun putting this blog together - I hope you enjoyed reading it.

Don't forget to take a look at Alissa's Meet My Character now, and to pop over to Janet's and Heather's webpage
next Thursday - 6th November - to discover who we'll be meeting.

Jennie x