Narelle here. I’m delighted to welcome my Aussie author friend Jessica Kate to Inspy Romance. Jessica and I may live in the same country, but if you listened to our different Aussie accents you’d think we lived worlds apart, lol. Check out Jessica’s broad Aussie accent by tuning into her Story Nerds podcast.
Last year I shared with you my book recommendation for Jessica Kate’s debut book ‘Love and Other Mistakes’. Jessica’s second book, ‘A Girl’s Guide to the Outback’, released last week. Congratulations Jessica! Let’s sit back and arm chair travel with Jessica to Australia.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Have you ever looked at a picture of Australia’s pristine beaches or rural sunsets and felt the urge to travel Down Under?
One of the most fun parts of writing A Girl’s Guide to the Outback was getting to give readers a behind-the-scenes look at Real Australia—drop bears and all. But I never expected the book I wrote about rural life to come out at a time when Australia was battling its biggest bushfires in recorded history.
The heartbreaking scenes we’ve all watched on the news reinforced one of the themes in my story of the struggle to save a family’s dairy farm—life on the land is hard. Especially in this country, where rural areas are often in drought, on fire or flooding—sometimes all three in the same year.
My brother and sister driving the quad bikes to chase cattle in about 2003.
But amongst the difficulties of long distances, dangerous work and slow internet speeds, there’s a beauty as well. Basing the fictional ‘Yarra Plains’ on a real farm I lived on as a kid, I got to incorporate some significant childhood memories into this novel. Our flying fox (zip line) into the river. The massive slip’n’slide we made with silage plastic and dairy buckets arranged like human ten pin bowling. Attending rodeos with childhood friends. Paddle boarding at the beach. Learning to rely on family when town is a long drive away. Dad’s cattle dogs (you’ll see our family dog names of Meg and Nip in the book.) Riding motorbikes. Hearing wild survival stories from grizzled men who’d been further west and north, past our cultivated farms and into the true Outback.
The fictional property of ‘Yarra Plains’ is closely based on this property – one of five farms my nomadic family has lived on so far.
The truth is, I have way too many anecdotes about growing up on the farm than I could even fit into this book. The two times a snake got into our house. The multiple times we had trucks and tractors snagged on power lines, which could blow the tires and kill the driver (which one time was Dad) at any second. The employee who was secretly growing drugs on the property (and was enthusiastically fired.) The time the haystack spontaneously combusted. The day my brother was blown off his feet by the electric fence. The time Dad was chased by a bull, or the time with an emu, or the time with bees…you get the picture.
My Mum and Dad helped inspire the plotline of Mick and Jules. Mick and Jules are kind of a gender-swapped alternate history of what may have happened if my beach-loving mother had decided not to marry my farm boy dad when they were 20.
So, whether you travel by jet plane or arm chair, I invite you to visit my childhood Down Under through the eyes of my American heroine, Kimberly, who’s struck a deal with her former colleague and nemesis. She’s flown to Australia to save his farm and her youth ministry, but she might find more in the Great South Land than she ever bargained for…and you might, too.
Australian author Jessica Kate is obsessed with sassy romances.
She packs her novels with love, hate, and everything in between—and then nerds out over her favorite books, movies and TV in the StoryNerds podcast. When she’s not writing or discussing fiction, she’s hunting the world for the greatest pasta in existence.
Her debut novel Love and Other Mistakes released July 2019, while A Girl’s Guide to the Outback hits shelves in January 2020.
Receive her sassy shorts The Kiss Dare and The Kiss Thief FREE when you sign up for her newsletter at jessicakatewriting.com.
Facebook and Instagram: Jessica Kate Writing
StoryNerds podcast: Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and at www.storynerds.podbean.com.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Giveaway – A Girl’s Guide to the Outback
Thank you, Jessica, for visiting with us. Jessica is kindly offering a print book giveaway (US mailing addresses only) of A Girl’s Guide to the Outback.
To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment on this post. The giveaway will close on Friday and the winner announced in the Sunday Edition.
With the outback/dairy farming now covered, what aspect of Australia would you love to read about in a novel next? What’s your favorite ‘opposites attract’ novel?
A fun loving Aussie girl at heart, Narelle Atkins was born and raised on the beautiful northern beaches in Sydney, Australia. She has settled in Canberra with her husband and children. A lifelong romance reader, she found the perfect genre to write when she discovered inspirational romance. Narelle's contemporary stories of faith and romance are set in Australia and international locations.
We do live in an amazing country, bushfires, floods, droughts, cyclones, dangerous wildlife and all.
Looking at scenes of the horrific bushfires made me incredibly sad, but also incredibly proud.
You said it!
Hi Narelle and Jessica. You nailed it! Australia’s vastness and varied climate is wild. I love it and feel blessed to call this land home. And like Mary Preston has said, very proud of how community rallies together in hardship.
Hmm, what about a story set in the high country… or a sheep/wheat property? I love reading stories set here at home, that familiarity is great:)
Blessings:)
Wealth/ Poor with the first being on a ranch or something unexpected and the second being in the city and struggle to survive.
Hi Wemble, This has been a crazy spring/summer for us. We’re on alert in Canberra atm as the bush fires burn through the high country to our south and west. I love Aussie stories that give readers an insight into our beautiful country. Blessings. :)
Hi Kim, I’m a fan of cowboy stories, too, and I’d like to read more CCR set in the city. Thanks for commenting. :)
Hi Mary & Jess, yes, it’s heartbreaking to see the consequences of our recent natural disasters. I’m so thankful for everyone who has helped us during these difficult times. Thanks for commenting. :)
Thanks for visiting, Jessica! I’m a Canadian farm/ranch girl, so this sounds right up my alley. Except for the snakes.
I wanted to say how much I loved “Love and Other Mistakes”. I’m looking forward to reading your new one. Thanks for giving us readers Christian books worth reading!
Jessica, your books sounds wonderful. We visited your lovely country a couple of years ago. I was so sad to learn about the fires.
That was a ton of exciting anecdotes! As I’m allergic to bees, that would have been horrifying to me!
I loved Jessica Kate’s first book! I’m so looking forward to this one as well. Thanks for the chance to win! I’ve always wanted to visit Australia, I think reading a book set anywhere in Australia would be cool.
I’ve been obsessed with Australia since I started watching “Keeping Up With The Jones” on Netflix a few years ago. On repeat!
This is a book I’ve had my eye on.
I have cousins and good friends who live in Australia, but haven’t ever made it there myself. When we lived in Hong Kong, we thought about it, but my husband always said that if we were going on a long plane ride, he’d rather head back to the US and see family there :-)
I just read Mary Connealy’s The Unexpected Champion and laughed my way through that opposites attract story.
This sounds like a great story and I love that you were able to include so many of your memories. I think a book about Tasmania would be interesting to read sometime.
This book sounds really good! I’ve been seeing some great things about it on social media, too!!! I’ve always loved Aussie accents, especially when Tristan Rogers first started on General Hospital. I don’t watch the show anymore, but I still remember his accent! Somehow, I’m not surprised there are different Aussie accents, since there are so many different ones in the US!!
I enjoy learning about any aspect of Australia. I think the outback in particular.
I would love to visit the outback through your eyes, as I’ve always wanted to visit. Thank you for sharing.
I grew up watching The Man from Snowy River and then as a teen I became obsessed with the TV show McLeod’s Daughters, so I have long been a fan of stories set in Australia! I love to armchair travel and I am so excited to read A Girl’s Guide to the Outback! I’m a Vermont country girl myself so of course I have a soft spot for stories set in the country, but I really enjoy books set in more urban areas as well (for example: last year I read and ADORED Then There Was You by Kara Isaac!) so I wouldn’t say there is a specific setting or aspect I’d like to see more of, just generally more books set in Australia, I’ll gladly read them and give thanks! ❤️
Since I have never been there, everything about it sounds interesting to me!
I have enjoyed the many stories I have read or seen set in Australia and sassy characters all the better! Welcome Jessica. Best wishes on your launch.
Hi Valerie, Snakes are not fun… I’m happy that I haven’t seen one in the wild for a long time! 😊
Hi Sherri, I’m looking forward to reading Jessica’s second book, too! 😊
Hi Merrillee, The fires have been devastating and feel like they’re never-ending. I’m glad you had an opportunity to visit Australia. 😊
Hi Lila, I’d much rather not be that close to bees, either. :)
Hi Megan, I hope you’ll have a chance to read Jessica’s new book soon. 😊
Hi Dalyn, yes, I remember that series. I hope you’ll have an opportunity to read Jessica’s book. 😊
Hi Margaret, yes, Mary’s stories are fun. I can understand your husband wanting to go back home, lol. The flight time from Hong Kong to Sydney is similar to Hawaii to Sydney. I hope you’ll have a chance to visit Australia. 😊
Hi Jessica, A book set in Tasmania would be fun. I can’t think of a CCR that’s set there? 😊
Hi Trudy, yes, the accent differences tend to be regional like in the US. In Australia we’re used to hearing Californian and New York accents via tv/movies. Podcasts and audiobooks are opening up a whole new world of accents to learn and understand. 😊
Hi Diana, The outback is fun to learn about and a great place to visit. 😊
Hi Lucy, I hope you’ll have a chance to read A Girl’s Guide to the Outback. 😊
Hi Caitlyn, I loved The Man from Snowy River and McLeod’s Daughters, too! I’ve enjoyed Kara’s books as well that are set in Australia and/or New Zealand. 😊
Hi Linda, I’m like that when it comes to reading books set in the US and other locations that are ‘international’ to me. They are all new and interesting. 😊
Hi Lincoln, I hope you’ll have an opportunity to read more Aussie books. 😊
Great suggestion!
Class differences? Would be interesting, as the Aussie view on that is subtly different to the USA!
Lol hate the snakes
Thank you so much!!! I’m so happy to hear you loved Nat, Jem and Lili’s stories. Hope you have fun in the Outback!
Yay for visits! Boo for fires. Lots of ppl having a tough time, but great to see how generous everyone has been
Oh scary! Yes he jumped into the irrigation channel to escape
I’m so glad to hear it! And yay for more Aussie books! 😀
I remember that show! Pretty sure their kid went to boarding school in my town!
We’re worth the flight! 😀 and I’ve had great times with Mary’s books! Love opposites attract so much!
I’ve never been to Tassie! This sounds like a great chance to make a holiday a tax write-off…😀
We do have variations, though not nearly as many as the USA! I’d love to see more southern accents on TV, I love hart of Dixie!
Yay!!! Then keep your eyes peeled for future books…
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for coming!
Yay!!! Kara’s a great writer, and if you’re a fan of McLeods then keep your eyes peeled for a special project I’ll be announcing soon! If you’re a fan of rural Australia, have you seen the movie The Sapphires? You’ll love it!
Fun!!!
Thanks Lincoln!
Can I just say what a relief to discover somebody that really understands what they are talking about online. You actually know how to bring a problem to light and make it important. A lot more people ought to look at this and understand this side of your story. It’s surprising you are not more popular since you surely have the gift.
I love the chance to arm chair travel to Australua, a place I have long wanted to visit.
Hi Shirley, I hope you’ll have an opportunity to visit Australia! 😊