Fiona Lowe's Blog, page 8

Step Away From The Stove….now!

While my American readers are enjoying a long weekend and their thoughts are turning to the start of summer, we were lucky to have a glorious autumn/fall regular weekend.

Unlike the heat of summer when we live on salads and grilling on the BBQ, I’m happy to cook the other three seasons. I’m a pretty good cook, my family are generally appreciative of what I serve up and I have to say that I take pride in providing tasty and well-presented food. That was seriously challenged this weekend.

Friday night, instead of salmon, I tried snapper. I’ve cooked it before and I stuffed it with herbs and lemon, covered it in garlic and soy sauce and baked it. Sadly, it was quite tasteless and there were complaints about bones. I told them to man up!

Saturday, I served up the vegetable & meat soup that had been cooking in the slow cooker using the leftover ginger and soy from a casserole earlier in the week. I missed the mark again. There were requests for minestrone or pea & ham. At this point I was questioning whether it was my cooking or their tastebuds.  So, for Saturday night I fell back on an oldie but a goodie…roast chicken. First mistake of the evening…I let my husband light the Weber BBQ and unbeknown to me, he didn’t open the bottom vents. I took the chook/chicken off the BBQ and instead of golden brown it was half raw. And we had theatre/theater tickets that night so yeah, we ate a sandwich and left for the show.

So Sunday night? Yep, I ordered in pizza and it was cooked and tasty!

What did you eat this weekend?

Spring and Autumn are my favourite things

It’s May…well it’s the 5th actually and in typical southern Victorian style, winter has blown in an entire month early. Wet, cold, damp and miserable, we propped inside for the weekend and huddled under the doona. That first blast of wet, damp, cold seeps into your veins and makes me pine for the Wisconsin cold…yes it is FREEZING but it is a DRY cold.

The flip side to all of this is that it’s still autumn and the leaves are now changing. The grapevines are turning fire-red, the deciduous trees golden yellow and orange and I know, none of these trees are native to this country but I do LOVE their colours. The signal that a season is changing. Despite the chill, I still have some roses flowering and loving the scent of Mr. Lincoln’s in the house. My spring bulbs are coming up (!!) Yes the climate is a confused state.

Change of season always makes me nest for some reason and this weekend I cleared out my wardrobe from top to bottom. I threw out shoes, clothes, found things I had forgotten I owned and sat back with a sense of achievement. Mind you, I still have to get all the stuff to the Salvation Army but we’re half done!

On the writing front, am busy brain-storming title and series names for my Montana books and looking at artwork. I’m also planning the second book. Exciting times!

Spring and Autumn/fall are my favourite seasons. Not sure why. Perhaps because the weather is less extreme and because they show change is afoot.  What are your favourite seasons?

I’m Twenty-five!

I’m Twenty-Five!

I wish! However, I have just turned in my 25th novel to Harlequin Mills and Boon. Cue sparklers, pop Champagne, blow bubbles!!  It’s not going to hit the shelf until mid 2015 but I have to say, I am a little excited.

My very first novel 2006

Back in 2005, when I sold my first novel, Pregnant On Arrival, I couldn’t see beyond the next book. I recall my first Harlequin Authors’ Dinner where authors were getting pins for milestones such as 25, 50, 100 books…GULP. I could never envisage getting anywhere close to those numbers. You see, my brain does not POP with ideas and I can’t juggle more than one book idea at a time so I guess I am a slogger.

The thing is though, as much as I find it hard to start a book, I ADORE finishing them. Love the BUZZ that comes when I hit Send on a manuscript, even if it does bounce back with revisions. The sheer JOY of knowing I have completed another book, that I got through the dark times in the middle when I had no clue where I was going or what I was doing, buoy me up for the next time….although there is always a point in every book where I say, never again!

So, here we are! Since 2005 I’ve written twenty-one category romances for Harlequin and four single title novels for Carina Press which is the digital-first arm of Harlequin. Twenty five books!

I’ve also written two short stories and a single-title novel for Berkley/Penguin which is out next year.

What’s next? Book two in my Montana series! I just have to go find an idea…..

ANZAC Day. Lest We Forget

It’s April 25th today and in Australia and New Zealand that means Anzac Day. For those of you reading this who are  not from either of these countries, it is a day when we remember the men and women who have served in the defence of our countries. A bit like Memorial Day in the US, although Anzac Day came into being because of a specific battle in Turkey on April 25th 1915.

It was the day Australia lost it’s innocence and came of age. 8,700 Australians and 2,700New Zealanders died during the Gallipoli campaign along with many British, French and Indian and Turkish soldiers. With a small population, the deaths of young man during WW1 changed the lives of an entire generation.

Of course in later years Australian troops fought in WW2, the Korean War and Vietnam. During the Vietnam war years, Anzac Day became a focus for anti- war sentiment. Then during the 70s and 80s it became for many a public holiday and the chance for a sleep in and a picnic.

Life changes and in the decade there has been a definite shift. Perhaps having forces serving in Afghanistan and Iraq effected us.  Perhaps it is to do with more Australian history taught in schools or the fact that more Australians travel and are visiting the Turkish peninsula, but Anzac Day is once again a day where many people take time to reflect and give thanks.

Lest We Forget.

Recipe for ANZAC Biscuits…these are ‘cookies’ that were sent to the soldiers. They had no eggs so could keep for a long time and they are YUMMY! We make them a lot and they’re an Australian cultural icon.

1 1/4 cups plain flour, sifted
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup desiccated coconut
2 tablespoons golden syrup or treacle
150g unsalted butter, chopped
1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda

Preheat oven to 170°C. Place the flour, oats, sugar and coconut in a large bowl and stir to combine. In a small saucepan place the golden syrup and butter and stir over low heat until the butter has fully melted. Mix the bicarb soda with 1 1/2 tablespoons water and add to the golden syrup mixture. It will bubble whilst you are stirring together so remove from the heat. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix together until fully combined. Roll tablespoonfuls of mixture into balls and place on baking trays lined with non stick baking paper, pressing down on the tops to flatten slightly. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown

New Release in USA & Canada!

I’m really excited to tell you about my four-book anthology, Fiona Lowe’s Weddings! Every single story is set in a place filled with heat and sunshine!

Three of the four books were never released in the United States and A Woman To Belong To, my ‘Vietnam book’ was only on limited release to Harlequin subscribers, so many of you won’t have read it. Now’s your chance ;-)

Dr Tom Bracken was a ‘cardboard box baby’, flown out of Vietnam at Saigon fell in 1975.

Now he’s working in Hanoi and trying to find his birth mother, believing his life cannot start until the missing part of it is found. The arrival of Bec Monahan at his door, offering to ‘help the children’ starts him on another journey entirely. Bec has been left a lot of money but to her it’s tarnished and is a constant reminder of her troubled childhood. Together, she and Tom challenge their beliefs about each other as Vietnam weaves her magic over them both, but is magic enough?

My trademark of ‘small towns, big hearts’ is front and center in the ‘Warragurra’ books; Wedding in Warragurra and The Playboy Doctor’s Marriage Proposal. Here heat, red dust and isolation tango with love. In Wedding In Warragurra, Dr. Baden Tremont, who is committed to raising his tween daughter, never expected love to strike twice. Sarah Lawson thought she’d loved once before but living in a town who blames her for the death of the local sports hero, she’s not prepared to love again. Slowly, they find their way forward by honouring the past and embracing the future.

The Playboy Doctor’s Marriage Proposal, the second book in the Warragurra duo, finds red dust meeting city smog. Emily Tippet, Warragurra born and raised, with her pink hair, baggy clothes, the ability to hot-wire a car or tractor, brand cattle and shoot a mean game of pool, is an enigma to Sydney playboy doctor, Linton Gregory. He’s never met anyone like her or her close and loving family. With her four brothers and her dad, dating Emily is like having to deal with five fathers. I had so much fun getting dust on Linton’s Italian loafers and forcing Emily out of her comfort clothes, to reveal her true self to the world.

The fourth and final book in the anthology is The Surgeon’s Chosen Wife. Set in tropical Queensland, it is the absolute opposite of the dry inland. It has lush bougainvillaea, mango-laden trees, sweltering humidity and massive rainfall.

Ryan Harrison, former surgeon, returns unhappily to Yakkaburra to recuperate from a near-death experience. His neighbour is Sarah Rigby, single mum and the town’s GP, who’d gone to school with him. Ryan can’t fathom why she didn’t run screaming from town years ago like he did. I love this story with the theme of healing both physically and emotionally, plus I got to include a gorgeous dog, a kelpie-bordercollie cross, who was based on the wonderful Meg, who sadly passed away a few weeks ago.

Harlequin have bundled these four books together and many of the eBook stores are retailing it at $3.85. That’s less than one dollar a book! So it’s a great bargain and with Easter around the corner, it will last longer than chocolate ;-)

You can buy it at Amazon, iBooks, Barnes & Noble, and all other eBook stores.

If you’re interested in what I’m working on at the moment…my new Montana series, then check out collages at Pinterest.

Wishing you good health and plenty of time for reading!

Fiona x

Getting Out and About!

Last week,  Boy Wonder was on camp, The Lad in Tassie and miracle-of-miracles, DH was actually home so we took off for twenty-four hours. Prior to this point the weather had been glorious but on our day out, it changed. We drove along the Great Ocean Road in blinding rain.

Fortunately, we’re familiar with the view so we were luckier than all the Chinese and Japanese tourists who were looking both wet and sad but never-the-less still taking photos!

We stayed the night at Chris’s at Beacon Point, up in there trees of the Otways, looking down on the southern ocean. It was like being in a tree house. The restaurant also has a splendid view and by dinner, the rain had stopped. The food was beautiful and the produce sourced locally. I had mussel’s cooked in fennel, ouzo and tomato. Divine. The slow cooked lamb was also fantastic with North African flavours.

View from our room

Otway forest

Our treehouse!

The school term has finished so yesterday, Boy Wonder, DH and I went out in much more clement weather and did a 38km/23 mile push-bike ride. It was along an old rail trail, passing through farmland and the old gold mining towns of Linton and Scarsdale. The sun was out, the sky was blue, Lorikeets and sulphur crested cockatoos squawked and dived and a Kookaburra laughed at me when I panted up one of the hills. I thought trains didn’t go up steep hills!

Nimmon’s Bridge…a glorious old trestle railway bridge beautifully restored

A pretty part of the track

DH ready to ride…he heroically carried the lunch on his back

So now it’s back to work!  I have a “new look”  BOOKS page on my website and next week I have a new release, Fiona Lowe’s Weddings….four books in one volume! You can read all about it at the link and pre-order it.

Have a great week!

Fiona x

Glorious Autumn!

 

Oh, how I love March! The mornings are crisp but the days are divine. It’s our most stable weather month and generally comes with blue, blue skies, sunshine and most importantly, it’s not too hot!  Australia does amazing blue skies that go on forever but Africa has a similar light as does Montana in the USA.

Other news, I have new glasses! My eyes are a total disaster and change every 18 months at the moment. The only people benefitting from this are the optometrist, the spectacle makers and the charities in Africa who are the recipient of the old frames.

I’m hoping that today is the first day in weeks that I can stare at my computer screen and not get a headache. Here’s hoping!

I hope your March is going well whether you’re enjoying signs of spring or a glorious autumn.

Fiona x

Starting a New Story

I’ve been having fun this morning playing around on Pinterest, starting the collage for my new Harlequin Mills & Boon medical romance.

I’m writing one of the 12 books in the series, Midwives On-Call!  I’m excited because one of my favourite parts of nursing was when I worked as a midwife. I still remember my very first day after a lecture block and they put me in special care nursery. I was 24 years-old and I’d never changed a diaper/nappy in my life. I learned fast!

The series is set in Melbourne, Australia…the place I actually studied midwifery! I lived in Melbourne for a lot of years before moving to Wisconsin, USA. When we returned to Australia, we didn’t return to Melbourne but took a sea change, moving to a much smaller town. I guess because most of my…okay all bar two of my… medical romances are set in the bush, this one is too!

 

I’m having fun creating Turraburra, the seaside coastal town. It might even feature some little penguins!

For more pictures, head over to my Pinterest page…copyright laws prevent me from posting the photos here but over there you can meet Lilia and Noah who have both been badly hurt in the past and are emotionally shut-down. I’m going to have fun waking them both up!

Books; new and old!

So my first book in my Montana Doctors & Cowboys series has gone to my editor. YAY.

Now we are brainstorming titles and I’m filling in art fact sheets so the good people at Berkley/Penguin can start the process of creating a cover and all the other stuff that a publisher does.

I’m writing a workshop that I’m giving to a group of writers and learning how to use Keynote, the Mac version of Powerpoint. Fortunately, Boy Wonder is around to teach me.

Next week, I’m starting a new book, a medical romance for Harlequin Mills & Boon in a new continuity that features midwifery. I’m really looking forward to this and working as a midwife was one of my happiest times in my nursing career.

Talking babies, Mills and Boon have just released an anthology, Double T

rouble,whichfeatures three stories about twin pregnancies. I’m thrilled to be there with Caroline Anderson and Melissa McClone. The three stories take you to Suffolk UK, to a European Principality and to the lovely southern coast of Victoria, Australia.

My story is the reprint of Miracle; Twin Babies.  Set in the glorious seaside coastal town of Port Bathurst, Dr. Nick Dennison has fought cancer and staked a claim on remission. Now he’s living on the land and taking things a bit easier, concentrating on getting well and taking each day as it comes. Babies are not on his agenda; he gave up on that idea to survive cancer. But then again, meeting Kirby Atherton wasn’t on his agenda either!

Click here to read an excerpt and see photos that inspired the story and to see the original cover.

Reviews from its original release said, “I absolutely LOVE this book it was a wonderful story to read and hard to put down. Great Read. Fun to read. And very enjoyable.”

“A really warm heart felt book”

You can grab a copy at Amazon UK, iTunes, Mills & Boon UK, Booktopia Mills& Boon Australia, iTunes and where all eBooks are sold.

Writing Process Blog Hop Fun!

I’m participating in Our Writing Process Blog Hop. I’d like to thank fellow medical romance author, gorgeous Georgian southern lady and friend, Susan Carlisle for spotlighting me and asking me along on the hop.

This is the cover of Susan’s latest release! Very easy on the eyes, indeed! You can grab it at all eBook stores.

Anyway back to the hop!

What Am I Working On?

Book one of my new Montana based series which will be published by Berkley USA in January 2015. The working title is Marooned in Montana…take one city doctor and plonk him in rural Montana and watch the fun.

“Haven’t you lived in a small town before?”

“Not unless you count Boston.”

This book is due to my editor on Friday. I just have to read 90,000 words and then I can send it off.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I always have a secondary romance in all my single title novels and in Runaway Groom, there were three!

Why do I write what I do?

I blame my mother  When I was 14 she gave me Pride and Prejudice to read and from that moment I was a sucker for a good romance.

 How does my writing process work?

Good question! A lot of it is pure panic. Can I do this? Why did I think I could write a book? I don’t start fast, I want to give up in the middle and then at the three-quarter mark when all the important stuff is in the novel, I start to enjoy it and race to the end. The high of finishing is such a buzz I swear it is the only thing that takes me back to the start of another story. Yeah. Hmm, not really inspiring is it?  What I need to remember is not to fight the process!

I’d like to introduce you a writing mate, Jennifer St George. She’s gorgeous and she writes fabulous books that are very different from my small town rural novels. Her books are glitz and glamour and I loved her debut novel set in Roma! Jennifer is a 2013 Australian Romance Reader Award finalist (clever thing) with her novel, The Love Deception. You might want to visit her at her website and get to know her books.

Jennifer St George is a romance author whose sexy stories feature courageous, career-minded heroines, strong heroes in glamorous international settings. She has four books - The Billionaire’s Pursuit of Love (2014), The Love Deception (2013), Seducing the Secret Heiress(2013) and The Convenient Bride (2012) published with Penguin’s digital-first imprint, Destiny Romance. The Convenient Bride and Seducing the Secret Heiress have now been released together in print. Sweet Seduction is now available through BigW and all good bookstores.