Amber Jakeman's Blog, page 5

Out and about

It’s been a wonderful time of attending writers’ festivals and meeting readers. 

Writers need readers! You honour me with your interest in my work.

Firstly, enormous thanks to popular independent bookstore Better Read Than Dead in Sydney’s trendy Newtown for hosting the launch of my latest novel, Summer Beach; to ABC producer Vanessa Gorman who interviewed me; and to all who were able to attend or share their good wishes. What a joy!

Like Vanessa, I dedicated most of my writing career to covering “fact” rather than fiction. I now relish the opportunity to explore people’s behavior in plausible yet fictitious settings and situations, unconstrained by the same deadlines and word counts.

Amid joy and laughter, Vanessa kindly described me as having “a beautiful moral compass, set to true north and made of love” and said she enjoyed escaping into the fictitious world of Summer Beach, where “you get to block out everything and just be with these lovely characters.”

“We are all people and we care about relationships,” said Vanessa. “We’re curious. We gain something from it.”

We explored how as a former journalist, I’d craved escape from the endless news cycle of tragedy. Through fiction, I love to “tap into the joy that’s all around me” and write about love, friendships and family. 

My novels explore serious themes such as sustainability, women’s empowerment, homelessness, addiction and grief, yet with a light touch and positive resolutions.

“I’m interested in the choices people make; in what motivates us,” I said. “We can all make changes, not only in our own lives, but in the lives of others.”

I’ve described Summer Beach as a “love song” not just because the hero is a musician, but because love songs celebrate hearts and hope.

Vanessa and I discussed changes in books and writing since the 1950s, including the breadth of the romance genre. (I write at the sweeter end of the spectrum, also described as “wholesome” and young adult friendly.)

“The world has changed and novels have changed as well,” I explained. “They are now rich with diversity and empowered characters. We want the characters to come to decisions and make the best choices. Consent is essential. Mutual respect and inclusivity matter. The genre has expanded and its richness benefits us all.”  

Summer Beach is my sixth published novel, and the first in my Escape to the Coast trilogy, inspired by almost a decade of working as a journalist on the beautiful NSW Central Coast. (For a glimpse of this new setting, enjoy this picture of effortlessly refreshing Umina Beach, snapped during the recent Words on the Waves Writers’ Festival.)

You can enjoy Summer Beach, whatever the season!

Deepest thanks to the North Sydney Sun which describes Summer Beach as “a perfect read for a long cold winter.”

Meanwhile one of my UK readers has kindly written this five-star review!

“If you want a great summer read look no further,” she says. “Absolutely loved this wonderful book & once I started reading it I couldn’t put it down.

“This is one of those cosy feel good reads we all like to curl up with now & again. Beautifully written with a lovely interesting storyline & definitely one to lose yourself in…”

Let yourself fall in love with IT workaholic Sam and reluctant rockstar Jake!

Buy SUMMER BEACH ebook

Buy SUMMER BEACH paperback (US)

Buy SUMMER BEACH paperback (Australia)

Buy Summer Beach ebook.

Book cookies with book talk!

Enormous thanks, too, to Sarah Noble of Tea at Elevenses, at 49 Vincent Street, Cessnock.

It was an absolute joy to chat with local readers recently, about books and writing, including the characters of the fictitious Huntley family of jewelers featured in my House of Jewels series.

Please note the book cookies, made by clever local chef Claudia. While the Hunter Valley is famous for its vineyards, Sarah’s atmospheric café, open every day, offers brilliant cakes and beverages, beautiful craft works, and books for all ages. It’s really worth a visit.

In love with romance at the Sydney Writers’ Festival: A roundup

(This article first appeared in the July 2023 Romance Writers of Australia newsletter Hearts Talk.)

It was gratifying to see the Sydney Writers’ Festival honour the globally popular romance genre this year with a dedicated panel, In love with romance.

Under the festival theme, Stories for the Future, the panellists and compere discussed the breadth of the genre, along with their experiences of writing characters, settings, and tropes and beats, including the “meet cute”, “the breakup”, the “afterglow” and “happy ever afters”.

Echoing the diversity seen in many recent lineups at Australian writers’ festivals, the panel included novelists Dr Freya Marske, Saman Shad and Yvonne Weldon, who were billed to “reveal the thrills, spills and secrets of penning page-turning love stories”, with interviewer ABC Radio National Awaye! host Rudi Bremer, a self-confessed lover of romance.

Yvonne Weldon, the City of Sydney’s first Aboriginal councillor, is a proud Wiradjuri woman, born and raised in Redfern while maintaining strong ties to her homelands of Cowra and the Riverina. She has dedicated three decades to “driving positive reform in health, education and child protection”.

Her novel, Sixty-Seven Days, was published last year by Penguin. Yvonne said she wrote her romance, set mostly in 1990s Redfern, at the rate of 500 words a night, the bargain she set with herself each evening before allowing herself to watch mind-numbing Netflix. 

“It was a labour of love,” she said, noting that her people were not represented in literature in the ways she thought they should be.

“I wanted these characters to be in the world. I was resigned that it may never have been published.”

Yvonne’s manuscript was shortlisted for the Queensland Literary Awards David Unaipon Unpublished Manuscript in 2016 and was awarded a Faber Writing Academy Scholarship in 2017. The book was originally in third person. 

“People come into our lives and remain,” Yvonne said, praising her editorial mentor Bernadette Foley.

“It’s the beauty of sharing … I was honouring so many that haven’t been honoured, including cultural practices and belief systems.

“The novel and all the issues are about exploring who we are as individuals and what difference we can make to each other, the impact we all have. We should have the opportunity to make others feel okay, not worse. 

“Life is about change.”

Journalist and story teller Saman Shad’s The Matchmaker, released by Penguin earlier this year, features a match made in “her” Sydney. 

Penguin describes much of Saman’s work as “inspired by her experiences as a third culture kid, growing up and living in Pakistan, the Middle East, the UK and Australia”.

Like Yvonne, in The Matchmaker, Saman wrote mostly “about something I hadn’t seen before in literature; my community, the Sydney I know, the Western Suburbs”.

“I wanted to try and bring that to life; two brown people with a similar background, but very different within our communities.”

Saman said writing romcoms was a way to bring a little bit of joy to people, to take them away from the real world for a while and give them an inside view into another community and culture.

“It’s about love and joy and hopefully a bit of lust,” she said.

Writing about a Sydney most people didn’t recognise worked in her favour, she said. 

“We sit within our suburbs. I wanted to give people a little tour guide of these areas. It’s fiction. You have leighway. You colour it in, in ways you know these places to be. Hopefully people will go along with you.”

Saman said she loved the romcoms of the 1990s though she recognises that some are no longer politically correct.

“I also want to make people laugh. It’s tricky. With comedy, you just don’t know if it’s going to land or not.

“I love that unique blend of making people fall in love when they think they’re not falling in love. You need to be invested in the two people who are ultimately getting together. 

“There’s a lot of art involved in writing something romantic and you have to balance that dramatic part. It’s very subtle… How do you bring in all the big and meaty topics, yet keep up the conventions? People don’t realise how hard it is.” 

Saman said she’s been working on screen projects and continuing to write and “write better, learning every single day”.

Queer historical fantasy writer Freya Marske’s debut novel, A Marvellous Light, was an international bestseller; her second book, A Restless Truth, is described as “a sapphic adventure on the high seas”; and her next book, A Power Unbound, will be released later this year by Tordotcom Publishing and Tor UK. 

Rudi described Freya’s books as “genre bending” and Freya agreed that she enjoys fantasy and sci fi as well as romance.

Romance was always “a place where queer stories have existed at the margins”.

“I am writing and reading in a time when there’s so much more happening in this space,” she said. 

Freya said she enjoyed building up a family of people who find one another and come together, and her novels share some characters. All three are queer historical romance with fantasy elements such as magic.

A Restless Truth is set in Edwardian England, on a ship similar to The Titanic, steaming from the UK to the US. 

Freya said she generally spent around nine months on each novel, and that “sex lessons” was one of her favourite tropes, with “the rake and the ingénue”.

She referred to the characters kidding themselves they are having sex without emotional attachment, though the reader knows better.   

Other tropes and techniques discussed included fake dating, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, a shared project with a deadline, and exploring characters’ good parts and their flaws.

Freya said she enjoyed creating settings and scenes in which the characters saw each other at their best and worst. 

“A really well crafted romance leaves you in awe of how it’s done,” Freya said. “You are trying to get people to buy into the angst. 

“We are interested in the wounds people are carrying around with them. What is it that makes them think that everyone will leave them? 

“It’s a careful back and forth of emotional progression, bringing them to the point where they will say ‘Yes, I deserve happiness’.”

The audience demonstrated their happiness with enthusiastic applause. I hope a romance panel will become a festival fixture.

Free and affordable feel-good fiction

You might enjoy browsing these Clean Women’s Fiction titles, these stories about Strong Contemporary Women and these Sweet and Clean July freebies.

This Free to Fall in Love promo might interest you, along with the books in this Sweet Vacation Romance mix.

Upcoming events

I’m excited to let you know I’ll be among a host of popular authors sharing their books at the Australian Romance Readers Association Romantic Rendezvous on Saturday 12 August from 5.30pm to 6.30pm at the Sofitel in Sydney, 61/101 Phillip St, Sydney NSW 2000, as part of the Romance Writers of Australia 2023 conference. The event is $15. Please book here.

I’d also love to see you at Book Fair Australia on the weekend of 14 and 15 October 2023 at Sydney Olympic Park.

I’m available for author talks at libraries, book clubs, writers’ festivals and more. Email amber@amberjakeman.com to discuss.

Happy reading!

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Find Amber’s books.

Escape to the coast!

There they are, like slices of golden summer sunshine, awaiting our book launch!

Deepest thanks in advance to ABC Australian Story producer Vanessa Gorman who will interview me at the launch of Summer Beach at 3pm on Sunday 25 June.

Vanessa is herself an accomplished author who has traveled the world contributing to our understanding of science and culture through her work with the Australian Broadcasting Commission.

Enormous thanks, too, to Better Read than Dead, the literary landmark at 265 King Street, Newtown, NSW, Australia, less than 200 metres from Newtown Railway Station. King Street is served by regular buses.

In the heart of Sydney’s popular Inner West, Better Read Than Dead was named the Lonely Planet’s “favourite Sydney Bookshop” and has thrived for more than two decades, nourishing thinkers and readers with their specially curated collection of books and regular author and community events.

You are warmly invited! The launch is free. Please book here or below to help us plan catering.

Book for launch of SUMMER BEACH (free event)

Glad to write about love

It was great to see the Sydney Writers Festival include a panel this year on one of the world’s most popular genres — romance.

The “In love with romance” featured Freya Marske (A Restless Truth), Saman Shad (The Matchmaker) and Wiradjuri councillor turned fiction-writer Yvonne Weldon (Sixty-Seven Days), with ABC radio host and self-professed romance novel addict Rudi Bremer.

While some people dismiss love stories as “just romance”, where does that leave Jane Austin’s classics and a staggering collection of successful novels, movies and network series, most of which revolve around a love story? 

Most of us agree that love makes the world go around.

You might enjoy this Vulture Books interview with US bestselling romance author Emily Henry, a new darling of the genre.

Thanks to The Book Nest, Mudgee

Mudgee, billed as “the vines divine” in the NSW Central West region, is a centre of fine wines, passionate chefs, artisanal produce and beautiful accommodation, all surrounded by fresh air and super scenic countryside.

I’m delighted to share with you that readers can now find my House of Jewels series paperbacks in The Book Nest, 90 Church Street, Mudgee, a book haven which also hosts regular book clubs for diverse genres.

I love independent bookshops! They’re brilliant gift shops, and wonderful places to browse and make a purchase to enrich your life and grow your mind with knowledge and some healthy escapism. Bookstores are the heart and soul of many communities.

Big thanks once again to the team at The Book Nest for stocking my House of Jewels series, along with Galaxy Bookshop above Abbeys at 131 York Street in Sydney’s CBD (opposite the QVB), Better Read Than Dead in Newtown and to Tea At Elevenses in Cessnock! 

Another invitation!

Please join me at cosy cafe and bookstore Tea At Elevenses, 49 Vincent Street, Cessnock, NSW, this coming Saturday 10 June from 3.30pm to 5.30pm, and afterwards, for some tea, coffee, sparkling wine, cake, signings and good book chat.     

Summer Beach review excerpt

I’m forever grateful to those of you who’ve enjoyed my books and recommended them to family and friends and/or shared a review or two.

Big thanks to advance copy reviewer Trudi in the US who writes of Summer Beach: 

I can guarantee that you will not be disappointed. Sam and Jake will become your new friends and you will find it hard to stop reading.

Summer Beach is a sure winner with every possibility of finding its way to the Hallmark Channel to be presented as one of their starring Saturday Night Romance Movies. Please do not pass this one up but instead put it on the top of your reading list.

As thousands of you won’t be able to make the Summer Beach launch due to living elsewhere on the globe, here are some links for finding it online (you can preorder before the launch):

Buy SUMMER BEACH ebook

Buy SUMMER BEACH paperback (Australia)

Buy SUMMER BEACH paperback (US)A true treasure

I was astonished to receive this exquisite home-made card from Gail, one of my US readers.

The photo barely does this three-dimensional creation justice, but I wanted to share it with you as I add my heartfelt thanks to Gail for sharing her imaginative gift with me so generously!

What a steady hand! What creativity! I am in awe. The pop-out card features scenes and items from my House of Jewels series. Thank you, Gail. You are the treasure!

Deals from like-minded authors

While our northern hemisphere readers and writers soak up some summer, in the southern hemisphere, we’re happy to escape the chill by curling up with a blanket and good book.

I’m always glad to introduce my readers to free and well-priced books by like-minded authors. You might enjoy these books which feature a wedding, including my House of Spades and Full House.

Here’s a “Love, sweet love” clean giveaway.

Have a browse of this “blooming love” wholesome romance selection, this sweet summer love promo and this “start a new chapter” promo.

Sweet romance reads for summer are also on offer, along with summer of second chances romances.

Happy reading!

PS. You’re welcome to sign up to find out about my other new releases.

Oops. I quit the day job as AI arrived!

I loved my job, yet I resigned. Now, in all my humble humanity, I focus on writing fiction. And, like an artisan baker, I invite you to value the imperfections.

One of my children instructed Artificial Intelligence (AI) to write a synopsis of a romance called Byron Blooms. While it came up with two likable characters and a plausible scenario, to my taste it was too perfect, too bland.

By preying on the works of other writers, maybe Byron Blooms breached copyright, and while it’s an extraordinary technological wonder, and can doubtless be improved upon with more finely nuanced instructions, will such works ever really eclipse the achievements of real writers?

Writing coach Dan Blank (not a robot) encourages us to “create what is in your heart, and share it with those who will appreciate it.”

You might enjoy this BBC article on whether romance writers are at risk of being replaced by chatbots, along with writing coach Dan Blank’s recent post on how AI may change the future of writing and creating. 

I’ve found a deep joy in creating my characters and resolving their challenges, a joy I hope my readers share.

While machines have removed much of the drudgery of survival from our lives in the past 600 years or so, it’s my earnest hope that as humans, we continue to value and share the fruits of our innate creativity and careful labor.

Escape to the Coast

Thanks to everyone who enjoyed my House of Jewels series, I’ve kept writing, and am delighted to announce that a fresh series, Escape to the Coast, is well under way.

I’m enormously grateful to VIPs who’ve been able to beta read the first book, Summer Beach, and provide helpful feedback, so that it will shortly be ready to launch.

Once again I thank brilliant cover designer Kylie Sek for capturing in her artwork the beauty of the beach and the fragility of the fledgling relationship between the main characters.

And once again, my work will explore serious themes such as sustainability, women’s empowerment, grief and trauma, yet with a light touch and positive resolutions.

Here’s the blurb:

Summer Beach: a love song:

How can you find your way home – past a tripwire?

Sam’s an LA computer-coding workaholic.
Jake’s a reluctant rockstar who denies his songwriting talent.
When Sam returns to an Australian backwater to sell her family’s beach house, gruff neighbor Jake stymies her plans – then steals her heart.
Beneath Sam’s house lies a tragic time bomb that will blow her world apart.
With help from best friend Fliss and Jake, can Sam embrace her future – before it’s too late?

You’re welcome to follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and see my next blog for launch details, and you can preorder your copy now!

Preorder Summer Beach ebookMother’s Day sale for the rest of May!

To help you and your friends and family celebrate Mother’s Day, I’m discounting each of my House of Jewels ebooks by more than 50 per cent for the rest of May.

So if you’re still tempted to read beyond House of Diamonds to enjoy the adventures of other members of the Huntley family of jewelers in France, the US and Australia, and to share them, don’t hold back!

Find my books.

Save the date

Noble by name and noble by nature, Sarah Noble of Cessnock in the NSW wine-growing Hunter Valley north of Sydney and west of Newcastle has a generous spirit. 

Child of an artist and librarian, Sarah stocks her new coffee shop, Tea At Elevenses, at 49 Vincent Street, Cessnock, with home-made gifts and the works of independent authors.

They vie for space among 100 teapots, even more vintage teacups, pot plants, secondhand books and delicious cakes, scones, hot chocolate, tea, coffee and more.

Sarah’s quirkily inviting tea shop, open every day from 10am to 6pm, boasts a mixture of welcoming old furniture and ever more ideas to entice, entrance and nourish body and soul.

“We’re having a ‘runes and red’ night in May with local wines, we have a chess club and I’m welcoming writers’ groups and book clubs,” said Sarah, who opened her shop five months ago.

“I just like the idea of supporting individual artists. I am a book person and a tea person, and I want it to be a space where everyone is welcome, and everyone is comfortable.”

There are children’s books, colouring books and board games, as well as copies of my House of Diamonds!

Please join me at Tea At Elevenses, 49 Vincent Street, Cessnock, NSW, on Saturday 10 June from 3.30pm to 5.30pm, and afterwards, for some tea, coffee, sparkling wine, cake, signings and a book chat.

Some sweet and affordable reads 

As always, I’m glad to team up with like-minded authors to share our books with as many readers as possible.

Enjoy browsing these Clean Cozy Mystery and Clean Romance Free Reads, as well as this In Love with May Flowers selection, and these free Books that will Make you Cry. 

Here’s a link for Heartwarming Clean Romances, another for Clean Romances for Spring, yet another for wholesome romances, along with this Some Like it Clean mix.

Enjoy, also, this Sweet, Inspirational Romance for Mother’s Day promotion and this Sweet Spring romance giveaway.  

Happy reading!

Amber

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Powerful words and a recipe

There’s no question that the right words hold power. We teach our children to say “please” and “thank you” and marvel at the effect.

In real life, we need more than good luck to make payments and communicate. We need the right “password”!

In fiction, for every genre, readers know that certain words signal key actions. Consider how the right words in fantasy literally “spell” a change in circumstance. 

Where would wedding scenes be without the words “I do” and romances without “I love you?”

I’ll never get over the power of words and the joy of laying them down, one after another, as a writer, to open up new possibilities.

Words have the power to change our worlds.

In fiction and in life, through trials and tribulations, lost lovers reunite, fractured relationships heal, broken promises are revisited and the words “I’m sorry” and “you’re forgiven” make all the difference.

Thanking beta and ARC readers

I am enormously grateful to several of my writing buddies and VIP readers who’ve given me valued feedback on my next book, Summer Beach, the first in my Escape to the Coast series, as I try to find the right 75,000 or so words before releasing it to you!

Gail, from the US, kindly helped check for typos and has given it five stars already!

“Love this story from beginning to end,” Gail said.

Warmest thanks to you, Gail, and to all my other beta readers and VIPs who enjoy my books and help others to discover them.

Image courtesy Wilhelm GunkelFlame’s cake recipe 

Readers of House of Diamonds may remember Stella’s mother, Flame, a drifter. House of Spades takes up Flame’s story when she’s living in a caravan in the beautiful Byron Bay hinterland and trespasses on the farm of widower Ross Archer, rekindling his interest in life, love and his land.

One of my readers challenged me to make one of the cakes I dreamed up for House of Spades, flung together by Flame, who uses up whatever she has lying around.

As I’ve never ventured beyond using one (excellent) chocolate cake recipe, I made a resolution to expand my cake repertoire this year, beginning with this one.

Please note that Flame’s recipe changes every time, so, like Flame, I used what was already in my cupboards. She might throw in zucchinis instead of bananas, or a tin of crushed pineapple instead of dried apricots and ginger ale.

Here’s what I used …

Two smallish overripe bananas, mashed

1 grated pear

¾ cup almonds, whole

1 cup of dried apricots, whole

1 cup of dates

¾ cup oatmeal

⅓ cup coconut

Half cup sunflower seeds

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

2/3 cup almond meal

1 cup ginger beer (you could use fruit juice, milk or almond milk)

⅓ cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 scant tsp baking powder

1 and a half cups of plain flour

4 eggs, shaken in a jar (try substituting mashed banana for a vegan version!)

Stir together. (NB quantities are approximate. If it’s too sloppy, add more flour and baking powder. If too dry, slosh in more liquid or another egg.) Spoon into microwave bundt tin. Cook on high for 14 minutes. Let stand for five minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack. 

Here’s how it turned out. A dusting of icing sugar would have improved the look. Too late for the photo… We ate the cake!

Eat rapidly (because of the eggs) or refrigerate. It’s a heavy cake, not light and fluffy.

I liked it, though it might not suit everyone’s palate. After all, Flame’s taste veers towards the practical rather than high-end cuisine.

Find House of Spades in my House of Jewels series.

On the lookout for more books?

As usual, I’m glad to share with you a host of free and affordable reading options from like-minded authors.

Enjoy browsing this April Book Hunt stash of free Women’s Fiction and this Spring Fever for Sweet Romance promo.

Here’s a Clean Contemporary Fiction promo and here’s a Sweet and Wholesome giveaway and some Clean Romance Deals.

Never too late for a second chance in love includes House of Spades and House of Clubs, my House of Jewels seasoned romances.

And see what you can find in this Spring into Romance selection.

Festivals for readers and writers

The Sydney Writers Festival takes place from 22 to 28 May and will include a Romance panel for the first time. I’m attending that session so will let you know how it goes. So often, “romance” books are compared unfavourably with “literature” but can’t we just enjoy all sorts of books for different reasons?

I popped into the recent Newcastle Writers Festival for a session on “Who gets to tell Australian stories”. Big thanks to the panel, of journalist and Hip Hop & Hymns author Mawango Gbogbo, illustrator Dub Leffler and editor Winnie Dunn, and their moderator, editor, author and Sweatshop Literacy Movement founder Dr Michael Mohammed Ahmad.

“I am yet to see myself reflected back at me,” said Mawango.

“I really want Australian readers to broaden their perception of Australia,” said Winnie, who described Australia as “a complicated continent.”

They argued effectively that Australia and the world are richer when stories from multiple perspectives are shared.

Words on the Waves, the Central Coast Writers Festival, will take place from 31 May to 5 June, and I hope to volunteer. I was photographed at Terrigal where I met up with New Zealand creative Jordan Harcourt-Hughes who first told me about the virtual #5amWritersClub. We still agree it’s a wonderfully productive time of day, with the only distraction a spectacular sunrise!

Happy reading!

Amber

Brush with Bridgerton fame

I won’t hide it. Yes, I’m a grown woman, but I know how to fan girl like the best of them when the occasion requires it.

Sure, I toned it down, but I’m talking “respect” and “admiration” and “awe.” All of these words are warranted for Julia Quinn, the world famous yet quietly spoken creative powerhouse who has delighted millions of readers and viewers.

Julia told me she’d never had a real job. What modesty! I like the quiet belief in her own talent that allowed her to write some 40 books, one after another, among them the Bridgerton series which recently shot to fame on Netflix.

How glorious to know that feeling of flow, when the writing process is effortless and so enjoyable that time disappears!

I am enormously grateful to the Australian Romance Readers’ Association for the opportunity and privilege of meeting readers in Sydney and Melbourne, many of whom bought my books and sought my signature. Pure joy. You honour my efforts.

Julia is pictured with me above at the Sydney ARRA Romantic Rendezvous, and below with some of her glamorous fans at the Sparkling High Tea at the Collins Coffee House on a very hot summer’s afternoon in Melbourne.

Here we are with other signing authors in Melbourne.

Thank you, Trudi, for this recent review

Full House is the best feel good book I have read in a long time. As I read each of the House of Jewels Books I thought, “WOW, this one is my favorite”.  

Full House pulls all of the series together in a way that made it impossible to stop reading.  When Huntley’s House of Jewels becomes the target of a buyout, each family member and their loving partners had many hard decisions to make about what they wanted to spend their future lives. 

It was so hard to stop reading and all I could think was how much I would like to be a part of the Huntley family.  They faced conflict and ups and downs but there was almost always love. 

The House of Jewels is  made up of five books, each detailing one of the Huntleys.  They can be read alone but you would be missing a great opportunity not reading each one, as they are all five star winners. 

Find out more about my House of Jewels series.

#ebookweek23

Am I pricing my books correctly for you? Each of the five ebooks in my House of Jewels series will be available at half the usual price during the Smashwords Ebook Week sale, from 5 to 11 March.

You’re welcome to share the link with family and friends.

Other sweet reading specials

I’m always pleased to join other authors of romances at the sweeter end of to spectrum to bring our books to new readers.

You can find a variety of free and affordable sweet reads in the following promotions.

Our Sweet Sparkling Romances mix offers a host of browse-worthy options, and there’s still time to select some titles from among Valentine’s Sweetest Reads.

Browse this Time Together promotion, this Bookspry March clean freebies offer and this Love it! promotion.

As the summer hemisphere swings into autumn, our northern neighbors start tasting spring. But of course it can be any season in your latest read.

Where ever you may be in the world, please enjoy these sweet spring romances and this spring is in the air promotion!

Yes, everyone can fall in love this spring, between the pages of a good book!

Thank you

I thank each of my VIPs and writing buddies from my heart. You honour my efforts. I only hope my writing continues to improve, for your pleasure!

Happy reading!

Amber

PS. New followers are always welcome on Insta @JakemanAmber, on Twitter @AmberJakeman and on Facebook @Amber Jakeman writes feel-good fiction.

Seaside dreaming

I fell in love with the bays, beaches and natural bushland of the NSW coast as a child and have never looked back.

As a young journalist and parent, I had the privilege of interviewing many of the coast’s people of all ages. While there are no specific similarities between the reality and the characters and action in my next series, Escape to the Coast, there’s no question that memories provide plenty of inspiration.

In the first book, Summer Beach, you’ll meet reclusive guitar maker Jake Bannerman whose famous friends hint at his hidden talents and a past he prefers to forget.

When dynamo Samantha (Sam) Kelly turns up to sell the abandoned beach house next door, Jake is forced to confront his demons.

But an even deeper secret lies waiting to be uncovered within the house, a secret which threatens to shatter Sam’s wellbeing and her fledgling relationship with Jake.

Facing the past hurts. Can workaholic Sam trust anyone ever again? And will Jake step out of the shadows and claim the future – with Sam beside him?

I hope to have this first book of the new series out for you to enjoy in the next few months. 

Come and see me!

We are now on countdown for the Australian Romance Readers’ Association Romantic Rendezvous events.

Here is the booking link for all of these events where you can meet a host of popular romance writers, including Julia Quinn, the creator of Bridgerton! (Bookings close SOON!)

(If you haven’t already, you and your friends are invited to fall in love with the extended Huntley family of jewelers! You probably already know that the recently launched, heart-warming House of Jewels series follows the romantic fortunes of this fallible family in Australia, France and the US. The books may be read in any order.)

I’ll be selling my House of Jewels series and chatting with readers in Sydney at the Boulevard Hotel at 90 William Street on Sunday 12 February from 10am to 4pm, and then in Melbourne at the Novotel on Collins at 270 Collins Street on Saturday 18 February from 10am to 4pm.

Attendees can enjoy a whopping discount of 20 per cent for my books at these events. The usual price per paperback is $25, but you can buy them for $19.99 each, and, as a bonus discount, you can buy the full five-book series for just $85 (down from $125)! (Are discounts romantic? I think so!) 

If you plan to attend, you can preorder my books or just use the link to scan a summary of each book.

Thank you for your feedback

Your feedback is so encouraging! One reader, whose enjoyment of House of Diamonds prompted me to go on and write more books in the series, recently contacted me to say he’s now read all five of the House of Jewels series, that each was better than the one before, and he now understands the appeal of uplifting endings.

He said he loved Full House and its “master stroke” best of all. (You’ll have to read it to see what he means. No spoilers here.)

American reader Trudi Lo Prato kindly shares this review:

House of Spades is different than the first two books in the House series but just as good.  The story is about an older, more mature couple and spends a good deal of time with them trying to improve the environment.  Flame has spent a good deal of her life running from one relationship to another and they have always ended in sorrow.  Ross is a recent widower and he shared his life with his beloved deceased wife and two daughters. 

They are both about to find themselves in a totally new and amazing place.  Flame’s caravan is on land belonging to Ross.  When it is about to be lost to a flood, Ross pulls it higher up on his land.  As the two meet Flame is furious and Ross is confused but they slowly form an unusual friendship against all odds. 

The story line goes in many directions and I was never one hundred percent sure where they would end up.  

House of Spades is a must read as it has friendship, family relationships and romance and so much more.  

Amber Jakeman is an excellent storyteller and this third volume would also be a wonderful TV movie.  I can’t wait for book number four and I am sure you will feel the same, don’t pass this one up.

Thank you, Trudi!

My thanks also to the reader who, inspired by my previous blog, sent this evocative map from another era and this information:

On the romantic question of ‘scheduled’ flying to Pago Pago… Pan Am Clipper Flying Boats flew via Pago Pago in the golden age of trans oceanic travel in late 1930s. An adventurous undertaking.

Pondering on travel, coastlines and the world’s great oceans has inspired ideas for the second book in the Escape to the Coast series, though it’s currently just a few scribbles in my notebook!

Your turn to write!

So many of my VIP readers have suggested I use the Pago Pago experience as inspiration for a short story, that I know it has sparked your own imaginations!

Would you like to write and share a short story about an unscheduled detour? (You may use a nom de plume if you wish.) I’ll be glad to share your stories in future blogs as long as they don’t defame a real person and they fit my readers’ preferences — without violence or horror, and with an uplifting ending. Bonus points for romance.

I look forward to your responses!

Getaway romance

I love teaming up with other authors to offer our readers special deals.

In the mood for your own travel adventure but short on time and funds? Fly away for the price of a cup of coffee! 

You might enjoy some of Valentine’s sweetest reads ahead of the most romantic day of the year (14 February) as well as these heartwarming Stay with me stories.

Click here for affordable clean romances, and here’s a link for sweet and clean romance freebies.

Still looking for stories? Enjoy browsing more free sweet and clean reads as well as these free Sweet Romance for All offers.

Happy reading!

Amber

How I missed my own party

What a surprise to travel from Los Angeles to Sydney recently, only to end up in idyllic Pago Pago with 287 or so other passengers!

Engine troubles forced our plane to land at sunrise on this emerald green jewel of a tropical island paradise at sunrise, as there were no lights to guide us in during darkness.

Kind locals treated us to island tours, fruit smoothies and seafood treats while the airline worked out what to do with us.

Among the unexpected joys were opportunities to chat with other travellers and relax into island time among the coconut palms, hot sun, humid sea breeze and warm sea.

In Sydney, my heroic husband hosted our New Year’s Eve party without me, while, due to a kink in the international date line, our stranded band of passengers not only missed the famous Sydney fireworks displays many had set out to see, but also completely skipped New Year’s Eve itself! Stranger than fiction!

Still in American Samoa at 2am on 30 January, in the airport terminal, after 19 hours lost in the Pacific, we decided to count down the final seconds of Sydney’s 31 January anyway, to wish each other well.

We celebrated the quiet competence of the captain and crew, and the generosity of local people.

What a memorable way to see in a new year!

Happy (and creative) New Year!

What is it about a new year that so prompts optimism? Any moment in time could be the same as the next, yet the cyclical movement of the earth around the sun tells us in our bones that we are about to launch into a fresh set of seasons.

For those in the northern hemisphere, it’s a reminder that the frost will thaw as surely as your sunshine begins to return.

Here in the Antipodes, we bask in the sun’s full strength as we savour abundant berries and juicy mangos and relish fragrant frangipanis with gratitude for another year of life. 

For me, each new year becomes sweeter. In this time of hope, may you reach out in wonder at your own new year, in health and joy, and may the sun shine on all your dreams.

Creativity

I was so thrilled to hear that a friend wrote a fugue on the back of a paper bag on the way back from the launch of my House of Jewels series! 

My thanks to composer Geo Jenner and performer Daniel Nistico for permission to share Melancholy Fugue with you.

Yes, it’s sad. It’s also intricately exquisite, and did not exist until Geo captured and shared it. Congratulations, Geo.

What might you create and share this year? I hope to make some cakes.

I’m also beavering away on Summer Beach, the first book in my Escape to the Coast series, which features Jake, a guitar player who hides away from life in his beach house. Wait till dynamo Samantha turns up to sell the house next door!

Thank you for your beautiful reviews!

I’m always grateful for the recommendations and reviews that help others find my books, and was thrilled to discover that this reviewer, Trudi Lo Preto, found House of Hearts to be “even better” than House of Diamonds!

I could not be more excited she’s put me “at the top” of her “favorite author list”! Thank you, Trudi!  

Trudi wrote:

House of Hearts is the second in the series and even better than the first. Dr. Lisa Baker is a therapist is living in Las Vegas and part of a practice helping people to overcome their addictions. Will Huntley’s family are the owners of a very famous jewelry store. Will is the playboy of the family, never staying in one place too long, always having a pretty girl on his arm, loves to gamble but has checked in to the Peters Clinic and his family hopes he will lose his bad habits and come out a new and reformed man. Lisa meets him at the door and the long three-week program begins.

An immediate attraction is felt by both but it is forbidden for Lisa to have a personal relationship with a patient. Lisa and Will get into some compromising situations and fight temptation but it gets harder and harder. Lisa must wait two years before she can socialize with a patient and to her surprise, Will claims he is willing to wait for His Queen of Hearts.

They each continue on their own path and you will have to read this sweet romantic story to get the answer to their future. Can Will be reformed? Can Lisa step out of her therapist role? You will be reading late into the night to discover all of the answers. House of Hearts along with House of Diamonds would make a perfect TV movie or show that I would love to watch. I am anxiously awaiting book three as Amber Jakeman has moved to the top of my favorite author list.

Sweet deals

I’m delighted to join up with sweet romance authors from around the world to present our books to each other’s readers. We’ve each spent countless hours creating our stories of hope and healing, and we just want you to enjoy them!

Many of these books are for free, while others cost less than a cup of coffee.  

Please take a look at all the free good books in this Sweet Start to the Year mix. 

Enjoy browsing this Keep Me Warm promo which includes my House of Diamonds.

House of Spades and House of Clubs are included in this Sweet and Clean Romance Novellas and Novels promotion. 

You can find my House of Diamonds for free in this Romance for the Soul giveaway and also in this Sweet Romance Reads giveaway and this Soooooooo Romantic giveaway.

You can still find House of Diamonds for free on my website, where you can also find links to all my books. Please feel free to share these links with any friends and family who might enjoy a dose of feel-good fiction!

Come and meet me! 

A reminder that I look forward to meeting fellow authors and readers and signing my paperbacks at the Australian Romance Readers Association Romantic Rendezvous in Sydney on Sunday 12 February 2023 from 10am to 4pm at Sydney Boulevard, 90 William Street.

The event will be repeated in Melbourne on Saturday 18 February 2023 from 10am to 4pm, at the Novotel on Collins, 270 Collins Street. View details and book tickets.  

Road tours may also be on the cards. Please email me if you or your local bookshop would be interested in hosting an author Q & A and signing session with me.

I wish each of you a very happy (and creative) new year!

Amber

Oops. Forgot to iron the sunset.

Heartiest of greetings to all of you at this festive time of year.

An especially warm welcome to new VIPs from the recent inaugural Book Fair Australia!

It was a thrill to meet so many avid readers of all ages, including librarians, and to witness the thriving interest in real and tangible paperbacks. Maybe like vinyl records, paperbacks and hard cover books are back in vogue, or maybe they never went out of style!

My stall featured a romantic picnic tableau, chocolate hearts, ARRA “I read romance” buttons, roses, my House of Jewels series and a somewhat wrinkled sunset! 

Here I am with compere extraordinaire, Annie McCann of popular book blog Readers Review. Note Annie’s perfectly pink jacket! 

It was great to connect with 20 or so other romance writers at the Sydney Showground event, as well as almost 100 other authors and affiliated artists and booklovers.

I particularly enjoyed the “love letters” panel. Annie interviewed Amy J Edwards, Keighley Bradford and actual New York Times bestselling author Nicole Flockton, whose Australian rural romance and other works are particularly popular in the US.

All three authors radiated the passion and joy their vocation brings, and, like them, I’m glad to create stories which entertain, amuse, inspire and heal.

“Romance means ‘hope’,” said Nicole. “There’s joy out there. You can find it in the most unexpected places.” They talked tropes and inspiration and so much more.

Many writers at the fair were from diverse backgrounds. In a panel exploring diversity, these writers spoke of how their own backgrounds were rarely if ever reflected in the books they read.

Three cheers for these writers who are closing that gap for so many Aussie readers and broadening all our imaginations. After all, writing has always been about inviting readers into different worlds.

Five stars

It is always gratifying to receive a five-star review. This one, from Readers’ Favorite in the US, qualifies House of Diamonds for a five-star sticker! Here’s an excerpt… 

House of Diamonds by Amber Jakeman is a contemporary happily-ever-after romance. I really enjoyed House of Diamonds and found it impossible not to cheer on Stella despite all the obstacles that kept getting in her way. James was the handsome rich guy that was easy to be attracted to.

The plot was quick-paced with ups and downs, happiness and sadness, and twists and turns which made it hard to put down. The book has anger, friendship, family ties, money problems, and more as they come to terms with their feelings, and both struggle to find answers.

House of Diamonds is book number one and I am so excited to see where Amber Jakeman takes the rest of the series and to hopefully find out what the future holds for Stella and James.

I believe that House of Diamonds has all the makings for a perfect Hallmark or made-for-TV movie. House of Diamonds is a winner.

I’m always grateful when readers who enjoy my work share reviews  or recommend my work. Thank you!

House of Jewels series in the news

My thanks, also, to the Australian Romance Readers’ Association (ARRA) for featuring my recent House of Jewels launch in their November newsletter and thanks again to so many of you who were able to attend!

Romance as a progressive genre

Courtesy ARRA, you might enjoy this recent article on the dynamic and response nature of the romance writing industry.

Sweet reads for the season

You might enjoy browsing through these sweet e-reads as Christmas approaches.

This mix of sweet reads invites readers to Judge a Book by its Cover.

If you’re on the lookout for a new series to enjoy, this promo features First in Series wholesome reads.

And here are some books to Warm your heart at Christmas!

Come and meet me! 

I look forward to meeting fellow authors and readers and signing my paperbacks at the Australian Romance Readers Association Romantic Rendezvous in Sydney on Sunday 12 February 2023 from 10am to 4pm at Sydney Boulevard, 90 William Street.

The event will be repeated in Melbourne on Saturday 18 February 2023 from 10am to 4pm, at the Novotel on Collins, 270 Collins Street. View details and book tickets.  

Road tours may also be on the cards. Please email me if you or your local bookshop would be interested in hosting an author Q & A and signing session with me.

Share the love!

Still celebrating the recent House of Jewels series launch, I’m delighted to share the love by keeping the first e-book in the series, House of Diamonds, free for your friends and family.

Please invite them to click this link. You can forward this blog to them so they can download their own free copy. 

Every best wish for the festive season!

In Australia, it is the season of mangos and gardenias, and I am full of gratitude. Where ever you may be in the world, may you enjoy time with family and friends, celebrate, rest and rejoice.

Amber

Find my books.

Share the love + cover talk

Still so thrilled with the recent House of Jewels series launch among so many of my VIPs, I’m delighted to share the love by making the first e-book in the series, House of Diamonds, available to your friends and family at no cost.

Please invite them to click this link or forward this blog to them so I can email them their own free copy. 

Download your free copy of House of Diamonds by Amber JakemanCome and meet me!

A reminder I’d love to see you and your friends at the inaugural Book Fair Australia on 26 and 27 November 2022 at Sydney Showground. Come and celebrate the joy of books and reading at this new literary festival, with stalls, discussion panels, workshops and more.

It’s just two weeks away! The first five visitors each day will receive a gift.

Meet the Bridgerton author in Melbourne!

Did you know that the legendary US historical romance writer Julia Quinn, author of popular Netflix Bridgerton series, will be in Melbourne in February?

Julia will be at the Australian Romance Readers Association (ARRA) Romantic Rendezvous at the glorious Collins Coffee House for a Melbourne Fashion Week High Tea.

With her will be the super prolific and popular US contemporary romance author Audrey Carlan. Oh. And Amber Jakeman. (I’ll be there with other Australian romance authors ahead of our ARRA books signing event at the Novotel on Collins next day. See details below.)

Join us! Details and tickets are now available here.   

Cover talk

As I receive so many compliments on the covers of my books, please enjoy this Q and A with my cover designer, Kylie Sek.

Cover designer Kylie Sek

How did you become a book cover designer, Kylie?
I fell into designing book covers by accident, really. Before I was a cover designer, I wrote young adult books for Penguin Random House. After some time, I had the rights reverted to me for one of my books and decided to self-publish it. As part of that process I needed a new cover and decided to sign up for a trial of Adobe Stock and Photoshop to see if designing a cover was something I could “do myself”.

I quickly realised that it was not something I could just “do myself”, however I forgot to cancel the free trials and ended up with yearly subscriptions to both Adobe Stock and Photoshop.

I decided that I may as well use the subscriptions and threw myself into learning design and Photoshop over the next few years. Accident or fate?

What do you love most about your work?
I love the challenge of designing or illustrating a cover that fits perfectly alongside other covers in its genre (marketability is a must) but is unique and special in its own way. I also love working with authors. They are the best type of people!

What is special about designing book covers?
I love books and storytelling so I feel very privileged to be handed someone’s story and get to make a cover that will help readers connect with it.

Have you always been a “visual” person?
I never really thought of myself that way, to be honest. Because I was focused on becoming an author after school I thought of myself as a “language” person.

But when I look back now I realise that a lot of what I did through my younger years actually pointed to me being a visual person. I just didn’t take notice of the signs. Like in primary school, I obsessively borrowed books on lettering and calligraphy. I do also believe that you learn to see things a certain way when you start actively looking.

Now I can’t go anywhere without looking at the kerning between letters on signs or how the light falls on a person’s face or even how far apart their eyes are!

Did you do well at art at school?
Yes, I think so! I made a very impressive paper mache dragon in year 7.

What genre(s) do you prefer?
I love designing for so many genres but my favourites would be women’s fiction, romance, rom-com, historical, young adult, contemporary fiction, mysteries and thrillers. The covers are just so fun or beautiful so they lift me up.

How do you balance your work and family life?
I’m not sure I’ve worked out the balance exactly, like many working mums. But I do my best and I have a lot of support from my mum and my husband. Generally, I work when my youngest is at preschool and at night once the kids are asleep. Luckily, I love my work so much that working at night isn’t a problem for me.

Do you ever get “stuck” on a concept? If so, how do you move forwards?
I definitely get stuck on a concept sometimes. Usually that’s an indication that the concept isn’t right and more often than not it works out better to ditch that concept and try a different direction. As part of my process, I design a number of concept covers for each cover. This works really well because it pushes me to go deeper into the story and also try ideas I hadn’t first thought of which often leads to the winning concept.

Where do your ideas come from?
Funnily, I often start with words. After I receive an author’s story form, I write down key words to try to hone in on what the cover needs to say. Sometimes I’ll have a clear picture of the cover in my head from the start and then need to go and find the images (or create a sketch) to make that idea happen.

If I don’t have a clear idea in my head, I’ll go to stock sites and plug in some keywords. I also have many folders on each stock site with images saved that I like or that would work for a specific genre.

But I usually find that ideas come to me pretty easily and just pop into my head. I suppose that just comes from taking in everything around me and knowing cover trends and cover conventions for each genre.

Are you a reader? If so, what kinds of books do you read?
Absolutely! Reading is a huge part of my life. It always has been. I read very widely. One month I’ll be reading high fantasy and the next month women’s fiction or historical romance. At the moment, I’m reading the young adult novel, You Should See Me in a Crown.

Can you judge a book by its cover?
I’m not sure an incredible cover means the book will be incredible or vice versa. But in terms of selling a book, a great cover will always help a book sell. Readers make very quick judgments about whether to pick up a book or click on the book, so a great cover will give that all-important first impression.

You can find our more by emailing Kylie at hello@kyliesek.com.au or visiting www.kyliesek.com.au where you can glimpse a cover from my next series!

More reading offers

With Christmas just around the corner, you might like to browse these sweet romance selections.

All five of my paperbacks are available in this Stuff those Stockings with PRINT Books promotion.

The e-version of my Full House appears in this large Second Chance Romance promotion, along with a few man chest options!

This Thankful for Sweet ROMCOMS promotion includes my House of Diamonds and House of Clubs e-books.

Full House features in this Sweet Romance for the Holidays mix.

You can also spot a few of my House of Jewels series titles among this Give Thanks for Christian/Sweet/Clean Romances selection.

A Romantic Rendezvous or two!

I also look forward to meeting fellow authors and readers and signing my paperbacks at the Australian Romance Readers Association Romantic Rendezvous in Sydney on Sunday 12 February 2023 from 10am to 4pm at Sydney Boulevard, 90 William Street, and in Melbourne on Saturday 18 February 2023 from 10am to 4pm, at the Novotel on Collins, 270 Collins Street. View details and book tickets. 

Warmest thanks to ARRA for featuring me in this recent author spotlight.   

Road tours may also be on the cards. Please email me if you or your local bookshop would be interested in hosting an author Q & A and signing session with me.

With thanks

I’m always grateful to readers who enjoy my work and are able to post a review of my books here or there or to recommend my work. It’s a great encouragement, and really helps other readers to find my books.

Happy reading!

Romance celebrated at House of Jewels launch

There was standing room only at the Sydney launch of my House of Jewels series earlier this month, amid chocolate hearts, pink prosecco, mini cupcakes and generosity.

I could not be more grateful to my readers and supporters — and to the scientists and health care workers who’ve shepherded us through the pandemic to make such gatherings possible again. 

I was over the moon that the team at Galaxy Bookshop — above iconic Abbeys Bookshop in Sydney’s CBD — was able to host so many of my VIPs, family, friends and writing buddies.

Galaxy, a haven for fiction, is best known for stocking sci fi, fantasy, paranormal romance, horror, game worlds books and pop culture. It also has a growing range of romance.

Australian Writers’ Centre legend Pamela Hart, who “launched” me, prompted amusement when she said there was “a natural fit between fantasy and romance”.

It was Pamela who first recognised the “romantic elements” of my writing, and I thank her for accompanying me out of the shadows at this event.

Pamela (left, in fabulous happy pants to acknowledge “feel-good fiction”) told the audience romance has changed a lot since the days of Barbara Cartland.

“Romance is now an extremely feminist genre which puts women’s needs first,” Pamela said. “In that sense it’s a very subversive genre, even though it appears so conservative on the surface”.

I thank Pamela for asserting that women must pursue their creative passions not only for their own fulfillment but to demonstrate to others, including their children, that women’s pursuits matter just as much as men’s.

I also thank Pamela for acknowledging the completion of my series.

“Writing one book is quite an achievement,” she said. “People struggle with it their whole life and never achieve it.

“To write five accomplished, well written, interesting, connected books is a great achievement.”

To hear this from Pamela, a successful author across seven genres and a distinguished writing teacher and Twitter aficionado, certainly made my day.

Pamela praised the “lyricism” of my writing in the dark moments, the well-rounded characters of all ages, and the “enormous awareness of nature” in each novel.

I explained I find solace in nature in my daily walks, taking photos of flowers and other everyday beauty for my Instagram account @JakemanAmber. There’s such richness in the world if only we stop to look at it.

In a neat segue to thanks, sales and signings, Pamela kindly directed readers to my books for other “riches”.

Pamela Hart of the Australian Writers’ Centre (left) and Bernadette Foley of Broadcast Books with Amber Jakeman (centre)

Whether or not you were able to make the launch, please know that your feedback means the world to me.

One VIP even sent a bunch of flowers which arrived in the middle of the event, from the appropriately named “Sweetheart” florist!

As I told the audience, I’ve acted on every piece of feedback to improve my writing. Thank you, Gail, and so many others! Without my VIPs and mentors, this series simply would not exist.

Heartfelt thanks to you all for helping me realise a dream.

Other interviews and reviews

Thanks, too, to New Zealand reviewer Pauline for sharing another review on social media, this time for Full House, the fifth book in the series. 

“The author has such amazing plotting skills … balanced nicely with historical information …” Pauline wrote. 

“I found the book easy to read and it flowed well … A well earned 5 star review.”

Warm thanks also to fellow author Cindy L Spear for featuring me on her website. Cindy’s perspicacious questions forced me to reflect on the Huntleys, their adventures, and the themes in each book.

“This is a very special lady with a wonderful gift for ‘feel good fiction’,” Cindy kindly wrote of me. “It has been a real honour and pleasure getting to know Amber and her House of Jewels series and characters.”

Cindy, the honour is all mine! 

I thank each of you for your reviews and recommendations, all of which are helping others to discover my books.

Come and meet me!

I’m excited to announce I’ll be attending the inaugural Book Fair Australia on 26 and 27 November 2022 at Sydney Showground.

Please come and meet me and a host of other writers as we celebrate the joy of books and reading at this new literary festival. There’ll be stalls, discussion panels, workshops and more.

I also look forward to signing and selling my books at the Australian Romance Readers Association Romantic Rendezvous in Sydney on 12 February 2023 and in Melbourne on 18 February 2023.

Road tours may also be on the cards. Would you please email me if your local bookshop would be interested in hosting an author Q & A and signing session with me?

Romance selections

Looking for a fresh read? You might enjoy browsing the covers of these romance selections, including some from my House of Jewels series!

Clean Romance Deals includes my House of Diamonds and House of Hearts.

Sweet Second Chances includes my latest, Full House.

You can also find my House of Diamonds among these Start a New Romance Series options. (Warning: This promo includes a few “man chest” options!)

Enjoy my books

A reminder that Harry Hartog at Sydney’s Macquarie Centre, North Ryde, carries my House of Diamonds and House of Hearts paperbacks.

Galaxy Bookshop carries the entire House of Jewels paperback series. Abbeys and Galaxy also offer this handy  service.

Browse my other blogs.

Or order my e-books and paperbacks online.

Happy reading!