Rah! It’s here at last. My latest rural romance Rocking Horse Hill has now officially hit the shelves.

Have you spotted it out and about yet? Let me know if you have. Even better, maybe take a pic and share it on my Facebook page, Google+ or Twitter via @CathrynHein.

Now, to celebrate release day (in addition to the bottle of pink fizz awaiting me in the fridge) here are…

TEN SECRET THINGS ABOUT ROCKING HORSE HILL

1/. Josh was originally called Nick.

2/. Originally I wanted to name Em Cashmere. Seriously. Cashmere Wallace-Jones. She then became Emelia before finally settling as Emily.

3/. Rocking Horse Hill is based on Mount Schank, a volcano south of Mount Gambier in South Australia’s lower south-east.

4/. Sliding on you bum down the side of a volcano is the best fun ever. I’ve done it!

5/. The inspiration for Rocking Horse Hill’s quarry scar came from Mount Elephant near Derinallum in western Victoria. The quarry was for scoria.

6/. The book took 7 months to write. Yikes!

7/. Muffy is based on my darling late dog Cooch.

8/. Chelsea was inspired by an Indian runner duck that my brother once kept. That duck could really motor!

9/. Josh bares more than a passing resemblance to Rex in Rome actor Ettore Bassi. I spent a lot of time studying pictures of him for research… as you do.

10/. Donkeys are sweet but can be sneaky little buggers. There are some amazing videos of them around the net, getting up to mischief. Watching them gave me a lot of laughs. Check this too-clever donkey out.

I hope you enjoyed these ten secret things. But most of all I really hope you enjoy the drama and romance of Rocking Horse Hill!

Feeling that itchy urge to buy right now? Then canter on down to your local book shop or chain store, or simply clickety-click on any of these retailers.

• Booktopia
• Bookworld
• Boomerang Books
• Angus & Robertson
• QBD The Bookshop
• Collins Booksellers
• Amazon Kindle
• Kobo
• iBooks
• Google Play
• JB Hi-Fi

Happy reading!

Cathryn