Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, where I share snippets from new and past releases and works-in-progress, and occasionally tempt author buddies into doing the same.

How have you enjoyed our last couple of guests? Weren’t they fun? And with such fab books too. Watch out for next week when we’re scheduled to host another guest (and perhaps a juicy giveaway). Until then, you have me!

I had to have a good think about what book to feature this week. Is it too early for my Christmas story, Santa and the Saddler? Hmm, maybe a bit. As gorgeous as that book is, I think another favourite will do the trick. A story that’s also full of cheer and hope, and guaranteed to warm your heart. That book for me is The Country Girl.

Its heroine Tash is the kind of girl the world could do with right now – bright and full of joy and curiosity. She appreciates and hunts out the good things in life, and you can’t help but smile at her joie de vivre.

Here’s a snippet from a scene near the beginning of the book where where Tash does her thing. Enjoy!

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And in that gleeful moment the bleakness of her visit to Springbank was washed away, replaced with pure elation. Tash hugged and kissed her surprised mum before snatching up her tripod and darting outside with her phone. This was a mood that had to be captured.

The sun was making its slow descent west and Baron’s Swamp was backlit with afternoon colour. Everything was vivid, from the paddocks to the sky to Tash’s soaring feelings. Never had she felt so grateful for all she’d been blessed with.

Her bemused mother followed, Coco dogging her heels, as Tash ducked through a wire fence and set up her phone on the tripod.

‘Can you line me up?’ she called before dashing several metres away. Minutes of toing and froing between camera and paddock ensued until Tash was satisfied she had the shot she wanted. With a call of ‘three-two-one’ from Tash, her mum pressed record.

Head back, Tash began to dance like a gawky ballerina—she leaped, pirouetted, performed a clumsy arabesque, followed by a hip-wiggling disco move, her giggles like music in the air. Overcome by her own silly joy, she kept frolicking, feeling the sun, the air, the magnificent beat of her good health and happiness.

‘How’s this for life?’ she yelled, before breaking into more laughter. ‘It’s beautiful!’

And with that, Coco broke from Liz’s heels, galloped through the grass and launched herself at Tash like a torpedo. Hit by twenty-five solid kilos of hurtling dog, Tash collapsed onto her back with a shriek, her legs kicking the air, only to squeal and break into more giggles when Coco began attacking her face with mad snuffles and licks.

That night, mellow with excellent food, company, and a couple of glasses of Coonawarra cabernet, Tash uploaded the footage. By morning it had gone viral, her followers had skyrocketed, an email from a clothing company offering sponsorship had landed in her inbox, and she’d scored two proposals of marriage.

The Urban Ranger Goes Country was on its way. And it was looking awesome.

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Ah, you gotta love a girl full of so much zest for life. No wonder Patrick can’t resist her (although he tries, oh how he tries!).

The Country Girl is available now in ebook and paperback from these stores. Grab your bundle of heart-warming fun today.

Amazon US | Amazon AU | Amazon UK

Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play | Barnes & Noble

Booktopia | Dymocks | Angus & Robertson

If you’d like to learn more about The Country Girl, please visit its book page on this website. Discover the inspiration behind its creation in The Magic Bullet, the story behind The Country Girl.

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