Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, where I share snippets from new and past releases and works-in-progress, and occasionally twist the arms of author buddies to do the same. Which is what’s happening again today. Yay!
But first, news from the Hein house.
Progress on my new novel hasn’t been as speedy as I’d like but I’m getting there. And after 15 books, I’ve learned that this is a normal part of my process. The first half dozen chapters seem to take forever then things sort of take off. Fingers crossed this book stays true to form.
In other news, we invited friends up for lunch over the weekend and I made the stoooopid error of trying out a new dessert recipe. Oh, it was bad. So, so baaaaad. Fortunately, because I’d prepared it the day before, I discovered the horrible tastebud-insulting disaster ahead of time. It did, however, put my timings completely up the spout. Instead of spending Saturday morning flopped about reading the papers and drinking coffee, I was stuck in the kitchen making chocolate shortcrust pastry and chocolate filling for my tried and true chilli-choc tart. Which is what I should have made in the first bloody place.
It was the new blow torch’s fault (see last week’s Teaser Tuesday for info on that). If it hadn’t been for my new toy, I wouldn’t have wanted to cook something I had to brulee and everything would have been fine. Hmmph.
Ah, you live and learn, don’t you?
Enough of me and my kitchen challenges, it’s time for a bride, a baby and the outback!
Yes, my lovelies, we’re off to Wirralong with regular Teaser Tuesday guest Fiona McArthur and showing off her new outback bride story Maeve’s Baby, which hits stores tomorrow.
Here’s Fiona to tell you about it and share an excerpt. Make sure you read the whole post because there just might be a giveaway in the offing!
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Hi there Cathryn and waving to readers on your Teaser Tuesday.
Another WIRRALONG BRIDES Series woohoo. Kelly Hunter on 3rd August with Matilda Next Door, my Maeve’s Baby on 5th August, Cathryn on the 31st August with Serenity’s Song and Barb Hannay’s A Nanny Called Alice on the 3rd September. I’m pretty darned excited about these books and hope you are too!
I actually think Maeve and Jace are two of the most enjoyable characters I’ve written. They jumped off the page, never stopped talking, each amusingly original, dedicated, but hurt from the past in their own way. Of course, there are babies born, like all of my books.
I know my love of this book has a lot to do with my love of all the characters in Wirralong, and the smile I get when I think of the other authors in now, our third series. How wonderful is that!
BTW, my Holly’s Heart from Series 1 won the NZ Koru Romance Book of the Year 2019 and now Lacey from Series 2 is a finalist for 2020 in the Koru. Wish her luck
So obviously, my joy comes from the fact our little bride’s town is a place I feel comforted to visit, with strong, wonderful people. To be able to return, and in my case meet old friends like how Holly and Ben are going, catch up on Lacey and Cameron and cheer the progress of their children, it really is like visiting family on holidays.
Wirralong Brides makes me smile. The town makes me feel warm.
My heartfelt wish is that Wirralong will make you feel warm, comforted, safe and surrounded by friends. I wish you a feeling of happiness and contentment when you finish this book and the same joy after all of the books in this new series. Here’s a fun part I always remember when I think of my latest Wirralong Brides, Maeve’s book…
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Excerpt from ¾ through the book
By eight twenty his daughter was asleep. He agonised over the late hour and decided any time before nine was acceptable. And he’d said he’d ring.
He took himself into his bedroom and dragged the pillows into a tall pile and leaned back against them.
Okay. Crikey, he felt like a teenager asking a girl for a first date. He’d already kissed Maeve. And she wasn’t scary.
Except today, maybe. The thought of her standing on two steps glaring down at him made him smile.
He pressed the call button.
The phone rang six times before she answered. He knew. Because he counted the rings.
‘Lucky this isn’t a video call,’ she said.
Jace felt the relief bubble up as laughter. He leaned back more loosely into the pillows with a stupid grin on his face. He loved she just launched straight in without salutations. ‘Why’s that?’
‘Guess where I am.’
‘I hope not,’ he said.
‘No. Not the ladies. I don’t take the phone to the ladies.’
He hooted. ‘Good to know. Where are you?’
‘I have no clothes on.’
He stilled and somewhere a hot flame licked between his legs. Just like that. With five words. ‘Is this one of those phone-sex calls?’
He heard her snort down the line. ‘I’m in the bath. There’re bubbles. So, you can’t see anything. And it’s certainly not phone sex.’
‘Damn.’
‘You’re late.’
‘The horse book I read took ages. Jemima is now asleep.’
‘So, what is this call about, anyway?’
‘I was thinking …’
‘So much better than just reacting,’ she agreed piously, and he wondered if she was talking about today. He would not get side-tracked.
‘At work, we are Dr Jace Bronson and midwife Maeve McGill.’
‘Observant, aren’t you.’
He refused to be derailed. He’d been working this out. ‘Then there’s me and you, Jace and Maeve.’
‘Hmm.’ She was listening. After a short pause she said, ‘And?’
‘I was thinking Jace and Maeve could talk at night before we go to sleep. Thought we could try tonight, and see how we go.’
There was the sound of bubbles and splashing.
‘Are you okay?’
‘I was just thinking underwater.’
He had to smile at that. Picturing that. Nice picture.
She splashed then said, ‘It’s lucky I bought one of those waterproof phone cases, then.’
‘Did you know …’ he paused, his face cracking into a smile as the idea expanded, ‘…there’s a bath here in this place for me, too?’
He heard a soft laugh. Sounded breathy to him. He shifted on the bed enjoying this way more than he’d thought he would. Finally, she said, ‘You’re saying we could both lie in the bath and chat? At night? In the dark?’
‘I hadn’t thought of the dark, but that’s a nice idea.’
‘Um. Then I’d have a full picture of you in my head, naked in your bath, with bubbles.’ A long silence, but he had the feeling she wasn’t finished. Eventually she said, ‘That’s pretty darn hot, regardless of the temperature of the water.’
‘Tell me about it.’
Maeve’s Baby is out tomorrow. Grab your copy today from:
Amazon.com | Amazon.au | Amazon.uk
Kobo | Apple Books | Nook
Google Play | Tule Publishing Store
Personally signed print copies can be purchased from Fiona’s bookstore here (Australian postal addresses only).
GIVEAWAY!
I do have a free print copy of Maeve’s Baby to post away to someone in Aus or an ebook version world wide, and would love to hear the funniest/ most odd phone call you’ve ever had, pranked someone on, or even heard about?
Just saying, the one that tickles my funny bone, wins 🙂
Thank you as always, Cathryn, for having me xx Fi
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A pleasure, Fiona. And all the best in the Koru!
Wow, what a question. I have a phone call story. When we lived in France, we’d often get junk calls to the apartment and mostly I’d just explain that we couldn’t understand and hang up. For some reason that I can’t recall, this particular day I wanted to listen to what the caller had to say so I kept saying in (bad) French, if you speak slowly enough, I will understand. Except the message wasn’t getting through.
What I discovered later was that instead of using the clearest word “lentement” for slowly, I was using “goussement”, which I’d somehow mixed up with “doucement”, also a word that can mean slowly.
“Goussement” means, rather alarmingly, gusseting. So there I was telling the caller, “If you speak gusseting, I will understand.” Yikes!
What about you? What’s one of your funniest phone experiences? Pop yours into the comments and you’ll be in the draw to win either a paperback copy of Maeve’s Baby (Australian postal addresses) or an ebook copy (rest of the world). Too cool!
Please note: Giveaway closes midnight Friday Australian Eastern Standard Time, 7th August 2020. Prize is a paperback copy of Maeve’s Baby for Australian postal address or an ebook copy for those residing elsewhere in the world. Good luck!
If you’d like to learn more about Fiona and her books, please visit her website. You can also connect on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter using @FiCatchesBabies.
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