Author Harvest ‘bales’ up Louise Reynolds

Start by telling me if it’s scones and tea or some other homemade delight you have whipped up for me today.

I’m not much of a dessert or cake cook, Jenn, so I’ve brought along some lovely, slightly stinky Milawa cheese, a crusty sourdough baguette and a bottle of wine. OK?

(Oh, gosh, okay. If I have to. Sound very much like what an Italian aristocrat might enjoy!)

At home…

My mum says garden gnomes make a house a home! Are you loud and proud in your love of garden gnomes at home, a closet gnomer or with a strict ‘no gnomes’ policy at your place?

Sorry but I’ve never liked the idea of men (real or otherwise) sitting in my front garden taking note of what time I get home and more importantly, what state I’m in.

(OMG! Now you have freaked me out. I never looked at gnomes that way before. But now you mention it…)

What vegetable (or fruit) have you always wanted to grow at home?

Broad beans. You can never buy them small enough to do some of the great recipes I see in cookbooks.

(Hmm, as a child I threw up when mum forced broadbeans in my mouth. Enjoy yours!)

If I came to your home and looked in the refrigerator, what would I find?

We shop daily for fresh food so the fridge just holds the basics: 2 or 3 cheeses, milk, wine, soda water, coke zero, pickles (several), maple syrup, eggs, olives, butter, marg, cream, various Asian sauces, chocolate.

If you sorted your wardrobe by colour, what colour would stand out? (Ahh, do you sort your wardrobe by colour?!)

No need for sorting. My wardrobe is a dark cavern of black.

(Well you must get more red because it looks stunning on you.)

What are you wearing now? (Be honest!)

Old jeans, long sleeve t-shirt, polar fleece top and granny shoes. Glam.

(What are granny shoes? They sound wonderfully comfy.)

Whose home would you like to housesit and why?

I’d love to housesit ‘Charleston’, the gorgeous house in East Sussex lived in by the Bloomsbury set in the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. It’s an intimate farmhouse full of colour, art, life and history. The art created, conversations held and love affairs pursued within those walls make it truly unique.

Country curiosities…

We love a sunburnt country (slip, slop, slap and all that). What’s your ideal hat? Or are you a boots person?

Definitely a hat person. I’ve got lots of knit caps and berets for Melbourne winters. My partner and I share a trilby found in a second hand store and I have an Akubra for trips to the outback.

If you were a tree (or animal) what kind of tree (animal) would you be?

A river red gum, my favourite tree.

(See! That’s because red looks good on you.)

Now for the big question… Why did the chicken cross the road?

There was a woman with a rotisserie spindle hot on her heels.

(LOL! Ouch!)

About you…

Your turning point: when was that point in your life that you realized that being an author was no longer going to be just a dream but a reality and a career?

I don’t know that there was a particular point in time. It was more a matter of knuckling down and doing something about a long-held dream.

What is the hardest part of writing for you?

Starting every day. I’ve made procrastination into an art form.

If someone was to write your biography, what do you think the title should be?

‘Hic’

(Hey, that title has already been allocated to moi!)

Fun stuff…

If you could trade places with any other person for a week, famous or not famous, living or dead, real or fictional, with whom would it be?

Alisha Keys or a singer of that ilk. Someone with a superlative voice who makes us mere mortals just drop our jaws when she sings. You can see I have a very active imagination.

If I said to you, “Just entertain me for five minutes, I’m not going to talk,” what would you do?

I’d invite you to play charades and say ‘You go first.’

What was the best thing before sliced bread?

Gorgeous artisan baked loaves that you could cut in huge hunks.

Name 5 uses for a stapler that has not staple pins.

1. Useful implement to bang in tent pegs (but possibly only in sand)
2. Executive stress reliever (pulling that little slide thing back and forward, back and forward, back and forward…)
3. Fun object to scare little nieces and nephews with (‘Hey, let me pierce your ears’)
4. Vital and much-hyped component in art installation sold to national gallery
5. Paint matt black and place in a quirky arrangement of similarly black-painted, useless objects on a white shelf. Watch your friends admire your creativity. Then send a picture to an online design blog

How weird are you? Rate yourself on a scale of 1 (not) to 10 (very).

I think I look about a 4. I’m probably more like a 7.

About… Her Italian Aristocrat, Louise Reynolds.

On a mission to buy a prestigious shoe company, Australian career girl, Gemma Parkinson, arrives in Italy determined to succeed. But when she falls ill, effortlessly handsome local aristocrat, Luca Andretti, is on hand. Suspicious about Gemma’s presence in his town, he offers to let her recuperate in his amazing palazzo. Surrounded by the lavish trappings of the rich – servants, designer clothes, fine food and wine – Gemma is completely out of her depth.

Intent on saving the town’s local industry, Brunelli Shoes, from foreign take-over, Luca throws every obstacle he can in Gemma’s path. Headstrong, savvy and equally determined to successfully wrestle the company away from him, Gemma fights Luca all the way.

But Luca’s life of privilege masks a private world of pain and Gemma has demons of her own. As they come to understand one another, their growing attraction starts getting in the way.

This moving love story involving two people from very different backgrounds is a delightful, contemporary romance in a gorgeous Italian setting.

Buy the book or find out more about the lovely Louise on her website. www.louisereynolds.com.au