Author: Jenn J McLeod

Australia's nomadic novelist living on the road a purple and white caravan called Myrtle the Turtle. Come home to the country: House for all Seasons (#5 top selling novel in 2013), Simmering Season (2014), Season of Shadow and Light (2015), The Other Side of the Season (2016), A Place to Remember (2018), House of Wishes (2019)
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Helene Young Book Giveaway

I’m as happy as a cow with a mouthful of cud!

WHY? Because I have the pleasure of hosting multi-award winning author (and friend), Helene Young, when she visits sunny Coffs Harbour for library chats next month. (More on Helene below).

 

And for you, I have a copy of Helene’s latest release, Burning Lies, to give away on this blog.

HOW TO WIN**

Leave a comment. Tell me something that means ‘small town life’ to you – quaint, quintessential, quirky country characters, etc. Or, if you are better with pictures than words, you can ‘like‘ me and post a picture on my Facebook Author Page. (In fact, feel free to ‘like’ my author page anyway. The more the merrier!)

Give it some thought. Take your time. Deadline is Monday 27 July 2012. Winner announced here and on my Author Page.**

ABOUT HELENE YOUNG

Helene, Senior Check and Training Captain with Australia’s largest regional airline, lives near Cairns (that slice of paradise on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef in North Queensland) with her husband and their dog, a slightly obsessive Staffordshire Bull Terrier named Zeus; yet she finds the view from the cockpit as she flies over rural communities is what inspires her to use regional settings rather than cities for her novels.

Burning Lies is the third fabulous book in her Border Watch series.

LIBRARY CHAT

Hear Helene talk about her life and work at the Coffs Harbour City Library on Tuesday, 7th August –  5:30 for a 6:00pm start. For more info and to book.

www.heleneyoung.com

**Open to Australian residents only. Entry deadline Friday 27 July 2012. Winner announced here. Deadline to be extended to 6 August 2012.

Thanks to everyone who commented here and on Facebook. I put all your names in a hat (yes, an Akubra of course) and drew out the name Raelene Hall. Congratulations Raelene. I will let Helene know. Please email me your postal address: jennifersmcleod (at) hotmail (dot) com

 

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Picture it. Win it.

I love pictures of the country.

I forgot all about this photo. (Well, it was a while ago!) I can’t even remember exactly where it was but I snapped it, dreaming about living in the country and one day telling country stories.

Twenty-five years later I am living that dream, writing my small town stories on a small property in regional NSW. And I reckon this photos says “come home to the country”.

My next blog post will invite you to share what characterises small town life to you, with every comment going into a draw to win an autographed copy of Helene Young’s latest novel, Burning Lies. (You can even post a pic if you are better with a camera than a pen! I will tell you now.)

Like me, Helene chooses wonderful regional settings for her stories. With Burning Lies it is the Atherton Tablelands – a sprawling farming area to the west of Cairns, which the senior Captain for Australia’s largest regional airline says is inspiring, both on the ground and from the air. “The abundance of abandoned airfields from the war era, the scattered population, and vast tracks of undeveloped wilderness lends itself to a suspenseful, rich and compelling love story.”Burning Lies cover

So my friends – country and city – start thinking about that perfect small town (real or imaginary, as a picture or in words) and pop back here next week (19th) for your chance to win Burning Lies.

 

 

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Seasons of Change

Have I mentioned I love the seasons?

And that’s why they feature so prominently in my books (apart from the titles that is!)

You may have seen this first image featured on my website (the header images are random) or on my Facebook Page. To me, those autumn leaves say ‘Come home to the country’ like no other picture. Well, the other day on my morning walk I decided to take a mid-winter picture of the same touch of country.

Still amazing, bare branches tortured by cold, cold mornings, but still magnificent for a seasons lover like me.

I have a collection of my fave photos in my Bits and Bobs section.