Have you heard?
Rachael Johns has a new book out. So I am dropping by to say ‘Hi’!
Rach! Thank you for letting me park my rig on your…. new half-finished driveway. Mind the steep hill, Jenn. On second thoughts maybe you’d better park in the bay across the road, near the entrance to one of the many bushwalk trails around here.
What’s that I see written on your ‘welcome mat’?
The neighbours have better stuff!
Downsizing my life into a 24 ft caravan meant leaving lots of things behind in boxes. What (or who!!) would you have trouble leaving behind if you took off in a caravan?
I could NOT leave my pets behind – our huge, very naughty (Maremma) dog, Rose and our old, extremely affectionate tabby cat, Simba. I’d also need my electric blanket!
Whose home would you like to visit in your caravan and why?
I’d like to do a road trip right round Oz, a bit like you’re doing Jenn, and stop in and visit all my writing friends. They live in some very interesting places from the very bottom of Australia to the very top. We have such a big beautiful country and I reckon visiting all them would have me seeing a diverse slice of it. 🙂
(Oh, do it, Rach! We can have ourselves an author convoy and talk books all night long!!)
Do you REALLY have room at your house to park a fifth wheeler caravan and do you mind visitors? Oh, sorry, you don’t have to answer that one!!
See above re the caravan but yeah, happy to have visitors, as long as they don’t stay TOO long and disrupt my writing time. Us authors have to protect this time!
Country curiosities…
My latest novel, Season of Shadow and Light, has a strong horse theme. (I love what horses can teach us). If you were an animal what would you be?
Definitely a cat. I’m a huge cat lover. But can I specify that I live with a very good family who feeds me only the best tuna and lets me lounge on their beds all day?
You’re cooking and your food going up against the best cooks from the CWA (Country Women’s Association). What would be your winning dish?
Scones – proper ones, not the three ingredient easy variety. I’m a pretty much hopeless cook these days but for some reason I’ve always made perfect scones. And really, who can resist a warm scone fresh from the oven with a dollop of jam and cream?
About you…
What is the hardest part of writing for you?
Coming up with the initial idea and then pushing on through the doubt while I try to get the words down. The doubt seems to be arriving earlier and earlier in each book now and I always think I’ve finally lost the ability to craft a good story.
If someone was to write your biography, what do you think the title should be?
A Little Bit Crazy
Rach, you’re a fiction writer. Tell us a secret (any secret – about you, your books, etc) and we’ll guess if it’s fiction or furphy. 🙂
I write crime novels under a pseudonym.
Favourite four…
Favourite place in Australia – by the pool at my house in the hills.
Favourite holiday destination – French Quarter of New Orleans (I even set a book there)
Favourite movie – Father Of The Bride
Favourite quote – Don’t regret the things you do, regret the things you don’t do.
If I said to you, “Just entertain me for five minutes, I’m not going to talk,” what would you do?
Hand you over to my children – three boisterous boys can be VERY entertaining!
Find out more about Rachael Johns and her books…
Website – www.rachaeljohns.com
Publisher – www.harlequinbooks.com.au
Latest book – http://www.booktopia.com.au/the-patterson-girls-rachael-johns/prod9781743693070.html and
THE PATTERSON GIRLS
How can four sisters build the futures they so desperately want, when the past is reaching out to claim them?
When the Patterson daughters return home to Meadow Brook to be with their father after their mother’s death, they bring with them a world of complication and trouble.
The eldest sister, obstetrician Madeleine, would rather be anywhere but her hometown, violinist Abigail has fled from her stellar career, while teacher Lucinda is struggling to have the children she and her husband so desperately want. The black sheep of the family, Charlie, feels her life as a barista and exercise instructor doesn’t measure up to that of her gifted and successful sisters.
Dealing with their bereft father who is determined to sell the family motel, their loves old and new and a series of troublesome decisions doesn’t make life any easier, but when they go through their mother’s possessions and uncover the shocking secret of an old family curse, they begin to question everything they thought they knew.
A warm and wise novel about secrets revealed, finding your soul mate and the unique bond between sisters.
Want to WIN a signed copy of THE PATTERSON GIRLS (Australian postal address only.) CLOSED: Congrats Dale. Your book will be on it’s way soon.
Leave a comment below.
Take a stab at the FACT or FICTION. (Does Rach write crime novels under a pseudonym??)
If you like the sound of The Patterson Girls, check out my 2013 release, House for all Seasons, about four women finding their way back home to the country over four seasons.
#5 Best selling debut novel – 2103