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The perfect cover, isn’t it?

Simmering Season Jenn J McLeod lgeI think it’s perfect. What do you think?

Have the wonderful people at Simon & Schuster Australia done it again, or what? This image has captured a contemplative Maggie perfectly. I mean, it is summer storm season and the NSW town of Calingarry Crossing is sweltering. So as the temperatures and storm clouds build, the small town that’s keeping big secrets gets close to boiling point.

I’m keeping a few secrets of my own in relation to this novel; they will come out in the lead up to Simmering Season’s official release date of April 1. Keep an eye on my Facebook page, too.

In the mean time, here is the back cover blurb for Simmering Season. (Oh, and it is likely that your favourite e-tailer will have it listed for pre-order.)

Back in Calingarry Crossing to sell the family pub, Maggie Lindeman has no idea a perfect storm is heading her way until her past and present collide with the unexpected.

Maggie once had a crush on Dan Ireland, now a work-weary police crash investigator, still hell-bent on punishing himself for his misspent youth. Dan has ample reason for not going home to Calingarry Crossing for the school reunion, but one very good reason why he should.

Maggie is dealing with a restless seventeen-year-old son, a father with dementia, a fame-obsessed musician husband, a dwindling bank account and a country pub that just won’t sell.

The last thing she needs is a surprise houseguest for the summer. Fiona Bailey-Blair, daughter of an old friend and spoilt with everything but the truth, whips up a maelstrom of gossip when she blows into town.

This storm season, when a school reunion brings home more than memories, Maggie Lindeman will discover  …  there’s no keeping a lid on some secrets.

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Bar Yarns w/ author – Juliet Madison (giveaway)

Juliet MadisonIt’s the new year and I’m having a beer and a yarn with friend and author, Juliet Madison, who is getting exactly what she wished for – writing and publishing her magical stories.

First, Juliet, here is a beer coaster! Take a minute to jot down the blurb for your book.

THE JANUARY WISH:

When Dr Sylvia Greene makes an impromptu wish at the Tarrin’s Bay Wishing Festival, it’s the most out of character action she can think of. Hers is not a life of wishes. Hers is a controlled life of order, plans and preparation…of science and research and
diagnosis and treatment. But her past has been weighing on her mind, and decisions made long ago have far-reaching consequences.

A week later, the daughter she secretly gave up for adoption at sixteen arrives in Sylvia’s small coastal town with secrets that can’t be shared. Between feelings of guilt, gossip, and a growing attraction to an emotionally unavailable colleague, Sylvia’s well-ordered life 

TheJanuaryWishcoveris soon thrown into chaos. She is no longer alone, and for the first time she feels as if her world is open to possibilities.

They say be careful what you wish for, but, for Sylvia, the unexpected consequences may be just what the doctor ordered. 

Come on in. Grab a pew. What can I get you to go with your beer nuts? (Shandy? Wine Spritzer? Pink Lemonade?)

Oooh let’s be girly and go for pink lemonade!

I’m a beer nut nut! What bar snack would you be and why?

I’ll say a plate of various dips and crackers, to represent my versatility as I write in a few different genres 😉

Ahh, that beer hit the spot. Let me slip a drink coaster under your glass while you tell us—on a scale of 1 to 10—as a writer are you a messy desker or tidy desker? (NB: 1 = “I am a neat nut case” and 10 = “What desk? Where? Is there a desk here somewhere?”)

A 9: I prefer to think of it as untidily organised. And anyway, I read some research that said people with messy desks are more creative, so I’m doing it on purpose 😉

The publican offers you free drinks all night if you will:

  • Dance to Gangnam Style
  • Sing John Denver’s ‘Take me Home Country Roads’ on the Karaoke machine
  • Spend an hour washing dishes

Which do you choose?

A: Gangnam Style hands down. Washing dishes? No thanks!

Time to liven the place up. Got a buck? We can crank up the old jukebox in the corner. You get to pick three songs.

  1. Bon Jovi’s Livin’ on a Prayer
  2. The Time of My Life by, um, those two people who sang it…*googles, then finds pictures of Dirty Dancing, gets distracted and forgets what I’m supposed to be googling for*
  3. Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal.

An author, an agent and a chicken walk into the bar… how do you know which one crossed the road?

The author was stalking the agent and the chicken was concerned for the agent’s welfare so crossed the road and followed them to make sure everything was okay.

There’s a stapler on the bar. Tell me what it’s doing there.

It’s for all those people who ate too many beer nuts and their pants ripped open so the stapler is to put their pants back together again. Quite resourceful of the pub to think of providing such a courtesy.

(Am starting to see a pattern develop in my Bar Yarns. Authors don’t sew!)

The pub is the heart of a small town and most locals would be lost without one. What are three things you’d be lost without?

  1. iPhone
  2. Family
  3. My imagination

There are a few good prizes up for grabs in the bar jackpot. Do you have a lucky number?

Your lucky number is: 4 (Did I win?)

(YES! You just won $1 million fictional dollars because everyone’s a winner in a fictional pub, Juliet!)

Last drinks, my friend! It’s been great. But before we go, tell us how we can find out more about you and your writing/books.

– Visit Juliet online at her website, blog, facebook, Goodreads, and twitter.

– Buy THE JANUARY WISH from all good ebook retailers:

Amazon – Amazon UK – Amazon Aus – iTunes/iBookstore – Kobo – B&N/Nook – GooglePlay – BigW ebooks – Booktopia – JB HiFi – ebooks.com – All Romance ebooks

– WIN STUFF! Throughout the month of January, Juliet is running a giveaway for a $25 Amazon gift card and a beautiful coastal photographic print (see photo). All you have to do is enter via Juliet’s Rafflecopter form here: Rafflecopter giveaway

In the meantime, watch out … It’s on the way …

This storm season, in Calingarry Crossing, a perfect storm is heading Maggie Lindeman’s way.  Find out more, right hereSimmering Season: April 1, 2014

For emergency alerts and warnings for Simmering Season, subscribe to Jenn J McLeod’s blog before you go, or LIKE her Facebook Page.

Happy New Year everyone!

 

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Subscribers? This is all about YOU.

Have you ever seen an announcement like this on a blog you follow:

“Come on over and subscribe to my blog to win….” to which you have grumbled (as I have): “But what about me? I’m already subscribed to your blog and a Facebook fan. Have been for ages. What do I win?”

Well, in recognition and to say thank you to my loyal subscribers and Facebook Author Page Likers (many of you have been with me from the early days of this wild ride) I have this special treat.

Yes, there is a catch, although I am hoping the prize is worthy.

YOU can have YOUR NAME entered into a draw to win a pre-release copy of Simmering Season just by sending a friend along to sign up.

That’s right! YOU WIN! The minute I get my hands on copies next year (mid-March maybe) the book could be in the mail to YOU!

How?

Simply ask any fiction-loving friend(s) to come home to the country right now and subscribe to (using the email capture thingy – top right of screen). YOUR FRIEND will go into a draw to win a copy of House for all Seasons and YOU will be eligible for the Simmering Season prize.

How do I know you referred someone so I can add your name?

New subscribers need to get YOUR NAME into the Simmering Season barrel by leaving the following comment:

“Knock, knock, [insert your name here] sent me.”

(But wait … Send more friends and get more Simmering Season entries.)

So this giveaway really is all about YOU, lovely subscribers. One of you will get a book and so will a friend, simply by subscribing.

Yes, I am hoping to bring the odd (take that any way you like) newsletter to readers in the coming months and that, too, will have treats, sneak peeks, and the ‘odd’ exclusive for subscribers, so perhaps it’s not a bad idea to stay subscribed.

Open to Aust/NZ subscribers (current as at: 12 December 2013). Draw to take place under strict guidelines (ie before I start drinking) on 18 December, 2013. Announced here by way of ‘subscription post!’ Posted in the mail on the 19th.

Okay, so, Due to circumstances beyond my control, Christmas arrived! So, it will be a new year pressie instead.  

UPDATE: Two cortisone injections later I can sort of type again without pain, but briefly, and long enough to jump on, thank you for your patience and understanding, and announce the winners. With so many knock knocks in the comments, there was no surprise when i pulled out the winning name: Shannon Garner (who wins the pre-releae copy of Simmering Season.) From her referrals, the winning knock, knock is…. STACY! I’ll be in touch, ladies, and arrange delivery of your books.

Just because, Gailene and Anne, your names will automatically go into the next giveaway I do! Thank you for your continued support.