Sea side stories — Kandy Shepherd

There’s a stretch of the New South Wales (Australia) coastline, about 250 km south of Sydney, that is special to me. Not just because it’s a beautiful place with glorious beaches, expanses of natural bushland and quaint small towns, but also because it’s the inspiration for my fictional town of Dolphin Bay and its surrounds.

Ulladulla Harbour on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia

 Dolphin Bay was the setting for my first three books for Harlequin Romance and they have recently been published as a Dolphin Bay collection entitled Heart of the Bay. It was exciting to see my three linked but self-contained stories put together in one big “beach read”. And quite the coincidence that the cover model looks rather like my daughter!

I just returned from a short visit to the area, and realised I hadn’t actually been there since my first Dolphin Bay book The Summer They Never Forgot was published. It felt kind of surreal to see again areas which had been my inspiration, that I had then twisted and turned and embellished to become fictional places for my stories. The settings in my head had become more real that the places that inspired them!

The beach at Mollymook, again on the New South Wales South Coast

 The imaginary settings were top of mind because my May release for Harlequin Romance, Conveniently Wed to the Greek, starts off in Dolphin Bay. It tells the story of food blogger Dell Hudson, one of the supporting characters in the third Dolphin Bay book, A Diamond in Her Stocking. I’d really liked Dell and it was great fun to get reacquainted and to give her own story and—gorgeous man of course!

While my new story opens in Dolphin Bay, by Chapter Five it has moved to Greece, when Dell accepts a job with her former adversary, the hotelier Alex Mikhalis. Again I was heavily inspired by real-life locations for this story, in particular the beautiful islands of the Ionian Sea in northern Greece.

The beautiful islands of the Ionian sea in Greece: wonderful inspiration!

I visited there for the first time in 2015, loved it, and immediately knew I wanted to set a book there. I actually wrote the final chapters of the book while on vacation (writers never really rest!) in Greece last year.

Inspiration for settings for Conveniently Wed to the Greek

 Here’s the blurb for Conveniently Wed to the Greek:

A marriage for the sake of her baby...

When luxury hotelier Alex Mikhalis encounters the blogger who once nearly destroyed his reputation, he wants to get even. Only Adele Hudson isn’t exactly as he remembers. She’s pregnant and alone, and he can’t stop his protective instincts kicking in!

After a difficult breakup, Adele is very wary of all relationships. She has no choice but to accept the Greek tycoon’s offer of a job, despite their complicated past. But his next suggestion is much more intimate: becoming his convenient wife!

Conveniently Wed to the Greek will be published by Harlequin Romance in May 2017.

Like Dolphin Bay, my Greek island setting takes me again to the sea, a place I like to visit in real life as well as in fiction. Do you have a favorite place, country, town for a novel? Or one you don’t care for so much? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment for a chance to win a paperback copy of Conveniently Wed to the Greek.

Kandy Shepherd is a multi-published, award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She lives on a small farm in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her family and a menagerie of four-legged friends.

Visit Kandy at her website

www.kandyshepherd.com

Connect with Kandy on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram

Hot Christmas nights - Kandy Shepherd

Christmas Down Under falls in summer. It’s hot. Sometimes very hot. Sometimes so hot the thought of cooking dinner in a sweltering kitchen becomes untenable and Aussies head to the barbecue to cook the festive feast. (Except in my English heritage family where anything other than the full-on traditional Christmas dinner is non-negotiable!)

A summer Christmas Down Under also means vacation—our summer vacation is when school and university have their long break. Holiday time runs from late December all the way through to the end of January. It means for people living on the coast time on the beach, for those inland on rivers and lakes and mountains.

With all the sun, the heat, the relaxing the holiday season is a great time for romance. I’ve had a lot of fun collaborating with a fabulous group of Down Under authors to produce a boxed set of seven brand new, never published before novellas around the theme of Hot Christmas Nights, which launched on December 1.

Wonderful, original novellas by Rachel Bailey, Michelle Douglas, Louisa George, Helen Lacey, Stefanie London,  Jennifer St George and me. What fine company I'm in!

Best selling, award-winning and rising start authors all contributed stories for this collection. They live in Australia or New Zealand but their novels, published by international publishers, go all around the world. They’re a really nice bunch of people and working with them was a great delight. The stories in Hot Christmas Nights range from sweet to super steamy and all “hot” in terms of romance!

My novella Millionaire Under the Mistletoe is a reunion romance—one of my favorite types of stories to write. There’s something that really appeals to me about giving a second chance at love to two people who so obviously should be together but made mistakes that tore them apart. With the magic of Christmas, and a little help from a cat named Morris, in Millionaire Under the Mistletoe, two lovely young people find their way to the happy-ever-after they deserve.

“London-based chef Carly de Luca and Sydney millionaire Dylan Burke broke each other’s hearts four years ago—but old feelings reignite when she makes a surprise visit home for Christmas. Can Carly and Dylan let go of past hurts and take a second chance on love?”

I couldn’t pick a favorite from the six other stories in the collection. Each is sensual, emotional and beautifully written. The glowing reviews we’re already getting are gratifying!

Hot Christmas Nights is available at Amazon for the bargain price of $0.99.

For my December post I would like to wish everyone a very happy festive season and holiday—to those who celebrate Christmas and those who don’t.

And a very special wish and thank you to Lee Hyatt for hosting me at Tote Bags 'n' Blogs. I look forward to seeing everyone next year!

What's your ideal Christmas? I'd love to hear about it! Make a comment if you'd like to be in the draw for one of two e-book copies of Hot Christmas Nights  Please include you email address and whether you'd prefer mobi or epub download.

Kandy Shepherd is an award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She lives on a small farm in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her family and a menagerie of four-legged friends.

Visit Kandy at her website

www.kandyshepherd.com

Connect with Kandy on Facebook and Twitter

Matters of the heart – Kandy Shepherd

 As a romance writer, I enjoy spending time with my daughter and her early-twenties friends. Falling in love and the emotional ups and downs of dating are, I believe, timeless. But contemporary life can bring different slants on matters of the heart and I like to keep in touch. Luckily the girls have no inhibitions about chatting with me!

The other night we were talking about unrequited crushes.

“What about when you’ve had a crush on someone for years and years and finally something happens between you and the guy?” I asked.

“Never ends well,” said one girl.

“Usually a disappointment,” added another.

So I told them about my new book for Harlequin Romance The Tycoon and the Wedding Planner (out on July 1.) We met Kate Parker in my first Harlequin Romance story The Summer They Never Forgot and knew she’d had a huge crush on Jesse (the hero from the first book’s brother) ever since she’d been a teenager.

When the new book starts, Kate is reeling: she finally got to kiss Jesse and felt nothing, absolutely nothing. She’s now left feeling embarrassed being around Jesse and doubting her judgment about men. So what happens when Jesse’s friend, gorgeous Sam Lancaster, arrives in Dolphin Bay to attend the wedding Kate is organizing and Kate finds herself attracted to him? Sam is drawn to Kate too, but both Kate and Sam have secrets that threaten to stop them from ever getting the happy-ever-after they deserve.

Of course the girls went home with advance copies of The Tycoon and the Wedding Planner…

Kate is organizing a special wedding in the book and she wants everything to go right. Do you have a wedding story to share—when things went well or things went wrong? I’d love to hear about it!

I’m giving away two signed copies of The Tycoon and the Wedding Planner. To be in the draw, please include your snail mail address in your comment.

 

Kandy’s second Dolphin Bay story for Harlequin Romance, The Tycoon and The Wedding Planner will be released on July 1, 2014.

Kandy Shepherd is an award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She lives on a small farm in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her family and a menagerie of four-legged friends.

Visit Kandy at her website

www.kandyshepherd.com  and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter

THE WINTER WIFE Is a-go-go!!!

by Anna Campbell

I'm a sucker for a Christmas romance. Are you?

This month, I'm launching my first Christmas romance, THE WINTER WIFE, as an e-novella (available from all good e-booksellers). 

If you're a devotee of the MAMMOTH anthologies, many things about THE WINTER WIFE may strike you as familiar. It's actually an extended version of my story "Upon a Midnight Clear" which appeared in THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF REGENCY ROMANCE in 2010.

UAMC was my first reunion story and the characters haunted me long after I sent it in to the editor. The MAMMOTH books limit stories to no more than 13,000 words and I've always wanted the chance to give Sebastian, Earl of Kinvarra, and Alicia, his headstrong countess, a bit more room to breathe.

Not only that, it struck me fairly quickly that I'd missed an obvious chance to do my longed-for Christmas romance. I mean, come on, the title comes from a Christmas carol and our lovers meet unexpectedly in the middle of a snowstorm in Yorkshire. Transferring the date to Christmas Eve instead of some unspecified night in December seemed a no-brainer - at least in hindsight.

Then suddenly there were opportunities for indie publishing the story in digital format. My chance had finally arrived for a second bite at Sebastian and Alicia's relationship - much as they get on this snowy Christmas Eve! 

So THE WINTER WIFE: A CHRISTMAS NOVELLA was born. Here is the blurb:

Will a chance meeting on Christmas Eve… 

Alicia Sinclair, Countess of Kinvarra,cannot believe that fate has been so cruel as to strand her on the snowy Yorkshire moors with her estranged husband as her only hope of rescue. During their rare encounters,the arrogant earl and his countess act like hostile strangers. Now that Alicia has fallen into Kinvarra’s power, will he seek revenge for her desertion? Or does the dark, passionate man she once adored have entirely different plans for his headstrong wife? 

..deliver a second chance at love? 

Sebastian Sinclair, Earl of Kinvarra, has spent ten wretched years regretting the mistakes he made with his young bride,but after long separation, the barriers between them are insurmountable. Until an unexpected encounter one stormy night makes him wonder if the barriers of mistrust and thwarted desire are so insurmountable after all. When winter weather traps Sebastian and his proud, lovely wife in an isolated inn, could the earl and his headstrong countess have a Christmas miracle in store?

You can read an excerpt of THE WINTER WIFE on my website: http://annacampbell.info/books.html

Here's the Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Winter-Wife-Christmas-Novella-ebook/dp/B00AFYH7A2/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1355118660&sr=1-1&keywords=the+winter+wife

Or you can buy it on Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/262852

This is my last column here for the year. I want to thank Lee for hosting Tote Bags 'n' Blogs and everyone who swung by to read my pieces and especially to all the lovely people who have left comments. I've thoroughly enjoyed our conversations and I look forward to more next year.

So do you have a favorite Christmas romance? There's a download of THE WINTER WIFE up for grabs to someone who comments today. Good luck and Happy Holidays!