Come visit Dolphin Bay! - Kandy Shepherd

One thing I really love about being an author is creating settings for my books. The most fun are settings that spring from my imagination but are heavily influenced by real life places I have visited.

The beautiful south coast New South Wales, Australia, is the setting for The Summer They Never Forgot

 For my fictional small coastal town of Dolphin Bay, the setting of my February 04 release, The Summer They Never Forgot, I was influenced by the beautiful south coast of New South Wales, Australia, about four hours south of Sydney.

I wish I was there right now!

 I have spent many happy vacations there and plundered memories of quaint towns, pristine beaches and unspoiled bushland to create Dolphin Bay. One early review of the book says the setting “is described so beautifully, readers will almost feel the sand between their toes”.

The town of Penguin has penguins everywhere, my fictional Dolphin Bay has dolphins

 The people of my fictional Dolphin Bay celebrate the dolphins that come to frolic in their waters in images and representations of dolphins all over town, from decals to trash cans.

On a recent visit to Penguin the penguins were dressed for Christmas!

 Here, I was influenced by the delightful small, beachside town of Penguin in the southern Australian island state of Tasmania. There are penguins everywhere in Penguin! I personally love dolphins so did for my Dolphin Bay what the good folk of Penguin do for their town.

I loved the dolphin outdoor shower at the Blue Dolphin Inn

 When eighteen months ago I stayed at the wonderful Blue Dolphin Inn in Cambria, California, and saw how cleverly they used dolphins in their décor, I knew I was on the right track!

More beautiful  dolphins at the Blue Dolphin Inn

 Of course in The Summer They Never Forgot the dolphins aren’t what have stayed in my heroine Sandy Adam’s memories of Dolphin Bay—her thoughts center around handsome surfer Ben Morgan, the first love she’d never been able to forget. When Sandy and Ben are reunited after twelve years will they get a second chance at a forever love?

The Summer They Never Forgot, will be released on February 04, 2014 in the US, the UK and Australia. (Yes, I'm counting the days!)

Do you have a special vacation place that lingers in your memory?  Anything quirky about a place that you particularly like? Please leave a comment—I’d love to hear about it!

I have two signed copies of The Summer They Never Forgot to give away. Please include your email address in your comment if you want to be included in the draw.

"Will you please unpack the books and give me the box," my kitty Ivy seems to say.

 Kandy Shepherd writes fun, feel-good fiction.

Kandy’s contemporary women's fiction e-book, Reinventing Rose, is available now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, Smashwords, and other e-book retailers. 

Her romances include the Amazon bestseller The Castaway Bride, Something About Joe, and the award-winners Love is a Four-Legged Word and Home Is Where the Bark Is.

Visit Kandy at her website

www.kandyshepherd.com

Tired of Winter? - Joan Kilby

Cold and snow getting you down? Feel like a little Australian sunshine to get you through the dark days of January? Take a trip to the seaside with HER GREAT EXPECTATIONS, the first book in my Summerside Stories trilogy from Harlequin Superromance.

Okay, a travel agent I'm not. But who can resist a beach shot in the middle of winter? Especially when the hero, Jack, could pass as George Clooney's younger brother. Jack is in denial about deep and tragic things but he's having a pretty great laidback Aussie life, anyway, ignoring his pain. Sienna, the well-meaning new GP in town, tries to fix him, which only shows up the cracks in her façade of perfection.

Excerpt:

The doorbell rang just as Jack was sprinkling a generous handful of fresh coriander over the bubbling curry. He carried the brimming wok to the table where fat brown candles glowed either side of a bowl of floating gardenias.

He strode down the hall and swung open the door. "Hi--“ he began. Then was lost for words.

The woman from the grocery store stood on his doorstep.

Only it wasn't her.

Her gloriously wild hair was tamed into a tightly pinned knot at her nape. She wore a black cocktail dress, high heels and pearls. God forbid he of all people should judge by appearances but this woman was not the same one he'd invited to dinner in the grocery store.

"My plans fell through...." She trailed off. The nervous smile on her carefully made-up face froze. Unease radiating from her in waves, she presented him with a bottle of red wine. "This isn't very suitable for curry. I didn't stop to get another bottle since it's already after nine and you said--"

"It's okay. I mean, thanks. Come in," he said finally, recovering his manners just this side of rudeness. "It's great you could make it." He stepped back to let her inside. "Er, I never did catch your name."


HER GREAT EXPECTATIONS stands alone, as do the other books in the trilogy featuring Jack's sisters, IN HIS GOOD HANDS and TWO AGAINST THE ODDS. A running subplot through the three books depicts the ups and downs of Jack's parents' marriage. If you worry because his mother and father end on a down note in the first book, read on.

You can find out more about HER GREAT EXPECTATIONS and my other books at http://www.joankilby.com/

Okay, back to beaches. My idea holiday is to snorkel on a coral reef all day and then eat seafood and drink champagne while watching the sunset over the ocean.

Where in the world would you go for a beach holiday if you could hop a plane tomorrow?

Please leave a comment for a chance to win a signed copy of my January release, Her Great Expectations!



***Joan picked Kaelee as her winner!***