How do you Read a Series? by Fiona Lowe

My first series is completely out in the world! Runaway Groom, book three of the Wedding Fever series of books (Carina Press) was released last Monday. All three books are set in the fictitious but loveable town of Whitetail, Wisconsin; a small town with a big heart. A small town with a cast of characters who, over the three books have had their story told. Oh how I have loved spending time  in Whitetail and I'm a bit sad to leave it!

My long contemporary novels (99,000 words) always feature a primary and a secondary romance ... a two for one deal ;-) so I was able to give the wedding planner, the dress shop owner and the cake decorator their own HEAs!

Saved By the Bride introduces Whitetail, a town on the verge of collapse and the townsfolk who truly believe that a wedding business is going to save them. All the town people you meet in the first book have their stories told in Picture Perfect Wedding and Runaway Groom.

You know how you do something so you assume everyone else does it the same way? Well, I got a surprise with this series. When I read a series, I read it as the books are released. However, I have discovered that many of you like to wait until all of the books in the series are released so you can read them bang, bang bang. Who knew? ;-)

So for all of you who have been waiting  to do just that with Wedding Fever, now is the time!

I'd love to know how you read a series....

So what are the Wedding Fever books about?

Saved by The Bride (Bk 1)

Welcome to Whitetail, Wisconsin, future home of Weddings that WOW! 

As acting mayor, Annika will do anything to revive the economy of the town that's been her refuge ever since her art career imploded and her fiancé walked out. Even if it means crashing an engagement party to talk business with the bride's billionaire father. But the evening starts with a kiss from a gorgeous stranger—and ends with a night in jail.

Finn Callahan can't believe his sister is getting married, not after their parents' disastrous track record. And he'd rather be anywhere than working from his family's vacation home. Until he catches a leggy blonde sneaking in the window, and suddenly telecommuting for the season is very appealing.

Unable to resist their mutual attraction, Annika and Finn are soon mixing business and pleasure—just for the summer. Too bad Annika's heart missed the memo about not falling in love…

Book one of Wedding Fever.

99,000 words

Picture Perfect Wedding (Bk 2)

Erin Davis will do whatever it takes to be the photographer for high-end brides. So what if capturing the moments of people's lives means she has no time for her own. Nothing will get between her and the security she craves, not even the gorgeous farmer refusing to let her shoot in his sunflowers.

His family has always been tied to the land, but lately Luke Anderson feels more like he's chained. While he ponders his future, he still has cows to milk and no time to deal with Erin or Bridezillas in his fields. Yet there's something about the sexy city girl he can't say no to. So he says yes: just this once.

With the town in need of a photographer, Erin agrees to spend wedding season in Whitetail. The sparks flying between her and Luke quickly ignite, but just as Erin starts to picture her own happy ending, Luke takes a gamble that could risk it all…

100,000 words



Runaway Groom (Bk 3)

Amy Sagar's life is in ruins. Fired from her fast-track job and dumped by her double-crossing

boyfriend, she retreats to Whitetail, Wisconsin, to lick her wounds and regroup. Meeting an impossible, sexy Australian isn't part of her strategy for getting back on track.
Ben Armytage is running away. After being left at the altar and publicly humiliated, he's taking his vintage motorcycle on an extended road trip from Argentina to Alaska. Having his journey interrupted by a breakdown and sharing a house with a curvy, redheaded lawyer in a town obsessed with weddings was never on his itinerary.
Though being stuck in a luxury log cabin isn't really a hardship, living together with their broken hearts isn't easy. When the attraction between Amy and Ben proves unstoppable, they'll both begin rethinking their plans…

99,000 words

I hope you enjoy spending time in Whitetail and getting to know everyone :-)

Fiona Lowe is a RITA^® and R*BY award-winning, multi-published author with Harlequin and Carina Press and in January 2015, Berkley Publishing USA>  Whether her books are set in outback Australia or in the mid-west of the USA, they feature small towns with big hearts, and warm, likeable characters that make you fall in love. When she's not writing stories, she's a weekend wife, mother of two 'ginger' teenage boys, guardian of 80 rose bushes and often found collapsed on the couch with wine. You can find her at her website, facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

Finding your Tribe or your Mob

Ever heard a group of writers get together? It's loud and the talk is all about writing and the business of writing. It's not much different from a group of doctors gathering together, lawyers, IT specialists, police officers ...the list of careers goes on. Put a group of people together who work in the same field and they can find a lot to talk about because of shared understanding and often shared experiences.

As an author, there are not as many chances in a year to gather with fellow writers face-to-face so I was really excited the other day when Melanie Milburne was within 80 miles of me! I caught the train to the city of Melbourne to meet her. We often brain-storm stories on the phone but we don't get to sit down together very often. Last week we had four hours together!

We caught up at the Block Arcade, which was built during the 1880s when money flowed in Melbourne as a result of the gold rush. No expense was spared from its mosaic floor to the intricately carved stone and domed glass ceiling, it is a step-back in time. It also has the loveliest tea rooms and chocolate shop! We had pots of tea, ribbon sandwiches and shared a decadent piece of lemon-meringue pie.   


As you can see, the choice of cakes was ENORMOUS! You can also see I am holding a shopping bag. Melanie is THE BEST person to go shopping with! She finds you clothes that suit you perfectly. If she wasn't such a great writer, she'd make an excellent personal shopper.  I now have two summer blouses and a jacket!

Of course, the next day, I was back home in my baggy T-shirt and yoga pants but for a day there, I was out in the world, talking writing and have a wonderful time.

Do you find that meeting with someone who works in your area to be invigorating?

And talking writing, Boomerang Bride has just been released in mass-market paperback and is available at Sam's Club, Target and book stores all over the USA and Canada.If you like romance novels about brides, then check out my Wedding  Fever trilogy from Carina Press. The first two books , Saved By The Bride and Picture Perfect Wedding are out as eBooks everywhere

I'm excited about my first Indie-published, short story , On The Road Again. I wrote this after doing a really long bike-ride! So what's it about? Well, Dr. Felicity Hamilton-Smith desperately needs a change of scene so she signs up for a ten-day bike ride. The last thing she expects is to run slap-bang into her former fiancé. For her, the past is over and best left behind, or so she thinks. 
The last time Dr. Drew Baxter saw Felicity was when he broke her heart. Now, seeing her again is breaking his. 

It's 12,500 words and a steal at 99 cents so grab it at Smashwords and Kindle and soon at Apple, Barnes and Noble and all other eBook retailers.

My 15 year-old son designed the cover. What do you think? 





Fiona Lowe is a RITA^® and R*BY award-winning, multi-published author with Harlequin and Carina Press. Whether her books are set in outback Australia or in the mid-west of the USA, they feature small towns with big hearts, and warm, likeable characters that make you fall in love. When she's not writing stories, she's a weekend wife, mother of two 'ginger' teenage boys, guardian of 80 rose bushes and often found collapsed on the couch with wine. You can find her at her website, facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

You call that a dog? by Fiona Lowe

About a week after I started writing Picture Perfect Wedding, my Wisconsin Dairy book,  we went to visit friends who've have retired to a small property.  I say retired in a very loose sense, because they're working really hard on their land. They're part of the migration of fit retirees who change their city job for a country lifestyle and they took their city dog with them.

Maggie-May is a Maltese Shih-Tzu-cross....a little, white terrier and now she thinks she's a cattle dog! She's also very keen to defend the home garden from snakes and other wildlife that wander through and she has different barks. Here she is, exploring a 200 year old tree that came down in the wind!

Now farm dogs are generally a lot larger than a Maltese Shih-Tzu cross. They're usually Border collies, Kelpies, Blue-Heelers etc,  real working dogs and this got me thinking. What if a city dog ended up on a farm? What would a farmer's reaction be?

And then I had fun! Erin Davis is a photographer from Minneapolis and she has a Maltese Shih Tzu cross terrier and Luke Anderson, dairyman from Whitetail Wisconsin has Mac, a Border collie.

After Erin gets bogged in Luke's pasture and her dog defends her by clamping her small teeth into Luke's shin, things are not going so well.

Picture Perfect Wedding is Book two of my  Wedding Fever trilogy, set in Whitetail, Wisconsin and it follows on from Saved By The Bride. So what's it about?

Erin Davis will do whatever it takes to be the photographer for high-end brides. So what if capturing the moments of people’s lives means she has no time for her own. Nothing will get between her and the security she craves, not even the gorgeous farmer refusing to let her shoot in his sunflowers.
His family has always been tied to the land, but lately Luke Anderson feels more like he’s chained. While he ponders his future, he still has cows to milk and no time to deal with Erin or Bridezillas in his fields. Yet there’s something about the sexy city girl he can’t say no to. So he says yes: just this once.
With the town in need of a photographer, Erin agrees to spend wedding season in Whitetail. The sparks flying between her and Luke quickly ignite, but just as Erin starts to picture her own happy ending, Luke takes a gamble that could risk it all…

Do you know an animal who thinks their  role in life is different from what is expected of them?

I'd love to give away a eBook copy of Picture Perfect Wedding so to be in with a chance, just leave a comment about an animal you may know or have heard of.

You can buy Picture Perfect Wedding  and Saved By The Bride at all ebook retailers and it ranges in price from $1.99 to $3.50.

Carina Press     Amazon    Nook         Kobo                   Ibooks               All Romance Books  

Booktopia   (Aust & NZ)    Sony Australia    JB HiFi Books 

Boomerang Bride, my Rita and R*BY winning novel is now an Amazon bestseller after hitting #4 in the store on August 12th. What an exciting day that was!

 Fiona Lowe is a RITA^® and R*BY award-winning, multi-published author with Harlequin and Carina Press. Whether her books are set in outback Australia or in the mid-west of the USA, they feature small towns with big hearts, and warm, likeable characters that make you fall in love. When she's not writing stories, she's a weekend wife, mother of two 'ginger' teenage boys, guardian of 80 rose bushes and often found collapsed on the couch with wine. You can find her at her website, facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

Bottle Trees and Public Gardens

When I was a child, I remember seeing pictures of "bottle trees" and I was very taken with both the shape and the name. They came from Western Australia (WA) and Queensland, which was a very long way from where I lived in the east coast; in fact I live closer to New Zealand than I do to WA.

So imagine my surprise when I visited the botanical gardens in the town near to where I live and I find that the "Australian" garden section has the Boab trees! These trees are unique and their shape is why they were nicknamed, "bottle trees."





They store water in their 'bottle" trunk.For more information about these trees click here at .http://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/boab_tree.html

Back in the day, in 1851 to be precise, when the botanical gardens were created, not one single native Australian plant was planted. Back then, it was set out to be very British. Fast forward 180 years and times have changed. Now there is a 'heritage' garden, which recognises the origins of the gardens and the entrance is now the '21st Century' garden. This garden celebrates 'arid' plants from around the world.

These metal 'trees' are pretty crazy!Public gardens are a lovely and peaceful place to visit. I have visited the Singapore Botanical gardens, the Butchart Gardens in Vancouver, Central Park in New York, Hyde Park in London and loved them all.

Do you visit gardens when you are on vacation or do you visit gardens in your home town? I'd love to hear about them!

Fiona Lowe is a RITA^® and R*BY award-winning, multi-published author with Harlequin and Carina Press. Whether her books are set in outback Australia or in the mid-west of the USA, they feature small towns with big hearts, and warm, likeable characters that make you fall in love. When she's not writing stories, she's a weekend wife, mother of two 'ginger' teenage boys, guardian of 80 rose bushes and often found collapsed on the couch with wine. You can find her at her website, facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

Saved By The Bride is the first novel in the Wedding Fever trilogy. To follow the story of Annika and Finn, Bridey and Hank and the quirky folk of Whitetail, head to Amazon, Kobo, Nook, Carina Press and all other places eBooks are sold. Picture Perfect Wedding is available for pre-order and is out August 2013. 

Life Outside of the Office by Fiona Lowe

I made a pretty big mistake last year...I misunderstood my editor and confused the 'production' date of Runaway Groom, the third book in my Wedding Fever Trilogy, with the hand in date of the first draft of the book. What did this mean? I lost SEVEN weeks of writing time. Holey Moley! So as you can imagine, I haven't done much lately except work. However, the book got handed in and I've had a week off before returning to the desk today and tackling my edits. So what did I do?

I visited a friend who has recently moved to the coast.

I went to the movies and saw this art house French film, A Woman in Paris.




I baked my father a flour-less chocolate cake which was amazing! The recipe is here

And yesterday I caught up with some writers including fellow Tote Bags n Blogs contributors, Anna Campbell and Annie West.

It's been a fabulous week out of the cave and I'm ready to return tomorrow.

How do you celebrate the end of a work project?

Saved By The Bride is the first novel in the Wedding Fever trilogy. To follow the story of Annika and Finn, Bridey and Hank and the quirky folk of Whitetail, head to Amazon, Kobo, Nook, Carina Press and all other places eBooks are sold. Picture Perfect Wedding is available for pre-order and is out August 2013

Fiona Lowe is a RITA^® and R*BY award-winning, multi-published author with Harlequin and Carina Press. Whether her books are set in outback Australia or in the mid-west of the USA, they feature small towns with big hearts, and warm, likeable characters that make you fall in love. When she's not writing stories, she's a weekend wife, mother of two 'ginger' teenage boys, guardian of 80 rose bushes and often found collapsed on the couch with wine. You can find her at her website, facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

Writing a Trilogy by Fiona Lowe

My desk is a big mess and right now my brain is too! I'm writing the final book in my Wedding Fever trilogy, Runaway Groom and I have spread sheet failure. The first book,  Saved By The Bride , which is on sale right now was written back in 2011. Book two, Picture Perfect Wedding , I wrote in 2012 and it's been been fully edited and proofed and has gone to production but did I record every minor character's name, occupation on my spread sheet? I meant to! Sadly, I did not.  Thank goodness for the Find facility on Word, but oh, how much easier it would have been if I had been better organized.

I've loved creating Whitetail, Wisconsin and casting it. All the characters we meet on the opening pages of Saved By The Bride, end up having their stories told in the three books and each book has two significant romances in it!

If you enjoyed Stars Hollow on The Gilmore Girls, then you'll love Whitetail. It's nestled on a pristine, north woods lake and everyone has an opinion on how best to save the town from financial ruin and they're not backward in coming forward.

Writing the town meetings was lots of fun. Anyone who has served on a committee knows how hard it can be to keep a group focused on the main goal without allowing them to become bogged down in semantics. Annika, my heroine in Saved By The Bride, finds this particularly challenging. I think I channelled all my frustrations of being on a school carnival committee into some of the dialogue!

Do you have any stories about being a volunteer or being on a committee?

Here's the blurb on Saved By The Bride and just in case you missed the book trailer last month, I've popped it below.

Welcome to Whitetail, Wisconsin, future home of Weddings that WOW!

As acting mayor, Annika will do anything to revive the economy of the town that's been her refuge ever since her art career imploded and her fiancé walked out. Even if it means crashing an engagement party to talk business with the bride's billionaire father. But the evening starts with a kiss from a gorgeous stranger—and ends with a night in jail.

Finn Callahan can't believe his sister is getting married, not after their parents' disastrous track record. And he'd rather be anywhere than working from his family's vacation home. Until he catches a leggy blonde sneaking in the window, and suddenly telecommuting for the season is very appealing.

Unable to resist their mutual attraction, Annika and Finn are soon mixing business and pleasure—just for the summer. Too bad Annika's heart missed the memo about not falling in love…

Book one of Wedding Fever.

99,000 words

Read Reviews here!

;

Saved By the Bride is available from Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook, Carina Press, Kobo  iBooks, and all other eBook retailers.

Fiona Lowe is a RITA^® and R*BY award-winning, multi-published author with Harlequin and Carina Press. Whether her books are set in outback Australia or in the mid-west of the USA, they feature small towns with big hearts, and warm, likeable characters that make you fall in love. When she's not writing stories, she's a weekend wife, mother of two 'ginger' teenage boys, guardian of 80 rose bushes and often found collapsed on the couch with wine. You can find her at her website, facebook, Twitter and Goodreads where she'd love you to say, "HI".

The Sizzle and Snap of Anticipation by Fiona Lowe

Oh, the sizzle and snap of anticipation! I love it. So much of the enjoyment of an event is in the anticipation. Right now I'm planning a vacation in France and oh, the bubbles of anticipation as we discuss where we might go and what we might see and do, and where we will stay. So far we've planned six nights in Paris and one week cycling tour in  Midi-Pyrénées commencing in Toulouse.


Easter is around the corner and tonight both my sons will be back home for a week. Am I excited about that? You bet! I'm planning their favourite meals, trips to the comedy festival and all sorts of fun things.

Carina Press just ramped up my anticipation and excitement about my Wedding Fever trilogy series by releasing this book trailer. Dare I confess to you how many times I have watched this baby? I get the jitters every time I see it.



Some early reviews for Saved By The Bride are very positive, adding to my anticipation about it's launch on April 15th.

Do you have the snap, crackle and pop of anticipation for anything at the moment? I'd love to hear about it!

Fiona Lowe is a RITA^® and R*BY award-winning, multi-published author with Harlequin and Carina Press. Whether her books are set in outback Australia or in the mid-west of the USA, they feature small towns with big hearts, and warm, likeable characters that make you fall in love. When she's not writing stories, she's a weekend wife, mother of two 'ginger' teenage boys, guardian of 80 rose bushes and often found collapsed on the couch with wine. You can find her at her website, facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

The Unexpected Can Be Good by Fiona Lowe

Life can change in a heartbeat and so it happened in my family last Tuesday at 5pm when my eldest son, who was enrolled and ready to start at university today, got an unexpected offer from another university, in  another state; Tasmania. For those of you who don't know, Tasmania is Australia's island state and the only way to get there is to fly or go by boat.  The other big thing in the email was, "if you accept this offer, lectures start in six days."

His initial reaction was, "No", because his brain was in gear for the university two hours away by train and bus. He could come home every couple of weekends, easy peasy.  But this offer of a double degree in Medicine and research was really was too good an opportunity to pass up so by Wednesday at noon we were suddenly gearing up to not only change universities but to move him "out of state."

It is AMAZING how much you can achieve in 48 hours if you give up the day job of trying to write a book. I tried to set aside my panic about my deadline and set about organising to put the car on the Spirit of Tasmania, booking flights for my husband and son and organising accommodation for him while he un-enrolled in the university he thought he was going to be attending.

I headed off with a fully loaded car including a full size electric piano...The Lad can't study without a piano...a  roof rack filled with bedding and books, and at the back of the vehicle, his push bike. Everything a boy needs for his first year at university or what my US mates call, "college."

Lucky for me, the writing community is global and my dear friend, Melanie Milburne, lives in Hobart, Tasmania. She was such a fabulous resource.

The Lad is living in a residential college and he has a million dollar view! I think I would like to live there. He is going to keep really fit because the road up to the residences is very, very steep!

So a week today I didn't know he was even going to be attending the University of Tasmania ..it's been a huge six days but he is installed, settling in and has attended his first lectures. I have just got home and am feeling a bit wobbly after I find my land legs after nine hours at sea.



After a good sleep or two, life needs to return to normal as I have to get back to writing 'Runaway Groom' the third book in my Wedding Fever trilogy.  Have you ever had to drop everything and make something good happen in a really short space of time? I'd love to hear about it.

Saved by the Bride, the first book in the trilogy is available for pre-order now at the discounted price of $2.99 at Nook & Kindle

I am thrilled with the cover. What do you think?

Fiona Lowe is a RITA^® and R*BY award-winning, multi-published author with Harlequin and Carina Press. Whether her books are set in outback Australia or in the mid-west of the USA, they feature small towns with big hearts, and warm, likeable characters that make you fall in love. When she's not writing stories, she's a weekend wife, mother of two 'ginger' teenage boys, guardian of 80 rose bushes and often found collapsed on the couch with wine. You can find her at her website, facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.