For the launch of Burnt, I wanted to do something special. This book is set in my home town and as such, I wanted to do something to give back to the area I live in and love so much.
The Macksville hospital which services the whole of The Nambucca Valley, has been a huge part of my life. Two of my four children were born there. Both my Grandparents, sadly passed away inside those familiar walls, and growing up, I had my own bumps and scrapes taken cared of with the odd visit to the ER. 
Our small country hospitals are VITAL to our communities, no matter where in Australia you live. And they continue to be threatened through government cuts year after year. They're usually the last ones to receive funding and its only through dedicated staff that they are managed to run so smoothly and reliably. 
Since Bec, my character in Burnt, works as a nurse in Macksville hospital, I decided to incorporate a fund raiser event at my book launch and try and raise some money. The United Hospital Auxiliary (UHA)  committee work hard to raise money through various ways, one of the biggest being the hospital cafe run by volunteers and members of the committee. The profits of this cafe go directly towards items on the hospital wish list. At the moment they're saving for two special recliner chairs; one for the day surgery wing to help patients recover from their day surgery in a little more comfort, and one for the maternity ward. 
Much to my relief, locals supported this fundraiser with their usual generosity and on the day we managed to raise over $500. It was an awesome effort and I can't thank everyone enough for all their help and support. 
I love this town, and I'm so happy that I could show case it a little by making it the setting for this story.

I just love this new cover. If it seems a little familiar, that's because it is! I originally self published this title, when it wasn't quite what my publisher was looking for at the time. Unfortunately, self publishing through Amazon meant that it was only available in print to purchase, online which was both expensive and extremely slow! Then the lovely people at Harlequin Australia picked it up and now, thanks to them, it's available in all Australian book stores as well as Big W, Kmart and Target's. 

Having a book set in a real town is a really cool experience. Admittedly, the majority of the fictional places and towns in my previous books are all based on places I'm familiar with, but this time the real places and landmarks are named. For locals it's a really unique experience to read of real life places we drive past every day. For non-locals, I decided to put together a few places which feature in the book. While its always better to use your own imagination, for curiosities sake, I thought you might enjoy to see a few of the real places.