What I Always Look Out For by Susan Horsnell, USA Today Bestselling Author

First of all, I would like to thank Judith for inviting me to post at

Romancing the Genres. 

As an older woman, one of the things I always look out for are the actions of people and the goodness within. As the saying goes…They speak much louder than words. 

Over the years, as a nurse, I have encountered hundreds of people, probably thousands, many in the emergency department, and I have learned to read people very well. I have become very astute at reading ‘body language’ and figuring out what people aren’t telling me, or in some cases, how they are trying to fool me. 

In my books, I draw on my experience to get into the heads of my characters, those who have both good and questionable behavior. I write stories as they invade my head and across many sub-genres of romance from sweet, Christian historical to the steamiest of contemporary, paranormal, mafia and others. Every one of my books has an element of my experience woven throughout and in historical, although fiction, I include many facts from the time. 

Being married to a Naval Officer since the age of 18…50 years as of 23 March 2024, it has been a privilege to be able to travel throughout Australia and in many countries of the world. These postings and travel have given me the opportunity to spend time with people from all walks of life and various cultures which has given me a great deal of content for my books. 

50 years…We have had a wonderful marriage and life together, raised two sons that we are extremely proud of, and now we spend our days wandering the country with our caravan (RV) and our precious little Jack Russell…Gemma-Jean who is a never-ending source of joy and one day, she will make it into one of my books. 

This is my husband and I on our wedding day at the tender ages of 18. 

I shall close with a little history about the Golden Wedding Anniversary…

The traditional gift for the golden wedding anniversary is—as you probably guessed—gold. A rare and precious metal with a pleasing yellow or white luster that is highly sought after for fine jewellery and other valuables. This material shines with the sparkle of a love that has endured five decades. 

According to Time, the history of associating gold with the 50th wedding anniversary might have begun in Roman or Medieval times—but the custom was more firmly cemented around the turn of the 20th century in the later Victorian era, when love marriages became more common and life expectancies began increasing. Per customs described by newspapers at the time, wives were given golden wreaths to commemorate the occasion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I’m an Australian author who writes in a variety of genres, including Western romance, historical romance, Gay Romance, and contemporary romance. 

I have published over 60 books and novellas, many of which feature strong, independent heroines and rugged, alpha male heroes. Some of my popular series include the Outback Australia series and The Carter Brothers series.

My books are known for their well-researched historical details and vivid descriptions of the Australian landscape.

My work has garnered praise from readers and critics alike, and I have won several awards for my writing.

If you're interested in learning more about my books: 

Linktree

https://linktr.ee/SusanHorsnell 

Australian Romance Author Cheryl Wright

Making It Real in Historical Romance

By Cheryl Wright

Cheryl Wright

As an Australian writer, I like to write about the towns and cities in my own country, particularly the  state of Victoria, where I live.

As a young child, my parents travelled around the country in a caravan, taking my siblings and me to many places I would never have seen otherwise. Along the way, my father – who was a true man of the land, talked about the history of the areas we visited, including places he’d been to as a young lad working in rodeos.  This instilled a love of Australian history, and as a result, wherever possible, I include local history in my stories, without making them sound boring.

I’ve long been intrigued by the Old Melbourne Gaol, which is where the infamous Ned Kelly was hanged.  Over the years I’ve written several articles for magazines in the US about Ned Kelly and the place of his demise, and along the way learned loads of historical information that only added to my interest.

So it made perfect sense that I’d use it as the basis for one of the chapters in my romantic suspense novel, Running Scared.  Which wasn’t all that difficult since that particular section of my novel was located in the vicinity of the ‘gaol’.

Running Scared is the story of an undercover cop who falls in love with a very mysterious woman. 

When Emma Larkin meets Gary Bedford, she has no idea he’s a cop, undercover or otherwise.  Past girlfriends have dumped him because of his dangerous job, and he has no intention of losing Emma.

Emma is being stalked by her husband’s killers, and she must find what they’re looking for before she becomes their next victim.  She also needs to keep her four-year-old daughter Sally safe from the killers.

Emma is a massage therapist who uses aromatherapy.  This is one of my favourite subjects, and I’ve done multiple courses over the years to learn as much as possible about both aromatherapy and massage. At one point I even considered doing an accreditation course to become a massage therapist, after doing a hobby course that spanned several weeks. 

I pride myself on crafting characters that readers will connect with, and do a lot of research (where necessary) to ensure that happens.  As a reader, I cringe when I read something that doesn’t ring true, so as a writer, I like to ensure my books have credibility and realistic characters.

To that end, I’ve done my fair share of interviewing real-life police officers, detectives, and private investigators.  I’ve also learned as much as possible about guns, without being pin-pointed as a suspicious character, although I admit to being told by a librarian that I was a ‘very dangerous woman!”.

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An excerpt of Running Scared can be found at:  http://cheryl-wright.com/freebies.htm

My website is:  http://cheryl-wright.com/

And blog is:  http://cheryl-wright.com/blog

My author page on Facebook can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/cherylwrightauthor

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/writercheryl

A LEAP OF FAITH - THE ACT OF SELECTION

In a leap of faith, driven by desperation and the chance to improve the lives of their families in Australia, men took advantage of the Selection of Land Act, and staked their claim on parcels of crown land. Unfortunately, for many inexperienced in the ways of farming in a harsh continent like Australia, they were doomed to failure and heartache. Many not only lost their land but their lives. Others struggled on for years, their lives blighted by bitterness and regret at a leap of faith that didn’t deliver the riches they had dreamed of. Some made an adequate living. A few, of course, prospered. Rather than a leap of faith, I would call it a lottery. It all depended on the experience of the man, but more importantly the quality of the land on which he selected.

In Australia the 1860/61 Land Act allowed free selection of crown land. This included land illegally occupied by the squatters, (wealthy ranchers), who had managed to circumvent the law for years. A similar scheme apparently operated in the US as well, (nesters against the ranchers).

The Act sometimes allowed selectors (small farmers) access to the squatters’ land, and they could purchase between 40 and 320 acres, but after that, the authorities left them to fend for themselves. Not an easy task against the wealthy, often ruthless squatters who were incensed at what they thought was theft of their land.

The Act of Selection was intended to encourage closer settlement, based on intensive agriculture. Selectors often came into conflict with squatters, who already occupied land. The bitterness ran deep for many years, sometimes erupting into violence.

Steele Rudd (a pseudonym for Arthur Hoey Davis 14.11.1868 – 11.10.35), an Australian author wrote a story On Our Selection. He based it on his father’s experience as a selector struggling to make ends meet on a small parcel of land.  It started out as just one chapter published in a magazine in December 1895 and eventually became the basis for Dad and Dave, a popular radio series which ran from 1932 – 1952.

Henry Lawson 1867 – 1922, was born on the gold fields of NSW. Many believed him to be the first poet to capture the Australian way of life. After a childhood ear infection, he was totally deaf by the age of 14, and he grew up to be bitter about his poverty and ill-fortune.

In 1888 he started publishing his stories and poems.

The Fire at Ross’ Farm, was a classic poem about selector versus the squatter.

Robert Black, the squatter’s son, loved Jenny Ross the selector’s daughter.
When Robert tells his father about the bushfire (wild fire) threatening the Ross farm, his father said, and I quote these couple of lines from Henry Lawson’s poem, which I feel epitomise the extent of the hatred and mistrust between the squatters and the selectors.

Then let it burn the squatter said, I’d like to see it done

I’d bless the fire if it would clear Selectors from my run (run is an old, no longer used, Aussie term for ranch).

Frontier Wife, from The Wild Rose Press, is set against this background.

The heroine’s uncle selected 80 acres for his farm on Adam Muno’s 40,000 acre property.

FRONTIER WIFE

Tommy Lindsay arrives in colonial Australia to claim the rundown farm she and her brothers have inherited.

Hidden behind her fragile English rose beauty, beats the heart of a courageous young woman. She will need all this strength to survive the unforgiving heat, and the dangers lurking around every corner.  Lost in the bush, capture by a feral mountain family, raging bushfires are nothing, compared to the danger she faces if she gives her heart to wealthy squatter, Adam Munro.

Adam has no room in his heart to love a woman.  All he ever wanted was a presentable wife who would provide him with heirs.   He didn’t need passion in his life, not until he met the beautiful English rose living next door to him.

Only in the new world can a highborn young Englishwoman and a tough frontier man, ignite the passion that will fulfill their hopes and dreams in ways they never imagined possible.

 http://www.thewildrosepress.com/frontier-wife-p-4099.html

 Margaret Tanner

Australian Historical Romance Author