I’m
thrilled to have Tea Cooper drop by today, and it’s not just because she’s such
a nice person and writes great stories (although that’s important!) – it’s
because she’s here to talk about the re-release of Lily’s Leap.
If
you read this blog regularly you may have a vague memory of our chat when this
book first came out in May 2013. So here’s an update!
- Has “Lily’s
Leap” altered since it was originally released, if so, how?
Yes, it has! The
original story is the same but the ending is longer, a little less rushed, if I
am truthful. It’s been an interesting journey because Lily’s Leap was the
second book I wrote and my writing style has changed. I think it’s tighter and
most importantly because it has been released by an Australian publisher it
more truly reflects Australia. I like to call it a historical rural romance.
2.
Can you tell us a bit about the gorgeous new
cover and how well it sums up the story?
I’m thrilled with the
new cover. Lily is just right – the pampered daughter of a colonial upstart who
has no intention of being pushed around. The background is Dungarven – the
horse stud she calls home.
- What was it like
going back to Lily and Tom – meeting up with old friends, or a bit awkward
at first?
Definitely meeting up
with old friends but knowing so much more about them, as though you’d had a
chance to “spy” on them so I knew what they were thinking.
- What/who
inspired you to write the story?
Without a doubt Patrick
Bruin! On Tuesday, February 16th Patrick made the mistake of bailing
up the local JP Mr Thomas Crawford. I say made
the mistake because he’d run off at the mouth and bragged about what he was
up to. Someone dobbed him in. Mr Crawford was there with his servants, all
armed, and Patrick was mortally wounded and died in Wollombi Lock-Up. Mind you
none of those things happened Tom!
- Would you
consider a follow up story?
That’s an interesting
question because Lily is actually my first Wollombi story and Matilda’s Freedom, which released in
July 2013, is the follow-up. Both books stand alone but there are a few
characters who appear in both stories – my favourite is Jem the Aboriginal
tracker.
And a bit about you…
- You’ve had lots
of books published since we last chatted, how do you find the time? Are
you a fast writer who hides away for days on ends, or is it a little bit
here, a little bit there?
I have to admit to
throwing in the towel and giving up full time work so I have more time than a
lot of people. I’m a bit of a marathon writer. Once I get the plot sorted I
like to write a quick and dirty first draft in as little time as I can manage.
I live it and breathe it until it is done – mind you it then takes me the same
amount of time to do the first edit!
- What are you
reading at the moment, and are there any particular authors that are
must-reads?
My latest favourite
is author is Kate Morton. Right now I can’t get enough of her books. I’ll read
anything by Deborah Challinor as soon as it comes out – I love her books and I
also have a “bit of a thing” for non fiction, especially anything that is
historical. I picked up The Art of Beauty
by Madame Lola Montez at the local flea markets recently, first published
in 1858. Books like that are a must
read.
- Has life changed
for you over the last couple of years/since you’ve signed with your new
publisher?
Yes! I am now
published by Escape Publishing – an imprint
of Harlequin Enterprises Australia. It is an absolute delight to work with an
Australian publisher when you write Australian romance!
- Best bit of
advice you’d give an aspiring author?
Be patient – don’t
jump at the first contract you are offered. Check out all the possibilities
before you sign on the dotted line. And write – and keep writing!
- Best bit of
advice you’d give yourself now as a writer, if you could relive the past
couple of years?
As above – be
patient!
- Have you any
other books in the pipeline that you can tell us about?
Yes! In October, 2014
my first 1920s romance releases with Escape. It’s called Jazz Baby, set in Sydney in the 1920s. It was a pretty nasty place
to be. In February, 2015 Forgotten
Fragrance which is the first book in a family saga From the Ocean to the Outback – set aboard a whaling ship somewhere
between Tasmania and Sydney releases. Lots of pirate like characters and of
course romance, and the spin-off from Jazz
Baby, The Wages of Sin, will release sometime after that.
Thanks, Susie! Lovely
to visit again.
From Escape's Queen of
Australian historical romance comes a story about a privileged member of
Australian's squattocracy, a bushranger, and a very special horse.
Born into the rough, but
privileged society of the Australian colonial landowners, Lilibeth Dungarven
finds herself married, widowed, and, much to her distress, back under her
father’s thumb, all before her twenty-first birthday. Determined not to forgo
her dream of breeding the perfect racehorse, Lilibeth ignores propriety and
sets out to restore the family’s flagging fortunes.
When Captain Tom and his mismatched band of bushrangers stumble
across a mob of the best horses they’ve ever seen, and the daughter of the
famed Dungarven horse stud, they know their fortunes have changed. Their catch
is worth a king’s ransom. All they have to do is hold her for seven days. How
hard can it be to control the pampered daughter of a colonial upstart?
ISBN: 9780857991713 Publication Date: July 1, 2014
Amazon and Goodreads Reviews:
“Forget work, forget all your
responsibilities and slide into this delicious story ... a well-written book
by a talented writer ... since I doubt I’ll be visiting Australia, it was a
treat to feel like I was there, herding horses to market across the Australian
Outback. The landscape assumes the position of a character in this
exciting romance; playing a pivotal role in Lily’s adventure. A
fabulous read by a very talented Aussie author … I have no hesitation in HIGHLY
recommending Lily’s Leap.”
Excerpt:
Hunter Valley, Australia 1848
Lilibeth
Dungarven’s cry of pure pleasure soared skywards as the massive black stallion
rose to clear the fallen tree, sending the horrors of the last four years
scuttling into the dirt of the ancient land.
Clenching her knees against Nero’s
heaving flanks she bent low, ducking the overhanging branches framing the bush
track, her cheek pressed to the warmth of his muscular neck. When the erratic
pounding in her chest settled she drew Nero to a shuddering halt and pushed the
damp curls back from her forehead.
A pair of black cockatoos, disturbed
by her madcap gallop, shrieked their annoyance and resettled in the whispering
casuarina trees. The crack of their beaks as they threw the mangled nuts to the
ground filled the silence. Below her the ribbon of sandstone road weaved its
way towards Payne’s Crossing and she shielded her eyes from the sun, searching
for her mob of horses.
A glint of reflected sunlight drew
her eye to a mounted figure in the middle of the road. Despite the hat pulled
low shadowing his face, the stockwhip crack of his words registered deep in her
belly.
‘Bail up! Guns down and off the
horses.’
‘What do you think you...?’
Constricted by the tension in her throat her words petered out. No one would
dare steal such a valuable mob of horses. They were branded. Everyone in the
colony knew the Dungarven brand. To lose them was unthinkable. Years of
breeding — the first pure Dungarven bloodlines. Months proving herself capable
of managing the sale and the trip to Sydney. And now a hold up! It would not
happen. Not if Lilibeth Dungarven had any say in the matter.
About the
author:
Téa Cooper lives
in a stone cottage on one hundred acres of bushland, just outside the time-warp
village of Wollombi, NSW Australia. When she isn't writing, Téa can be found
haunting the local museum or chatting to the locals, who offer a never-ending
source of inspiration.
Lily’s
Leap is Téa's second Australian historical romance set in Wollombi. Her
first, Matilda’s
Freedom is available now.
In October, Jazz Baby, a 1920s rags to riches story set in Sydney
will be released and in
February, Forgotten Fragrance, Book I
of a family saga entitled From the Ocean
to the Outback. At the moment she is working on a parallel time-line series
called The Adventures of Miss Abigail
Wynter. She has also written three contemporary romances.
Where
to find out more:
And here's a glimpse of that follow up book!
