by Lily Malone
I bought The Martian by Andy Weir for my Dad. He likes space and he likes gardening đ
We suggest you buy Lily Malone’s latest novels for readers who like wine and who like reading!
December Gift Guide: For Diverse Tastes
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Tag Archives: Lily Malone
Feed Your Reader: first May Releases
Jaz risks everything to save the love of her life in the latest instalment of Fiona Palmerâs series about the young spies of the MTG Agency.
A fresh, funny and poignant romance set in the beautiful Adelaide Hills.
The story of my book: The Goodbye Ride
by Lily Malone
One of the first questions an author is often asked is âhow do you come up for ideas for your stories?â
I am not one of those authors who has story ideas battling for space in my brain, but I do have a lovely tale to tell when it comes to my contemporary novella The Goodbye Ride, released tomorrow.
The story is set in Hahndorfâa gorgeous little German-settled tourist town in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia. I was living in Hahndorf when I got the idea for the book, but by the time I actually sat down to write it Iâd moved to Margaret River in Western Australia. Not being there didnât matter, because after living there for 12 years Hahndorf will forever hold a special place in my heart.
So, to the story. Hubby and our two boys (they must have been aged about four and two at the time) were driving back on a Saturday afternoon after spending time in Adelaide.
I was minding my own business, probably thinking about what Iâd cook for dinner, when my husband hit the brakes in our vehicle and almost gave me (and the kids) whiplash.
He stopped our car opposite a house on the outskirts of Hahndorf town, and his attention was completely captured by a gleaming red motorbike for sale on the propertyâs front lawn.
I like to think Iâm the only girl to catch my husbandâs eye ⌠but on this day, he fell in love all over again!
This red motorbike happened to be a Ducati Pantah 650, a carbon copy of the Ducati my husband owned in his misspent youthâa âcollectorâs itemâ, he assured me as he leapt out of the car (dodging oncoming traffic) and worth every cent of the emblazoned five-figure price tag I could see hanging off it.
This was the seed of the idea for The Goodbye Ride.
I thought to myself: what would happen if there was a girl walking down the Hahndorf main street on a mission to buy that bike ⌠only to find herself pipped at the post by a boy (such as my equally on-a-mission husband)?
From there, I started fleshing out:
- Why would each of these characters want this particular bike?
- What would the one who wasnât the successful buyer do to get the bike back?
- What were their backgrounds?
- Why were they both in Hahndorf on this particular day?
- How could I throw these two together?
- How could I tear them apart?
And I ended up with a novella exploring the hopes and fears of Olivia and Owen, their dreams, and their journey to a Happy Ever After (or at least a Happy For Now).
The Goodbye Ride was originally self-published in May 2013 and is now being re-released by Escape Publishing.
A fresh, funny and poignant romance set in the beautiful Adelaide Hills.
ARRA nominees: Lily Malone
Hell and Tommy!Â
Thatâs what Remy would have said when she discovered So Far Into You was a 2015 ARRA finalist for Favourite Contemporary Romance. Remy says âHell and Tommy!’ when something takes her by surprise, or if something good or bad happens (you know, like if you whack your thumb with a hammer). Itâs much nicer than saying âholy sh*tâ!
And Remy is nice.
Everyone says that.
Except Seth.
Donât get me wrong, he thought she was nice when he met her, saving her from a spring storm at the Margaret River Wine Festival a few years back. He thought heâd found Snow White and Sleeping Beauty all rolled into one.
Then Seth heard Remy talking on the phone one afternoon (yes, okay, he eavesdropped because Seth is not nice) and what he overheard changed his mind about Remy and fairy tales. Changed it completely!
So begins So Far Into You. Itâs a reunion/second chance romance that begins in the vineyards of Margaret River in southwest Western Australia, and moves to the vineyards of the Adelaide Hills in South Australia.
It involves Seth and Remy and two crazy American Staffordshire Terriers called Occhilupo and Breeze.
These two are inspired by the two dogs I used to own. I always knew theyâd squish their way into one of my books one day!
Thank you to the readers who have read and enjoyed So Far Into You and who voted it into the finals of the ARRA Awards. I was so surprised, so excited to get the email from ARRA, I bet you can guess what I said!
Yep. âHOLY SH*T!!!â
Because I am not nice either đ
An Australian rural romance about a millionaire wine tycoon, the woman he betrayed and the second chance neither was looking forâŚ
A Second Chance at Love, part 2: My real-life romance trope
This is the second ‘A Second Chance at Love’ post in our series about tropes in romance literature
by Lily Malone
We always remember our first love.
He is usually the one we could never have; or the one who got away after weâd had him a few times. Or he might have been the one we threw away because we really knew better⌠but heâs still memorable and every now and then we cast our mind back and think about that bloke and wonder what heâs doing nowâŚ
In the real world, there were usually very good and practical reasons for breaking up with your first love. He wasnât right for you. You werenât right for him. The time wasnât right. You caught him shagging his lady golf student in a sand bunkerâŚ
In the romance world the reasons are never quite so black and white. Often thereâs a nasty third party who splits the couple apart with some well-placed lies; or the hero gets an attack of guilt at being about to steal his best friendâs sisterâs virginity⌠and so he leaves and becomes a tycoon with an armada of yachts in the Mediterranean instead. One thing is for sure, neither ever forgets the other, or what might have been.
I love a good reunion (sometimes called second chance) romance. The previous history of a couple always creates a great tension and chemistry. You devour pages and pages just waiting for the characters to rip their clothes off and shag till theyâre silly⌠but usually whatever it was that drove them apart years ago rears its ugly head yet again and must be resolved once and for all.
As with all tropes, there are sub-categories. In my new book, So Far Into You, I use this one to set up the second chance: Seth is with Remy, they split because of his truly awful mother and a jealous co-worker, and five years later, Seth and Remy meet again.
Insta-sparks flyâŚ
In Fairway To Heaven, I use this one: Brayden is friends with Jenn, but not lovers, because he is about to start a new job in the mining industry and doesnât want her stuck in the life of a fly-in, fly-out partner. But the chemistry was always thereâthere was a previous tequila-flavoured kissâand roughly seven years later Brayden and Jenn meet again, and their second chance is nigh.
Insta-sparks flyâŚ
Second chance/reunion romances make a perfect trope for authors like me who write small town/rural stories.
I was born and raised in a blink-and-youâll-miss-it kind of town in the south-west corner of Western Australia. I got married and moved away from my birthplace for 12 years, before returning to my ârootsâ in 2013.
And there were a few of those roots still in the area⌠so to speak.
For three years, Iâve managed to avoid running into blokes that knew me back then. Then just last month, my reunion cup overflowed.
In the checkout at Coles, I glanced over my shoulder, whereupon I spied a tall, dark (okay, a little on the grey side now) stranger. My brow furrowed⌠his brow furrowed… and there was this ping of recognition. My ping went along the lines of: âOh no!â
From five metres and two checkouts apart, we were taken back more than 15 years in a whirlwind of slow-motion movie scenes⌠until my movie ended on the scene where he shagged his lady golf student in a sand bunker âŚ
Meanwhile, I fumbled my Coles Fly Buy card and my credit card. I dropped my cauliflower. I got my PIN wrong and the machine beeped rudely at me.
I was through the checkout first and I had to decide. Do I wait, or do I walk?
I waited.
We had a very sweet little chat outside the Coles where he enquired about my mumâs health; told me he was married now; told me he had fur babies but no children; and told me there were lots of snakes on his sheep and cattle farm⌠(I didnât ask if heâd been playing any golf).
We bid each other a very civil farewell (arenât you proud of me?) and he went home to his wife and his snakes, and I went home to my hubby and my kids and whatever I intended to cook for dinner.
And do give my regards to your wife…
THE VERY NEXT MORNINGâŚ
I was in the middle of my normal mad dash about the house getting my two boys ready for school, which always involves many shouts of âGet dressedâ, âHave you cleaned your teeth?â, âGet your shoes on,â âWhereâs your f&%king drink bottle?â while wrangling two school bags and two kids into the car.
There was a tradesman assessing some tradesman-style thing with my neighbour. I didnât recognise him, but it DID occur to me that the bloke was staring at me funny. It made me wonder if Iâd actually sworn about the drink bottles out loud, instead of just in my headâŚ
Reversing out the driveway, changing gear up the streetâand this tradie from next door is still staring at me! Then he smiled⌠my brow furrowed⌠and I got this ping of recognition that went along the lines of: âOh no! Not again!â
I drove the kids to school with my heart beating faster than normal and a flush in my cheeks, not only because I am always last mum rushing through the school gates but because even though he’s lost most of his hair now, that tradie really was rather cute when he was 19âŚ
So next time someone says: “That would only happen in the pages of a romance novel”, ask the name of the book so you can put it on your Reunion/Second Chance reading list. Then whack that person with a golf club for being narrow-bloody-minded.
Itâs going to take more than summer loving to heal old wounds, but a remote beach, old friendships and a bit of sunshine might just spark a second chance at love.
December Recipes – Wine
by Lily Malone
Lilyâs bringing the Christmas spirits (and wine)
When it comes to Christmas, the first thing I say is: âIâll bring the wine!â The family is happy with that (theyâve had enough of my turkey disasters.) It helps that my extended family Christmas feasts in recent years have been in both the Barossa Valley and Adelaide Hills in South Australia, and in Margaret River (WA), three of the great wine regions of our wide brown land. I have a lot of great wine to choose from!
So if you were to invite me for Christmas, this is what I would bring:
Seppelts Sparkling Shiraz: Yes! Red bubbles! Sparkling Shiraz on Christmas morning is such a wonderful treat. Red sparkling wine is big in South Australia. I discovered it there and itâs a Christmas Day tradition Iâve brought home to Margaret River.
The Seppelts is a favourite but I also like Shingleback âBlack Bubblesâ and if my royalty cheque had just come in (or Iâd won Lotto) Iâd bring a bottle of Rockford Sparkling Black Shiraz.
So with the red bubbles merrily popping in our system, itâs on to the lovely crisp whites with lunch. Turkey, ham and pork all cry out for white wine, plus the Aussie Christmas is usually so hot that red wine at lunch would put everyone to sleep. Whatâs that? Youâre asleep already? Wake up, Nanna, Iâm talking about wine!
This year Iâll be bringing Fermoy Estate wines to the Christmas table. Fermoy is an up and coming winery in Margaret River (and my hubby works there). I love their Semillon-Sauvignon Blanc (SSB for those in the know), and their Chardonnay is yummy too. All their whites are good.
Every year I also pull out another Rockford classic. It is my favourite rose wine and is lovely with ham and pork. Itâs called Rockford Alicante Bouschet. Pronounced Ali canât booshay. (Try saying that after a few glasses. Itâs impossible to say booshay without dancing).
After dessert and a little bit of âfeet up and relaxing while everyone else does the dishes (because Iâve worked so hard bring and pour the wine)â a nice sparkling white might be called for. Yarra Burn Vintage Pinot Noir Chardonnay Pinot Meunier could be just the ticket to finish Christmas with a bang, not a âLordy Iâm so full,â whimper.
Cheers!
A new Australian rural romance about a millionaire wine tycoon, the woman he betrayed and the second chance neither was looking forâŚ
Feed Your Reader – Late October Releases
From Lily Malone: a new Australian rural romance about a millionaire wine tycoon, the woman he betrayed and the second chance neither was looking forâŚ
From award-winning author Kendall Talbot comes a new romantic adventure to dive intoâŚ
In the acclaimed, best-selling The Apollo Academy, Aurora fought for her life and her chance at love. Now sheâs ready to conquer the final frontier⌠space.
#DATENIGHT SETS THE STAGE FOR WA #ROMANCE WRITERS
reblogged from Write Note Reviews
Romance writers Jennie Jones, Lily Malone and Juanita Kees treated an appreciative audience of more than 50 to laughs, cheekiness and a tad of sauciness at Stories on Stage: Date Night last night.
Part of the Stories on Stage series held at Koorliny Arts Centre in Perthâs southern suburbs, Date Night celebrated the romance genre, with the writers put under the spotlight during a panel interview ⌠with me! The stage was set for the date with atmospheric lighting, a candle and a bottle of champagne, and quiet jazz music in the background. And then, once the audience was settled, the âgetting to know youâ bit began.
Itâs fair to say, there were a few nerves at this point. For me, this was a new experience â interviewing three writers in front of a crowd. Jennieâs no stranger to the stage with her theatre background, but Lily and Juanita had to take a few deep breaths and employ whatever tactic worked for them to speak in public. Since the audience was mostly female, I donât think they imagined everyone in their underwear, but they might have pretended the room was full of firefighters.
Whatever they did, it worked. Lily, Juanita and Jennie had the audience captivated from the start, leading to laughs, red-faces and possibly even a few face-fans when things got a bit steamy. The panel interview was split into three sections: âDefining the romance genreâ, âThe art of writing romanceâ and âJust for funâ, with a reading in between each section. The authors talked about âbodice-rippersâ, âescapismâ and their inspirations; they shared how they felt when people made derogatory comments and assumptions about the romance genre. The audience heard about the importance of balancing conflict and romance, how the characters determine when and where a first kiss or love scene will take place, and the key elements of romance stories. And just for fun, Lily, Juanita and Jennie revealed their preferences for butts or biceps, strange things they have Googled as part of their research, what their husbands thought of their love scenes, and whether theyâd choose Edward Cullen (Twilight), Mr Darcy (Pride and Prejudice), Jamie Fraser (Outlander) or Christian Grey (50 Shades of Grey). The last question prompted a witty response from one of the older audience members:
âYou didnât say if it was for romance or love. If it was for romance and so on (*naughty giggle here*), Iâd say ALLÂ of them! If it was love, none of them.â
In between each group of questions, Lily, Juanita and Jennie read excerpts from their novels â well, Lily read Jennieâs, Juanita read Lilyâs and Jennie read Juanitaâs. Cue red faces and embarrassed giggles as the authors heard their excerpts read aloud ⌠especially when hands went under shirts, mouths opened, hips met, and âI want youâ was breathed.
Audience members came up with some good questions after the panel concluded, but most saved their questions for the onstage meet and greet, which included book sales, signings, freebies and photos. Hereâs one from romance reader Trudie: 
The evening concluded with a tasty home-made supper of Melting Moments (because romance is full of those); brownies (because they are soft and gooey ⌠like the first stages of love); my special Choc Chunk Slice aka Choc Hunk Slice (because itâs yum); orange, date and walnut cake, and egg sandwiches.
Iâd like to thank Juanita, Lily and Jennie for their time and effort in making Date Night such a fun evening. Romance readers, if you havenât checked out their books, you must! They are all fantastic at what they do. Thanks also go to Escape Publishing and Harlequin Books Australia for providing 10 books, discount vouchers and USBs pre-loaded with the authorsâ books to give away, and to Alex at Koorliny Arts Centre for his fab tech support (heâs been promised a role in all three authorsâ books, as long as he understands that his shirt will come off). And finally, thanks to Jim at Rockingham Books for helping with book sales and supporting Stories on Stage. Youâre a star.
For more information about Lily Malone, click here. Read my reviews of her books here and here.
For more information about Juanita Kees, click here. Read my interview with her here.
For more information about Jennie Jones, click here. Read my review of her latest book here.
April Showers New Reads!
Available today!
Eva Scott debuts a new rural romance: in the battle of duty versus desire, only one can survive the hot Australian sunshine.
New in the fresh, sexy world of The Seek: he canât trust anyone, so why should he trust his heart?
Itâs going to take more than summer loving to heal old wounds, but a remote beach, old friendships and a bit of sunshine might just spark a second chance at love.
Coastal romance short read at its best: She went to Sydney to hide, instead she was found by love.
Q&A with Lily Malone – in which she only answers one question
Q: So, Lily, why did you write a romance with a heroine who has a dodgy vagina?
- Because I enjoy flushing pink as my beanie whenever Iâm asked this question, thatâs why!
- Because I always wanted my mother (who has read Fairway To Heaven) to study me over her glasses and say: âis everything really alright with you, Love? You know… down below?â
- Oh heck, because I like an author research challenge as much as the next writer!
- Because I wanted to write a heroine with a sexual physical disability, and make this as natural in a romantic context as I could.
- Because I wanted to raise awareness about Lichen Sclerosus as a womenâs health issue, AND because auto-immune diseases/illness of all kinds SUCK!
- Because one of the romance books I best remember reading about 20 years ago featured a heroine with huge breasts, (and not in a good way). I cannot remember the title of the book but the heroine played violin or bass brilliantly and was only comfortable when playing the instrument (because it hid her breasts). The story was as much about the romance between the H&H as it was about the heroineâs personal journey toward eventual breast-reduction surgery and a happier, healthier life. This resonated with me and still does! Too many perfect heroines, or heroines given token issues as character âflawsâ.
- Because a friend in my motherâs group dared me to do it.
- Because it felt like a good idea at the time.
- Because I was interested in pushing the boundaries of ârealisticâ contemporary romance, to see how readers responded and to see where this would go.
- Because I really want to write a heroine or hero (or both) who have genital herpes. DO YOU THINK THE ROMANCE WORLD IS READY FOR THIS??
Long live Jennifer Gatesâ and her dodgy fanny. Loud and Proud!
Itâs going to take more than summer loving to heal old wounds, but a remote beach, old friendships and a bit of sunshine might just spark a second chance at love.
When Jennifer Gates drives to Sea Breeze Golf Club to kick off date-night with her boyfriend, the last thing she expects is to find Golf Pro Jack giving one of his lady students a privateâand very personalâlesson in bunker-play.
Lucky for Jenn, her best friend gives her the keys to the Culhane familyâs beach shack on the white-pepper shores of Western Australiaâs Geographe Bay. Jenn hopes a weekend on the coast with her young son will give her the space she needs to rebuild her confidence after Jackâs betrayal.
But sheâs not the only person seeking sanctuary by the sea. Brayden Culhane is there too, and Jenn canât look at Brayden without remembering the tequila-flavoured kiss they shared on the shack steps years ago.
As long-buried feelings are rekindled, and a friendship is renewed, Jenn knows it is more than lazy summer days bringing her mojo back. Romantic sunsets, ice-cold beers and the odd round of golf can only go so far, because this time trusting Brayden with her heart wonât be enough. Jenn has to learn to trust her body, too.
The Escapades 