Book Recommendation ~ The Peppercorn Project by Nicki Edwards

Book Description:

One heartbroken woman. One bitter cop. One community to save them.

After the tragic death of her husband, single mum Isabelle Cassidy is bereft and broke. When she hears about The Peppercorn Project – a scheme that offers affordable rent in the tiny but vibrant town of Stony Creek – Issie sees it as her family's best chance at a fresh start.

Newly single police officer Matt Robertson moved to Stony Creek to lick his wounds after a bitter divorce. Wanting only peace and quiet, Matt is against the Project, seeing it as a threat to the peace he's found in the country town – until he meets Issie. Despite himself, Matt is drawn to the widow and feels inexplicably protective of her fragile family.

Just when Issie begins to imagine a future with Matt, an accident proves how far she has to go before she can move beyond her grief. But the citizens of Stony Creek won't rest until they see these two broken souls find a new beginning, together. 

Can Issie move beyond the pain of her past and entrust Matt with her family, and her heart?

Narelle's Thoughts:

I loved The Peppercorn Project and I read it in one sitting. The characters are well developed and the emotional depth drew me into Issie and Matt's story world. I will confess I'm not usually a big fan of the grieving widow romance trope. One reason being the heroine is distracted by her amazing late husband and it can detract from the developing romance with the hero in the story. How can the hero compete with the amazing dead husband?

What drew me into this story was the way the author handled the emotional fallout from losing a loving life partner in tragic circumstances. The story opens with the prologue and we experience in real time Issie's very painful loss, the roller coaster of emotions, and the consequences for her young family. Issie's need to stand on her own two feet and establish a new life for her children leads her to the small town of Stony Creek.

Issie and her children are interviewed by a committee of townsfolk for a coveted peppercorn lease. The idea is to provide people with an affordable home for a year to help them get back on their feet financially in a supportive small town community. Issie is desperate for a financial break and willing to move from coastal Torquay near Melbourne to a small town in the South Australian Flinders Ranges to put a roof over their heads.

Matt is a city cop who moved to Stony Creek when his marriage fell apart. Burned by his experiences with his ex-wife, he's a confirmed bachelor and resisting the efforts by well-meaning town matchmakers to find him a new wife. He's intrigued by Issie and drawn to her despite his reservations concerning the wisdom of the peppercorn project concept.

The minor characters add flavour and colour to the story, and an authenticity to the idyllic rural romance setting. Matt is a cynical city cop who knows it's only a matter of time until the Stony Creek community will have to face the challenges of the illegal drug trade. A subplot relating to the ice (methamphetamine) epidemic that's facing many Australian small towns was realistic and well handled. Issie is a nurse and we journey with her as she faces many professional challenges in a medical context.

The romance between Issie and Matt was centre stage and their emotional journey to love was full of obstacles and baggage from the past. A loving intimate scene between Issie and Matt toward the end of the book was beautifully written and contained emotional rather than physical descriptions that will pull at the reader's heartstrings. The perfect happy ending for two people who had grown to love each other, and Issie's adorable children, during the story.

I highly recommend The Peppercorn Project to romance readers who enjoy sweet medical romances set in small town rural Australia.

Many thanks to Pan Macmillan Australia for providing a complimentary advanced reader copy of the book.

To learn more about Nicki Edwards and her books, please visit her website.

Book Launch Wrap Up (and a giveaway)

I had the most wonderful time at my book launch last Sunday so I thought I'd share some photos with you.  Apart from being uncharacteristically nervous before everyone arrived, I soon relaxed and thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was difficult meeting so many new people - not easy for an introvert - and even more difficult when I didn't recognize people. Did you know that no-one looks anything like their Facebook profile photos?!  Fortified by Pepsi Max and chocolate I managed to smile and meet and greet nearly 80 people who turned out for the event. It exceeded my expectations and I was blown away by the love and support of the people in the room - some family, some friends and some strangers. One highlight (there were so many) was meeting a gorgeous woman in her 80's. She bowled up to me and announced I had looked after her in the emergency department a few months earlier. I remembered her then - she was reading a rural romance book and we had a lovely discussion about books and I told her I was an author. She told me she found out my name and asked her son to track me down. It turns out he is an avid reader and had one of my books on his Kindle which he had read and enjoyed. He heard about the book launch (no idea how) and brought his Mum along. Even better, she won a book in the door prize! I've already decided she's also 'won' a part as a minor character in my next book! (Her name is Fleur, so look out for her!) Of course the other highlight was having Andrea Grigg play such a large part in the day. I was so blessed she flew down from Queensland to share the occasion with me. I know many others were with me in spirit. After my husband welcomed everyone, Andrea asked me some questions about my book and the inspiration for my characters then hit me with twenty "off the top of my head" questions. I thought I'd share them with you. Who is your favourite female character from your books so far? Mackenzie Kennedy-Jones (Intensive Care) Favourite male character? Matt Robertson (The Peppercorn Project) Which genre do you enjoy reading apart from romance? Legal thrillers ED or ICU? Tough call - love them both - Emergency Department. Name three authors you'd love to meet. Jodi Picoult, Lee Child, John Grisham What household chore do you hate the most? ALL! Favourite take away. Fish and chips. Favourite movie. The Notebook. How did you meet Tim? At school. Was it love at first sight? Definitely not! Name 3 people from history you'd like to have dinner with. Princess Diana, Florence Nightingale, Michelle Obama What kind of music do you listen to? Worship and Classical Hobbies apart from writing. None! Tea or coffee? Neither - haven't tasted either. Sweet or Savoury? Definitely sweet. Coke or Pepsi? Pepsi Max Would you like to do more study? If so, what? Yes. Education. Worst part of your job. Not knowing how a patient is after they've left ICU or ED and hoping their recovery  went well. Would you ever get a tattoo? Definitely not!! After it was all over, although I felt like I could sleep for a week, we went out to dinner and celebrated with my gorgeous family. On Monday Andrea and I went out to search for my book on the shelves in store. Friends had already been sharing their "shelfies" including this one of my friend Cindy's daughter Ruby who apparently squealed so loudly when she saw my book that she could be heard across the other side of the store!    I don't look quite as excited as Ruby, but I assure you, I was dancing on the inside! How gorgeous does it look on the shelves at K-Mart?  Even more exciting was this photo sent to me by Jeff Townsend who found it in the Number 1 spot at Big W in Orange! But the highlight of the entire release of The Peppercorn Project was this photo sent to me by my friend Jane. This is her beautiful Mum on the eve of her 94th birthday sitting up in bed with her hair all done ready for her big day. She's already caught up in the story!  It doesn't get better than this, and that's why I write. Although I already have three books and a novella out in e-book and print on demand format, the buzz of seeing my book on the shelves is incomparable - it somehow makes it feel more 'real'. The promotion journey continues with magazine articles ('Yours' and 'Take 5') and newspaper features ('Melbourne Herald Sun' on 18th June and 'The Weekly Review') plus more guest blog posts scheduled for the next few weeks. It's a busy time. And then of course I need to do the edits for Critical Condition which comes out in September and edits for Operation Mistletoe Magic which comes out in November and then Leah needs a story of her own too. Who agrees? I'd love to give away a copy of The Peppercorn Project (paperback) to bless someone. To enter, you need to tell me who is your favourite hero and heroine from one of my books or novella! Easy! Please head to my website www.nickiedwards.com.au to sign up to my newsletter.  Purchase links to all my books can be found below: Amazon (Australia): http://bit.ly/1RhhTSX Amazon (US): http://amzn.to/1T4Tm8p Amazon (Uk): http://amzn.to/1S2jC1e iBooks: http://apple.co/1XxhQad Kobo: http://bit.ly/20e996e

When writing becomes a slog, don't quit, do it.

by Nicki Edwards

Sweet Romance Author

Country town Love, Life and Medical Dramas

Have you ever gotten to the place where you feel like you want to quit? That if you have to walk. one. more. step you'll collapse? When going further just seems too hard? Like too much of an effort?

I'm talking about all the things we tend to quit. Weight loss programs. Healthy eating. Jobs. Relationships. 

Writing that book.

Each one of us has a different area in our lives when we feel like calling it quits.

Right now, I feel like quitting writing.

I'm working on my sixth book (Critical Condition) and it's been a hard slog from the very get go.

I don't know why. I love the characters, I love the setting, I love the story line.

But each word has been an effort.

I'm not generally a quitter by nature, so I know I won't quit, (and I can't quit because I have a deadline and I'm contracted to finish this book by September), but I can assure you it's been tempting to throw in the towel and walk away from it without a backward glance.

Why?

Writing is hard work. Much harder than I first expected. The first book was hard. The second twice as hard. I thought each one after that would be easier to write, but they haven't. That's because I've pushed myself to get better and better as a writer. And that takes work. And work brings pressure.

Writing is time consuming. I'm not talking just about the actual process of words on paper. There's marketing, editing, blogs to write, books to mail out, launches to attend, social media to be social on...the list is never ending. The pressure daunting.

Writing is my hobby. A hobby I need to fit around my husband, four kids, dog and neurotic cat. Oh, and my full time career as an Intensive Care nurse. Then there's my commitments at church, my ongoing weight loss journey (currently stalled), my family, friends and time for me. Sometimes that means my hobby ends up being pushed to the bottom of the priority pathway and there's nothing I can do about it but that doesn't mean the pressure isn't there.

And when all the pressures build up, it's easy to take the easy way out and quit. After all, if I never wrote another word, would anyone know? Or care?

The more I have struggled with wanting to quit writing this book, the more I have pressed in and forced myself to put words on the page. The other day someone made a comment on Facebook that when they're writing and the words dry up, they even count the words in an email in the daily word count! These past few weeks I've even counted the words in text messages!

I was reading a book the other day about the habits of people who don't quit and I was reminded of the verse in Hebrews. Most Christians will know it and will have quoted it numerous times during their journey, but have you ever read it in the Message translation?

It says this:

"Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!"

Now I understand that this verse is talking about not quitting our spiritual walk with Christ, and I don't intend to take scripture out of context, but I think there are some nuggets in this passage worth exploring when you're tempted to quit.

1. People are cheering you on. By that I mean other authors - the pioneers, the veterans - they're out there telling you that you can do it. You can keep writing. You don't need to quit. One more word, two more words, keep writing until your book is done. If you feel like quitting, find your cheerleaders and ask them to get those pom poms out.

2. Strip down, start running and never quit. Sometimes you have to take off the negativity before you can run again. Negative reviews, negative people who tell you it can't be done - all these things weigh you down and prevent you from running. When you stop running, you come to a standstill and that's when you quit. If you feel like quitting, and you can't take another step, ask someone to run alongside you until you get your mojo again.

3. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Why are you writing in the first place? Because you want to or because He wants you to? If you feel like quitting, take it to Him. Lay it at His feet. Ask Him to reveal His plan and purpose for your writing.

4. Never lose sight of where you are headed. Are you writing for the Christian market? The general market? Fiction? Non-fiction? Know your market and keep that goal in front of you. If you feel like quitting, ask someone to be honest with you about your writing - perhaps someone else will have the insight you need when you're not sure if you're going in the right (or write, pardon the pun) direction.

5. When you find yourself flagging in the spirit, go over the reasons why you're doing what you're doing in the first place. Are your priorities right? Your motivations right? If you feel like quitting, call your cheerleaders again and ask them to pray for you and support you. Where two or three are gathered....great things can happen.

This verse was the shot of adrenaline that I needed to keep writing and I hope it encourages you too.

I'm now at the 70,000 word mark and the end of Critical Condition is so close I can (almost) taste it. Which is just as well because the blurb is written, the cover art is done and it's already available to pre-order. Yikes!

Anyway, before you quit, go back to your faith, back to what God breathed in your spirit, back to your dreams, back to your goals. Then start running and don't stop. Don't quit. Do it.

Good luck!

If you'd like to cheer me on, please let me know if this post has encouraged you. And if you really want to get those pom poms out, please consider pre-ordering my next new release, The Peppercorn Project coming May 31st, 2016. 

Best selling Australian author Fiona Palmer writes: "Edwards captures small town spirit and heartbreak-to-hope with crafted ease."
  

About Nicki: 

Nicki Edwards is a city girl with a country heart. Growing up on a small family acreage, she spent her formative years riding horses and pretending the neighbour’s farm was her own. After spending three years in a regional city in New South Wales, her love of small country towns was further developed. One day she plans to escape to the country with her husband Tim and live on land surrounded by horses, dogs, cows and sheep. Until then she lives vicariously through the lives of the characters in the rural romance novels she loves to read.

In 2006, when Nicki’s youngest child started school, she returned to university, juggling full time study, part time work and raising four small children, to achieve her dream of becoming a nurse. Always a voracious reader, Nicki’s other dream was to be an author.

Nicki writes medical rural romance for Momentum and when she isn’t reading, writing or dreaming about rural life and medical emergencies, she can be found working as a Critical Care Nurse in a busy Intensive Care Unit, where many of her stories and characters are imagined.

Nicki and Tim reside in Geelong, Victoria with their four teenage/young adult children. Life is busy, fun and at times exhausting, but Nicki wouldn’t change it for anything.

Her books are available to purchase online wherever e-books are sold. Paperbacks can be ordered directly from her. For more information, please visit her website. www.nickiedwards.com.au.