Challenge! Tell us about Kookaburra Cottage in 100 words or less.

April Lacey’s winery is going backwards fast, and she hopes a bed & breakfast will be their saving grace. With an ambitious fixer-upper project and staffing dilemmas on the horizon, April faces a rocky road ahead. British winemaker Connor Jamison is as uncomfortable in the kitchen as he is around livestock, but when he arrives in South Australia’s Limestone Coast, he’s plunged into the rural lifestyle. Can they transition Lacewing Estate into the food tourism industry, or will it be a recipe for disaster? Packed with country charm, baking and music, Kookaburra Cottage is rural fiction, straight from the heart.

What do you do when you get writer’s block?

If it’s not coming together at the keyboard, I head down the paddock, pat the sheep and then continue over the sand dune and onto the beach. I’ve solved many plot problems during those long walks along the rugged shore.

Do you base your characters on anyone you know?

My characters are always an amalgamation of my imagination, flavoured with traits from people I know, names I like (or dislike!) and strangers I observe when I’m out and about. 

What is your favourite moment in Kookaburra Cottage?

There are so many, but I’ll go with the beach camping scene around the halfway mark of the novel. The scene takes place in the beautiful Canunda National Park, near Beachport, and features surf fishing, a mischievous golden retriever, and a chilly mid-winter dip.

Is Kookaburra Cottage part of a series? What order do you suggest people read your books in?

All of my novels are considered ‘linked stand-alone’ which means you can read them in any order without a problem, although if you are going to read them all, you may as well start with Wildflower Ridge and read chronologically. Kookaburra Cottage is the start of a new ‘linked stand-alone’ series.