Featured Author Joanie MacNeil

 

I’m a BWL Publishing Inc. author and you can find me at

https://bookswelove.net/macneil-joanie/

 

I am a contemporary romance author from the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). My novels, range from sweet to sexy stories about new love and second chances. I love to travel and have set my novels and short stories in a range of places: Australia; Scotland; on a Pacific Island cruise; and on the Greek Island of Rhodes, the perfect setting for a romantic short story.

The Trouble with Natalie, No Boundaries and Desperate and Dateless are set in Canberra, the city where I live, and once nicknamed The Bush Capital, because of its abundance of open space. When I came here in March 1971 the population was 137,000. Now it’s nearing 500,000.

For most of my career, I worked as an Executive Assistant. The city and office settings provided ideal backdrops for my city-set stories.

Loving Nick…Again, Sapphire Kisses, and Sweet Temptations are set on the Sapphire Coast, south of Canberra, about a three hour drive over the mountains.

At the beginning of my writing journey, and when the children were young, our family would occasionally escape Canberra’s icy winter chill for a weekend break in a slightly more temperate climate. My son and daughters would go fishing with their dad while I sat nearby in the sand with pen and paper. After dinner, I’d type my notes on a borrowed laptop. These weekends were time out for me as well as family time. Escapism. And isn’t that why we like to read romance stories?

The Sapphire Coast, known for its clean beaches and clear water, inspired me to write my first novel, Loving Nick…Again, as the area is diverse in scenery, from coast to mountains, lakes, state forest, and lovely little historical villages…a refreshing change when compared to life in the city. I love the ocean and just couldn’t get enough of that wonderful fresh sea air and relaxed coastal lifestyle away from the daily grind. What better way to write descriptions and setting than when you’re actually seeing them for real; hearing the lap of the water while walking along the lake’s edge; listening to possums nightly clambering over the roof of the cabin, or seeing them sitting around the base of a large tree while walking through the park at night. I can still hear the wind blowing through the tops of the enormous eucalyptus trees.

As a result of those weekends, I wrote two more novels set around that same area, the northern end of the Sapphire Coast…Sapphire Kisses and Sweet Temptations.

Sadly, the quaint little town of craft shops, Cobargo, a short drive inland, was severely damaged in the catastrophic firestorm on New Year’s 2019/2020.

The thriving little town of Bermagui, situated on Horseshoe Bay, is famous for its deep-sea fishing and fishing competitions. The caravan park there is named after the American author, Zane Grey, not because of his fame as a western novelist, but because he wrote about his big game fishing experiences in Australia.

Loving Nick…Again

Feeling a thousand times better after a long hot shower, Nick grabbed a beer from the fridge and moved out on the deck to relax.  Curiosity overcame him as he watched the new arrival, a woman, unload her car.  He wondered again what brought her to such a quiet coastal resort at this time of year.

Her straight russet hair hung loosely around her face.  She looked soft and nicely rounded, a pleasant change from the pencil thin females he was used to—like Pammy, or like Belinda with her long legs.

This woman was small, about five feet, he estimated, and compact—tantalizingly so.  Perhaps that's what caught his eye.  Nick smiled, reassured he still appreciated feminine charms, and she was definitely built for comfort, not speed.

Now that was a phrase he hadn't thought of in quite some time.

"Nick my friend, there's still hope for you yet," he muttered.  In between sips of beer, he puzzled why, all of a sudden, he'd begun to think like his former amorous self.

But there was something else...the movement of her hips when she walked caused Nick to look more closely as she lugged an armful of linen into the cabin and re-appeared seconds later.

"It can't be," he mumbled distractedly as he rose from his chair on the deck.  "It just can't be."

Long forgotten images, which held a special place deep in his heart, teased at his memory.  He had to know.  Right now.

If he made a fool of himself, well, perhaps the woman would understand and laugh with him when he explained.  Or perhaps she'd think he was coming on to her.  Whatever, he had to know.

He tossed the empty beer can in the trash and headed down the stairs.

His gaze never left her as he walked slowly down the gravel path.  In the crisp afternoon air, the last rays of the sun filtered through the tall eucalypts scattered throughout the park.

He focused on the woman as she moved to the back of her car.  Nick smiled.  It could be.  It just could be.  Though the eighteen-year old woman whose image appeared in his mind hadn't been as shapely as this one, there was something about the way she walked that urged him on.  The beat of his heart began to gather speed with each forward step.

The woman was busy shoving bits and pieces from the back of her car into a plastic laundry basket.  He stopped a few meters away, rested his forearm against a tree and observed her quietly.

It wasn't until she turned and lifted her head, allowing him a clear view of her face, that he could be absolutely certain he was right about her identity.  He nodded and smiled, then moved in for the kill.

"Hello Tiger," he said, and grinned when her blue eyes flashed at him.

At first she frowned.  Her expression changed quickly from startled surprise at the sound of his voice to the shock of recognition.

"How are you, Claire?"  He stepped forward, his gaze roamed over her, took in her soft, feminine curves, the determined little chin, the pretty mouth which had always welcomed his kiss...

His heart lurched, more than it had a right to.  More than he wanted it to.

Claire dropped the basket.  Its contents scattered across the ground.  Her hand flew to her mouth.

         "You!"

The Trouble with Natalie

 

Still shocked, Natalie frantically scrubbed herself dry with a force that left her skin pink and tender. It wasn’t the spider that had sent her into such a spin. Her reaction to the huge Huntsman had been overruled by Luke’s presence. His touch. His gentleness and understanding over her silly feminine fear.

She’d never thought about Luke in any way other than as a younger brother. He’d practically lived with them, with her and Jake, and their father, when his own parents neglected him in favor of spending their time at the pub. She’d become the mother figure in his life, as she had for her own family, when her mother died from complications during Jake’s birth.

But now, fully grown, he was a far cry from the eight year old who’d stumbled into their lives, and the eighteen year old who seemed so unsure of himself as he headed off to university.

Luke DeMarco had grown into one sexy confident man and it was hard to relate the man he was now to the images she remembered of a distressed young boy and a troubled teenager. And at some stage during those missing years, his voice had grown rich and deep, and she liked the way it settled over her.

She tugged on jeans and a sweater and headed to the kitchen to make some hot chocolate. Not that she thought the hot drink would soothe her nerves or help her sleep. Another warm bath might do the trick, but the bathroom was occupied.

And so was the kitchen.

Fridge door open, Luke leaned into the light inside and searched the shelves. Though he wore well-fitting jeans that enticingly hugged his rear, he was shirtless, from what Natalie could see of his strong body. And his feet were bare.

She swallowed, remembering the feel of her fingertips on sculpted muscles. Even now her skin tingled with the memory. Having Luke share the house would certainly be an interesting challenge, to say the least.

He moved slightly, granting her a better view of powerful broad shoulders and an expanse of back that rippled with his movements. The tanned skin added to her perception of healthy fit male. He was taller than she remembered, but ten years could change a man. And those years had made a difference to Luke.

The package was virile, potent and sinfully sexy.