September Quarterly - 2023 - Newsletter

​Dear friends,
 
This is the first of my quarterly newsletters, and I start it with optimism. I flew to beautiful Sydney, Australia to attend the Romance Writers Association of Australia (RWA) 2023 conference. Over four hundred writers/authors, aspiring, emerging, and established from Australia and beyond, converged for three days of workshops and much more.

The Friday program included the awe-inspiring Steffanie Holmes and Rachel Bailey. Steffanie was one of the keynote speakers and talked about her journey. And what a journey she has had. If anyone attending had doubts about their writing, her story would have reinvigorated them. It certainly did that for me.

The Saturday and Sunday programs were full of exciting workshops and the opportunity to pitch to publishers and editors. I was able to secure five pitches and received five requests to submit a manuscript to them. Then, of course, catching up with old friends, meeting new authors and rubbing shoulders with prominent ones. Saturday night, the awards gala dinner theme was glitter. It was a real buzz being surrounded by four hundred glamorously dressed authors celebrating the achievements of those whose books made it to the various awards finals.

I always come away from these conferences tired but on a high. I was welcomed home by my three Bearded Collies, Elsa, Kuura and Rupert Bear, and my husband Peter — in no particular order —I unpacked and put some washing on. I needed to unwind after the conference—I’m not as young as I used to be, and late nights are a killer. But after a good night’s sleep in my own bed—hotel beds are never quite the same — I was ready to hit my office, clear emails, write this newsletter and start polishing book one of my Adelaide Kendrick series before sending it off.
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I discussed the potential for this new series in my July 2022 newsletter. How a place and what you find there can inspire. For me, the trip to Broome in Western Australia last year included visiting a museum, where I read of a diamond mystery from World War 2 and a story was born.

The heroine Adelaide Kendrick is a Detective Sergeant in the Australian Federal Police. The protagonist, Chase Ryder, owns a charter fishing boat fleet. Things don’t start well between them when Adelaide suspects Chase is involved in the death of four backpackers. The genre is contemporary suspense with romantic elements. So, look out for this one in the future.

Talking about book series, Redemption, book three of my West Series was released in August. If you want to enter the world of Thoroughbred Racing, then take a journey to Newmarket in the UK as Oliver West and Faith Clifford work to overcome kidnap, drugs, and treachery.

Book four, Survival, is due for release in late 2023.

So, until next time, stay safe.

Suzie