September 2025 Quarterly Newsletter

​Dear friends,
 
Hoping this newsletter finds you all in good health.

It’s been a busy year so far for me, what with travel and editing book seven of the West Series, Tempest, which is due for release in October. The eighth and final book of the series, Reckoning, will be available early 2026. On the writing front, I’ve been working on a paranormal world, which is set in the Faroe Islands. While writing keeps me busy, so do my family, husband Peter, and two much-loved Bearded Collies, Kuura and Rupert, and an extended family with nephews, nieces, sister and brother, and their spouses. We all have fur kids. It must be something that runs in the family. And I, for one, couldn’t imagine my life without them. You will notice that animals play a significant part in my stories.

The year has moved on quickly, and we’re now in September, which is, of course, spring in South Australia.

The writing trip to the UK and Ireland in March - April 2025, provided a wealth of writing material for future stories.

In May-June when my husband and I, along with two friends, headed for a holiday in Spain and Portugal. The highlight was a six-night train journey from Granada to Seville (Spain) with stops along the way and a river cruise along the Douro River in Portugal. We’d been looking forward to this trip for some time as we all love train travel and cruising. For me to end up in a Spanish hospital wasn’t on the itinerary.

I had a fall and was lying on the bedroom floor, unable to breathe, I thought, ‘This is it.’ I hadn’t envisaged dying on this trip, but it looked like there’d be no more holidays for me. I don’t remember everything I was thinking, but I do remember worrying that Tempest and Reckoning wouldn’t be published. I had people waiting for book seven. Peter would have to fix it. Then I vaguely remember being lifted onto the bed, our friend came and got me dressed—why do these things happen when you’re naked?—and then a handsome paramedic arrived—yes, I noticed—and I was whisked off to Jerez de la Frontera Hospital, where it was determined, over several hours, that I didn’t have a punctured lung but did have several fractured ribs. I was, however, at this point happy to be alive.

My books are action-packed adventure stories, and inevitably, my characters encounter danger and death. It’s hard to write about the pain someone feels if you’ve never experienced it. Travel brings realism to the story, as does immersing oneself in the environment and culture. If done well, the reader steps into the story and gets a vision of the place. The same can be said for experiencing a near-death situation, the pain attached to it and the total loss of control. This element is harder to portray, so as writers, we draw on our experience, whether it be limited or extensive, to bring realism to our stories.

What I gained from this experience was more material. Firstly, the pain in my back was horrendous, and it took several days before I could touch the area. I was black and blue. I’ve never seen bruising like it. Everywhere hurt. It’s not a feeling anyone would ever forget. The breathing issue was a very different thing. Not being able to get air into my lungs is what made me think I wasn’t going to survive. When your lungs won’t cooperate, believe me, that’s scary. And when we ended up at a foreign hospital where, as you’d expect, Spanish was the primary language. This brought additional anxiety. We couldn’t understand them and vice versa. Peter speaks Spanish, but the medical terms were difficult for him to follow. It all boiled down to the fact that we’d lost control of the situation, which caused our stress levels to rise.

There were no surprises when we learned I had broken ribs. I was advised to rest and given painkillers. And so, we continued our holiday. Meanwhile the train had moved onto Seville, where our trip was ending, so we had to catch a taxi to Seville, which was an hour’s drive, and met our friends. We had a week in Seville before flying to Portugal to join the Douro River cruise. The weather was unseasonably hot, making walking hard work. My lungs weren’t responding as they should. So, we took it easy, had lots of stops to rehydrate and managed to enjoy the rest of Seville. The cruise, of course, was perfect for doing as much or as little as we wanted.

The thing is everything that happened during our holiday has given me a wealth of information that I can use. There is nothing like experiencing something firsthand and then using it to put your characters through hell, knowing that your writing is as close to the real thing as you can make it.

If you’re looking for your next read and love characters that appear throughout all the books, then the West Series is for you. All eight books are stand-alone, but if you want to work your way through them, start with book one, Destiny.

Here is an overview of the patriarch and matriarch:

Dan West has laid to rest three wives and raised six kids. He made his fortune in the South Australian opal fields of Coober Pedy, repurchased the Colorado family home from the bank, and breeds prime beef cattle and thoroughbred racehorses. He should be happy, but after twenty-two years without a partner, he would love nothing more than to find someone to share it all with.

Dan heads to a bear lodge in British Columbia and meets the beautiful Ellie Clifford. He knows instantly that she’s wife number four. Ellie isn’t so easily convinced. She’s forged a career as a doctor, travelled with Médecins Sans Frontières. Her two daughters, and parents have been the foundation of her structured and safe life. The last thing she needs is a man like Dan West to tear that world apart.

Dan is determined to overcome her objections. But his arch-enemy tests his love for Ellie and his family. There is more at stake than Ellie’s objections or his trophy hunting past—the lives of his loved ones are on the line.
 
On a local note, South Australia received much-needed rain in June and July. Our water tanks are now full. Today, there is a real spring feeling in the air. The sun is shining, and everything feels good in the world.
 
Enjoy your reading and until next time, stay safe.
 
Suzie