Title: From The Outback
Author: Ann B. Harrison
Publisher: Self Published
Formats
Available In: Digital
Blurb: Although desperate to get out of her dead end job, Sami is cynical
when she hears of an inheritance from the grandfather she never knew. But once
she and her young brother arrive in the beautiful valley, she discovers they
are not wanted...especially by the sexy vineyard owner next door.
Will she persevere and make a home for them, or give in and take the easy money when the going gets tough?
Excerpt:
A thump sounded on the bedroom door,
jarring her from a deep sleep.
"Go away." Samantha Grace Rose
Darling groaned into her pillow.
"Sami, phone."
"Tell them to fuck off and let me
sleep." She threw a pillow at the door seconds before it eased open and
her brother poked his head in the room. "Garth, I'm warning you, go
away."
He sighed and she waited for the usual
whine to follow. "There's an old guy on the phone. Said he wants to speak
to you."
"Tell him I'm not here." She
rolled over, brushed the hair from her face and then glared at him through
half-closed eyes.
"I did but he insists on speaking to
you. Said he wasn't going to go away until he does."
She groaned, pushed her blanket off with
her hand and slowly slid out of bed. With languid grace Sami advanced on her
brother intent on doing bodily harm to whoever it was who had the audacity to
disturb her sleep. Holding out the phone, Garth waited for her to take it
before he backed out of the room and quietly shut the door, leaving her alone.
"This better be bloody good. I pulled
a double shift last night and I'm freaking tired."
Walking over to the window, she pushed
aside the faded curtain and flinched when the bright Alice Springs sunlight
filled her room, scorching her tired eyes. She promptly dropped the curtain
into place wishing she'd left it alone. Sami rubbed her eyes and waited.
"Am I talking to Miss Samantha Grace
Rose Darling?"
"Yeah." She dropped down to the
edge of her bed, her fingers tracing a bruise on her leg from when she had
bumped into a tray of glasses last night. I
am such a klutz.
"Miss Darling, my name is Rupert
Newland. I'm a solicitor with Newland, Newland and Cooper in Singleton, New South
Wales."
She spat out a laugh before covering her
mouth with the heel of her hand.
"I'm glad I amuse you. Now if you
would be so kind as to contain yourself, I have news for you."
The voice on the other end of the phone was
clipped and precise.
"I am acting on behalf of your
grandfather's estate with regard to his final will and testament."
"I don't know who you're talking
about. I don't have any family." Names ran through her mind but
grandparents didn't come into the picture she had tucked away in her memory.
"Nope. No grandparents I can lay claim to, sorry mate. You obviously have
the wrong girl."
"Miss Darling, I have checked the
facts and you are indeed the granddaughter of my late client. I need you to
could come into the office for the reading of the will."
"Where did you say you were
again?" Sami kicked through the pile of clothes on the bedroom floor and
picked up the crumpled jeans from yesterday. She tucked the phone between her
ear and shoulder to hold it firmly while she pulled her jeans on. One foot
after the other she slid each leg into the jeans and yanked them up, wiggling
her butt to pull them over her hips. Sami popped the button and did up the zip
before she took the phone in her hand again.
"New South Wales, Hunter Valley.
Singleton to be exact," he said.
"Mate, I don't know if you looked at
the post code before you called me but I live in Alice Springs. In the middle
of the frigging desert in the Northern Territory. I can't pop down the road and
see you, understand?" She blew a stray curl from her face.
With one hand she opened her bedroom door
and walked out to the lounge room. Garth tidied up his breakfast dishes and she
smiled in his direction. He pointed to the coffee machine and Sami blew him a
kiss.
"It will be worth your while to drive
or fly down Miss Darling."
"I can't afford it, okay? It's not
like I do double shifts at the pub because I enjoy the work. I need the money
and there isn't enough at the end of the week for a happy little visit to your
office. Tell me what you want to say and let me get on with my day now you've
dragged me from my bed." She lifted a hand and rubbed at her eyes.
"Very well. You have inherited
Buttercup Farm and it's contents. There is also a bank account with a small
balance which I will disclose once you have formally proven your
identity."
"Are you serious?"
Garth looked over at her, his shoulders
raised in question. She shook her head and turned away.
"I did send you paperwork last week
but I didn't receive a reply, hence the follow up phone call today." The
solicitor’s bristling attitude irritated her.
A pile of unopened mail sat on the
cluttered kitchen counter and Sami screwed up her face. Out of habit she threw
the next day's mail on top of the pile, dreading the bills inside the
envelopes. The longer she ignored it, the larger the pile grew.
"Sorry. I've um... been a bit busy and
haven't got around to opening the mail for a few days."
"Well I suggest you do that. I need
signatures to transfer the bank account into your name. It would be
significantly easier if you were here in town. Since you are not, I would
appreciate it if you could go to the nearest courthouse and have a Justice of
the Peace witness your identity and your signature where I have indicated. It
might be best if you Express Post the
papers back to me today. You have to decide what to do with the farm and the
stock." There was silence for a few seconds. "If I might make a
suggestion? There are interested parties if you should decide to sell the
property. Would you like me to have it valued for you? I can arrange everything
from this end if you would prefer."
"No, no. I need to think about this
for a bit. I'll ring you back after I read your letter. Thanks for
calling." Sami hung up and threw the phone onto the couch and dropped her
head into her hands.
"What is it? Was the landlord after
his rent again? Sami, tell me."
"No, Garth. It was a solicitor."
A wobbly laugh rose in her throat. "It seems as though we had family after
all, even though he's dead."
Purchase
Links:
Traditional or Indie Publishing
When I subbed my first book it was the intention of
getting a contract with a publisher. I wanted the validation of being good
enough to grab the editors eye with my awesome story before I even thought of
indie publishing.
I went on to publish four books with Breathless
Press and two with their Young Adult house Lycaon Press before giving indie
publishing much thought.
Why take so long, I hear you ask? Well, I had a lot
to learn as a writer for a start. The industry is changing rapidly, something
we all know. I had to find out where I wanted to sit and indie is now the place
for me.
Let me explain why. I sell fairly well with my
books. So well that I was approached by a large publisher and asked to write
for them. As it turns out, they didn't like the book I was working on and I decided
to self publish it. That book is selling hand over fist and I see my money
every month, unlike most publishers who only pay quarterly. Was I thankful they
turned me down? Hell yes!
The best thing about it all? I didn't have to wait
for them to fit it into their schedule which can be as long as a year. You can
make a lot of money in that amount of time.
It took me a couple of days to get the hang of self
publishing but I did it. And I'm a techno dummy with things like formatting
etc. Believe me, anyone can do it. I made my own cover, easy peasy and in no
time, the book was live on Amazon. I also read the hype that they are cornering
the market with the self publishing but let me tell you, I don't care. It works
for me and I'm more than happy to stay with them.
I now have four books indie published and two more
in the works. You could say I'm hooked on indie publishing now.
FYI this is a
great book to read if you are thinking along the same lines. http://www.amazon.com/Naked-Truth-About-Self-Publishing-ebook/dp/B00DHPQGN0
Ann's rural books can be found here http://www.annbharrisonromance.com/rural-reads.html
Her steamy reads are here http://www.annbharrisonromance.com/steamy-reads.html
The book the publisher turned down is here http://www.amazon.com/Outback-Ann-B-Harrison-ebook/dp/B00G1SIOAI
About
Ann B. Harrison:
Ann swears she was born with a book in her
hands and has never put it down. A lifelong love of reader has finally culminated
in achieving her dream of writing...and publication.
She lives in the beautiful Hunter Valley
with her own handsome hero of many years. Ann has always loved the ups and
downs of life in small communities and she shares this with readers in her rural
romances.
Strong sexy heroines with a good dash of
sass thrown in feature in her stories. Of course these women need an equally
strong hero. Bring on the outback hero and watch the passion ignite.
When not writing Ann enjoys reading,
gardening, walking her very large dog Hugo and fighting with her computer.
Ann’s
Social Media Links:
Comments
Post a Comment