(Disclaimer and completely unrelated: I cannot believe it’s May!)
Well, after the hottest April in Australia, Autumn has finally decided to turn up. It’s getting cold and it’s my favourite time of year! I love how it feels like the earth is settling down to sleep. There’s a quietness to nature at this time of year that I find soothing. I love wearing jeans and hoodies, socks and scarves. Mind you, I don’t have winter like some folks. It doesn’t snow here like it does in North America or Europe. Thank God, because I’d most certainly die if it did. I’m not even kidding.
And as a kid, I lived for summer. I spent my days playing outside in 40C heat. Now, I like to be hunkered down with blankets and fleecy pyjamas, with soul food like soup or hot chocolate, while the freezing winds whip fallen leaves into a frenzy.
My husband is the polar opposite. Every year around this time, without fail, he starts Googling real estate prices in Far North Queensland. He’s all for tropical heat, sweltering at the beach, swimming in the ocean, and lazy summer days.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the ocean. I just don’t like getting in it. I like going to the beach, watching the waves crash has a medicinal tempo. It’s almost like a heartbeat, and I love that. But I won’t go in the water.
Let’s not forget one critical factor here: I live in Australia. There are things in the ocean that are bigger than me, and they tend to get a little bitey. Even the tiny things get bitey. Yeah, no thanks. I’ll pass.
Then come summertime, my hubs will be basking in temperatures that should be reserved for cooking, and I’ll be Googling real estate prices in Tasmania where the high temps are no hotter than 25C because I’m literally melting.
It’s funny how being opposites works.
In fiction, it’s easy to write characters that are the yin to the other’s yang. They’re puzzle pieces that complete the bigger picture.
Real life doesn’t always work that way.
So we compromise. He complains about the cold and I ignore him, then I complain about the heat and he ignores me. That’s how marriages work, right? LOL
It’s funny though, because as the temps here start to drop, I’m writing a story about a guy who hires a private charter in the tropical summer heat of the Whitsundays. I’m looking at pictures of yachts and aqua coloured ocean, coral reefs, tropical fish and palm trees. I can almost taste the salt…
But I wouldn’t hire a small yacht to cruise the ocean in the tropics even if someone else paid for it. Not even if Chris Hemsworth was the skipper and it was just me and him…
*takes a moment to ponder this scenario seriously*
Nope, not even then. LOL Sorry Chris. You’re on your own. 😉
But if he hired out a secluded house in the winter mountains overlooking the ocean… now that’d be a different story. LOL
So to celebrate the arrival of autumn, I’ll remind you of a book of mine that is all about the colours of Fall. Learning to Feel was one of the very first books I released, and it’s FREE!!!
Blurb:
Resigned to living a sexless, loveless life, Doctor Nathan Tierney knows something is missing. In a rash decision, he leaves his life-consuming job at Mass General Hospital, Boston, to be the small-town doctor in Belfast, Maine.
With the job comes a house, and with the house comes a handyman-painter. Trent Jamieson, a nomadic artist, and his dog Bentley, are offered free accommodation for the few weeks he fixes up the hospital-owned house.
Nathan is transfixed by this free-spirited, undeniably gorgeous man. Confused but amazed to feel any kind of attraction – much less to a man – Nathan convinces himself to put aside any preconceived ideas, and allows himself to just feel.
As their attraction for each other grows, one man learns to live, the other learns to love. But just who is teaching who?
<3
And just a quick reminder that I’ve had a new release!!
Evolved has had some stellar reviews and reached #1 in eight different countries. I’m truly stoked that people gave this little scifi book a chance!
Blurb for Evolved:
In 2068, androids are an integrated part of human life. Big Brother no longer just watches from the shadows. It’s in every household.
Lloyd Salter has OCD issues with noise and mess, and he’s uncomfortable with human interaction. When his ex claimed the only thing perfect enough to live up to his standards was an android, Lloyd dismissed it. But two years later, after much self-assessment, Lloyd thinks he may have been right.
SATinc is the largest manufacturer of androids in Australia, including the Fully Compatible Units known as an A-Class 10. Their latest design is the Synthetic Human Android UNit, otherwise known as SHAUN.
Shaun is compatible with Lloyd’s every need; the perfect fit on an intellectual and physical basis. But Lloyd soon realises Shaun’s not like other A-Class androids. He learns. He adapts. Sure that SATinc is aware Shaun functions outside of his programmed parameters, Lloyd must find a way to keep Shaun safe.
No one can know how special Shaun is. No one can know he’s evolved.
For more about N.R. Walker you can find her at:
Email:
nrwalker@nrwalker.net
Great thing about Amazon. It reminds you when you already own the book! 😉 Thanks so much for offering Learning to Feel, though.
Oh, and I really enjoyed Evolved! Thank you so much for offering them a way out. (I hope that’s vague enough?)