COASTAL ROMANCE BLOG HOP: Oh, how I love an Aussie Christmas

Oh, how I’ve been longing for a northern hemisphere ‘white Christmas’… kids playing in the snow making snowmen, the sound of a crackling fire in the background, a freshly cut Christmas tree, and the aromas of cinnamon and a roasting turkey in the oven… the romance of a white Christmas for me is palpable.

For those of us in the southern hemisphere, Christmas is quite a different affair. For me, Christmas goes a little something like this… Kids are busy outside splashing and playing in the pool begging to be allowed to make the short walk to the beach, the air-conditioning is pumping, and the aroma of sunblock, Aeroguard (insect repellent) and a barbeque fill the air.

I love Christmas. I love the beach. And, I love that our Christmas celebrations are so vividly different to our northern hemisphere counterparts. But, it got me thinking… do those in the northern hemisphere long for a laid-back Aussie Christmas as well? Do they dream of sunbathing on the beach with mid-30-degree temperatures, throwing back a cold beer rather than a warm eggnog, stripping down to their swimmers rather than wrapping on a scarf…?

My latest novella, Rescued: A Festive Novella, is set on the gorgeously iconic Bondi Beach which is hands-down one of Australia’s finest beaches (if you haven’t been, it should be on your bucket list!). The story follows the devoted friendship between Anya Thompson and Sophie Anders, childhood friends who’ve recently thrown off the shackles of their small hometown seeking the excitement of city life. With wildly different views of love and sex, made even more apparent by a chance meeting with two of Bondi’s finest lifeguards, their friendship takes a tumultuous turn leading Anya to finally break free of her hurtful past and into the arms of the strong and capable Jack Covey. Tall, incredibly well built, with gorgeous deep brown eyes that you could easily drown in (lucky he’s a lifeguard!), keen and finely tuned instincts and with the courage to save lives on Australia’s most iconic and busiest beach, Jack Covey is certainly one of Bondi’s finest. When Anya and Sophie prove to be a distraction too good to refuse, Jack’s skills in and out of the water are put to the test—and you can be assured this is a challenge Jack won’t refuse! (Amazon, iTunes, complete list of buy links)

So what better way to celebrate the Australian Christmas spirit than to write and read about it, which leads me nicely to the great Coastal Romance Blog Hop of 2013!

• A prize on their blog
• A fabulous gift basket drawn on Christmas Eve… with a $100 Amazon Gift Card plus each of the 26 contributing authors will give you one of their books!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway