I just loved returning to Wirralong to write One Starry Christmas Night. Mind you, although I live in northern Australia, where it never snows at Christmastime, I’ve been known in the past to take my stories elsewhere, just so I can fantasise about snowflakes and sleighbells that I’ve never actually experienced. This time, however, I behaved myself and stuck to the plan. And, as I had last visited this outback small town when I wrote His Best Friend’s Baby, I couldn’t resist exploring another romance for characters who’d first known each other many years earlier in primary school.
In this story, Bea Fraser and Jaxon Hooper are brought back to Wirralong by their love and concern for their grandmothers, who have both been admitted into Wirralong’s new Aged Care facility, Riverbend House. Bea’s grandmother has had a hip replacement, so her stay at Riverbend is only short term, but Bea knows how important Christmas has always been to her Nan. She has so many cherished memories of the times they spent baking treats and making tree ornaments together and she can’t bear to think of Nan being alone through the festive season.
Jaxon’s Granny Prue has a more serious condition, so much so that he’s left his job with Army Intelligence so he can be closer to her. Prue had cared for Jaxon and raised him after he’d lost his parents and sister in a family tragedy and now, he will do everything he can to support her.
Of course, even in a Christmas romance, we need complications, so while Nan’s black cat, Leonardo, is a point of connection for Jaxon and Bea, a long held antipathy between their two grandmothers has the opposite effect.
And there might not be snow in this story, but the spectacular stars in the sky create their own sparkling magic. With the addition of Christmas markets, a choral singing project and a family mystery all set within Wirralong’s strong community spirit, I had a wonderfully joyous time writing this tale. I hope you find joy in reading it too.
About the Author.
Barbara Hannay writes romance and women’s fiction. Her novels set in Australia have been translated into twenty-six languages and she has won the Romance Writers of America’s RITA award and been shortlisted five times. Two of Babrbara’s books has also won Romance Writers of Australia’s Romantic Book of the Year award.
Barbara lives in Townsville with her writer husband and enjoys being close to the Coral Sea, the stunning tropical scenery and colourful characters, all of which find their way into her popular stories.
This sounds like a wonderful story. Thank you for being here, Barbara.