I am Jacinta Peachey, a debut Australian author starting a new career, just like the two main characters in my novel, A Little Bit Country. If I can do it, so can my imaginary characters.
In A Little Bit Country, my two protagonists are forced to yet again change their lives. Jasmine is running from a toxic marriage, and Ben is reinventing himself after a motorbike accident.
After Ben loses part of his leg, he can no longer be a roofing carpenter. He becomes an egg
salesman, which wreaks havoc with his love like. Not only does he steal Jasmine’s clients, but he does a lousy job of it, signing contracts that sell the produce at a minimal profit. He’s in danger of being sacked, and the girl he spent a fabulous Saturday night with is avoiding him.
Why did I take up writing?
I retired early at 54 because of an arthritic condition. As a dentist, I could no longer do my job and wasn’t trained to do much else, but I was too young to stop as my brain is very busy. I have always loved to read, so I thought I would try becoming an author. Which is an arrogant concept, because creating a page turning book is hard. I had come from a science background and had to teach myself to write creatively. I have lost count of how many courses I have completed, and don’t get me started on my inability to spot spelling errors. Thankfully, someone invented spellcheck. What I would have given for computers in the 1970s and 80s when I was at school.
Also, I love to talk, and now I have lost my audience, AKA my trapped patients who couldn’t answer back because I had stuffed the mouths with cotton wool. Writing a book is the next best thing after years of talking at my patients, relating my life story or anything else that I was convinced was entertaining—and it was never flossing instructions.
My author journey took seven years, and A Little Bit Country is the fourth book I finished and the first to be published. It won the Romance Writers of New Zealand’s First Kiss contest and Romance Writers of Australia’s Ripping Start. Two organisations that I volunteer for.
Why did I base this book around chickens?
A lot of the story of A Little Bit Country is set on an egg farm because I am inherently lazy. I wanted the story to be about a girl, Jasmine, on her own farm, but the idea that she tended to cattle or sheep made my bones ache. I couldn’t put her through it. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for equal opportunities, but I am just over five feet tall and have no upper body strength. Chickens are light and their poo is small, not some enormous dinner plate sized cow pat. And it is easy to carry eggs—if you are careful.
I visited a small egg producing chicken farm run by a single woman and discovered it was doable. Yes, there are still heavy things to lift, but they aren’t enormous animals with minds of their own. Egg farmers also had time to socialise which made it easy for romancing.
And who doesn’t love a chicken? There are also dogs in the book because I am a dog person. Sorry no cats.
Where is the book set?
Dolphin Cove is the setting for all the books in my From the Outback to the Sea series. It is fictional and about three hours south of Perth, the city I live in, and the most isolated capital city in the world. It’s quicker for me to fly to Bali than to most Australian capital cities. Thank God I love to travel.
The area that Dolphin Cove is based in is beautiful. It’s on the Indian Ocean, near some fabulous surf breaks. The lush countryside is perfect for both dairy and beef farming and many wineries that produce delicious Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon wines (which gives me an idea for another book…) If you are ever on the West Coast of Australia it is definitely a place to visit.
Why small-town romance?
I love the story building that goes into a small-town romance. A Little Bit Country features many of the Dolphin Cove locals and lots of retirees. It starts and finishes at the Dolphin Cove hotel which features in all the books in my From the Outback to the Sea series.
Ben’s new job as a maintenance man is at the retirement village, a place that Jasmine regularly visits as she has roped in the women to help her make egg cosies—part of her marketing. Some of these characters were a delight to write about as they are always interfering in a blatant attempt to get Ben and Jasmine together.
What’s next?
The second book in From the Outback to the Sea series, A Little Taste of Home, will be out in September. I will also be self-publishing a contemporary romance with the first book out in May.
If you are (peachy) keen to find out more check out my author page below!
About the author
Jacinta Peachey is an international award-winning contemporary romance author. Her writing is the creative outpouring of a fertile imagination stifled by her first career as a dentist. With a ‘do as I say not as I do’ attitude, coffee, red wine, and chocolate fuel her writing passion. Her stories focus on strong, independent, yet mixed-up women as they navigate life’s unexpected turns.
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