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Silver for you!

I am a voracious reader.  And I have to say, it’s a terrible thing.  I know it’s not terrible to read, but all sense goes out the window (and all housekeeping goes on hold) once I am into a good book.

And this week not one but TWO great books have landed in my lap… and what’s a girl gonna do, but, you know… READ!

So the floors have gathered dust, the lawn has grown and folding has stagnated… thanks to two Aussie writers – who (thanks to fate and the wonders of the internet) I consider my friends in real life also.

Today I’m going to share Fleur McDonald‘s latest saga, Silver Clouds

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…which arrived in the mail on Friday.  Which I started reading Monday. And which I finished at lunchtime Tuesday.  Yes, I know. She has already chastised me for reading so fast something that took her many months to write.
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The thing I LOVE about Fleur’s characters is their REALNESS.  They feel like people you know – with foibles and fabulousness and flaws, and goodness and all weakness mixed in.  And while she is categorised as a Romance Writer, I think her scope is much, MUCH broader.   She is a storyteller in the real sense – with layer upon layer of well-researched intrigue leading you through her storylines.

Silver Clouds is set on the edge of the Nullabour... an epic setting for anything, and handled beautifully by a writer who clearly knows and loves the place.  Tessa, the character whom we follow from London to the outback, escapes from a mistake which threatens her career, then works her way though a maze of obstacles to find her true calling and I admit to falling for her leading man in this yarn… but you will have to read it to understand why.

Now for the extra exciting news… I delighted to announce that (with Fleur’s very generous support) I will be giving away TWO spanking new, signed copies of Silver Clouds.

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All YOU need to do is answer the following question Comments below…

IF you needed to escape, even just for a little while, where would you choose to go?

I will draw the winners next Monday at 8pm – you can enter as often as you like. (Bonus entries for sharing this link on Facebook and re-tweeting on Twitter too).  Please note also that readers from all corners of the world are eligible to win!

Good luck!

****ENTRIES NOW CLOSED FOR GIVEAWAY – winners announced here****

51 Comments

  • Colin (HB)

    Wow, what a problem????
    One choice – maybe I will send in three entries.
    Is this book available in bookshops yet?

    So choice #1.
    2 weeks at the Sofitel Central, Hua Hin.
    Luxury, away from the hustle and bustle of BKK, and the first resort hotel in Thailand. Age certainly has improved this place. Google and have a sticky-beak.
    Three visits and each one better than the last. Aaaaaaaaaaaaah, damn my back problems, I can’t be insured by airlines anymore for o/seas trips. Tell a fibby, and something happens, the insurance company wants to see your doctor’s reports. End of insurance cover, you are stuck.

  • fiona de lai

    Where would i love to escape to. Mmmm…….. i live in north central victoria on a dairy farm so i would love to escape with my family to some nice little costal town to spend time sitting and relaxing with my little family on the beach

  • Colin (HB)

    #3. And this is the end, so sayest your viewers and amen.
    This place:
    http://www.sacher.com/en-hotel-sacher-salzburg.htm

    I went in, gaped and got out. Incredible splendour. And you get all the Sound of Music tours, the castles and the trip up to The Berghof from Berchtesgaden.
    Nothing like Austria for skiers in winter and tourists in summer. The scenery is just mind blowing, and so clean everywhere. The capital city councils of Brisbane etc. might learn a bit from Salzburg????????????
    So that is my three dream places.

  • Anne

    Where would I go … I usually go to the nearest comfortable surface with a good book but if I really want to get away a quiet beach or the bush … even just a walk is good.
    I can’t wait to read this newest book and really … you can quote this back at Fleur 🙂 … the sign of a great book is reading it fast, being so involved you are not able to put it down.
    Anne´s last blog post ..Calving Around

  • Kim B

    I would sit under the butterfly tree at my parents house looking across the small but beautiful 5 acres onto farm land and just be me again!

  • Sarah

    I would go and stay at Kingsford Homestead where McLeod’s Daughters was filmed. McLeod’s is my favourite TV series ever and I have already been to the Gungellan pub and truckstop. There is nothing better than a TV show filmed in the state where I live and which has a decent plot and actors!

  • Pris Gormley

    I’d like to be relaxing on a houseboat on the river. Water calms me and I feel refreshed and happy. The swish of water against the boat when moving, and the utter stillness when it’s moored, watching the cliffs, birds, trees. It all adds up to Paradise for me.

  • Miranda

    When I need to escape – I go home to my parents farm. There’s a certain spot at the top of the rolling hills where you can even view a glimpse of the sea hundreds of kilometres away. Up there, nestled amongst the bluegums, is where I go to escape.

  • lori wilson

    If i had unlimited $$ i would definatly go to Canada, i might even be lucky enough to find Maggies dinner and run into the stars of the drama “Heartland” a horse based family drama that i love which also keeps me occupied between books released from Fleur McDonald 🙂

  • Kerry

    My husband & I love to escape to Dunsborough in the Margaret River region of WA whenever possible (my elderly mother lives with us), but with a couple more hours driving the choice is Denmark where we can float in glorious Greens Pool or sample the abundance of marvellous food & fabulous local wines.

  • Emma

    To escape for me would mean in the winter on a cold night sitting by the wood fire getting lost in the all to familiar stories of Australian farm/station life and drinking a hot milo.

  • Gabi Cumming

    A little coastal town down South called Marlo. Has a gorgeous old style pub with accommodation. Sweeping verandahs and sea views. I love it. I want to go back.

  • Cass

    I love to escape to my sister’s farm in Toodyay WA. Sitting out on the verandah with a book and a cold beer listen to the sheeps and horses.

  • Emma

    I would escape to Monkira station in western Queensland in the channel country. I love it out there. I use to work there but the managers there are my second family. There no mobile phone service that’s what is great.

  • Jo Schenkel

    I’d go camping at Nariel Creek in Victoria. It’s my favourite place to escape to…friends, folk music, time to read, rest, relax and dance…the only place where I feel I am answerable to no-one and can do as I please.

  • Emily

    If I needed to escape from my busy life in the big smoke I would go home to see my family where I can relax and not have a care in the world. I would then chill out with a good book and some new country music playing on my iPod.

  • KAddy

    On the road, heading towards western Queensland with my camera and my travelling buddy Tracy (no kids, no husband) 😉

  • Vicki

    When i was young & in trouble I used to escape to the barn but always remembered to take a good book to read that way i could stay for hours, It would be nice to have that escape back again.

  • Aretha z

    If I needed To escape from my trouble I’ll go to library . Surrounded and mesmerized by books I feel like I could run from my problems for few moments :D. Books has and always will be the place I run to whenever I get troubles 😉

  • Aimee

    I would escape to the top end of Australia to go mustering in a chopper have never done it. The country style there is what I long for.

  • Scotty

    There is so much still to see in Australia, but any B&B that fits in well with the surrounding countryside always does wonders for me. That, or Granite Glen…

    🙂

  • Carol Alex

    Hmmm… I can’t believe there is an author I haven’t read yet, and the name *Fleur* kind of jogs my memory like I have seen her name among the authors on the book stands sooo.. I say yes, yes. I want to sit on the deck, book in hand, without a phone, or big or little people to interrupt me. Now that is solitude, LOL
    Carol

  • Anna Usher

    I am the same as you. When I read a book NOTHING else gets done. That is my escape and time out. But my dream escape would be any beach in Australia with my family and most probably take a book with me!

  • Tahn Jackson

    ‘Where do I escape, even just for a little while’

    To my poultry yard, known as the ‘chook shed’ Nothing makes me more happy than to see the ‘girls’ going about their day. Scratching here, scratching there scratching really everywhere. it makes me happy & that makes my day, even if I can’t escape to a luxury island or don’t have time to read more books to escape….. I can each & everyday at home.
    Cheers Tahn PS ……From the chook shed…. Cluck, cluck, cluck

    • BB of Oz

      LOL – you are invited anyway, crazy woman!! Aren’t there some GREAT entries here. Random draw tomorrow night…
      🙂
      BB

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