Wednesday Wanderings with ARR authors
Guess who’s having a sea change -
Jenn J McLeod, whose latest release is
The Other Side of the Season
Yes, I’m back at the beach! Back on the Coffs Coast after almost 12 months on the road—a trip that took us and the caravan as far north as Airlie Beach, Queensland. The majority of our time, however, was spent camped in the middle of a paddock (literally) on a fifth-generation cattle property near Rockhampton/Yeppoon, where I could focus on writing a new book (set on the property).
But this year I’m taking readers from the country to the coast and celebrating my fourth novel, titled: The Other Side of the Season, a story of first love, family love and forever love set in a seaside town called Watercolour Cove.
This book has required a few research trips to the beautiful Nambucca Heads, in NSW. To create this fictional setting, I took the steep and often dangerous slopes of a third-generation Coffs Harbour banana plantation in 1979, and dragged the lot closer to Nambucca beach until I had those mountains almost falling away into the Pacific Ocean. That’s where my story begins—in current day—with Sidney arriving in town after offering to drive her brother north to escape the bitter Blue Mountain’s winter, but neglecting to mention her planned detour to Watercolour Cove and the reason.
Originally titled Seasons in Watercolour, The Other Side of the Season has a strong art theme that ties the plot together and references the artist’s rule of reflection, which also inspired the tagline for the book:
Everything has a reflection, just like there’s another side to every story.
Readers often ask: where I get my story ideas? In this case, a walk along the spectacle that is the Nambucca breakwall with its messages about love and loss and family memories—all hand-painted on hundreds of boulders—was all I needed.
I went home, sat at the computer, and a storyline began rolling in. I got a few thousand words down, while the rest of the story happened once I started delving into my characters’ various motivations and flaws.
The Other Side of the Season is the first time I’ve structured a story over two time periods—taking readers back and forth between current day and thirty-five years earlier when Watercolour Cove is a very different place for brothers David and Matthew (and the teasing and tantalisingly pretty Tilly from the neighbouring property). When tragedy strikes in the winter of 1979, those who can leave, do, while one stays, trapped on the mountain and haunted by memories and lost dreams. That is until Sidney’s arrival in town with her brother. Her love of family shows everyone that the truth can heal, what’s wrong can be righted, the lost can be found, and . . . there’s another side to every story.
Oh, and while checking out the V-Wall with my Dad earlier this year,
Jenn J McLeod and Dad
I dropped in to say hello to the Nambucca Library team and to hear the inspirational Annie Seaton talking about her latest release – Kakadu Sunset.
Annie Seaton, Jenn, and Tracey from Nambucca Library
So, yes, I have been wandering around the country and finding inspiration everywhere.
Jenn
Everything has a reflection . . .
And there’s another side to every story.
When offering to drive her brother to Byron Bay to escape the bitter Blue Mountain’s winter, Sidney neglects to mention her planned detour to the small seaside town of Watercolour Cove.
Thirty-five years earlier, Watercolour Cove is a very different place. Two brothers are working the steep, snake-infested slopes of a Coffs Coast banana plantation. Seventeen-year-old David does his share, but the budding artist spends too much time daydreaming about becoming the next Pro Hart and skiving off with the teasing and tantalisingly pretty Tilly from the neighbouring property. His older brother, Matthew, has no time for such infatuations. His future is on the land and he plans to take over the Greenhill plantation from his father.
Life is simple on top of the mountain for David, Matthew and Tilly until the winter of 1979 when tragedy strikes, starting a chain reaction that will ruin lives for years to come. Those who can, escape the Greenhill plantation. One stays—trapped on the mountain and haunted by memories and lost dreams. That is until the arrival of a curious young woman, named Sidney, whose love of family shows everyone the truth can heal, what’s wrong can be righted, the lost can be found, and . . .
. . . there’s another side to every story.
The Other Side of the Season is available in eBook and paperback from all good retailers.
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Read more about Jenn and her books on Meet Jenn J McLeod here on ARR
Or find more on Jenn’s website: JennJMcLeod.com
And visit Jenn on Facebook Jenn J McLeod on Facebook
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