KARLY Lane is on a roll with the publication of her fifth book, just in time for Christmas.
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Or as the Macksville writer puts it jokingly, “it’s becoming a bit of a habit!”
Habit or not, it’s to the good of the many who enjoy her books of ‘rural fiction’.
Her latest offering, Gemma’s Bluff, is not as dramatic as last year’s Poppy’s Dilemma, but nonetheless a compelling tale of two young city women, determined to get a taste of life in the Bush ... which they do in spades.
Familiar themes such as the intricacies of small town life and the impact of suicide and accidents on those communities are explored.
“I hear stories on the news of young kids in accidents and it makes me stop and think about how one moment can have such an impact on the rest of their lives,” Karly told the Guardian.
The book features strong female characters, (“wimpy annoys me!”) and is based in a town that could be Bowraville or Macksville.
She said while many of her readers are women aged from their early 20s to 40s, she has noticed she is attracting older readers, including men.
“I had a retired magistrate from Victoria write to me recently - that was a real surprise,” Karly said.
Facebook too continues to be a powerful ally for Karly, who gleans snippets of information from posts and can also use her ‘friends’ as sounding boards for ideas.
“I love having contact with my readers - they inspire me and also help keep the writing process personal,” she said.
Karly’s writing schedule is not slowing, with two books for next year already penned.
“I’ve signed with Harlequin as well as Allen and Unwin, so there will be two releases ... and I’m starting on the 2016 release. It’s great having the momentum,” she said.
“My sales are improving - I notice the readership of this genre is building slowly and steadily and that books with Australian themes are especially popular.”
Gemma’s Bluff was launched on December 12 and is available from Dymocks, Big W and other bookstores.
Other genres Karly explores are romance/suspense and fantasy - these she ‘indy’ publishes through Amazon under the name of Karlene Blakemore-Mowle.