Red Dirt Duchess by Louise Reynolds

“When English society playboy Jonathan Hartley-Huntley is sent to outback Australia after a disastrous affair with his editor, all he wants is to take a few pictures, do a quick interview and get back to his usual life of luxury as soon as possible. Until he meets his host, the irresistible Charlie Hughes, and suddenly the back of beyond is a lot more appealing.

Running the pub is a labour of love for Charlie and she has no desire to ever leave the tiny town of Bindundilly. That is, until Jon discovers an old painting that raises questions about both their lives. Charlie impulsively decides to follow him to London, and as the feelings between them begin to deepen, she starts to wonder if there’s more to life than the pub. But at Jon’s family home, the magnificent Hartley Hall, they become acutely aware…

On the Perry Como Show, the chorus customarily sang: “Letters, we get letters. We get stacks and stacks of letters.” However, during the Regency Period, the mail was expensive. MPs were the only ones who had a “free” ride for the mail delivery. Until 1840, MPs could “frank” their own letters.

In Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, Edmund tells Fanny to have a friend or relative who was an MP to frank the letter for her and, therefore, save the Price family from the cost of the letter. “As your uncle will frank it, it will cost William nothing.”

Postage was based on the number of miles the letter traveled from point A to point B. Recipients paid, rather than the sender of the letter. These were the going rates for a single page: fourpence for the first fifteen miles, eightpence for eighty miles, etc., etc., up to seventeen…

Ever want to try something different? A change of position or perspective?

I try to write a story or scene from the most appropriate perspective. Sometimes, that means it’s told from a disinterested observer and not the protagonist at all. In my Ocean’s Gift series, Vanessa is one of the main characters, yet she tells you very little of the story. There’s an incident with a hammerhead shark in Ocean’s Infiltrator where I chose to write that scene from her point of view – but it was a tough decision whether to use her or Joe Fisher.

For those who don’t know Joe (and those who do and want more of him), I figured I’d share the chapter I didn’t use – Joe’s perspective of the hammerhead incident. This scene is in Ocean’s Infiltrator, but it reads very differently when related by Joe:

I’ll Protect You

“Watch this, Daddy!”…