A tribute to the Rural Fire Service and the work they selflessly do.Recently divorced mother-of-two Samantha Murphy agrees to house-sit for her parents for a few weeks-but when the house involves several hundred acres of farming and livestock, it's a little more involved than the usual job. Sam left the family farm years ago for a more exciting, glamorous life on the Sunshine Coast, but now that her kids have grown up and moved out, she's at a crossroads.Jack Cameron was in love with Sam when they were teenagers, and she broke his heart when she left town at eighteen. Their lives moved along similar paths-both marrying, having families and getting divorced-but in very different locations. Now that Sam is back, they begin to realise that there are unresolved feelings between them.As catastrophic fires roar destructively through the local farming community, Sam has no choice but to evacuate her parents' farm. But worse is still to come: Jack is reported missing and Sam is forced to prepare for the worst news.A heartwarming story of second chances, of loss and rebuilding, and of finally coming home.

    Everyone has told her that it's no job for a girl, but this isn't the first time she's had to prove her mettle. Project adviser Alex McKinley is happy to be as far away from the city as he can get. Recently divorced, he's reassessing where he went wrong. Alex has nothing against women specifically. He'd just rather they weren't working on his construction site, sharing his office, invading his space.In the close confines of the desert camp, anything can happen, and Leah soon finds herself the centre of attention - from bothersome bureaucrats to injured workers and hordes of isolated men. But it is one man in particular who pushes her to her limits . in more ways than one.

    Eleven years on, she returns to the small town of Harlington, determined to confront the past and, finally, to cut all ties and sell her family's farm.Complicating her desire to get out of Harlington, Berry is drawn to her childhood crush, Nate Tarant, He never knew she existed back then. But things change and this time, Nate seems to be very much aware of her presence.While in town, Berry begins to question the long-believed story of what happened to her family. Someone in Harlington is hiding a secret - one that could not only change her life but also alter the past.Will she ever find out the truth and can one old rumour shed light on the real events of that night?

    She promised herself she was never going back to Townsville. But when a twist of fate lands her in a Townsville army base clinic, she must confront past hurts if she wants to succeed and, just maybe, find love.Captain Aiden Bell is used to the hard life of an army officer. But his career has taken an emotional toll that he hasn't dealt with until meeting Christina stirs memories, desire - and hope.Crystal Creek is the addictive new novel of romance, medicine and drama from the bestselling author of Ryders Ridge, and Iron Junction, Charlotte Nash.*INCLUDES bonus chapters of Iron Junction*'I was enthralled . . . Nash's skilled storytelling will keep you turning the pages until the very end' FLEUR MCDONALD

    She's rarely left its comforting embrace. She knows everyone in it; in fact, she's related to most of them. All she wants is to keep her family safe and the town running exactly the way it always has. Her way. But when an exotic French artist comes to town, her hold begins to weaken...Lucienne Chevalier, once the toast of Europe, has come to Nyringa after a tragic loss to hang up her sequins and create a place for her circus family to rest between tours. With her is Simon, her grandson, recovering from an injury so damaging he can no longer perform. Lucienne fears he'll never embrace a new future. That is, until she notices the chemistry between him and the new schoolteacher... All they need is a push.Both grande dames think they know what's best, but with equal amounts of stubbornness on both sides, peace looks unlikely. Then a relationship between Alice's rebellious great-niece and a teenage acrobat sets the two communities on a collision course. But when the bakery starts making patisseries over lamingtons, the battle lines are truly drawn...A story of community and family. Of the love that brings them together ... and the fears that would tear them apart.

    Finding herself in Mt Maria, a remote outback town in Western Australia, she thinks she’s found a place to stay.Before she knows it, Rachel is corralled into helping with the Tidy Town competition by the Dramatic Society widows who have a tendency to gossip and take charge. It’s not in her plan, but she finds herself allowing friendships to develop. She’s even more surprised by her growing attraction to the town’s engaging senior police officer.Ex-detective Senior Sergeant Luke Weston knows anything and everything happens in the country, and he’s seen it all—stolen chickens, pub fights and alleged cheating for the Tidy Town competition are only some of the puzzles Mt Maria offers Luke. He’s been playing for Rachel, thinking maybe she’s the one. Then he gets news that the Crime Squad are looking for her, and he’s ordered to get close and stay close. Is Rachael in trouble, or is she the trouble?Luke is fighting his attraction to a woman he might have to take into custody, and it looks like he’s going to be arresting more than one person before the end of the week. Luke needs to restore peace in his corner of the outback, but he knows he’s not going to get out of this without getting his heart busted.With her past catching up with her, Rachael has to decide whether it’s time to cut and run again, or whether this time she’s found the person—and the place—to finally heal her heart.

    Every day Emma pushes herself hard on the land, hoping to make ten-year-old memories of a terrible car accident disappear. And now there are more recent nightmares of an ex-husband who refuses to understand how much the farm means to Emma.When criminal Joel Hammond is released from jail and heads home to Barker, Detective Dave Burrows and his officer Senior Sergeant Jack Higgins are on high alert. Joel has a long and sorry history with many of the townsfolk and they are not keen to see him home to stay.Not all of the Barker locals want to see Joel run out of town though. Some even harbour doubts about Joel's conviction. The town finds itself split down the middle, families pitted against each other with devastating outcomes.

    Gorgeous and charismatic, Edward is enough to make any girl give up her flat and job in Adelaide and move to the country.So it’s something of a shock that when she gets there, Edward is nowhere to be seen. Not wanting to admit she may have made a mistake and return home in disgrace, Taylor accepts the job that Edward’s younger brother Pete offers her and throws herself into her work, keen to learn as much as she can about the wine trade.Taylor is thrilled when Ed returns, but she quickly discovers he may not be the man she thought he was.  Her growing friendship with Pete causes tension between the brothers who have fallen out over a woman in the past.  That’s not the only source of conflict: Pete has a dream to save the family vines, Edward’s dreams lie elsewhere.As the lies and deceit grow, matters come to a head in the vibrant and demanding vintage season. Will Taylor’s dream of a new life and love between the vines come true? Or is there only heartbreak ahead? Set in the beautiful Coonawarra vineyards, a wonderful feel-good rural romance from best-selling Australian author, Tricia Stringer

    Caring for injured wildlife and helping to run the popular tourist campsite are just the distraction she needs from everything she left behind when her husband, Gerry, and young daughter were lost at sea.But when the police show up asking questions about Gerry, the peaceful routine she’s built is disrupted as she begins to question what really happened to her family. The arrival of botanist Connor stirs up even more emotion and has Tilly questioning who she can trust. When she and young ranger Luke stumble across evidence of wildlife smugglers on a visit to the local caves, suddenly her sanctuary is no longer safe and it becomes clear the past has well and truly come back to haunt her.Set against the lush backdrop of the Northern Territory with its vibrant birds and deadly wildlife, this is a chilling and highly evocative family mystery about the wild and dangerous things that can happen in the most remote and untamed corners of our country.

    But deep down, she is lonely. She's already watched the man she loves marry someone else, and her dream of starting her own family feels like it's slipping through her fingers. Enter Charlie McNamara, an older corporate man who has arrived in Lake Grace on business. Sparks fly between Kim and Charlie, but he seems to have a hidden agenda and a past life he's trying to hide. They're both drawn to local hermit Harry, a Vietnam Veteran still haunted by memories from the war. What ties these three lost souls together? Can they solve a long-held family mystery and heal fractures of the heart? From the bestselling author of The Saddler Boys comes a heartwarming story across three generations about when to fight and when to surrender; and how new love can heal old wounds.THE FAMILY SECRET features characters from THE SADDLER BOYS in a brand new story.

    Two people. Family secrets.When Calla Maloney steps on the boat to Kangaroo Island, she’s filled with dread. Part of it is simple seasickness but the other part is pure trepidation. She’s not on a holiday but a mission: to track down her estranged brother, who she hasn’t seen since her family splintered two years before.Firefighter Sam Hunter left the island twenty years ago and has made a habit out of staying as far away as he can get. But when his father’s illness forces him home, he finds himself playing bad cop to his dad and reluctant tour guide to a redhead with no sense of direction.As Sam and Calla dig deeper into their long-buried family secrets, they discover that no one is an island and that opening up their hearts to love again might be the most dangerous thing they will ever do.

    Dr Jennifer Kelly has reached the pinnacle of her career as a successful Manhattan obstetrician, complete with ambitious, blue-blooded fianc�. After a desolate childhood with a distant grandmother, life seems everything she's ever wanted.When a grandfather she's never heard of leaves her a dairy farm on an isolated Australian island - plus one depressed dog, thirty geriatric cows and a bunch of ancient surfboards - she plans a quick trip to put the farm up for sale. Her aloof, socialite grandmother Muriel is appalled, yet insists on accompanying her.Once there, Jenny finds herself caught, by cows, by turtles - and by Jack McLachlan, the overworked island doctor who desperately needs her help. Muriel's caught too, with ghosts of her wartime past threatening to crack the shell she's built with such dedication and care.But isn't Manhattan their home? How can two women give up the perfect world they've worked so hard for by taking a chance on...life?'Joyous and breathtaking, a story to touch your heart, make you smile and see the world as a better place.' - Barbara Hannay

    Not that she minds - she has her work as a vet and most days that's enough. Most days. But when she's sent to a small town on the New South Wales coast to investigate a possible outbreak of the deadly Hendra virus, Charlie finds herself torn between the haunting memories of her past, her dedication to the job and her attraction to a handsome local.Travelling to Naringup means coming face to face with what is left of her dysfunctional family - her cousin Emma, who begged Charlie not to leave all those years ago, and her aunt Hazel, who let her go without a backwards glance. But it also means relying on the kindness of strangers and, when she meets local park ranger Joel Drummond, opening her heart to the possibility of something more . . .As tensions in the country town rise, can Charlie reconcile with the past and find herself a new future in the town she left so long ago?

    Heartbroken, Teagan flees to her Aunt Vanessa's property in the idyllic Falls Valley where she soon catches the attention of sexy local farrier Lucas Knight. With a new job, new friends and the prospect of a new relationship, Teagan's hope in the future slowly returns.But beneath the tranquil village surface lies an underbelly of gossip and division, and when Teagan gets caught up in town politics, Lucas and Vanessa worry she's entered a dangerous game.As tension escalates, Teagan must decide who to trust, but nothing is ever clear-cut in The Falls. Is Lucas too good to be true? And what is her aunt hiding? When she discovers the truth, the fallout may split Teagan apart forever.With its menagerie of cute animals and colourful locals, family drama and romance, The Falls is an uplifting story of healing and hope.

    So when she hears about a job teaching four children on a massive cattle property in North Queensland, she decides to throw caution - and her teaching job - to the winds.When Lucy arrives at Charlotte's Creek Station she finds a family in crisis. To make matters worse, the four children she's been charged with educating are very spirited, not always cooperative, and dismally behind in their schooling.To Lucy, the only person who seems to be keeping Charlotte's Creek afloat is the family's gruff stockman, Ted. With his support and encouragement Lucy throws herself into the day-to-day activities of the station and makes excellent progress with the children.Though Lucy and Ted's feelings for each other grow, Ted can't see any future for them because of his lack of prospects. As the family divisions at Charlotte's Creek prove insurmountable and the property looks set to be put on the market, Lucy faces returning to the city and leaving Ted behind. . .By the betselling author of Redstone Station, this is the story of a strong young woman stepping into the unknown, trying to make things work, and finding love.