Today on the blog I'm delighted to host Rachael Johns. Rach and I joined romance Australia at the same time some years ago and bonded over being newbies and our burning desire to be published authors. Her two latest books,
Man Drought and
Stand in Star are out in January and I highly, highly recommend you check them out. She's an awesome writer.
First, the basics…
Who are you? Rachael Johns – Mum, Wife, Supermarket Owner, Writer, Reader, Arachnaphobic, Washer-woman, Lover of the colour pink.
What occupies your time? Washing occupies a lot of my time (I have three boys who seem to wear at least three outfits a day each) as does picking up after my kids. That’s about the extent of the housework I do. The rest of the time (non-kid related that is), I work in our shop and try to write romances people might actually enjoy reading!
Where do you live? Goomalling, Western Australia – wheatbelt town of around 500 people.
Who do you live with? One hyperactive hubby, three occasionally-gorgeous heroe’s in training, a loveable old English sheepdog, a cat who I swear spends his days plotting to kill everyone except me, and a budgie belonging to my middle son. The budgie can’t stand me cos I insist on trying to give it cuddles on a daily basis.
Day job / other job? Trained as an English teacher, now work in our supermarket.
Secret gifts / talents / hobbies Eek…. I can’t think of any! My year seven teacher gave me an award for being able to make a little piece of chocolate last a LONG time. Does that count?
Interesting stuff I’d like to know about you…
1. Finish the sentence…
I love… cats!
I hate… spiders!
2. Tell me about your preferred type of weather? If it’s stinking hot, I wish it was cold and vice versa.
3. What are you reading at the moment? Is it good / bad? Bridie’s Choice by Karly Lane. There’s also this book called Drive Me To Distraction on my Kindle which I’m looking forward to getting to ☺
(Heh!)
4. What frugal thing do you do? Have you got a sneaky money saving tip? You know… I don’t think I’m frugal at all ☹
5. Do you do something awesome to save the planet... My kids forget to flush the toilet on a regular basis. Does that count? Maybe not, considering they use half a roll of toilet paper each time they go. I’m sure I do more than this but I’m coming up short at the moment. Mental note to improve the sacrifices I make for the planet!
6. Excellent recipe for me to try...
My never-fail muffins (although I should probably touch wood saying that cos everything is failing cooking wise lately).
Banana and Pear muffins from the Huggies website – that’s right, I found them on the back of a box of nappies! They taste delicious and are definitely not just for kids -
http://www.huggies.com.au/toddler/recipes/banana-pear-muffins-recipe
7. Most amazing place you’ve ever been?
Queenstown in NZ or Salzburg in Austria. They are both just so picturesque! In Salzburg I also loved going on The Sound of Music tour – yes, I’m a bit of a fan! Loved following Maria’s footsteps and seeing all the places from the movie!
8. Fave way to waste time? Not very original but Facebook, Twitter, checking my book rankings on Amazon!
9. Tell me about your secret weakness… Raffaelo chocolates. I have restraint where most sweet things are concerned but have been known to scoff a whole BIG box of these.
10. Tell me about your greatest achievement…
Sounds corny but my greatest achievement are my three beautiful boys. Although they infuriate me on a daily basis, they also amaze me, make me laugh, cry happy tears and make me so proud of their zest and passion for life.
Nitty Gritty at the end…
I have two books out in January –
Stand-in Star with Carina Press set in Hollywood with an Aussie heroine completely out of her comfort zone and a really sexy ex-paparazzo hero. And
Man Drought with Harlequin Australia about a young widow who buys a run down pub in a country town with hardly any woman living there. Both were lots of fun to write and you can read more about them and enjoy an excerpt on the books page of my
website
Where can we find you…