OBSESSION DOWN UNDER - LAYNE MACADAM
I am so pleased to welcome Layne Macadam who's come to show off her latest new release, Obsession Down Under, and Whip McGregor, her gorgeous hero.
Layne, if you don't mind, you just sit in the corner there and shuffle Mr McGregor over, yeah, yeah just a little closer...
Diane: Welcome,
Whip, and thank you for dropping by today.
Whip: It’s
my pleasure, and thank you for asking me.
(Grins)
Diane: Do
you mind if I ask you a few questions?
Whip: Fire
away, that’s what I’m here for.
Diane: Okay.
What do you do for a living?
Whip: The family
has a number of businesses, being the eldest McGregor, I’m technically the
head, but my passion is our cattle station, or ranch as they say in the States.
Our property, Highland Glen, is in rural New South Wales. Its breeding program
is the largest in Australasia and we export cattle all over the world.
Diane: Wow,
something that big must take most of your time, so how did you meet Jessica,
and what was your first impression of her?
Whip: Yeah, it keeps
me pretty busy but I’ve got a lot of help too. As for Jessie Rose, you might
not know it, but we met online on a military forum. When she came to visit, and
I clapped eyes on her at the airport, I couldn’t have been happier.
Diane: Do you feel
the need to protect her — or ravish her?
Whip: Now, Diane,
I’m not one to kiss and tell, but with that little lady, I’d have to save a bit
of both!!
Diane: What’s your
favorite drink — alcoholic or not?
Whip: Mm, what I
drink most of is water. Station work is labor intensive and you need to stay
hydrated, but I’m very partial to cold beer on a hot day.
Diane: How are you
spending your day tomorrow?
Whip: Jessie Rose
and I are leaving for Sydney. It’s about an eight-hour drive so we’ll take it
nice and easy, see some sites on the way, and then I have a surprise planned.
(Frowns and rubs his forehead) She leaves for New York the day after that.
Diane: Thank you so
much for talking with me today. Have a great evening with your lady and after
the surprise, perhaps she may change her plans about leaving?
Whip: Anything’s
possible, and it’s been a pleasure meeting you.
Back Cover Blurb
Aspiring author Jessica Butler-Reid has never done
anything exciting in her entire life. The daughter of a Minister and his aging
wife, she sees her life heading down the same tedious predictable path has her
mom’s, organizing church fetes, bazaars, and bake-offs. But when she innocently
posts a help request on an Internet forum for some technical advice with her
book, her life is changed forever when Australian cattle rancher, Whip
McGregor, answers the call.
Jessica embarks on an adventure of a lifetime, but little
does she know her decision to accept his offer of a two-week paid vacation to
the land Down Under will, jeopardize more than one life and, have far-reaching
consequences neither she nor Whip could have foreseen.
Excerpt
Whip McGregor’s steps were purposeful as he strode down
the hall and out the front door and headed across the patchy yard to the
garage. It was early, not even six, yet the sun was already high. A golden orb
in a cloudless sky, it promised to be another blistering day with no drought
relief in sight.
He paused by the stables and narrowing his gaze, cast it
over the property. McGregor land stretched before him as far as the eye could
see. Sun-scorched and unforgiving, a land of beauty and promise, of dreams both
shattered and fulfilled. A harsh land, a lucky land, a land of contradiction.
His heart held a passion for it that a stranger could not hope to fathom.
He stopped for a brief word with Cyril, a hired hand, who
was seated on a bale of hay outside the barn puffing on a hand-rolled.
“When are you going to give that up? Those things will
kill you as sure as the sun sets in the west.”
“The day you walk down the aisle, young Whip.”
The spry little man had christened him Whip the day he’d
taught him to crack a bullwhip at the age of five, and the nickname had just
stuck.
“I seem to remember you making that same promise to
Travis, old man.” Whip smiled at the mention of his twin’s marriage.
Cyril blew out a thin plume of blue smoke and squinted in
the sunlight. He’d been working McGregor land since Methuselah was a boy and
was more like a family member than the hired help.
“She’s fuelled and ready to go,” he said, dangling the
set of car keys in the air.
Whip took the keys and gave the old man’s shoulder a
squeeze. “Thanks, mate, I’ll see you when I get back.”
Eager to be on the road, Whip lengthened his stride and
hurried into the barn-sized garage. He folded his length into the big black Ute
and switched on the ignition. The V8 engine roared to life like a mighty beast,
and as he shifted into gear, the thought skimmed across his mind that the car
was as anxious to be on the road to Sydney as he was.
With hands placed at ten and two on the wheel, he steered
the vehicle past the stables and the big house, then followed the road until he
came to the stock hands’ quarters. The men were just coming in for breakfast
after getting an early start. Whip slowed the vehicle and raised a hand in
response to their greetings before driving by and heading for the boundary.
Ten minutes later, coasting down the dusty track and
about to leave the property through the last gate, another vehicle appeared,
flicked its lights, then pulled to a stop by the exit.
Damn. He eased the Ute to a standstill before stepping
out onto the dirt to wait for Travis.
Ever since his twin had married last Christmas, Travis
had been giving him grief and been damn near impossible to live with. He kept
ear-bashing him that as the eldest McGregor, although only by sixteen minutes,
it was high time he tied the knot, too. The nagging had become worse over the
last few days since he’d announced to the family Jessica was flying in from New
York.
The way Travis had been acting you’d think she was coming
to get hitched instead of only for a two-week visit from America. Whip thanked
his lucky stars Brenda, the baby of the family, was still away at boarding
school. It was bad enough Drew and Mark, his two younger brothers, were on
semester break from University. From the minute they’d discovered he was having
an Internet relationship, they’d been tenacious with their tormenting, like a
dog gnawing a bone, razzing him up and paying him out at every opportunity.
Author Bio
Layne lives with her husband, two dogs, and a cat on the
mid-eastern coast of New South Wales, Australia. In addition to being an author
she has a degree in history and holds down a full-time job.
She has always been an avid reader and voraciously
consumes all types of fiction, but she particularly loves a happy ending, so
writing romance seemed a natural progression for her. But as she sat at the
computer one day — staring at a blank screen — it all seemed rather daunting.
Yet once she finally started tapping on the keys, the words kept flowing, and
what was meant to be a short story turned into a full-blown novel, Desire
Unleashed, the first book in the “Desire” series.
Layne writes contemporary romance, paranormal, and
sci-fi. With her passion for travel and a love of history an historical romance
is not outside the realms of possibility.
When she’s not writing, you might find her tackling a
craft project, walking by the lake, or in the kitchen creating some culinary
delights.
Hi Diane thank you so much for having Whip and I over to visit. I do hope you enjoyed the interview!
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