Our publicist was talking to The Australian Woman’s Weekly about HarperCollins author Rachael Treasure’s recent book Fifty Bales of Hay when the idea for this story in the March edition came about. Featuring four inspiring authors who live on the land, including the very charming Rachael Treasure, the story focused on the ‘new goldmine in the outback… tales of lust in the dust’. The appetite for rural Australian fiction isn’t quite so new – HarperCollins author and founding member of the Romance Writers of Australia Lynne Wilding was writing about relationships in vibrant Australian settings in the 90s. If you haven’t read Lynne’s books, we highly recommend you start by checking out her internationally best-selling Heart of the Outback, the story of brilliant architect Francey Spinetti’s journey to find her special place in the world — and Steve, the damaged local cop who helps her.
In Fifty Bales of Hay, Treasure gives us an honest exploration of everyday men and women getting down and dirty on the land with cheeky satirical humour and wicked imagination – from the dairy shed to the Royal Agricultural Show pavilion, it’s a celebration of the sexy side of rural life! Rachael herself is credited with inspiring the genre of ‘farm lit’ with her first novel Jillaroo, published in 2002. The long awaited follow up, The Farmer’s Wife, is out this month as Rebecca finds herself confronted by a wife’s biggest fear, a mother’s worst nightmare and a farm business that’s bleeding to death.
So whether you’re from the country or the city – or even from Australia – kick back this weekend with one (or two) of the books above and discover the romance of the Australian bush.