Alissa Callen’s wide-open-space romances – whether set in the Australian outback or Montana mountains – give a bright lift to the darkest day. That’s what her readers tell her, and she couldn’t hope for a more rewarding response. Hi there, I’m your host Jenny Wheeler and today USA Today Best Selling author Alissa talks about what she loves most about writing rural and small-town fiction, and why she’s thrilled her books are in school libraries. Six things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode: Why readers love small town romance How you can have too much shopping and cocktails The one thing she’d do differently next time round Yarn bombing in Dubbo – it is a thing The healing power of nature The nicest thing a reader ever said Where to find Alissa Callen: Website: www.alissacallen.com Facebook: @AlissaCallenAuthor What follows is a “near as” transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions. Jenny: And now here’s Alissa. Hello there, Alissa, and welcome to the show. It’s great to have you with us. Alissa: It’s such a pleasure to be here. Alissa Callen – Author of rural and small town romance Jenny: Beginning at the beginning, was there a Once Upon a Time moment when you decided you wanted to write fiction, as distinct from other things you might have written. And if so what was the catalyst for it. Alissa: I think I’m that stereotypical writer who was that childhood reader. And if I look back I probably read too many books and probably needed to get another life. But I was a very avid reader as a child/bookworm. And then I did English at university because that was my thing. And I’ve always wanted to write and I dabbled at writing but it wasn’t a definitive decision that I needed to do this. Words always been her “thing” I have four children and somehow I had time amongst raising my children. I thought ‘Oh I might actually put pen to paper.’ And I did! I grew up in the country. I live on a small farm now. So it was only natural that my stories played themselves out against a rural backdrop. I have also lived in America and I love the mountains over there. So I’m just really lucky that what I love to write, is actually what the market will read because I can’t imagine myself writing anything else. Words have always been my thing. From a family of scientists And it’s really interesting because I come from a family of scientists. We have a lot of very analytical brains in the family, and I’m the odd one out. It is interesting because through the wonders of DNA we’ve actually found a missing branch of my family tree and that’s where I fit. There’s a professor of medieval literature there. There is another person who writes, so I think writing has always just been in me and it’s who I am. Jenny: You describe your books as small town and rural fiction but they are really sweet romance stories when you look at the heart of them, aren’t they? Alissa: They are. I think it’s very interesting because I do write for the two markets and I find that small town stories and rural fiction in Australia are interchangeable terms really. Sweet clean romance Rural fiction has such a wide spectrum. You can have small town books. You can have medical romance, you can have medical suspense, as well as rural fiction. So in Australia there’s such a wide umbrella. But then for the American market they don’t have the term ‘rural romance’ so it’s just basically small town. But their core ingredients are very similar. And I think that they are essentially romance. In another life I was a counsellor and I do know that life doesn’t deliver the ‘happily ever after’ for everyone. So I was drawn to a genre where it doesn’t matter what my characters go through. At the end there’s an uplifting and feel good ending, because I know in real life that things don’t always turn out that way. I wanted a really a nice uplifting genre. But in saying that I do often find particularly for my single titles that I do deviate a little bit and so they are sweet romance. Alissa Callen – Romance with layers, including a DNA thread Layered for extra interest But I also do have a thread of something else in it. My current book that I’m working on I actually have a missing person thread in that book. The book that came out in February, it had World War II thread and surprisingly there’s a book called Red Dirt Road that has a DNA thread. Alissa: So I do find they are sweet romances but I do try for my longer titles to add that little extra layer of something interesting. Jenny: Quite often I’ve noticed that your protagonist is seeking healing or restoration in the country environment. There’s quite a theme of putting broken lives back together again and that people retreat to the peace of the country to lick their wounds and regroup, and recharge their energies. Is that how you see the country, as somewhere where people can get restoration? The healing power of nature Alissa: I think so and I hope so, because I live in the country and I do know people who get a lot of solace and have healed through coming to the wide open spaces. I think there’s lot of studies done. But even just for stress release they say that walking in a natural environment can be very soothing and cathartic. And I think that out here in the country we have buckets of it. I mean at my window I’ve got a beautiful country garden, if I don’t look at the weeds!!. I’ve got beautiful skies. There’s no one around me. So there is that sense of peace. And I think that a person’s journey takes them to many different places and not everything will resonate with every person. But I think being in a natural world and having space and sometimes solitude can actually be very helpful. Too much shopping and cocktails Jenny: Yes. Certainly there’s been a real burgeoning of the rural genre for both romance and mysteries in Australia in the last decade. If I recall correctly there just weren’t those sorts of books around about 10 years ago – maybe a weeny bit longer – but now there’s a large number of mainly women writers actually but probably some men as well. I’m probably more aware of the women who are making a good fist of writing in that setting. Alissa: Yes. Re the rural setting – there’s lots of very interesting theories about why there’s rush on right now, in particular in Australia. It has such a strong fan base. And one theory is that it came out of the Global Financial Crisis. Chick lit was very popular at that time. All the shopping and having cocktails and a lighter side of life. Readers didn’t want you to read that. People were hurting and the economy was tight. When community is important They wanted to read about times when things more predictable and more stable and where community was actually really important. So that’s one theory that readers were drawn to because it goes right back to the basics of having a community. Having people rally around you. It’s not all about shopping and champagne. I think it’s just been wonderful that the genre has lasted for so long and there are a lot of authors – male and female – doing it. Sometimes they will deviate into another genre but then they come back to rural and I think that hopefully the rural genre will have a lot of longevity. I find when I go to libraries that the librarians are always saying that they still hugely popular and they are borrowed quite a lot. So, I hope that rural is here to stay for a little bit longer. Alissa Callen – Australian and US readers like the same things The mind shift is global Jenny: Yes, it’s really interesting. I haven’t heard that idea put forth but it certainly makes sense that in a time of financial difficulty you’re not so inclined to want to sit around and read about people frittering away money. Alissa: Yes exactly. And I mean that’s a global thing really and I think even though it wasn’t called rural romance in America that’s where the shift too. It’s always been strong and that’s where the small town stories were popular as well and have remained so. It’s very interesting when you look back. There are obviously other explanations as well but that’s one that I heard and I think that actually makes sense because readers do say that they really like that the stories are grounded in reality. That there is that community aspect and that it doesn’t really matter what happens, that there is that uplifting ending. And I think it’s lovely to know that the type of stories that rural fiction authors write they do resonate with readers and that they do provide what that reader is looking for. Town of Windmills series Jenny: Yes. From what I can see you’ve got three series at least running at the moment. You’ve got the Towns of Windmill series that seat in western New South Wales not far from Dubbo, which I think is close to where you live. So then this Wildflower Ranch set in Montana and then there is Outback Dust. Could you just tell us a little bit about how they evolved, and which came first. Alissa: Yes, well I think basically I write following that old adage ‘write what you know.’ So that’s basically what my books are. Outback Dust was actually my very first book and it didn’t start out as a series. It was my very first published ‘print rural.’ I live outside Dubbo on a small farm now, but at the time of writing that book I actually lived two hours further west where it’s very flat. We were in the middle of a drought. So that story – and it is a drought story – that was my first accepted rural. Wildflower Ranch series Then when they asked for another one, I just love series and I think that readers do as well, and so I then wrote a second story in that same world in that same town. Meanwhile I was also writing for my American publisher and that’s actually quite an interesting aspect, because my original book which was called Cherish Me Cowboy was part of one of their series. The publishers – what they did was they actually created a fictitious town and then they had a whole lot of authors come in and write stories about that town. So it was quite fascinating. Everyone put their own take on what would happen and what characters they wanted there. So my first book in the US was part of their rodeo series and was the start of my own series. And so that was my Wildflower Ranch series. I went on to write five more books and two of those are Christmas stories and were part of a Christmas series with my American publisher. Alissa Callen – Christmas stories hugely popular – even for Midwinter! A new Texan series coming I really loved that series and I’m going to be writing a Texan series because the publisher has created a new town in Texas and we’re going to do the same thing. It was quite fascinating because I was actually working in conjunction with other authors on the series. For some of the books we would have an author loop and we would discuss things like the weather and what actually happened at the rodeo or happened at the Christmas stroll. Then other books in the series where my own stories and they were all linked together to form my Wildflower Ranch. I do actually have a historical series planned out. I don’t know when I will write it, but it’s actually about how the ranch is got a name. So I’m hopeful to revisit that when I have some time. The Long Paddock Then for my Australian print publisher, HarperCollins, I publish with the Mira imprint. My first book was The Long Paddock and when I pitched it I was always hoping it would turn into a series and I’m just so thankful that it has. I’m just writing the last book now which will be my sixth. So that’s four full length standalones and two novellas. I think I could call myself a ‘hybrid’ in terms of the way I write. In terms of the old debate about whether you are a “plotter or a “pantser.’ I do plot but I do also go by the seat of my pants sometimes. So the first story I just threw in all these random characters hoping that they would have this story one day as I progressed into my series I realized I actually had to write these character stories and I made one a doctor and one a vet, and I didn’t know really what their stories were but luckily it’s all worked out so. Outback Dust So Outback Dust is my first one. It’s a two book series set for the West. My sixth book is in the Montana series and I have lived in the Rocky Mountains so I really enjoyed writing that. Hopefully there might be an historical series attached to it sometime. Then I will have an upcoming Texas series and then my book that I’m writing will finish off my Town Of Windmills and then I will have to think of a whole new town and a whole new setting. But because I like writing series, I think that’s quite interesting. I’ll probably always write series to be honest, if there is a readership for them, because I think they add so many layers to a story, if you know that the characters that you meet will then have their own journey. The windmills of Western NSW Jenny: Yes, I agree. In Town of Windmills they had this intriguing practice of wrapping tree in knitting. And I’ve never even thought of it as a possibility. I wondered does that really happen, and is there a town in Western NSW with a lot of windmills? I just wondered how much reality there was in that? Alissa: I write what I know and it’s funny because when I research I don’t actually make lots of notes. It’s almost like I just absorb everything and then when I’m writing suddenly something pops into my head. So there is actually a little town half an hour from Dubbo called Gilgandra and it’s called the Town of Windmills. So that’s sort of where I had the story set. I loved that concept that there was a town of windmills. The name Woodlea I made up… I hadn’t realised that there’s a beautiful property on the way to Canberra called Woodlea. The gentle art of yarn bombing And it has the most lovely ornate gates but the driveway looks like it hasn’t been used for a long time so it’s all overgrown and the gates are sort of covered in weeds. And I and I used to always look at that place when I would drive past. On my last trip I looked at it and I realised it’s called Woodlea Park. So obviously the name had just popped into my head when I was thinking of Town of Windmills. So Gilgandra is the real ‘town of windmills.’ In terms of the yarn bombing, it is actually a worldwide phenomenon. Sometimes they’re called guerrilla knitters or there are underground knitting clubs. So actually it’s almost like graffiti-ing the landscape and it actually started in London when someone knitted and crocheted some things and put them on a post or something and it’s just spread everywhere. If you Google ‘yarn bombing’ there’s some of the most incredible pictures. Yarn bombing the rhino Because I live in a town that’s associated with a zoo, the Western Plains Zoo is our main tourist attraction, we have a lot of rhinos. We have sculptured rhinos around the town and one day I was just walking down Main Street shopping and someone had yarn bombed the rhino. He had this blanket and then the trees beside someone had wrapped all the trunks in all these lovely crocheted squares. So I took some photos and I just thought this is just so amazing, that there’s actually yarn bombing was in Dubbo. They didn’t stay up for very long, someone had obviously come down and taken them, but this there’s quite a movement. I think probably not so much nowadays but definitely if you Google ‘yarn bombing, and especially on Pinterest, it’s just incredible what people have yarn bombed. I’ve seen old tractors yarn bombed, covered in wool and crochet so it was just I really liked the concept and thought it was really fun. So yes. I think that’s why my windmills always get wrapped up in wool or covered. A deeper symbolism In the various stories I write the yarn bombing actually takes on significance because in one book there’s an upcoming wedding and so all the creations around the town are draped in white. I just like adding that symbolism as well so I have a lot of fun with my yarn bombing. I can’t knit or crochet. But yes I’d like to think that yam bombing still is around in lots of places. Jenny: It’s amazing. I have never heard of it before. So you learn something every day. Turning to another aspect of your work, and that’s the his growing movement of what they call ‘clean romance.’ There seems to be a bit of a backlash probably against the Fifty Shades of Grey S and M type romance. There’s been a swing to character and emotion-driven romance that stays out of the bedroom. Your books would fit into this category. The emotional and relational aspects are very strong, but generally speaking there’s very little active sex. It’s the journey, not the destination Is that something that you obviously have made as a choice for yourself or is it something your publisher suggested? Alissa: I think again, I am that stereotypical, very quiet, introverted writer and that’s in my comfort zone. So it was never a conscious decision to write clean romance, it’s just that’s what I’m comfortable with. That’s what I read. I’m just very thankful that the market actually has embraced that, because I think for a while there with Fifty Shades of Grey was doing so well everyone was writing erotica. I thought that’s just not my wheelhouse, so it’s lovely how the pendulum does swing and that clean romance is so popular. I think I’m all about the journey, not so much about the destination, so for me it is very emotional and the relationship is the core of what I really like writing about. It’s a romance so at the end you know everyone does end up together. But that’s not my focus. It’s that journey to get there. Alissa Callen – Down Outback Roads – in the Outback Dust series. Within her comfort zone I do have teenagers and my books are actually in the school library. My daughter would say ‘Oh Mum I saw someone reading your book on the bus’ and I’m just so thankful that I don’t write books that are bit more steamy because I’m sure my daughter would be dreadfully embarrassed if someone came up and said “This is what your mother wrote in a book.” So I think it’s who I am intrinsically, that I’m just comfortable writing a cleaner romance I would prefer to focus as I said on the journey not so much the destination. I do have sensuality in there and a little bit of tension but it’s not really not why I write and that’s not the main focus. It’s really lovely that clean romance is embraced and in America there are a lot of readers that like that, so that’s really encouraging. Midwinter Christmas stories Jenny: Yes. You mentioned about the collaboration on Christmas stories in the US and I’ve noticed that you’ve also done an Australian collaboration for authors producing an anthology of Christmas stories called A Very Country Christmas. Have you enjoyed doing those and is there a market for those? Alissa: Yes I really love that. It’s been really good because working with my American publisher they’re primarily digital. We do have print books but it’s small ‘print on demand ‘so they have that flexibility of putting together box sets. They’re very savvy at how they market their books and when they find a niche opening, off they go. And I think also what’s very interesting in America is things like Netflix and Hallmark. Movies for the holiday season There is a shift towards putting romances into film and they particularly like their holiday stories. So that’s sort of like an untapped market and one that’s only growing so my American publisher has been very proactive about having a Christmas story submitted actively marketing them and some of them I think there’s four of them have been actually turned into Christmas movies which is really good. So it was really nice to know that on my home front back in Australia that my print publisher is also aware of the popularity of Christmas stories. And so last year they asked whether or not I wanted to write one and I just thought it was such a great idea. Alissa Callen – Her Mistletoe Cowboy – a USA Today Best Selling author.. Getting into the festive spirit So it’s really interesting because in that book, three of them were already published as e-books and my story and Victoria Purman story were new stories but they were also sort of loosely connected to our series. So it was a really good concept by our print publisher. It came out as a print book and then they’ve actually done the same this year Our Country Christmas I think it’s called. It’s just such a lovely concept because at Christmas people do want to read stories and they’re short. If when time is limited around Christmas you can get into the Christmas spirit reading as well as introducing readers to some of the characters in your series so it’s a little bit of a prequel or a taste Turning to Alissa’s wider career Jenny: Turning to your wider career away from talking about the specific books you’re now a very busy country mother and full-time writer but tell us a little bit about your life before you go into full time writing. Alissa: It seems so long ago now so. I have I have been to university I’ve got two degrees and two diplomas. I did study to do teaching and counselling but to be honest I never actually worked as those – well I did for a brief while but once I had my first child will then basically that was my priority. Raising my family. So my oldest is now 21. So realistically for the last 21 year I’ve been a stay-at-home mom and I’ve really enjoyed that. My youngest is now 15 so we’re still got three years of school to go. In another life . . . In my other life before marriage and children I also did a lot of travel and a lot of work overseas. I lived on a Christmas tree farm, I lived in a beautiful Georgian house in London. I’ve lived in lots of incredible places that I find now inspire me to write. I would actually love to write a UK set story. It’s on my ‘to do list’ for one day and also I’d love to write a Christmas one set in the UK. So I think my life before writing. it was actually quite a long time ago it was a lovely life. But I think the thing is, that I always knew that I really wanted to write. So I just yes, university was a plan B and I had my family which was my priority. And then when I actually surprisingly found myself with a little bit of time I actually would put my pen to paper and I’m really lucky and thankful to be able to write full time and still be a stay-at -home mom to my kids. The secret of Alissa’s success Jenny: Is there one thing you’ve done in your writing career more than any other. What would you say that was in terms of you enjoying the success that you’re now enjoy. Alissa: Yes, I think I’m because I’m a very quiet person, I need to learn to be a lot more assertive. So I think and I think the promotional side of writing sometimes can be quite confronting as well. On social media as well as face to face. I really enjoy my writing. But if I had my time again, I would probably learn to be a lot more assertive and to be more of an advocate for myself. I’m not a natural risk taker and our public should have backed myself instead of sort of settling for things that I knew would not be good for me. I just wanted to publishing security. I really enjoy my writing where I am at now. Hindsight is a fine thing . . . But hindsight’s always a wonderful thing and there’s probably a few different turns I would have made at the beginning. Who’s to say that I would have not ended up in the same place I am now but I think I think writing there’s so much more to a writing career than just putting fingers to the keyboard and being that storyteller that is inside you. I think there’s so many other business hats and if you’re not naturally that way inclined it can be a very steep learning curve. Jenny: Yes I heard somewhere I read somewhere the other day that writing the book was 40 percent of the business and marketing and promotion and in the publishing side of it is basically 60 percent. Finding a writer’s ‘safe place’ Alissa: Yes, that’s the thing. Some authors really embrace the public speaking side. I find it fascinating because with authors there’s such a diverse range of personalities. I have found a nice little niche where I don’t do too many publicity events face to face. I love being on panels because I’ve got other people to talk with and I’m quite happy doing things online. I do find that I have to limit social media though. I just would like to do one well and not spread myself too thinly across things like Twitter and Instagram. I so tend to find a writer’s safe place where they get their marketing done. But at the same time it doesn’t detract from their time to write. Favourite way to relax and unwind Jenny: Yes. What’s your favorite way to relax and unwind? Alissa: I wish I could say I would read more. I’ve got a whole pile of books that I need to read and in the past which is quite ironical really that before I was a writer I was definitely a reader and that was my go to relaxation. Now I’ve become a writer it’s not so easy to relax that way, because I think I should be writing my own book. I do actually because I think I’ve spent time overseas and worked, I love travel. And so if I’m not planning gap years for my children or doing sneaky itineraries for places I’d like to go to myself one day, I’m reading about where I’d love to go when I can. I think writing is a great career because you can actually label lots of things as research. So when I’m researching – say – beautiful Swiss towns, I’m thinking “I might write a book that one day” when really I would just love to visit. Counteracting the sedentary I do walk every day. I have my animals, and I just I just lead a very quiet life. I do eat far too much chocolate. But I think that in the past I used to always read and now I think because writing is such a sedentary occupation, I try and relax more by actually moving. So going outside and doing things like that. Jenny: Turning to Alissa as a reader….It is called The Joys of Binge Reading podcast… Any recommendations for people to binge read in series…. Alissa as reader . . . Alissa: I do love binge reading, I went through a Louis L’Amour Western phase when I was at university and I still to this day have every single book that he wrote. I do like to find a series. I love it. My bookshelves are full of series. I’m quite eclectic now because I think I write rural I still love reading other rural authors, but I find that I’m drawn to more historicals at the moment. Allison Butler writes beautiful medieval historicals (Scottish romances) and she has a series. I also like Anne Gracie (Regency romance) and Anna Campbell. (passionate historical romance.) I also have so many writing friends that write the most beautiful books, a lot of them are published with my publisher which is some HarperCollins and under the Mira or the HQ imprint. Rachel Johns is another. I love her books as well, so I think I’m quite diverse and eclectic at the moment because I think that there’s so many great books out there. Rachel Johns latest book – Lost Without You It won’t be crime though . . . I’m in a historical phase and in a couple of months I might change to something else I won’t probably change to crime because I’m one of those people that has to know the ending and if it’s too frightening or scary I won’t be reading it. My husband and my mother-in-law love crime books. But that’s probably a genre that I probably won’t be turning to. Jenny: Looking at your life from where you’re standing now, at this stage in your career if you would have had to do it all over again, what would you change anything? Alissa: I think I touched on this before. No one knows how the cards land and how things progress. But if I look back, I probably should have backed myself more and probably just been a little more savvy, which is very hard to do when you are a new writer and you may not know the industry or how it all works. Joining her tribe But I think one of the things that I’m really thankful that I did actually do was I joined Romance Writers of Australia and there I found my tribe and they had the resources and they had the expertise to guide me and I think probably should I should have found them earlier. That way I would have that support. If anyone ever has a question, they just get on the Facebook group and there’s the Romance Writers of New Zealand as well – they are fabulous. I’m a member of them and I came to the conference last year in Auckland which I absolutely loved and I’m hoping to come back again to Christchurch. So I think it’s that community and everyone is just so helpful and supportive. I wrote in isolation for a long time. I think the first book I wrote I didn’t even really know about Point of View and so I wrote this whole book “head hopping.” Tap into support networks early Probably I was writing because I just loved writing, so I probably should have had a bit more of a business head on, and been a bit more savvy. When I had decisions to make, I probably should have backed myself a bit more and waited instead of jumping in really early. But I’ve got no complaints. I love where I am and I’m very thankful that I have can write full time. But I guess hindsight’s always wonderful you always think oh what if I’ve done this? For any aspiring writers out there, just to find your tribe, and find a support network that has expertise as well as that emotional support. When someone says “I’ve got a plot hole that I can’t get through” there’ll be someone with a great idea that will be able to help you through it. I think that’s the thing. Writing in isolation is not always the best thing to do. And also just taking off that creative writing hat and putting on a more commercial business hat can be very useful at crucial times. Networking so important Jenny: Yes sure. Romance Writers I must say they’re very strong on both of those. They’re strong on the craft but I’ve always respected how savvy they are about the marketing and promoting side. They always have people speaking at their conferences – the editors or agents – coming down who really report on what’s going on in the market as well. Alissa: I think that’s the key thing because the conferences both the Romance Writers New Zealand as well as Romance Writers of Australia have they actually give you access. There’s pitching opportunities to the editors and the publishers and that’s how I sold my first book. Nowadays you can do a lot more online submissions, which I’m probably more comfortable with. Beating author isolation Conferences give you the opportunity to meet people and to actually pitch your story which is just gold because if you live in isolated area like I did there’s no way that I would be able to go to Sydney and then go talk to a publisher because that’s just not something that I would have done. Those organisations have lovely support and accessibility to the people that you need to grow your career. And that’s just something that that you can’t really find elsewhere. Jenny: Sure. So what is next for Alissa the writer? You have mentioned in passing some of the things you’re working on but give us a clear idea of where your next 12 months are taking you… What’s next for Alissa the writer? Alissa: So for today I’ve got my “to do list.” I have my fifth story in my current Town of Windmills series. It’s a novella and I am to do my final read through and press “send” to send it to my publisher. So when it’s gone, I never have to think about it again. Then I have a 100,000 word single title book to complete by March which is my sixth book and it’s called The Boundary Fence and I’m having a lot of fun with this one because it does have that missing person thread I mentioned. I do have the normal rural sort of community, again it’s the Town of Windmills town called Woodlea, but I’ve got a bison farm so I’m having a lot of fun. Researching the bison farm There is a bison farm at Dubbo so I’m having a lot of fun having a little fresh sort of approach to a rural story. Then I do have the first book in my Texan series which will actually be a Christmas story to deliver and then I should also have done at least half of my new book for my print publisher which I have no idea what it will be because it will be the start of a whole new series. That’s the unknown so I think I’ve got a very busy writing year which I love and hopefully by the end of it I will have written all that I need to and that I’ll be able to relax and enjoy my Christmas Where readers can contact Alissa Jenny: Where can readers find you online anddo you enjoy interacting with your readers? Alissa: I love interacting with my readers. Unfortunately my footprint on social media is not very big. As I said I prefer to just stick to one platform, but do it well, so you can contact me or chat to me or do whatever you’d like on Facebook. I have a profile Alissa Callen or I have an author page @AlissaCallenAuthor. I also have a Web site and I do have it very occasional newsletter. If anyone would like to stay up to date with cover reveals or news or giveaways and that can easily be joined at my Web site which is to www.allissacallen.com. Following on Amazon On that website you can also follow me on Bookbub or Amazon which is always a good way to keep in touch. If you don’t want to have a newsletter they’ll just send you a new release alert whenever I have a new book out, but I do love hearing from readers. I’ve had some incredible letters or emails and also messages on Facebook and I think that’s a saying that without readers, writers but really writers, because we can tell a story, but we just need to know how it resonates with others. And that’s why I love having feedback from people. Jenny: What’s the nicest thing anybody’s ever said to you in terms of your readers? The nicest thing a reader said Alissa: I think there was a reader that was going through a very difficult time in her life. And the reason why I write and why I mentioned before about the uplifting feel good stories is said I’d like to I suppose it’s my counselling head. I like to help somebody and she had been going through incredibly difficult time and she wrote to me she said she picked up one of my books and she just read it from cover to cover and that it actually gave her a respite, and it took her away from her problems. It made her feel happy. So I think that’s something that’s really powerful. And I think that’s something that is just so lovely. To know that I’ve actually helped somebody. Yes, that was one of my special letters. Jenny: That’s a great place to finish. Thank you so much for your time today. It’s been wonderful talking and you certainly sound as if you’ve got a very full and busy writing life. Alissa: Yes I have. And I love it. And thank you so much for inviting me to chat. If you enjoy Alissa Callen’s small town romance you may also enjoy Annie Seaton’s Eco-Adventure Romance or Sarah Barrie’s Australian Rural Mysteries. Thanks To Our Technical Support: The Joys of Binge Reading podcast is put together with wonderful technical help from Dan Cotton at DC Audio Services. Dan is an experienced sound and video engineer who’s ready and available to help you with your next project… Seek him out at [email protected] or Phone + 64 – 21979539. He’s fast, takes pride in getting it right, and lovely to work with. Our voice overs are done by Abe Raffills, and Abe’s another gem. He got 20 years of experience on both sides of the camera/microphone as a cameraman/director and also voice artist and television presenter. Abe’s vocal delivery is both light hearted and warm and he is super easy to work with no matter the job. You’ll find him at [email protected]

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