I fell in love with romance as a teenager. Starting with historical romance. I read everything in the school library and then assembled a personal treasured collection of Georgette Heyer. I’ve had a set of Heyer’s historical romances for years—these days as e-books so I can always dip into them when needed. They’re comfort food, like Vegemite toast, a peculiarly Australian obsession, for times when I feel low. My library of comfort food has grown over the years but Georgette Heyer was an early star, under the blankets after lights out using a torch.
I’m a member of a number of romance writing organisations and for years I hid in the shadows believing I needed contest vindication before I even approached a publisher. I find the idea of indie publishing daunting and have enormous respect for authors who’ve shouldered all the work from creation to publication and marketing. For me writing is the joy. I love those days when words flow and you forget the hard slog that’s involved in this craft. I’ve always made up stories about strangers in the street, in a café or strolling through an airport terminal; finding inspiration in snippets of conversations, news items and the sheer puzzle of human interactions. Being able to turn those into stories is a delight.
Why romance? I’ve written prose all my professional life, but the need to write romance stems from my childhood and a father who staged a disappearing act. I always hoped for a happily-ever-after for my family, but learned to approach relationships with caution. Finding my own life’s partner made me reflect on what makes relationships work, what makes love affairs work. It starts with attraction, the heat of passion, but to last you need mutual respect, trust and loyalty. Such simple words and so hard to achieve. I remember waking up one morning and thinking “I’m safe”. Safe to pursue my dreams, to grow and change and still have my lover’s complete support. It was liberating. That’s the kind of romance I write—heat with heart.
I’m now a three-time finalist in the Romance Writers of Australia Emerald competition (unpublished manuscripts). Taylor’s Law was published in 2022, Lela’s Choice in 2023 and Quinn, by design releases in June 2024. I won the Romance Writers of New Zealand Pacific Hearts competition (unpublished manuscripts) twice. Grace Under Fire, the sequel to Taylor’s Law was published in 2023. I’ve been a chapter finalist in a number of US competitions. Planting Hope published in 2023 won the 2020 Orange Rose Contest Contemporary Romance Category. Competitions provide constructive, honest, not always comfortable feedback.
I was introduced to my publisher, Melissa Keir, Inkspell Publishing through a US competition. I’d tucked Taylor’s Law in a drawer after one or two knockbacks. Then an author told me she’d submitted to every English language romance publisher in the world. Wow! I opened that drawer so fast, polished the manuscript and submitted.
I’m so grateful I listened. In 2023 Taylor’s Law placed second in the Romance Writers of New Zealand Koru Awards for Best First Book.
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Title: Taylor’s Law
Author Jennifer Raines
Genre Contemporary Romance
Publisher Inkspell Publishing
Book Blurb
Tell me a secret and I’ll tell you a lie
Ella Anderson adores her niece. Despite struggling to make ends meet, accepting her dying sister’s request she raise Tessa as her own is a no brainer. Until she receives a summons from a legal goliath on behalf of a wealthy stranger claiming paternity and, potentially, custody of her child.
Jake Taylor has been ripped off one too many times. Yet the letter from a woman claiming his cousin fathered her child feels real. His aunt and uncle are desperate for a grandchild. When the child’s aunt shows up in his office in place of the child’s mother, he smells fraud.
Secrets and lies bubble to the surface, threatening Ella and Jake’s growing attraction. In a minefield of divided loyalties, can Ella trust Jake to make the right decision about custody of Tessa?
Excerpt
“Who are you?” he demanded.
The tension in his liquid chocolate voice rippled through her. This man couldn’t be Tessa’s father. The ferocity of her denial rattled her. Every cell refused to accept he’d been her sister’s lover. And some remnant of reasoned thought nagged at her. He’d have eaten Chrissy alive.
“Eleanor Anderson.” With an effort, she gathered her professional poise. “Chrissy’s sister. Ella. You must be Drew.” She reached out a hand.
“You know damn well I’m not Drew.”
“If you aren’t Drew, who are you?” Off-balanced by his instant attack, she tried to steady her jumpy nerves. Withdrawing her hand, she turned to the older man, who was staring at Tessa. “Mr. Taylor, your letter requested Chrissy meet you here about Drew Browning’s paternity and …” She stumbled to a halt over the word “custody,” then shook her head as a bizarre idea formed. “You can’t be Drew?”
“I’m his father, Peter.” His presence confused her further but confirmed the identity of the pirate king.
She stretched out a hand for a second time. “Then you must be Mr. Taylor. Good morning.”
“Where’s Chrissy?” Taylor demanded.
Before she could answer, Tessa’s soft voice ricocheted around the room. “Mama’s in heaven.”
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Author Biography
Australian Jennifer Raines writes sensuous contemporary romances set mainly, but not exclusively, in Australia—think Malta, Finland, New Zealand or ? A dreamer and an optimist, her stories are a delicious cocktail of passion, mutual respect and loyalty because she still believes in happily-ever-afters.
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Title: Grace Under Fire
Author: Jennifer Raines
Genre Contemporary Romance
Publisher Inkspell Publishing
Book Blurb
It’s deal or no deal when a new threat forces two independent neighbours to face a past tragedy.
Artisan cheese-maker GRACE ANDERSON lost her closest friend to suicide, then saw her father swindled out of prime dairy land. Abandonment and mistrust cemented her determination to become the fifth generation on the family farm and to do it alone. A deterioration in her mother’s health starts the clock. Grace has three months to buy her parents out—a decade sooner than planned—or lose the farm.
Neighbour RYAN WILSON is haunted by the belief he failed to prevent his younger brother Danny’s suicide. He’s returned to sell his mother’s farm. In eight years away, he’s built a fortune flipping farm properties and doesn’t do attachment—to land or people.
The bank plays hard ball, forcing Grace to consider Ryan’s offer to buy part of her land. The sizzling attraction simmering between them is an unwelcome complication. She doesn’t want a business partner, he doesn’t want to care, but when someone tries to sabotage her purchase, she finds herself turning to Ryan for more than financial help.
Can Ryan convince her accepting help is not failure? Can Grace escape her legacy of mistrust and teach him how to care again?
Excerpt
Grace had looked to Ryan in the church ten years ago. For help to make sense of the madness? For reassurance? To see if he shared her sense of loss, of waste, of guilt in not being able to prevent Danny’s death. Ryan had refused to talk to her after Danny’s funeral, abandoning her to suffocating grief.
Ryan had been seventeen then to her fifteen, as tall as now but gangly. He hadn’t grown into his build, but the promise of the man had been there. His shaggy hair had been longer. Not long enough to hide his tight, shuttered expression.
The pain of Ryan’s rejection had smouldered inside her, only to flare up now. He’d left town straight after her best friend Danny’s funeral. Hadn’t stayed for the wake or to listen to community condolences. Ryan had spoken to no one. Not even her. Then disappeared. When his mother needed him. Grace had struggled to forgive him for that too. She’d taught herself not to need him, not to need anyone other than her family.
“I’m sorry I didn’t speak to you.” He rose abruptly to his feet, his hands held up in front of him.
She rose with him. Her heart hammered, her hands balled and her legs were planted wide in defiance.
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Title: Planting Hope
Author: Jennifer Raines
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher Inkspell Publishing
Book Blurb
Can digging and weeding, planting, and pruning equal love?
Nursing is Holly Cooper’s vocation, and her sanctuary, until she witnesses a murderous attack during emergency surgery. Her childhood fear of never belonging resurfaces. Untethered, she’s following music festivals down Australia’s eastern seaboard, sometimes working as a nurse, sometimes as a volunteer.
Reclusive gardener Christopher (Kit) Silverton needs a nurse for his half-finished research project: the therapeutic power of gardening. In plain English, can digging and weeding, planting, pruning, hacking, or any one of those activities help kids to heal after domestic violence? A survivor himself, he knows what it’s like to live with pain, guilt, and relationships that end in tears.
When Kit’s partner, and on-site nurse, is injured, she suggests her granddaughter, Holly Cooper, as a replacement. Holly has the qualifications, but Kit will need convincing that a pink and green haired free spirit has anything to offer the project.
As the garden develops, passion blooms between Holly and Kit. When security on the site is breached, Kit confronts his worst nightmare. Defending the kids and Holly proves his critics right—violence lives within him. Can Holly overcome her own doubts to prove he’s wrong?
Excerpt
Holly’s stare landed on a craggy, square-jawed face scowling at her. His frosty grey gaze suggested his mood hadn’t improved. How come Mona didn’t mention her ripped, mid-thirties friend?
“Christopher Silverton.” She scrambled to her feet and offered a hand. “I’m guessing you looked after Bella and Max, as well as Mona.”
He refused her offer of a hand, instead doing his own slow survey. She failed whatever test he’d set her. “I’ve driven past the house a few times today,” he said. “But you weren’t here.”
“Just got here,” she replied. The guy needed a personality bypass, but he’d done his second good deed for the day.
“It’s after nine.”
“Is it?” It could be a hair past a freckle for all Holly cared. She held out her hand. “Max.”
“I fed them.” He handed her the carrier. “I’ll take you to the hospital.”
Her eyebrows rose at the masterful tone. “That’s not necessary.”
“The least you can do is go and see your grandmother. Or”—he leaned closer and his nostrils twitched—“maybe you need a bath first.”
“Advice noted.” She set the carrier on the floor, then closed the door in his face, deliberately locking it. She braced herself—body and mind—for a pushback, expecting his pent-up irritation to explode in loud knocking or shouted instructions. Nursing had taught her a lot of men didn’t take no for an answer. Her heart skittered against her chest. A lot of people didn’t take no for an answer.
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Title Lela’s Choice
Author Jennifer Raines
Genre Contemporary Romance
Publisher Inkspell Publishing
Book Blurb
Missing in Malta—A Risk Worth Taking?
Lela Vella has been a dutiful daughter and aunt for the past decade. But her plan to wean her father and orphaned niece off their dependence on her is scuttled when her niece and boyfriend flee Sydney for Malta. Lela suspects her autocratic father of provoking the flight. Lela’s desperate to reach the teenager before her father’s ultimatums blow another generation apart.
Widowed, Australian international child-protection lawyer, Hamish McGregor accepts Giovanni Vella’s request to remain in Malta after a conference to search for Vella’s missing granddaughter. Hamish’s formidable reputation is built on putting the needs of the child first. He doubled down on his work after the revenge murder of his pregnant wife by a client’s husband, vowing never to get close enough to another woman for her to be a target.
Lela doesn’t expect her father’s henchman to beat her to Malta. Hamish doesn’t expect the girl’s doting aunt to see him as an enemy.
Reluctant partners, they navigate false leads and unexpected attraction. Can Lela balance her family’s demands with her love for Hamish? Can Hamish accept living life is all about taking risks?
Excerpt
“Have you been to Malta before?”
“Never.” Except for a few brief business trips to Asia, Lela hadn’t been out of Australia in nearly a decade.
“Even with the family connections?”
“My parents moved to Australia shortly after their marriage. We have no close family here.” It was easier to stare out the window; she really was too tired to think. The muddle of exhaustion was her best explanation for her reaction to the man beside her. Years spent controlling her impulses, training herself to think of consequences before action, yet one look at him had shaken her more than she would have believed possible.
Fatigue, an abnormal situation, bone-crushing worry … and fatigue.
Hamish MacGregor was just a man.
She’d trained herself to deal with men.
A pity the confined space in the car enhanced the subtle scent of his aftershave, its spiciness tugging at her senses—its base note absurdly reassuring.
“How was the flight?”
“Long.”
“You must have moved to be here so fast.”
She gave him an A for perseverance. “The first available flight.”
He nodded. “A lot of time to think.”
“Is there a point to this conversation?” Lela made the mistake of meeting his gaze. Deep pools, deep enough to find your soul. Fatigue, she recited her mantra, blaming it for her uncharacteristic flight of fancy.
“People chasing runaways often focus on a single fear, the catalyst for the flight. What’s your theory?”
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Title Masquerade
Author Jennifer Raines
Genre Contemporary Romance
Publisher Inkspell Publishing
Book Blurb
Fool me once…
Money won’t bring LIAM QUINN’S father back, but it’ll save his mother’s home. A high-paying law partnership is in his sights. To win it, he needs to successfully land a project. Problem is the project requires absolute confidentiality, and he’s just discovered his estranged identical twin is appearing life size on a billboard across the city. The second catch is a return to environmental law. His earlier career imploded after his lover was revealed as a mining company spy.
Researcher and soon-to-be-published romance author KATE TURNER needs a disguise. Maybe more than one. Her famous playwright father despises ‘trashy’ novels. Her ex-boyfriend mocked her ‘dirty little secret’, then stalked her when she left him. Her identical twin coaxes her into appearing on a billboard to prove she can be notorious and anonymous at the same time. No one connects the billboard model to the dowdy researcher Kate has become, and no one knows about her author pseudonym and second disguise as Ms. Sexy Romance.
Kate and Liam’s lives collide when she’s hired as Liam’s research assistant. Liam’s boss laughs off the billboard. Having doubles is the perfect cover for confidential field work.
A masquerade, a road trip, a steamy attraction, the sudden appearance of Liam’s old lover, and Ms. Sexy Romance’s unexpected arrival in the wrong place at the wrong time, and Liam and Kate discover the steps they took to protect their hearts might break them.
Excerpt
Liam’s tall figure striding towards the service counter at the library caused Kate’s heart rate to careen. His hair was wind-tossed, his scarf loose at his throat and he was shrugging off his overcoat. He’d already abandoned his tie, and with it, his daunting aura. The silk chokehold hung haphazardly out of his coat pocket, ruining the image she’d clung to of the stereotypical, unemotional lawyer. Finding the rumpled Liam attractive was a complication she hadn’t allowed for. It made her more aware of him as a flesh and blood individual with needs and wants and feelings. Pigeonholing him as an insensitive, legal machine became much harder.
Yum, as the female lead in Kate’s current work in progress would say. Finding herself in furious agreement, Kate’s stomach lurched. Liam’s close connection to his boss, a man she admired, and his unexpected selection of her number one project had softened her resistance to him. While the memory of his hand almost tangling in her hair had given her a sleepless night.
“Hello, Liam.” She’d planned to be on the front steps when he arrived, not her territory or his. “I thought I said I wouldn’t be free until after eight.”
“I finished earlier than expected.” He rolled his shoulders. “I texted you.”
The fluid grace of his movements elicited an inward groan. No point denying the pull in her abdomen. Any self-respecting female romantic lead—certainly every one of hers—would be salivating by now.
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