December 2019 - the calendar is flicking over.

December here in Australia is shaping up to be extremely hot - and dry. Our creek hasn't run for two years and our dams have been empty for a while. Luckily, we have a bore that supplies water for the horses, and we continue to buy in feed for them. I'd like to have green grass again... but it usually goes from drought to flood, and we've had a few floods where over twelve inches of rain fell overnight. That causes a whole new set of problems.

I have been busy writing. The fifth Outback Riders - Horses of the Spirit - should be completed by late January. Before that, I have just completed a romance which might make it out by the end of December. Like Muted and Zo, the main female character is intelligent, funny, strong willed, and interesting - and it follows the fairly classic path of, 'they hate each other; they love each other; they part ways; they realise they want to be together forever'. It's mostly clean and sweet, with no swear words and it has the 'fade to black' type love scenes. There are some sad parts. It's set in the outback (of course), California, and Montana. 'Star Writer' doesn't give you any graphic sex scenes, but there is a level of steaminess between Abby and Jackson that should entertain readers who love romance.

I hope life is treating you well, and your winter or summer season is shaping up to be wonderful.

Take care,

Leanne O.

Another beautiful day in Queensland

It's 8.30am, July 12 - so, the middle of winter, and the cold morning has already warmed to 15C, with a warm 25C predicted (77F) - not a cloud in the sky, the barest of breezes moving the trees, and, unfortunately, not a blade of grass left in the paddocks with the worst drought in the 30 years we've been on this farm. Ah well, I'll admire the beautiful day without thinking of the drought.

I'm editing Horses Of The Rain so I should have that out soon (a few years overdue, mind you), and then back to the kick-butt trilogy about two Australian women who go on a rampage against a group of wealthy, powerful men who kidnapped a child. These two women are funny and lethal - typical Aussie girls, really.

I'd better go and do some outside work (school holidays - no teaching), and then I can a few more hours with the books. I sure hope you're having a nice day or night wherever you are.

I'd forgotten about this blog!

I kept wondering where my blog page was... I knew I had one. This is it (I think :D ) Since I last wrote here, I've released the big stand-alone novel, 'Muted' - if you like horses, you'll love it. If you don't like horses, I think you'll still like it, as it's about the people and the pharmaceutical product being developed, and lots of other issues, as much as it's about the horses. I also wrote 'Zo' - a stand alone novel about a group of 59 year old Australians who rush to help a childhood friend, and listen to her story of being in love with someone who died 500 years earlier. I thought it was good, but not many people are reading it - and it's doesn't have dragons or magic or graphic sex scenes, so there are a lot of readers who won't be drawn to it. I've nearly finished the fourth of the Outback Riders series... I know, it's been ages, but the books stand alone. I guess, like so many other writers, it's just too easy to become disheartened and discouraged, filled with self doubt, and all the rest. But it'll be out soon - the finishing touches are going in now. I get together with my 59 year old Australian girlfriends soon for a joint celebration of our 60th birthday - we spent our childhood birthdays together when we were at school, so are having a girls' sleepover like we did back in the 60s and 70s when we were young. It's funny that the more things change, the more they stay the same - everything that we loved about each other when we were kids remains unchanged, no matter how many layers life has added on. You'll find a lot of our childhood in Zo - though it's been transferred over to a different group of friends the same age as us (believe me, none of us had lives quite so dramatic as the Zo friends). Stay safe. Be kind. You don't have to change the world for the better, just make life around you a little better - that is amazing. Leanne (you can find me on Facebook as 'Leanne Owens - author' or write to me at lea_owens@hotmail.com