It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

December is nearly here and three homes I've visited in the last week already have Christmas trees up - so it really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Heat waves are the go here in Australia - the prediction for the next five days in our corner of Queensland has tops of 35, 39, 40, 40, 45 Celsius (that's 95, 102, 104,104, 113 Farenheit - yep 113F predicted for December 2). Our drought continues - our big dam remains dry for the third year in a row, after thirty years of always having water. Still, it could be worse - we could always have a pandemic. Oh, that's right...

On the writing front, I am doing re-writes of the sequel to Muted to try and get it out. It is big, complicated, inspiring, and - hopefully - a real page-turner. There are a couple of other books that should be out in early 2021. I had hoped to get them out this year, but life gets in the way.

I hope 2020 hasn't been the anno horribilis for you, but I know how many lives have been disrupted, hurt, damaged, and broken by the events of this year, so chances are you've had a hard time. As 2021 approaches, I hope we have a transition into better times.

July 28, 2020 Find joy in the small things.

As Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc around the world, I can only hope that you are able to find joy in the small things - the perfume of a flower, the sound of a bird, the sight of clouds, the laughter of children. I also hope you have the chance to escape into books and leave the problems of the world behind.

I am trying to get four books out before Christmas - the sequel to Muted, Outback Riders #6, another romance, and an unusual story that I'm enjoying writing when I find my mind slowing on the others.

I like looking at Mt Beau Brummel from our front door (a photo below from my front door). It's only a small mountain, but I love the shape. Twenty-six years ago we made a road around this mountain so the landowner could drive around it - with binoculars, I can still see the road.

Stay safe. Grow some vegetables. Be kind. Read books.

May 26 - I hope you and yours are well in these difficult times.

Dear Reader,
I hope you are doing well in these difficult times. It is my sincere wish that you have your health, your family and friends, enough food to eat and clean water to drink, a safe place to sleep at night, your job, and positive dreams of the future. These are difficult times, but humans are made to be resilient and the 'I shall overcome' gene is in us all when we need it.
Here in my part of Australia, things are getting back to normal. Queensland's five million people haven't seen any new C-19 cases for a few days. All school children go back to school this week for the first time in about six weeks, so parents will be enjoying some time to themselves. The weather is beautiful - the cool nights and warm days of a Queensland autumn are incredible...of course, it would be nice if it wasn't so darned dry, but the bore on our farm provides water for the stock, so we manage.
On the writing front, I am well into a Muted sequel, called Rescued. The same characters as Muted, about a year after that was set, but it can be read as a stand-alone. I'm building in plenty of twists, turns, humour, surprises, and some romance, so I hope readers enjoy it when it comes out.
I'm also several chapters into the sixth Outback Riders novel. This one isn't about the Sunhaven teens, though, it covers the life of their new neighbour, Bethany Hunter, and her Olympic eventing horse, Flight. Horses of the Skies has a fantasy element covering the 'alternate world' where Flight was born - a mystical land where he had wings. When the flying horse lands himself here without wings, he learns that jumping gives him a few moments of feeling as though he can fly again, and he and Bethany take on the world. There are tears and joy, and it ends up in the outback where Bethany buys the property near Sunhaven and meets the teens as well as the Min Min.
As autumn rolls towards winter here in Australia, and spring rolls towards summer in northern parts, I really, truly hope you are well and have a positive future.
Take care and stay safe.
Leanne O.

P.S. a photo from my front door this morning.

APRIL 16 - 'Horses of the Spirit' eBook version now available

With half the world's population in lockdown or near-lockdown, these are proving to be unusual times. I hope you are safe and finding joy in the small things.

The fifth book in The Outback Riders series, 'Horses of the Spirit' is now live, but it usually takes a few days to show up as part of the series and on my author page.

Horses of the Spirit (eBook on Amazon)

From my author's point of view, it is favourite so far as I think I've come a long way since the first book in the series, but it will be up to readers to decide if they like it. There are tears, but I always like a happy ending in fiction since we don't always get them in real life, so don't fret too much.

Stay safe.
Leanne O.

Stay safe, social distancing, and FREE BOOKS.

These are certainly trying times and I hope you all remain safe, endure, and find the resilience to overcome. For those spending more time at home than usual, follow the 'social distancing' advice as that will help slow the spread of the virus. To help in some small way, I'm going to offer the entire Outback Riders series for free (the eBooks, one at a time) during March and April. The books are good reading for middle graders, teens, and adults who like clean adventure stories with excitement, tears, laughs, and happy endings.

First up, Horses Of The Sun will be free from Thursday March 19 for five days (so, for Aussies, that's Friday afternoon onwards). On Friday March 27, Horses Of The Light will be free for five days (for Aussies, that's Saturday afternoon onwards). Horses Of The Fire and Horses Of The Rain will be free in the weeks after that. I have worksheets to accompany the books if any parents want to have their children do some work related to the books - just email me at L.H.Owens@outlook.com if you want copies. Tell your friends. If you are on Kindle Unlimited, it would be great if you read them on KU as I do make money out of them that way. The series has about a 90% five star rating, so they are good reading.

Here's a photo of one of this year's storms to remind you to look for the beauty in the clouds.

Stay safe.

February 2020 - the fires are out and the grass is green. THANKFULNESS

After almost three years without good rain, our little 100 acre farm is green again. As you probably know, Australia has suffered dreadfully from extremes these past few years with droughts and fires, and these big east coast lows have put out all the fires and brought relief to many. We still haven't had enough to run the two creeks on our farm, but at least it is green again and that is beautiful on the eyes.

A photo of one of the storm clouds - no filters, it really did look just like this. I imagined faces in the cloud looking down on us. The first one was before the full colour of sunset, the second was a few minutes later. I took the photos from our veranda looking west towards Laidley. The storm was about 80kms away.

I published Star Writer last month. I didn't do a launch - just put it out there and moved on. I hope someone likes it - I'm reading it for the umpteenth time for enjoyment (and still finding a comma in the wrong place and fixing it) and I like the whole cast of characters. I know books are usually about the main characters, but I fall in love with the background people who shine - we are all made up of pieces of those around us.

I'm finishing the fifth in The Outback Riders series - Horses Of The Spirit - which is three different stories in the one novel: 1. Matty's illness; 2. Amy's trip to Colombia with Polo to look for the man who might be her father; and 3. Lani, Dane, and Brandon go looking for the mysterious music that can be heard in the early mornings from the Sunhaven Hills.  I think there is only one more to write - the riders grown up and at their various international competitions...but if readers want to continue following them, I'll happily write some more as they compete around the world.

My action/suspense trilogy about two Australian women who take on a group of right wing extremists after the men kidnap the daughter of  one is well underway. I won't release until all books are complete. These women are amazing - an outback Queenslander fighting for her daughter, and her friend from their university days, an IT genius and lethal killer who will do anything to save her friend and her daughter. It's fast, filled with action, and I hope readers will adore these funny, feisty, lethal women as they break all expectations as the powerful men make their most common mistake - they underestimate women.

If anyone reads this - and I don't think anyone does - I hope you are well and that you are able to remain positive no matter what life throws at you. Remember - it's always better on this side of the grass, and while there is life, there is hope. Look after yourself, and be kind to all.

Leanne XXOO