Cross My Heart
Page 29
To my family and friends, including my mum Gwen, brothers Peter and Gary, and sister Lynne, thank you for your ongoing interest in my writing and for cheering me on from the side-line. It’s wonderful to have your support both in person and online.
To my husband, John, thank you for not only sticking by me for over thirty years but for joining me on this Wildwords Publishing ride. Here’s to many more, on both fronts. And to my three beautiful daughters, Freya, Georgia and Amelia, thank you for always believing in me and never thinking I’m too old to follow my dreams. To Jack, my gorgeous little man, thanks for making me smile and for giving me an even better reason to meet my deadlines.
Last but by no means least: thank you to my readers. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been having a bad day, thought about chucking the whole writing thing in and then I’ve received an email or message from a reader telling me how much they enjoyed one of my books. Without readers, authors would not exist and without my loyal readers Cross My Heart would not be out in the world. I hope you enjoy my story and I hope to write many more for you in the future.
Also by Pamela Cook
Blackwattle Lake
Essie’s Way
Close To Home
The Crossroads
From Pamela
Thank you for reading Cross My Heart. I hope you enjoyed it.
I love connecting with readers and would love to hear your thoughts on the novel. You can contact me via my website or any of the social media links on the About the Author page.
You can also find Bookclub Questions for Cross My Heart on my website.
If you loved the story I would appreciate you taking the time to post a review on Goodreads or wherever you purchased the book.
To find out what I’m writing next, what I’m reading and other snippets from my writing life you can sign up for my newsletter here.
Blackwattle Lake
When Eve Nicholls returns to her childhood home it’s not long before she’s confronted by people – and memories – from her past. She re-discovers her love of horses and of the bush, along with her old adventurous self, but memories and unforeseen events force her to face her demons – and more.
‘Eve took a deep breath and stepped down from the kombi. Everything inside her was shaking. Maybe being back here wasn’t going to be as easy as she’d thought.’
A story about forgiveness and courage, and finding a place to belong.
“Well written, with appealing characterisation and an engaging storyline, Blackwattle Lake is an appealing contemporary novel set in rural Australia which I truly enjoyed.”
Shelleyrae at Book’d Out (via Goodreads)
Read now
Essie’s Way
Miranda McIntyre thinks she has it all sorted. She’s a successful lawyer, she’s planning her wedding and ticking off all the right boxes. When searching for something old to go with her wedding dress she remembers an antique necklace from her childhood, but her mother denies any knowledge of it. Miranda is sure it exists. Trying to find the necklace, she discovers evidence that perhaps the grandmother she thought was dead is still alive.
Ignoring the creeping uncertainty about her impending marriage, and the worry that she is not living the life she really wants, Miranda takes off on a road trip in search of answers to the family mystery but also in search of herself.
‘In the distance the sky and sea merged into an opaque sheet of black, the only light shed by a sliver of moon. A crack of lightning split the darkness, illuminating the cauldron that was the ocean for just a few moments. She tilted her chin up and stretched forward, straining to see. Something was out there.’
A captivating story of family, love and following your heart.
“A stunningly beautiful novel that perfectly captures rural Australian life.”
Mrs B’s Book Reviews (via Goodreads)
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Close To Home
For Charlie Anderson the only thing harder than letting go is moving on.
Orphaned at thirteen, Charlie has been on her own for over half her life. Not that she minds – she has her work as a vet and most days that’s enough. Most days. But when she’s sent to a small town on the New South Wales coast to investigate a possible outbreak of the deadly Hendra virus, Charlie finds herself torn between the haunting memories of her past, her dedication to the job and her attraction to a handsome local.
Travelling to Naringup means coming face to face with what is left of her dysfunctional family – her cousin Emma, who begged Charlie not to leave all those years ago, and her aunt Hazel, who let her go without a backwards glance. But it also means relying on the kindness of strangers and, when she meets local park ranger Joel Drummond, opening her heart to the possibility of something more …
As tensions in the country town rise, can Charlie reconcile with the past and find herself a new future in the town she left so long ago?
The only thing harder than letting go is moving on …
“It’s a story that you just enjoy reading, that flowed well and that kept this reader completely engrossed from start to finish with many confrontations within the story that are both nail bitingly well written and equally heart-poundingly shocking.”
Talking Books (via Goodreads)
Read now
The Crossroads
Rosie O’Shea dreams of seeing the world. But right now the outback hotel she owns is falling down around her ears, her bank account is empty and family duty means she’s staying put.
Drought is impacting hard on Stephanie Bailey and her family. They’ve already been forced to sell off most of their cattle. The rains aren’t coming and Stephanie’s husband is becoming more and more distant.
City girl Faith Montgomery is left reeling after a shocking discovery. Determined to uncover the truth and make sense of her life, she arrives at The Crossroads Hotel but soon realises deception isn’t an easy game to play.
One family. Three women. Will the lies they tell and the secrets they hide lead to more heartache or will fate bring them together before its too late?
Moving your life in a new direction sometimes means taking the hard road.
“It has everything you want – battles against external factors, a race against time, love, loss and ultimately a happy ending. It would make for a great summer or holiday read.”
Sam Still Reading (via Goodreads)
Read now.
Pamela Cook and Room to Read
Pamela Cook is a committed writer ambassador for Room to Read, a dynamic global organization transforming the lives of millions of children in low-income communities by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education.
Founded in 2000 on the belief that World Change Starts with Educated Children®, Room to Read’s innovative model focuses on deep, systemic transformation within schools during the two time periods that are most critical in a child’s schooling: early primary school for literacy acquisition and secondary school for girls’ education.
Room to Read works in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations and governments to develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children, and to ensure girls can complete secondary school with the skills necessary to negotiate key life decisions. Since its inception, Room to Read's worldwide team has benefited over 16 million children in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Grenada, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Rwanda, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Vietnam, and Zambia.
As Pamela says, ‘Having visited Room to Read schools in rural India, I have seen at first hand how life-changing their programs really are. Where you happen to be born should not determine whether or not you receive an education. I truly believe that World Change Starts with Educated Children and that’s why I support Room to Read.’
For more information, www.roomtoread.org.
About Pamela
Pamela Cook writes Rural and Contemporary Australian Fiction featuring complex women and tangled family
relationships. Her first novels were Rural Fiction with Romantic Elements: Blackwattle Lake (2012), Essie’s Way (2013), Close To Home (2015) and The Crossroads (2016) published by Hachette Australia. Cross My Heart (2019) is Pamela’s first Women’s Fiction title, continuing her passion for writing strong female characters and stories set in beautiful rural settings.
Pamela is the co-host of the Writes4Women and Writes4Festivals podcasts, and Program Director for the inaugural Storyfest Literary Festival happening in Milton, NSW, in June 2019. She is proud to be a Writer Ambassador for Room To Read, a not-for-profit organisation promoting literacy and gender equality in developing countries. When she’s not writing, podcasting or festival planning she wastes as much time as possible riding her handsome quarter horses, Morocco and Rio.
Pamela teaches writing courses and workshops through her business, Justwrite. www.justwrite.net.au
She loves to connect with readers both in person and online. You will often find her lurking in one of these places:
www.pamelacook.com.au
www.facebook.com/PamelaCookAuthor
www.writes4women.com
Twitter @PamelaCookAU
Instagram @pamelacookwrites and @w4wpodcast
First published by Wildwords Publishing in 2019
This edition published in 2019 by Wildwords Publishing
Copyright © Pamela Cook 2019
http://www.pamelacook.com.au
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.
Cross My Heart
POD: 9780648523505
EPUB: 9780648523512
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