Ann B. Harrison...I often get asked why I write rural romance.

Ann B. Harrison has come back to visit in my chair. She is always welcome and is here to tell us today why she writes rural romance. Welcome Ann...


I often get asked why I write rural romance.

It’s simple - write what you know. This great little piece of advice was given to me when I first started writing years ago. I’m a country girl. I grew up in a small rural town on the land doing everything I write about so it actually made a lot of sense.

My father taught me to shoot at an early age. It’s what farming kids did and I loved it. I progressed from shooting cans to rabbits - the plague of the farmer and I still love a good rabbit stew.

We grew our own meat and vegetables. All of my animals had a good life and nowadays they don’t make it to the table - the eggs do but that’s about it. I’m glad I know how to make my own butter and cheese, sausages and pickled meats. It was all a good learning curve and information for my stories.

These days I’m too busy writing to be that involved but I still keep a pretty good vegetable garden and I love my chooks.

What it has done is give me a good grounding for my stories. When I describe shearing sheep, I know how to do it because I’ve shorn my own flock of colored sheep. I’ve even spun the wool too so I know the feel of the lanolin coated fleece as it runs through my fingers onto the spindle.

 I’ve helped bring many a lamb or calf into the world. Sadly, along with that comes the burden of ending life. It’s the farming cycle of life and death most farmers face every day.  I haven’t had to do that too often, thank goodness. I’m a bit of a softie at heart.

When I wrote about the flooding in Taming the Outback, I had firsthand experience. The weather had been terrible when we survived our first major flood. Roads were cut, power was out and my husband had to get to town. Getting him across a raging river was scary but we managed it with help from neighbors. It’s not something I would like to do again but we were faced with it after the major flooding Queensland suffered a few years ago. This time it wasn’t so scary because we were on holiday and could wait it out.

My latest series, Outback Heritage is set in the small town of Deepwater Valley. Each of the characters face their own unique hurdles and I’m hoping my love for the country shines through. Read Grady and tell me what you think. I love to hear from readers.

Buy link : http://www.amazon.com/Grady-Outback-Heritage-Ann-Harrison-ebook/dp/B00Q50D5JW

FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ann-B-Harrison-Author/311207972338638?ref=bookmarks

FB reader group: https://www.facebook.com/TheRyansOfDeepwaterValley.com.au?ref=bookmarks

Website: http://www.annbharrisonromance.com/