THE RICH STRANGER

I have a few things to share about this book, the second of my PRINCES OF THE OUTBACK series. The first is about the origins of my heroine, Catriona McConnell. Cat first appeared in my second attempt at a romance novel, the first that I call completed. That book, For Love or Money, won the Emma Darcy Award in 1996, which surprised the heck out of me. Let me backtrack a moment to tell you about the EDA…

I am feeling quite nostalgic writing about it, probably because the very last winner was announced last weekend and the contest is no more. What is/was the EDA? A contest run by Romance Writers of Australia, sponsored by the wonderful Emma Darcy, for a full romance manuscript written by an unpublished writer. The readers judged the entries as a whole book, as opposed to most contests for unpublished writers, which are judged on 50 pages or less. So you can imagine the boost winning this award gave me, a raw and insecure newcomer, even after the book was finally rejected by Mills and Boon. 

Receiving the Emma Darcy Award from that wonderful 
woman (I love her; I love her books!)

I can’t always find a picture to 
match the character in my
mind’s eye, but this is Cat,
pretty much as I see her. 

Even though it was rejected I kept that manuscript on my computer. Some day, I thought, I would have the skills to work it into a publishable story. A year or two back I read For Love or Money again and knew it would never fly. The story of a gutsy gal battling to save her family farm from the enigmatic banker hero felt tired, old-fashioned, done to death. Plus, the hero really was a cold fish (what did Cat see in him???)

But, for all that, I liked Cat a lot. She deserved her own story; she deserved a happy ending (with a much nicer guy!) So, when I was brainstorming Rafe’s story for PRINCES OF THE OUTBACK, when I was looking for the perfect, no-nonsense woman to test his failsafe charm, I thought of Cat. I had to change a few things, but she is essentially the same woman. 

So, I had my lead characters—Rafe Carlisle, all sexy confidence and charm; and Cat McConnell, all practical bluff and bravado—meet at Cat’s outback property when his plane is forced to land in a storm. I wanted to include a scene from For Love or Money with puppies and a wet shirt that had to come off. Unfortunately, the scene didn’t fit although I did include the puppies. 

Circumstances lead Rafe and Cat to Las Vegas, home of fabulous hotels, casinos and wedding chapels, all of which feature in the book. But the Vegas scene I loved including is away from the bright lights of The Strip. It’s a crucial scene, a turning point, where Rafe shows a more caring side and a deeper understanding of Cat…even while he’s plotting his next move.

In 2002 I visited Vegas, briefly, with fellow Australian author, Fiona McArthur. We hired a Mustang convertible (not a Jag like Rafe, because we had a budget) and drove out into the countryside with the top down and I had to include this Vegas experience in a book. The Rich Stranger is it!

Outside of Vegas, on the drive that inspired the scene in 
The Rich Stranger.