Adventure – Sandy Barker

Diary of a Menopausal Romcom Author Part 3: UK & What’s happening

August 9, 2026sandybarker

Hi – me again. Last post for the week, I promise.

The 3rd part of our trip took us to the UK for time with the fam, catch ups with friends and a couple of bookish events.

Family is everything and spending proper time with my sis Victoria, brother-in-law Mark and Alex, our nephew (plus their three cats) was brilliant fun. And we caught up with our great aunt Joan, who at 94 is still sharp and funny (and always saves room for dessert). Alex who was 13 the last time we saw him and about my height has shot up to 6 feet. But most importantly, at 15, he’s the same loving, smart and (at times) hilarious boy we’ve always known.

They fam lives on the canals southeast of Rugby and Ben and I walked them every day – always something new to see and someone new to meet, like Mavis, Queen of the Canals (the wee tiny little puppy who rides on the top of her canal boat). It’s a quintessentially English town and we did quintessentially English things, like having picky bits for tea (Mark’s incredible spread) and going to the garden centre to buy lavender.

Next up were bookish events.

Fellow author Kim Nash invited me and Kiley Dunbar to her bookshop Fiction and Fairy Lights for a reader event and it was brilliant fun. I’d met them both before and they are such gorgeous and talented women. Great chat and met lots of new readers (one of the best parts of being an author).

The following week, we headed east to attend the Hertfordshire library event for Zoë Folbigg (writing as Victoria Prince) and Kathleen Whyman. When I originally told them I was coming, they didn’t believe me (because I live across the world) but it was a wonderful event and brilliant to catch up – and spend time with my sis and one of my oldest friends, Suzi, who we stayed with.

So, a fabulous trip to the UK, but it’s also good to be home in Denmark – even though it’s winter and often cold and raining, because it’s also beautiful and sunny sometimes (and we get to play with Fergus, my parent’s dog).

And in between gardening, yoga and catching up with my parents and our friends, I’m back to work.

In a couple of weeks, I’m presenting at the Romance Writers of Australia conference in Darwin. It’s my first time presenting for RWA and I am super excited. I am also looking forward seeing author friends, learning about writing craft and the publishing biz (always learning!), dancing at the gala with Ben – and it’s our first trip to Darwin, so that’s a plus.

I’m also working on Book 9 for Boldwood, plus a secret side project that I am in love with, and I’ve got a couple of manuscript assessments on my desk as well. My Aussie women’s fiction book is on submission – all appendages crossed it finds the perfect home – and I am already plotting Boldwood book 10 (the one set in Prague).

I am BUSY!

But I do love my job.

Okay, enough about me. Get back to your day and I hope it’s a good one.

Diary of a Menopausal Romcom Author Part 2: Greece

August 8, 2026August 8, 2026sandybarker

Okay, yes, I am posting twice in a day! But I’ve carved out time amid everything else going on and I didn’t want you to miss out on my recent trip to Greece, which still owns a piece of my heart.

After a week in Prague, Ben and I flew to Greece, spending 4 nights on our own on the island of Naxos, where we started to fall for each other on a sailing trip that started in Santorini 20 years ago.

Naxos is truly gorgeous – I mean gorgeous. With (special) thanks to Ben who captured that stunning sunset.

And I also did a little bookish promo… I have two books that include Naxos as a setting: One Summer in Santorini and My Big Greek Island Exscape. So we rented a car for a day and did a little road trip. First up was the Eggares Olive Press which features in My Big Greek Island Exscape. We did the tour – fascinating stuff – and tasted the many (many) varieties of olives, including olive oil cake with olive oil ice cream. And when I introduced myself to the woman who runs the place, she agreed to a photo with my book and asked for one with me for their Insta.

Next up was Matina and Stavros’ Taverna in Koronos. Ben and I went there 20 years ago and we had a friend write Matina a message in Greek to tell her who we were, and that she inspired a character in One Summer in Santorini. We got some pics with her and then had the most delicious lunch (which she wouldn’t let us pay for). Twenty years ago, there was no menu – just what she had cooked that day – but now she’s expanded, having been featured in travel magazines and highly rated on TripAdvisor (we were lucky to get a table).

After Naxos, we joined up with our friends and long-time skipper (and treasured mate) Patrick for a week of sailing around the Cyclades. Ben and I knew the other three couples – we planned the trip and brought everyone together – but they didn’t know each other! It was brilliant – friendships forged on the sometimes rough, sometimes glassy Aegean Sea. And, as always when travelling in the Greek Islands, the days seem long but the week goes by fast. But I did find time for a little holiday romance reading 😉.

A sailing catamaran in a Greek island cover

Each day, we swam off the boat and explored the islands. Folegandros was a standout for me. If you haven’t been and want an experience like Santorini but with less crowds, then I can highly recommend it.

To our lovely friends who made this trip so incredible (Patrick our skipper, Elaine and Rick, Jeff and Linda, and Jake and Ruth).

I will always remember the sisterhood of the travelling bikini top, Rick and Ruth’s rocks, Elaine’s child-sized swimming goggles, the Merman on the rock, in Linda we trust, Jeff’s hair looking better than everyone’s, managing to make cocktails out of almost anything, who’s ‘that guy’ today?, doing ‘boat stuff’ together, swimming off the boat (never once got my hair wet), delish dinners out and a starlit BBQ on the beach (with a close rock skipping comp), a-bit-of-everything lunches, the Chad, cliff jumping, goats, goats and more goats, MFR (more f*cking ruins), fancy-schmancy mega-yacht people, the nail-biting saga of the UK visa!, wonderful stories, lots of laughter, and one of the best weeks of my life.

Thank you, all. And an extra huge thanks to Ben who took a lot of these shots (not just the ones I’m in).

Diary of a Menopausal Romcom Author Part 1: Prague

August 8, 2026sandybarker

It’s been a minute!

Time to catch you up on what I’ve been doing, my works in progress and what’s on the horizon.

Ben and I just got back from 5 weeks in Europe and the UK, and we’re now settling back into mid-winter semi-rural life.

Our trip took us to Prague – first time for Ben and the first time in 30 years for me – and I loved it just as much as last time, even though we landed in the middle of a heatwave. (It’s a land-locked city made largely of stone and it was HOT!)

We headed out very early on our first morning to see the Charles Bridge before the crowds (and the heat of the day). It was us, a handful of fellow travellers and two bridal couples having their wedding photos taken. And the neighbourhood across the river might be the prettiest in Prague.

I met with one of my European agents and my Czech publishers at Grada (we filmed some promo videos), then signed copies of my books at the famous Palace of Books.

Hradčany Castle was a highlight, even though it was 40°C the day of our walking tour.

And we indulged in the local beer and cuisine – everything from Michelin-star dining at Field (where we celebrated our 20th anniversary) to wursts at the park, and even the best Mexican food since we were in Mexico

This was also a research trip – I will be setting my 10th book for Boldwood in this gorgeous city and I am already in the planning stages – so we saw as much of the city as we could in a week.

Next up… Part 2: Greece!

Publication Day for I Knew You Were Trouble

March 23, 2025March 23, 2025sandybarker

My latest book baby is out in the world today. I Knew You Were Trouble is the 5th and final book in the Ever After Agency series, which I started writing in November 2022 for Boldwood Books. If you’ve yet to pick it up, I’d recommend starting with Book 1 Match Me If You Can, which introduces Poppy Dean, matchmaker extraordinaire, and the cast of characters who continue throughout the series.

This one is a revenge romcom, our villain a spoilt, conniving ‘trust fund baby’ who collects fiancées like he’s making a human charm bracelet. Our heroine Kate discovers this when fiancée number two’s brother, the scrummy Dutchman Willem, shows up on her London doorstep to tell her his sister is engaged to her fiancé. Follow that?

What ensues is a deliciously fun romp revealing a third fiancée who lives in Verona, jet-setting between cities to uncover, then fix this mess, a revenge plot involving Kate’s former matchmaker Poppy, and a will-they-won’t-they, it’s-really-a-bad-idea romance emerging between Kate and Willem.

I set it in London, like the rest of the series, as well as Amsterdam and Verona, inspired by my own travels and my little homage to three destinations that featured in our 2024 sabbatical.

I absolutely LOVED living in Amsterdam. We housesat for friends over the summer, giving us time to immerse ourselves in the city and providing inspiration for a setting and a love interest. It’s such a vibrant, beautiful city and many of the locations in the book are places we went to.

We also spent time in Verona, our first trip there, and I fell in love with it. I’d already planned to include it in this book, but walking the streets, eating the incredible food, engaging with the culture and history… those parts of the book practically wrote themselves.

And the revenge plot? That idea came early on, but we wanted to leave it until later in the series as Poppy is matchmaker, not a vigilante. And yes, Poppy features in this book as she does in every other book in the series, her point of view giving us insight into the love story – almost like a narrator.

I really hope you enjoy this book. And for series readers, I’ve prepared something special, an epilogue for each of the five couples. I’ll be posting it soon, or you can have a sneak peak here. WARNING! Major spoilers for this book, so don’t read it first if you don’t like spoilers.

Catching up with Author Anna Foxkirk

December 15, 2023December 15, 2023sandybarker

I am delighted to welcome Anna to Off the Beaten Track, We’ve been connected on social media for several years and got to meet in person at a recent Romance Writers of Australia meet-up and she was so much fun to hang out with. And now to our catch-up…

Welcome Anna. Tell us what inspired you to write Alice and the Impossible Game?

The travel bug – for me, it’s chronic! A constant itch. I’m making that sound painful, but actually IMHO there’s nothing better than visiting somewhere new and experiencing life and culture away from my ‘ordinary’. I’m fortunate to have lived in a lot of amazing countries (Fiji, Kiribati, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Indonesia, Germany, France, Australia) and visited a whole lot more, so perhaps it’s not surprising that traveling and holidays are going to feature my stories. Plus, I’d already written my novella, Alice in Wanderlust (the prequel to Alice and the Impossible Game) pre-Covid as part of my Passport to Love series. During the pandemic writing and reading became even more important to me as they were my only means of escape when we were stuck in lockdown. The only problem was that there was a lot of angst in my first draft – not exactly romcom – so although I knew I wanted to write a road-trip romance, I had to throw it out and start again. The writing process has taken longer than ideal, but I can’t wait to share it with everyone on 1^st March 2024, and sometimes the most challenging journeys reap the greatest rewards, don’t you think?

When did you start writing seriously?

Seriously? Most of the time, I try NOT to write ‘seriously’ or at least not to take myself and my writing too seriously. If I did, I think I’d shut down and not write anything. Long story short – my dad was a published author and although I aspired to write from a young age, I didn’t think it was possible to become a published author. I knew how hard it had been for him. However, I’ve always loved to write even when it was a hobby and just for me. When my husband and I made the big leap and moved to Australia ten years ago, I decided to give NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month – when writers attempt to bang out 50k words in a month) a crack. I successfully wrote my first 50k (of drivel) which I thankfully then lost after lending a friend my laptop which she accidentally wiped – talk about a blessing in disguise. But it showed me I could write more than just a bad first chapter. After that, I think the event which changed my perspective about becoming a published author was attending the Romance Writers of Australia Conference in 2016 and realising that I was no different to anybody else and my dreams were possible if I just stuck with them.

What do you love most about being an author?

The awesome writing community in Australia – there is so much strength and succour to be gained from the support and friendship of fellow authors. As I mentioned previously, I also love the escapism of writing: all the stress and responsibilities of real life fall away because I get so wrapped up in my creative world. I love that feeling…Unfortunately, my family don’t love and are long-suffering about the very late and often cremated dinners I create…

What are you working on now?

Final editing of Alice and the Impossible Game. A super exciting Christmas anthology project with 12 other AMAZING romcom authors for next year, but my lips are sealed and stapled for now. And also a new contemporary celebrity-collides- with- smalltown series called Rush to Stardom…

Nothing like juggling multiple balls to keep you on your toes!

What do you hope readers will take away from Alice and the Impossible Game?

Well, my author tagline is love, laughter and happy ever after, so those things are what I always try to bring to the page. But for this book in particular, the notion that nothing is impossible (within reason, of course – I’m never going to be a ballerina!). If you believe in yourself and commit whole-heartedly to your goals and aspirations, you’ll be amazed by what you can accomplish. That doesn’t mean we get everything we want in life, but if we keep believing and keep working hard, we get a whole lot more than if we lose faith in ourselves and give up. Who was it that said, The harder I work the luckier I get? They were bang on.

I couldn’t agree more, Anna. And I cannot wait for Alice in Wanderlust (great title, by the way) and that anthology!

More about Anna

Born in Fiji, Anna has spent most of her life trotting round the globe living in some far flung places such as the islands of Kiribati, Kathmandu in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Anna served as an officer in the British army for seven years, including four operational military tours in war-torn Bosnia and living in Edinburgh Castle. Anna’s love of adventure, romance and humor blaze a trail through her stories. Nowadays, when she’s not writing or reading, Anna enjoys a quiet(ish!) life teaching English and humanities to secondary school students, swimming, hanging out at the local yacht club, and sampling the many delicious wines of the beautiful Mornington Peninsula where she lives. What you probably don’t know and don’t want to know…Anna is a wannabe cowgirl and line-dancing tragic. It’s a work in progress…

Follow Anna

Instagram | Facebook | Tiktok

About Alice and the Impossible Game

Alice’s gap year travel plans in Australia are scuppered on New Year’s Eve when her identical twin sister, Tilly, (aka Twister) bails and returns to the UK without apology or explanation. In a supreme effort to get Tilly back on board (and to find out why on earth she left), Alice reluctantly agrees to Tilly’s Impossible Game. But Alice never counted on Guy, the hot lead singer of Aussie band, RiffRaff, being part of the package.

Guy’s not interested in any sort of commitments other than his musical career and the future of his band, RIffRaff…oh, and his next musical gig which happens to be at his brother’s wedding. As well as being a key member of RiffRaff, Tilly had promised to be his plus one…Now she’s gone missing, he needs to find a substitute and fast.

Alice is in a fix. Travelling alone and compelled to follow the rules of her sister’s Six Impossible Things Game her life is spiraling out of control.

Guy needs a fix. A bandaid for his band and his fragile ego and a hostile-as-hell wedding situation…

But the Impossible Game looks like it might just play HAVOC with both of their best laid plans. And the only thing you should believe¾there is likely to be some collateral damage…

Pre-order Alice and the Impossible Game

Amazon US | Amazon AU | Amazon CA | Amazon UK

And catch up on the prequel, Alice in Wanderlust, now!

Thank you so much for joining us, Anna!

Publication Day for Lynne Shelby

June 22, 2022April 30, 2022sandybarker

It’s my pleasure to welcome Lynne Shelby to Off the Beaten Track today to celebrate the publication of her latest book, Rome for the Summer. Not only am I a huge fan of her books, but I LOVE Roma! It is one of my favourite cities in the world and look at that cover! The perfect romantic read for those of us who love a little armchair travel!

Cover of Rome for the Summer:
A dark-haired man and woman riding on a red scooter past the Victor Emanuel II monument in Rome. Tagline: There's no better place to mend a broken heart. Quote: 'A wonderful fresh new talent' - Katie Fforde.

And now over to Lynne.

Tell us what inspired you to write Rome For The Summer.

Rome For The Summer, was inspired by a snatch of conversation between two girls – one American, one Italian – that I overheard some years ago when I was walking through Rome with my husband, heading back to our hotel after a day’s sight-seeing. The American told the Italian girl that ‘the job will only be for six months.’ I still have the notes I wrote that day as soon as we reached our hotel: ‘American in Rome. Why? Tourist? What job? Is she working in Rome for six months? Or going back to the States for six months? Does she have an Italian boyfriend who she’s leaving? Or is there an American boyfriend pining for her return?’ Not that I wrote the book immediately – I was half-way through writing another novel at the time – but some months later, back in England, I happened to fall into conversation with a woman sitting at the next table in a restaurant who turned out to be a professor from an American university with an extremely interesting reason for visiting Europe, which gave me the answer to what the American girl was doing in Rome, and sparked off my ideas for most of the plot for what was to become Rome For The Summer – although I visited Rome again, and wrote another novel, before I wrote this one! The American girl has become my English heroine, Kate, and the Italian girl has become her English colleague, but the novel’s location in Rome, and the first question I asked myself – What is this girl doing in Rome? – led to all the rest.

What’s your most recent read that you’d like to recommend?

My most recent read that I’d like to recommend is The Duke And I by Julia Quinn, the first of her Bridgerton Regency romances. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the first and second Bridgerton TV series, but have only just got around to reading the books. I found The Duke And I a wonderful read and I’ll certainly be reading the other books in the series.

What has been your author highlight over the past year?

My author highlight over the past year was having my novel Love On Location shortlisted for a Romantic Novelists’ Association Award. I was thrilled to be nominated, and I was particularly pleased that the award I was shortlisted for was the Jane Wenham-Jones Award for Romantic Comedy, as I was lucky enough to attend one of Jane’s writing courses at Chez Castillon some years ago, and her advice was invaluable. The Awards ceremony itself was a glittering event held at a London hotel, and it was a fabulous evening.

What are you working on now?

I’m currently writing the first draft of a novel set in the world of the theatre, and doing some research for a novel set in Venice. Both novels are contemporary romances/romcoms.

What do you hope readers will take away from Rome For The Summer?

Most of all, I hope readers will enjoy the romantic elements in the book, and that they will be willing my heroine to find her happy-ever-after-ending. I also hope that readers will take away a sense of what it’s like to visit Rome. It’s one of my favourite cities, with so much to see and do, whether you enjoy sight-seeing or looking at art, or simply exploring the narrow streets, soaking up the atmosphere, and discovering a fabulously romantic restaurant for dinner.

More about the book

Kate Harper has always loved the painting that has hung in her parents’ dining room for years, never suspecting that it is worth a fortune. When her art dealer boyfriend cheats her family out of the proceeds of the painting’s sale, she is left devastated and alone.

Kate discovers that two hundred years ago, the girl in the painting, Charlotte Browne, ran off to Rome with the artist who painted her portrait, but her eventual fate is unknown.

Hoping to uncover the mystery of what happened to Charlotte, Kate seizes the chance of a summer job in Rome, where she strikes up a friendship with Jamie Taylor, an English artist. As they explore the city and start to piece together the surprising secrets of Charlotte’s life, Kate finds herself wondering if a summer in Rome can mend a broken heart…

Where to get it (ebook & print)

Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon US | Amazon CA

Google Play | Nook | Kobo

Waterstones | Foyles | Barnes & Noble

More about Lynne

Lynne Shelby: A dark-haired, smiling woman with shoulder length hair and wearing rose-coloured lipstick and a blue blouse.

Lynne Shelby writes contemporary romance/romcoms. Her debut novel, French Kissing, now re-published in ebook as Meet Me In Paris, won the Accent Press and Woman magazine Writing Competition. She has done a variety of jobs from stable girl to child actor’s chaperone to legal administrator, but now writes full time. When not writing or reading, Lynne can usually be found at the theatre or exploring a foreign city, writer’s notebook, camera and sketchbook in hand. She lives in London with her husband, and has three adult children who live nearby.

Follow Lynne

Thanks so much for being on the blog, Lynne, and so looking forward to this one.

Cover Reveal for A Sunrise over Bali

January 5, 2022January 5, 2022sandybarker

I am VERY excited and proud to show off this gorgeous cover for the 4th book in the Holiday Romance series, A Sunrise over Bali.

A sun rising over the sea between two volcanic mountains. A temple and several huts in the mid-ground. A woman in a teal dress and a white hat walking into scene (on the beach) in the foreground. Palm trees either side of the beach scene.

This is an evolution of the series covers, putting Jaelee Tan, our heroine, in the stunning location of Bali but still retaining the styling and ombré colour palette of the first 3 books in the series. I love it!

The blurb

Jaelee Tan is going on sabbatical.

After meeting besties Cat, Lou, and Dani on a whirlwind trip around Europe, Jaelee is finding it difficult to settle back into Miami life, especially without her ex, Paco. When she shows up to her best friend Ali’s 40th birthday party and Paco and his new wife are two of the guests, she does what any self-respecting woman would do – she runs.

All the way to Bali.

Convinced that a two-month sabbatical away from her high-stress Miami life is just the ticket, she settles into UROP, a co-living resort for digital nomads in the heart of Ubud. There she meets an incredible group of people, each with something to teach her about life and love, including the Hot Scot, Alistair, who may just make her change her mind about man buns – and love.

My inspiration

I was inspired to write this book because in 2018, when Ben and I were on our year-long sabbatical, we kicked off with a 2-month stay at a co-living space called ROAM in Ubud, Bali. We worked (a little), we played (a lot), we explored, and we spent many days just being. It was a brilliant, revitalising time for us both and an excellent way to start an incredible year.

We also made lifelong friends in Bali, including a dog called Lu.

Lu made it into the book―I didn’t even bother to change her name―but in real-life, she was facing euthanasia during our last 2 weeks at ROAM. She lived there but not ‘officially’ and was very protective of the community members. This made her dangerous for the public, scuppering plans that the owners of ROAM had to expand. However, the community (current and former ROAMIES) rallied and we raised enough money to send her to California where she now lives on an enormous property with a former ROAMIE. I love Lu and I am so glad she has a proper home now.

Tan dog with white paws and black markings on her face, lounging on steps

And some other inspiration pics from Bali―I kept these close at hand throughout the writing process, so I could really capture the magic of this beautiful place.

Greenery in the foreground with Balinese homes in the midground (peaked roofs and dark walls - tall and narrow) and Mount Agung in the distance under a blue sky filled with fluffy clouds. — Mount Agung in the distance

Rice fields in the foregound, a row of palm trees silhouetted against a lightening sky, wispy clouds. — Mount Agung in the distance

And my fave shot of me in Bali (this made it into the book too)

Woman on a bamboo swing which is suspended from a tree branch overlooking a valley of lush green. — The swing on the Campuhan Trail

I really hope you enjoy reading A Sunrise over Bali. It holds a special place in my heart and I’m really proud of it. It’s out on February 17 (ebook) and May 12 (print).

New Year’s Absolutions 2022

December 29, 2021sandybarker

Those of you who have been following my blog for a while will know that each year I write not ‘resolutions’, but ‘absolutions’.

These are the things I absolve myself from doing the following year―GUILT FREE!

Either I will remove them from my mental ‘to do’ list or I will stop doing them because they do not ‘spark joy’. These are the things I have been told―by myself, by loved ones, by society―that I should do but really, really don’t want to.

So, on the list they go!

1. Reading the entire contents of my Kindle

As an avid reader, I have a problem―I cannot say no to books. I buy a lot of books, I get given a lot of books … but I have too many books. TOO MANY BOOKS! Every time I finish a book, I am paralysed by choice as to what to read next. I flick through the (literally) dozens of pages of unread books on my Kindle and often end up tossing it on the bed in frustration and turning on Netflix.

I like choice. Choice is good―there is a book for every mood on my Kindle: spy thriller, (gruesome) crime thriller, LA detective thriller, romcom, contemporary romance, contemporary women’s fiction, literary fiction, historical fiction, historical romance, outback romance, even some fantasy, SciFi and horror …

The thing is, I have at least a dozen unread books in each genre (and sub-genre) taunting me.

In the past few days, I have taken steps to mitigate this paralysing guilt of owning so many unread books. Collections! I have decided my next 3 reads and everything else has gone into a TBR Collection―a neat little folder that I can swipe past all at once on my Kindle’s ‘home’ screen. Now I just need to stop acquiring more books. Hmm.

2. Meditating

In mid-2022, I signed up for a weekly meditation session at work (facilitated by a colleague) to help us cope with the pandemic. Half-way through the first session, conducted via TEAMS, I received a Teams message―apparently ‘urgent’―and I spent the rest of the meditation session putting out a (small) professional fire―essentially, the opposite of meditating.

The thing is, I not only suck at meditating, I (really) dislike it. I spend the whole time chastising myself for sucking at it and not being better at ‘adulting’.

Well, I absolve myself from meditating in 2022 because there are other ways to ‘be mindful’. Any time you are completely immersed in something―reading, dancing, cooking, revelling in natural beauty, combing the beach for the prettiest shell, sipping great wine and really tasting it, playing with a child and making them laugh, in the midst of an in-depth conversation, smashing out a new chapter or editing one―you are being mindful.

So, I aim to be mindful in the way that works for me without beating myself up about how I get to that immersive, blissful state.

3. Watching ‘Squid Game‘

I tried (2 full episodes) and I hated it (not just the premise but the lead actor’s―in my opinion, terrible―acting). I know it’s considered ‘good TV’ by millions of people but no piece of fiction is for everyone―just ask my readers―so it’s okay that I didn’t like it and that I won’t finish the season.

4. Getting a TikTok account

It’s not that there aren’t many, many entertaining people on TikTok, nor that I haven’t enjoyed the occasional TikTok (I don’t even know if that’s the correct term―are the clips on TikTok called TikToks?) that people have sent to me (case in point, this is hilarious).

It’s that I already spend 5-12 hours a week on social media for author biz. That’s not just posting, but creating assets, and commenting and sharing―and thanking others for commenting and sharing.

I just don’t have room in my life for another social media account. I felt the same way about Snapchat (and I was right about that BTW―remember Snapchat, anyone?)

5. Not making travel plans because ‘what if I have to cancel them?’

This is a double negative, I know.

To be clear, I absolve myself from not making travel plans, which means that 2022 is FILLED with travel plans. Sure, we’re buying the best insurance we can get and we’re mindful (that word again) that any or all of these trips may be cancelled, but for me and Ben, travel IS life.

So, trips on the cards:

Southern coast of New South Wales to see friends (who live there)
Inland in Victoria to see my cousins (who live there)
Up to southern Queensland/norther NSW to see family and friends (who live there)
Western Australia to see family (who live there). They have been behind the COVID Curtain implemented by Premier Mark McGowan for so long, I can’t even fly there to be with my mom who is recovering from a serious injury and is bed bound. (Grrrr, Mark!)
The UK (!) to: see my family (sis, bro-in-law, nephew) in Rugby and Great-Aunt in Oxfordshire; meet my agent, Lina, and dear friend, Nina, face to face in Edinburgh; attend the Romance Novelists Association 2022 Conference; attend the HarperCollins author party; meet Pearson colleagues in London; meet my editor and other members of the One More Chapter publishing team, also in London; and catch up with other friends across the UK. (It’ll be a long trip.)
Sailing the Cyclades Islands in Greece! I am SO excited about this. Ben and I will be sailing with our skipper friend, Patrick―our 3rd time sailing with him. Athens to Syros―8 days, 7 nights―and we’re taking my nephew, who will be 11 by then. (Aside: for those who have read the Holiday Romance series, Patrick is the real-life Duncan, only he’s a Kiwi).

So LOTS to look forward to in 2022, especially as I am absolving myself of so many things that will save me not just time, but angst, guilt, and regret.

And what could be a better way to start the New Year?

Happy 2022, everyone, and may it be filled with reunions, grand adventures, and many moments that will make you smile, fill your heart, and bring you peace and joy.

Catching up with Author Christina Courtenay

December 6, 2021November 6, 2021sandybarker

Thrilled to welcome Christina Courtenay to Off the Beaten Track to mark the publication of her latest book, Tempted by the Runes. And oh my! This is such a terrific read. For those who are new to Christina’s books, this is the latest in her Viking timeslip ‘Runes’ series and it is incredible.

Also, look at that cover! Before I share my thoughts on the book, let’s talk to Christina.

Book Cover
Tagline: born centuries apart. Bund by a love that defied time.
A Viking ship is moored offshore of a fjord with mountains in the background and a couple stand onshore embracing.

Tell us what inspired you to write Tempted by the Runes?

When I started to write the ‘Rune’s series, I knew that the Vikings had travelled far and wide and I wanted my books to reflect this. Therefore, I decided that the members of one family would all journey in different directions and have their own adventures. As Iceland was starting to be colonised at this time, it seemed the perfect place to send one of the brothers. The youngest was most likely to go there as he’d need to make his own way in the world. Becoming a settler on an island so far away, which only a few people had seen at this point, was a very brave thing to do and I thought that would be great for my hero. The rest of the story developed from that.

When did you start writing seriously?

After my oldest daughter was born I wanted a job I could do from home so that I could look after her at the same time. That’s when I decided to try my hand at writing, but it proved a lot more difficult than I thought. Eventually, I was published 21 years later just after my daughter had left home … (The best laid plans and all that!)

What do you love most about being an author?

The freedom of working at my own speed and when/where I want to. I’m a night owl and have always disliked having to get up early to go to work or school, so for me, being able to sleep late and work late is ideal. It also feels like a huge privilege to be able to write down the stories that appear in my head and call it work!

What are you working on now?

I have just signed a new four-book deal with Headline Review so at the moment I’m working on the first of those stories which is due out in August next year. It’s a standalone timeslip story called Hidden in the Mists. You can already pre-order.

What do you hope readers will take away from Tempted by the Runes?

I hope they will just enjoy the journey and the romance, travelling so far with the hero and heroine and experiencing their struggles in a new land. I would love it if my story leaves the reader feeling happy and relaxed and with a big smile on their face!

More about the book

before.

Madison Berger is visiting Dublin with her family for a Viking re-enactment festival, when she chances upon a small knife embedded in the banks of the Liffey. Maddie recognises what the runes on the knife’s handle signify: the chance to have her own adventures in the past.

Maddie only intends to travel back in time briefly, but a skirmish in 9^th century Dublin results in her waking up on a ship bound for Iceland, with the man who saved her from attack.

Geir Eskilsson has left his family in Sweden to boldly carve out a life of his own. He is immediately drawn to Maddie, but when he learns of her connection to his sisters-in-law, he begins to believe that Fate has played a part in bringing them together. Amidst the perils that await on their journey to a new land, the truest battle will be to win Maddie’s heart and convince her that the runes never lie…

My thoughts on the book

The Queen of Timeslip Romance has done it again! I was completely immersed in this epic romance. The story of settling in Iceland was compelling, with Courtenay’s ability to build a rich and complex historical world really shining in this book. The slow-burn love story was sweepingly romantic and I completely fell in love with our hero and heroine.

This book is a total page turner.

Where you can buy it

Amazon UK | Amazon US | Amazon AU

More about Christina

Author photo: Smiling woman with long red hair wearing a black jumper

Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip and time travel stories, and lives in Herefordshire (near the Welsh border) in the UK. Although born in England, she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden – hence her abiding interest in the Vikings. Christina is a former chairman of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association and has won several awards, including the RoNA for Best Historical Romantic Novel twice with Highland Storms (2012) and The Gilded Fan (2014) and the RNA Fantasy Romantic Novel of the year 2021 with Echoes of the Runes. Tempted by the Runes (time travel published by Headline 9^th December 2021) is her latest novel. Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).

Follow Christina

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Thank you for coming on Off the Beaten Track, Christina, and wishing you every success for this latest epic romance.

To my love

September 24, 2021September 24, 2021sandybarker

Fifteen years ago, I took myself off to Greece.

I’d been single for several years, dating occasionally but nothing serious as, after two back-to-back relationships with cheaters, I was convinced that all men should f*ck off and die. My status as a late-30s singleton was a concern to many of my family members and well-meaning friends and the topic of far too many conversations. In fact, when I booked the trip, I lost count of the number of time I heard ‘Oh, you might meet someone’.

But I didn’t want to meet someone. At 37, I had met enough someones to know that relationships were not for me. I would lose sight of myself, pretending to be someone I wasn’t just to keep them going.

So imagine my surprise when I said goodbye to two of my oldest and dearest friends, Greek-Australian siblings I’d just spent the week with in Athens and Santorini, and boarded a rickety bus to ride dusty roads to the small port on the southern tip of Santorini – Vlychada – and when I stepped off that bus, I met someone.

‘Are you on the sailing trip,’ said the tall, cute American I’d been watching on the bus.

‘Yep.’

‘Oh, thank god I’m in the right place.’ I smiled at him. ‘Sorry, I’m Ben.’ He held out his hand for me to shake it.

‘Sandy.’ He had a firm handshake and a friendly smile.

‘Should we go find our boat?’ he asked.

‘Sounds good.’

We found the right boat, met the people we’d be sailing with for the next 10 days and embarked on a remarkable friendship. I say ‘remarkable’ because despite have a 10-year age difference, living on different continents and having a vastly different upbringings, professions, and life experiences, I’d met someone who saw the world through similar eyes to mine.

And he was super cute too. See?

Our friendship turned romantic and by the end of the trip, I knew I wanted him in my life. But how would that work? I lived in Sydney and he lived in St Paul.

Well, we did make it work. We met up to travel together for more than 2 years – Hawaii, New Zealand, a road trip up the West Coast of the US – and then in 2008, we made the (exciting and terrifying) decision to move together to Seattle. There was a ‘hard-to-get’ visa to come by (mine), a job to leave (mine), a job to transfer (Ben’s), and an apartment to find and set up (both of us). There was also a MASSIVE LEAP OF FAITH for Ben to move across the country and me across the world to move in with someone we’d only spent (collectively) 3 months with, face to face.

Cut to 2021.

We’ve lived together in 4 apartments in 2 cities (not counting our 2018 sabbatical, which takes that tally to double digits).

We’ve added dozens more trips to our repertoire (longer international trips, interstate trips to see family and friends and to explore, and shorter local trips to ‘get away’). We’ve taken a year-long sabbatical, living and working in WA, Bali, Seattle, Minnesota, the UK, Edinburgh, and Portugal, and visiting LA, Chicago, Ireland, Wales and Amsterdam.

We’ve tasted wine in regions around the world – Australia, New Zealand, California, the Pacific Northwest, Italy, and Portugal – with many more on our wine tasting bucket list. We’ve been sailing, boating, white water rafting, sky diving, ziplining, abseiling, hiking, water skiing, glacier climbing, snowshoeing, skiing, and paddle-boarding. Ben learnt to surf in Hawaii, but I stayed (safe) on the beach.

We’ve loved 2 kitties – Lucy (sadly, she died in 2015) and Rocky (he found his forever home in 2017)- and are about to bring home a 3rd (disclaimer: no pet’s names have been used in passwords😉). We’ve had several career changes each, and I’ve published 5 books and am about to finish writing my 8th. I’ve gone from being a brunette to a (dark) blonde (really a silver vixen, but not quite ready to embrace that yet) and Ben has gone from a curly-haired cutie to a smooth-headed hottie.

We’ve made lifelong friends together.

We’ve changed, we’ve grown, we’ve evolved and we’ve stayed ourselves.

And the past 2 years, we have spent every day and every night together. And through a pandemic, he is still my person, my someone. There is no other person I could have gotten through this with, babe.

Thank you for your good humour, your sometimes lame, but more often clever jokes, for hugs and laughs and dancing in the living room. Thank you for cleaning our windows so we can at least enjoy the view. Thank you for keeping track of seventy million streaming services and finding fun and interesting things for us to watch. Thank you for letting me teach you backgammon and for the games of gin rummy, even though you almost always beat me. Thank you for reading books about philosophy and thinking and how the mind works, broadening my knowledge and perception both by example and in our fascinating conversations. Thank you for enjoying my cooking, even when I’m phoning it in. Thank you for making the bed each morning, taking out the rubbish, and vacuuming to keep our home a sanctuary. Thank you for walks around the city and listening and understanding when it all gets too much. Thank you for celebrating every minor milestone of my publishing career – and thank you for keeping us well stocked in bubbles for those celebrations.

Thank you for being you. Thank you for being my someone. Happy 15th(!) anniversary.

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More about Anna

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About Alice and the Impossible Game

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And catch up on the prequel, Alice in Wanderlust, now!

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