50th party blog guest - Fiona Lowe

I’ve known Fiona Lowe for what seems like for ever, since she sold her very first medical romance. We have lots in common – gorgeous men, music, cookery (though she’s way more sporty than I am – tennis I could just about cope with, but skiing??? Scary). And I’m absolutely thrilled to see how her career has blossomed this year – with her first mainstream novel, Boomerang Bride, she won both the Rita and the R*BY. I’m so proud of her, especially as this is the book of her heart! I’m hoping that we’ll actually meet in person, next year, and there will be an awful lot of talking and laughing…

Over to Fiona:

I am thrilled to be here today to help Kate celebrate her 50th book. What a milestone! Congratulations, Kate.

Why Wisconsin?

Somewhere in the mid 90s Hollywood sit-com writers started to write one liners about Australia and Wisconsin. Not sure if it started with Frasier and Roz having come from WI but, none the less, it made me laugh because at the time, I had a foot in both countries. Just lately they’ve been targeting Canada (How I Met Your Mother) but they still love taking pot-shots at Wisconsin.

Why? All I can think of is that life in Wisconsin is very different from California and New York. For starters, it is under snow for six months of the year…well at least five anyway! It is the dairy heartland and home of the deep-fried cheese curd…a delicacy I never quite got but hey, maybe it’s like Vegemite and you have to be raised on it to really appreciate it. Settled predominantly by Germans and Scandinavians, it is the home of the biggest brewery in the USA and like Australia, every town in Wisconsin has at least one bar….usually more.

The countryside is pretty and dotted with distinctive red barns. Corn grows high in the growing season and it’s lush. I recently visited again, and even though they were in the middle of a heat wave, the hills still rolled green compared with Australia. I kept saying to my Wisconsin friends, ‘It’s so pretty.” And it is, in a bucolic way.

But fellow writers and readers have commented and said, “Why Wisconsin?” I guess it isn’t as sexy and exciting as New York or London but then again, my Harlequin Medical Romances don’t take place in big cities either. I guess I enjoy writing books about everyday people living out their lives and dealing with the bad and hopefully mostly good things that families and close-knit communities can and do dish out.

So why is an Aussie writing books set in Wisconsin? Cos I can ☺ Cos I loved living there and also because trying to sell a single title romance into the American market that is set in Australia is a bit like pushing boulders up hill. Boomerang Bride was my first US based book and many of the cross-cultural experiences of the heroine, Matilda happened to me when I lived in Wisconsin. I’m am thrilled to say it has gone on to win a RITA®. I had so much fun writing this book, that I’ve kept going and I’m excited to say I’ve sold a bride-themed trilogy to Carina Press and Saved By The Bride, Picture-Perfect Wedding and Runaway Groom will be out across 2013, staring in April.

If you’ve ever lived out of your own country and felt like a fish-out-of-water, or if you’ve lived away from home for a while, then you’ll probably related to Matilda, the heroine in Boomerang Bride. I’m giving away a copy of this award-winning book and all you have to do to be in the draw is to tell me your “fish-out-of-water” experience!

Fiona Lowe is a RITA® award-winning, multi-published author with Harlequin and Carina Press. Whether her books are set in outback Australia or in the mid-west of the USA, they feature small towns with big hearts, and warm, likeable characters that make you fall in love. When she's not writing stories, she's a weekend wife, mother of two 'ginger' teenage boys, guardian of 80 rose bushes and often found collapsed on the couch with wine. A RuBY nominee, you can find her at her website, facebook, Twitter (@FionaLowe) and Goodreads.


Boomerang Bride is available now from Carina Press, Amazon Kindle, Nook and all other online book stores, as well as being available in print in Australia under the MIRA imprint.

Letting Go With Dr Rodriguez is available now in the USA, UK, Australia and New Zealand. Her books can be purchased from The Book Depository , iBooks and other online stores.