Quintette asks writers five quick questions. My first return guest with a new book is:
TÉA COOPER
1. What’s the name of your latest book – and how hard was it to pick a title?
Lily’s Leap is the name of my latest book and picking a title was really easy …. Every time I drive to Sydney I travel along a section of The Great North Road. It’s part of the scenic route between Sydney and the Hunter Valley, over the retaining walls, culverts, bridges and buttresses created by hundreds of convicts, working in leg irons, between 1826 and 1836.
One particular section fascinates me and that is unashamedly where the title for this book comes from. In reality it’s known as Ramsey’s Leap. A 100 metre dry stonewall 4.5 metres high in places and was built by hand. William Ramsey, was a convicted horse thief who escaped on 2 February 1854 by leaping over the convict built stonewall and running! And so Ramsey’s Leap became Lily’s Leap. I don’t know whether he ran up against any bushrangers though!
2. If you could choose anyone from any time period, who would you cast as the leads in your latest book?
Tom Burlinson and Sigrid Thornton – yep! The Man From Snowy River rides again!
3. What five words best describe your story?
A 19th century romantic romp
4. Who is your favourite fictional couple?
It depends on my mood! For dark and brooding you can’t beat Heathcliff and Catherine.
5. What song always makes you cry?
When I was your man by Bruno Mars … sniff!
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About Lily’s Leap (due out 1 July)
Born into the rough, but privileged society of the Australian colonial landowners, Lilibeth Dungarven finds herself married, widowed, and, much to her distress, back under her father’s thumb, all before her twenty-first birthday. Determined not to forgo her dream of breeding the perfect racehorse, Lilibeth ignores propriety and sets out to restore the family’s flagging fortunes.
When Captain Tom and his mismatched band of bushrangers stumble across a mob of the best horses they’ve ever seen, and the daughter of the famed Dungarven horse stud, they know their fortunes have changed. Their catch is worth a king’s ransom. All they have to do is hold her for seven days. How hard can it be to control the pampered daughter of a colonial upstart?
About Téa
Téa lives in a stone cottage just outside the village of Wollombi, the Hunter Valley. When she isn’t writing, she spends her time haunting the local museum and chatting to the locals, who provide her with a never-ending source of inspiration.
- Téa’s website: Téa Cooper Romance Writer
Buy/Pre-order Lily’s Leap
- Lily’s Leap (Harlequin Escape)
- Lily’s Leap (iTunes)
- Lily’s Leap (Kobo)
- Lily’s Leap (Amazon)
Would you like to answer a Quintette interview? Email me at nmharrisheart@gmail.com!