How a small town rural romance author, living in the outback, outranks the Harry Potter Series on Amazon Australia’s Bestseller’s list…

As a rural romance author, I live in the Northern Territory that’s considered part of the outback. It’s so remote that if I were to visit the nearest Starbucks it would take me over 4,000 kilometres, driving nonstop for 42 hours.

Our state’s capital city, Darwin, is the smallest in the country, which has only one bookshop.

Our local library is part of the school near the road to Kakadu National Park. Even our vehicle number plates say Outback, Northern Territory.

We’re only noticed when there is a crocodile attack or a cyclone because even our state news comes from interstate. The rest of the time we’re forgotten by the rest of the country.

Yet, this small town rural romance author outranked the Harry Potter Series on Amazon Australia’s Bestseller’s list!

via GIPHY

WHAT IS RURAL ROMANCE?

Rural romance is an Australian genre that captures the lifestyle and the love stories, set within a rural area.

To quote National Geographic: “A rural area is an open swath of land that has few homes or other buildings, and not very many people…” It’s like those quaint European farming villages and American small towns, which is the same in Australia, but with water restrictions.

The best rural romances are the ones that include rich details of their rural setting as if it was another character. This is so the reader can get a feel for the places they’ll probably never visit. This attention to detail is what makes it one of the most popular genres in fiction today.

But you can break down rural romance even further:

THE RURAL ROMANCE SUB-GENRES:

You can blend your favourite sub-genre with romance and set them in a rural environment and still be classed as a rural romance, like:

And then there’s the heat level of sweet, sexy, and those that’d start a bushfire with heat.

But they all have that common factor of containing a non-urban setting within their descriptions of the story.

MOST POPULAR RURAL ROMANCE AUTHORS:

There are so many classy authors within this genre it was hard to choose. But these traditionally published authors carved out this genre to make it what it is today.

The authors and their home states are:

Karly Lane, NSW

Fiona McCallum, SA

Fleur McDonald, WA

Fiona McArthur, NSW

Mandy Magro, QLD

Nicole Alexander NSW

Barbara Hannay QLD

But it was Rachael Treasure (Tasmania) who pioneered this genre.

With so many new authors making marvellous names for themselves within this genre, it seems I’m the only bestselling rural romance author who lives and writes in the Northern Territory. I had to re-check that statement myself. Twice!

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THE DIFFERENT RURAL ROMANCE CATEGORIES:

Within this genre, there are various rural romance categories, such as small town, farming, and outback. Here’s how they differentiate:

SMALL TOWN ROMANCES

Many class rural romance as small-town fiction where a small town can be on the coast. Lee Child’s popular Jack Reacher is found within this category. Pst, I even outranked his books too! (*grins)

Anyway, it is common to find a small town with most rural romances, like in Winter’s Walk.

FARMING RURAL ROMANCE

This is for a rural romance based purely on a farm. Karly Lane is fabulous for her details on the farming lifestyle within her amazing contemporary rural romances.

Nicole Alexander does an exceptional job in the incredible detail of historical farm settings in her stories.

And Rachel Treasure’s The Farmer’s Wife is considered a classic rural romance novel of its time. It was the book that started it all.

OUTBACK RURAL ROMANCES

Many compare the outback rural romance to western romances and they do have their similarities. But the outback is unique to Australia, covering over 70% of its interior as you can see on this map.

Less than 5% of Australia’s population actually live in the outback. Yet, many authors will title their books ‘Outback Secrets’ or something when they’re situated on the coast or in a beachy Bay–this would be considered a small-town rural romance. Not an outback romance, as there are no sea breezes in the outback?! Although we do get white sandy beaches from rivers, or red sand commonly found in the outback.

If you’re looking for an outback-dwelling author who writes books set in the Australian outback…

Well, pick me.

So when my outback rural romance, MUSTER IN THE DUST, outranked Harry Potter, you can imagine my surprise. I squealed, sending the cockatoos to flee from the roof, and for the dog to raise an eyebrow from his sprawled spot on the veranda.

I did get to taunt the teenager, an avid Harry Potter fan in our household that ‘I outranked Harry Potter.’ Yes, I embraced my inner child and skipped down the corridor singing, ‘I outranked Harry Potter.’

But it’s true. See for yourself, below:

Book a date with yourself to ecape to HEA

SO WHAT DOES THIS OUTBACK RURAL ROMANCE AUTHOR WRITE ABOUT?

The Northern Territory outback enjoys a rich and diverse, ever-changing environment that deals with its two extreme weather seasons, being the rugged wet and dry seasons. Where one day I’ll be driving over the crack parched soils of the flats, then a few months later it’s an inland sea where I’ll be flying across in an airboat.

Among all this expansive hostile country are some pretty amazing people who live among the snakes, spiders, and man-eating crocodiles.

But it’s also a land filled with fabulous stories and local legends.

Within my stories, I share the beauty and the challenges of the outback, giving readers a glimpse into a world that very few will ever get to see.

As a boots-on-the-ground author, I get to be your tour guide without the heat, the sticky black flies, and dust.

So, for a uniquely authentic escape, try the Elsie Creek Series.

It’s everything you’ll ever want within an outback rural romance.

Pst, it even outranked Harry Potter!