Love In A Sunburnt Country

Eight fascinating real-life stories of romance in the Australian outback from a gifted storyteller and bestselling author, Jo Jackson King.

'It is always love that keeps or pulls women into the outback towns and properties and those are the stories I want to tell.'

The bush can be a difficult place to conduct a romance, as these true stories of life and love on the land reveal, but it can also bring people together in the most unexpected ways...

Rebel Black was born wanting to make a difference. She was offered a job on the Lightning Ridge newspaper and promptly fell in love with Michael Matson, opal miner. There was a hitch, Rebel wanted to change the world, but how could she do it from such a remote place? Would she need to leave Michael behind?

Benedictine nun Cathy moved to outback WA for a two year placement. She knew that nuns weren't meant to fall in love – but then she met the charming David Jones from Boogardie Station, and that's exactly what she did.

Tim, an agricultural scientist who works with pastoralists, and Tania, a passionate worker with indigenous communities, seemed to have completely different approaches to how modern agriculture meets the planet's oldest living culture. Then they realised they were working towards the same ends, and love grew...

As this collection demonstrates, Jo Jackson King is always aware of those quietly powerful threads that tie together community, friends and family. The tough physical and emotional terrain of Australia's outback plays a role in all these stories, and shows us the two great truths about love – that it changes people, and from there, it goes on to change the world...