Author: Juanita Kees
First published with Escape: 2013
Favourite romance trope: Second chances – because everyone deserves one
Ideal hero: Strong, sexy, compassionate
Ideal heroine: Strong, kind, independent
Latest book: Under Shadow of Doubt

What began your romance writing career? Why do you write romance?

I fell in love with romance in the seventies when my aunt introduced me to Mills & Boon. I wrote the first draft of Under Shadow of Doubt when I was sixteen. It’s had many edits since then!

I write romance because I believe in HEA and that somewhere out there is the perfect match for everyone (even if it is a book boyfriend).

How do you write? What is your process like?

I’m a pantser trying to be a better plotter. I have an idea and get the basics down on paper then I write the first chapter and go from there. The end result is never anything close to those basics I got down on paper. Scrivener is slowly training me to be a better plotter.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever had to research for a book?

How to retrieve a dismembered body from a dam and how to murder someone with the oleander plant. I really hope the AFP never look at my browsing history!

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Australians have a fantastic sense of humour and our country is filled with colourful characters. I try to harness as much of my love for this land and the people in my stories as possible.

Where is your favourite place to write?

We recently put in a koi pond in our back garden. I have a bench in a lovely shady spot where I can sit and write, and enjoy a cup of tea or glass of wine. The sound of running water and fish splashing about is soothing, but can be a little distracting too. Koi are like mischievous children .

She might be the biggest star in Australia, but she never forgot the small town she came from, or the man she left behind…

Peta Johnson may be rich, famous, and adored, but it doesn’t protect her when the man she married turns out to be a monster. With her little girl missing, Peta will do anything to get her back — including returning to the small Western Australian town she vowed never to see again.

Jaime Caruso left his heart in Williams when he left to pursue a military career, but it soon shrivelled and died when he discovered the girl he loved didn’t love him enough to wait. Back in town to help his ailing father, Jaime struggles with the memories and plans to leave — permanently — as soon as possible.

But then Peta returns and Jaime gets swept up into the nightmare she is living. Feelings long buried soon bubble to the surface, and as they race to save the life of the daughter Jaime doesn’t know is his, they must decide if life — and love — really does give second chances.