From Cate Ellink

I don’t have any sweeping tales of real life love to tell. The real life loves that come to mind, even after taking far too long to think about this, are the every day romances I see among my friends and family.

I was surrounded by strong relationships as a child. Both sets of my grandparents remained together and happy into their eighties when death tore them apart. My parents were the same. My father retired early and nursed my mother through years of the ups and downs of cancer. In the ten years since she died he has not found another love.

My friends fell in love even when I was a sceptic. I bought one friend His and Hers towels as a wedding gift because I didn’t believe their marriage would last – she was on the rebound, it was a quick trip to the altar – and twenty-six years later, I’m sure the towels are long gone while they’re still happy.

I watched another friend woo her husband with muffins, sweet and savoury, and home cooked meals. I laughed and said he’d never fall for it. He did. They’ve been happily married for at least fifteen years now.

Another friend and her husband have so many trials and problems with his health but they stick together, hoping for a better drug, a treatment that works, a life without hassles.

I’m not good at picking real life love, but I watch it. I watch and I don’t understand. I watch and I can’t see what makes people stick together. I watch and scratch my head, fascinated. And then I write, trying to make sense of it.

And believe it or not, I’m married and happy. I’m not sure how that happened either but I’m surrounded by people with those relationships, so something must have rubbed off even without my comprehension!

Cate Ellink became intrigued by the erotic when her grandfather used to pass books to her father saying, “Don’t let the girls read page X.” Although her mother and sisters never bothered to chase those pages, Cate always did. Invariably, her imagination was better than what she read. While pursuing a career in science, Cate amused herself by writing about ordinary events and giving them an erotic twist. It’s taken more than a few years to bravely expose her mind to the public. While the events in her stories may have occurred, it’s highly likely that her imagination is far more exciting than the reality. Cate lives near the beach in NSW with her long-suffering husband. This is Cate’s first novella. She has two short stories published.

The Virginity Mission, is an erotic new adult romance about old insecurities, new beginnings, and the things you can get up to in a tent…