Real life love stories continued…Nicole Hurley-Moore

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Real life love stories continued…Nicole Hurley-Moore

From Nicole Hurley-Moore

So when confronted with writing a real-life love story I was a little stumped. I decided that maybe I could find some inspiration within my family.  However, the problem was that pretty much all my female ancestors had been… well, cursed.

Looking back over the family history I just kept coming up with lots and lots of bad mojo such as –

  •     Unrequited love
  •     Failed love
  •     Love that ended far too soon through tragic circumstances.
  •     And finally, not finding love at all

– see, I said we were cursed.

There only appeared to be a couple of bright sparks on the distant horizon.

A Michael O’Hurley met his love, Margaret on board a ship called the ‘Startled Fawn’ in 1856 when it sailed from London to Melbourne. They made a life together, first on the Victorian goldfields and then farming in the High Country. Aw, nice… best not add he died early in a freak horse accident. Okay, moving on…

The next was of a remittance man who was paid an allowance to stay away from the family. I had high hopes that this was because of gambling, drinking, womanising, and generally being a tear-away rogue. But unfortunately the family didn’t keep any records of his adventures other than one. It was a love affair which started in London and finished in Melbourne. The parents of the girl he loved went to great lengths to keep them apart. So far in fact, they brought her all the way to Australia, in the hope that she would forget him. It didn’t work as Ned followed Emily and ignoring parental permission, they married in 1858.

So those were the two only examples I could find in my romantically challenged family. It’s a tragedy, really.

And I must admit there was a time I had grave fears for my own future. It was our honeymoon and I was standing on top of Notre Dame Cathedral and looking out over Paris when my new husband said –

“Hey Nik, I want to take a photo. Just stand over there with the other gargoyles.”

Hmmm… as I said, cursed.

dancing on airNicole has always been a lover of fairy tales, history and romance. She grew up in Melbourne and has travelled extensively, whilst living her life through the romance of books. Her first passion in life has always been her family, but after studying and achieving her BA Honours in Medieval Literature, she devoted her time to writing historic romance. She is a full time writer who lives in the Central Highlands of Victoria with her family, where they live in the peaceful surrounds of a semi-rural town.

Her latest title, Dancing on Air, is Cinderella meets Swan Lake in a Victorian-era set story about a ballet dancer, an aristocrat, and their class-crossing romance…

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