I LOVE writing stories set in Australia, particularly in my hometown of Melbourne. In fact, many of my stories are set in South Melbourne and Southbank, an area where I lived before moving to Toronto.
There’s lots of cameos across my series set in these locations. For example, the makeup counter that McKenna from Trouble Next Door works at is in the department store owned by the hero of Taken by the CEO! And you’ll spot Max from A Dangerously Sexy Christmas at the beginning of Faking It.
The amazing city where I was born, Melbourne…and a short two minute walk from my old apartment!
BOOKS SET IN MELBOURNE
A great place to start is my Behind the Bar series, which revolves around three mates who run a hot bar/restaurant called First. It was the first series I set in South Melbourne.
These books are romantic comedies, and feature the fan fave and USA Today Bestseller: Pretend It’s Love.
Like it a little spicier? My Melbourne After Dark & Close Quarters series for Harlequin Dare are both set in Melbourne. Melbourne After Dark is set mostly in the CBD (stands for Central Business District, and is the main section of our city) South Wharf, and Southbank.
Fun fact: there’s a cute “apartment hunting” scene in Unmasked, which takes place right where I used to live! Start with Unmasked.
Close Quarters is set in a fictional building called 21 Love street which I’ve imagined is in South Melbourne. Start with Faking It.
Taken By The CEO is a standalone book that’s an offshoot of the Behind the Bar series (the heroine, Emmaline, is the older sister of Gracie from The Rules According to Gracie).
This book is set around the head office of a fictional department store (Aussies might have a good guess at the inspiration!) and it’s set mainly in the Docklands and South Yarra, although the meet cute (which might STILL be one of my favourites) is in the iconic Botanical Gardens.
Other books set in Melbourne:
BOOKS SET ELSEWHERE IN AUSTRALIA
The Aussie Next Door is out next month! This book kicks of a brand new series set in the fictional coastal town of Patterson’s Bluff, which I’ve set in the real portion of Victoria called the Mornington Peninsula.
I grew up spending summers in the beachside town of Sorrento, and wanted to write a series that captured my love for that part of the country. Think long stretches of beach, tree-lined streets and plenty of adorable wildlife.
Other books set elsewhere in Australia:
Also, I have a number of books set around the world that feature Australian characters. if you want a touch of Aussie in your reading, check out these books:
