A Chat with Annie Seaton – Author of Kakadu Sunset
Today I had the pleasure of speaking with the lovely Aussie author Annie Seaton. Annie started out as a librarian, high school principal and university tutor, before she pursued her dream and became a full time writer. She has released numerous contemporary romance titles such as Holiday Affair, Italian Affair, Christmas with the Boss, Tangling with the CEO, and Hot Rock. On December 22nd her first romantic suspense novel Kakadu Sunset was released by Pan Macmillan.
Set in the harsh terrain of the Northern Territory, Kakadu Sunset is the story of helicopter pilot Ellie Porter. Ellie grew up in Kakadu but following her father’s suicide, her remaining family have all moved away. Flying over the old family farmhouse, she notices that there is some excavation happening on the property. Concerned because Kakadu is a national park and mining is not allowed, she decides to investigate. She soon realises that there are some powerful people who will stop at nothing to keep the work secret. Adding to this, she also has a new co worker Kane, who happens to be the step son of the new owner of the farm. As sparks begin to fly between them, she needs to know if she can trust him. What exactly is going on at the old farm? And was her father’s death really a suicide after all?
Annie and I immediately hit it off, as she actually used to teach at my old high school! Small world!
Thank you for joining me here at Books Babies Being Annie! Congratulations on the release of Kakadu Sunset. I absolutely loved it!
Being from the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, what inspired you to write a book based in the Northern Territory?
“Two years ago on the way to the Northern Territory, we crossed the vast outback through three states, travelling through ancient and mysterious landscapes. Many of these landscapes have been scarred by various types of mining.
Visiting Kakadu and experiencing the spirituality of the land made me wonder what would happen if mining occurred in that pristine environment, and that’s when the idea for Kakadu Sunset was born. I guess you could call it Crocodile Dundee meets Erin Brockovich!
On our journey we explored many of the wonderful scenic areas of the national park and some of these places made an appearance in the book.
I love including places that I have travelled to in my writing to share the experiences, and the beautiful landscapes, with readers who cannot travel to them.”
Are Kane and Ellie based on real people?
“My characters are always imaginary people who are born in my imagination. However, they may have the foibles and habits of people I have encountered in many different situations. I love creating complex, layered characters, as indeed we all are.”
My favourite scene of the book was the crocodile one towards the end of the book. Hopefully you didn’t have a similar experience when you were visiting Kakadu?
“My husband found it quite amusing that I was constantly pulling him away from the water’s edge everywhere we went in the Northern Territory. I developed a healthy respect (read ‘fear’) of crocodiles and he perhaps thought that I was a little bit too wary! When we reached Daly River and he watched the fishermen stay in their boats as they were loaded onto the boat trailers because of the monster crocodile that harassed fishermen at the river, he began to believe me!”
Is the next instalment going to be set in the Northern Territory also?
“Book 2 Daintree Sunrise is set in the Daintree Rainforest in Northern Queensland, where Emma Porter has lived since she finished university in Townsville and began to practise as a medical doctor. It is set in a fictional town called Dalrymple which is partially based on Mosman, just north of Port Douglas.”
Oh sounds FABULOUS! Can’t wait to read the story of Ellie’s sister! When can we anticipate the release?
It will be out later this year.
Check out my review of Kakadu Sunset HERE
About Annie
Annie Seaton lives near the beach on the mid-north coast of New South Wales. She is fulfilling her lifelong dream of writing and has been delighted to discover that readers love reading her stories as much as she loves writing them. Her career and studies have spanned the education sector for most of her working life, with the completion of a Masters Degree in Education, and working as an academic research librarian, a high school principal and a university tutor until she took up a full-time writing career. She is now published internationally in e-books across the romance genre, in 2014 Annie was voted Author of the Year and in 2015 was voted Best Established Author in the AusRomToday.com Readers’ Choice Awards. Each winter, Annie and her husband leave the beach to roam the remote areas of Australia for story ideas and research. (via Pan Macmillan)
Kakadu Sunset is out NOW!
Check your nearest bookstore!
You can purchase a paper copy of Kakadu Sunset online at the PAN MACMILLAN website | BOOKTOPIA
To purchase an e-copy, visit: AMAZON AU | PAN MACMILLAN
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