Lela goes to Malta

Posted byjenniferannerainesPosted inUncategorized

I’ve always been aware of Malta, of its history and beauty, largely because of family friends and colleagues, whose parents and grandparents emigrated from Malta to Australia. They’ve returned to Malta on visits, to reconnect with family history or on stopovers between Australia and Europe, staying for a few days or a few weeks. This gave me my setting for Lela’s Choice and the idea of a whirlwind romance.

I chose Malta for another reason. Malta, like Australia, is a signatory to a number of international conventions and treaties. I took a bit of licence with the idea of an Australian lawyer being in Malta to discuss the details of international treaties, although the Australian Attorney General’s Department is involved in negotiations for treaties we sign. But it gave me a legal nerd—Hamish—as my male lead with a legitimate reason for being in Malta.

At the time I started writing this book there were a few big cases—there still are—of children being taken across borders after relationship breakdowns. Australia is a signatory to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, the main international agreement that covers international parental child abduction. So is Malta. Not all countries are.

One parent may permanently lose access to their child or children if countries don’t accept the rights of a non-citizen parent, so the notion of the abduction and return of a child was added to my story mix. In NSW, anyone under 18 is legally a child.

Trouble is, a story about total family dysfunction doesn’t lend itself to romance. But what if I had a runaway—with cultural connections in two countries—who fled across a border? What if she’s 17, an adult, but not quite an adult?

That left me needing a female lead. And so I met Lela. Her parents emigrated from Malta to Australia some decades ago. She’s chasing her adored runaway niece. Frantic, Lela catches the first flight from Australia to Malta. On arrival, she discovers her father has co-opted a serious legal eagle, Hamish, to assist in the return of our abductee/runaway, and Hamish is ahead of her.

I mixed families, intergenerational conflict, runaways and meet-in-a-bar-marry-in-Vegas scenarios. Hey presto, I had my book.

Lela and Hamish take it from there—a swoony, combustible romance. I hope you enjoy it.

I write a monthly blog on my website where you can find out what I’m up to. You can also find me on FaceBook and Instagram

You can find my books at major booksellers, or through the My Books page on my website.

  • Lela’s Choice—Release 5 December 2023
  • Taylor’s Law—The Anderson Sisters Book 1 (Second Place Romance Writers of New Zealand Koru Awards 2023—Best First Book)
  • Grace Under Fire—The Anderson Sisters Book 1
  • Planting Hope, a standalone slowburn contemporary romance.

Find me on:

You can also contact me directly via the website if you have any questions.