Long Way Home

A Prodigal Daughter Returns to Brockenridge

From USA Today bestselling Australian author Nicola Marsh comes a warm and winsome rural romance about second chances and belonging.

Eleven years ago, Ruby Aston left Brockenridge - and its small-town gossip - for the anonymity of the big city. Now, a grieving Ruby is forced to come home to the place she loathes. But it also means returning to someone she's always regretted leaving behind...

Connor Delaney is determined to prove himself and not get by on his family name alone. To do this he needs to acquire the local roadhouse. He never anticipated the owner would be the same 'bad girl' who ditched him at the high school ball and was never heard from again.

For Alisha Nathieson, the grief of suddenly losing her dear friend and employer Clara Aston has forced her to examine her choice to stay and support her ageing parents. As she battles a growing need to explore her past, temptation wars with duty. And then there are her feelings for handsome chef Harry, who has secrets of his own...

In following their hearts, will this unlikely trio lose what they've craved all along?

Nicola Marsh writes feel-good fiction…with a twist! A physiotherapist for thirteen years, she now writes full time, raises two dashing young heroes, shares fine food with family and friends, and her favourite, curls up with a good book!

Long Way Home
MIRA
Author: Nicola Marsh
ISBN: 9781489281166
RRP: $29.99

Interview with Nicola Marsh

Question: What inspired you to write Long Way Home?

Nicola Marsh: My love of Echuca, that I visited regularly as a kid and now take my kids there, and the amazing roadhouses dotted throughout Europe. I did a coach tour there 22 years ago and loved the homely feel and great food of them and that's what I envisaged when I created The Watering Hole in Long Way Home.


Question: What was the best part about creating the characters of Ruby, Connor and Alisha?

Nicola Marsh: I love how they're all craving a sense of belonging in some way. Ruby fled Brockenridge on the pretext of despising it but inherently she wants to be liked and in returning she discovers a true sense of acceptance. Connor has spent a lot of time distancing himself from the town and his parents, yet in coming home he realizes there's a lot to be said for putting down roots in one place. Alisha is complex and I love her sense of duty to her aging parents while she manages her wanderlust. Seeking her birth mother is a big step for her, as is travelling to India; she's such a vibrant, multi-layered character, I had a ball creating her.


Question: Are the characters based on anyone you know?

Nicola Marsh: No, my characters strut into my imagination and demand I tell their story.


Question: How much of your inspiration comes from real life and real people?

Nicola Marsh: I can be inspired by places, such as Echuca inspiring my fictional town of Brockenridge, but real people not so much.


Question: What are you currently reading?

Nicola Marsh: The Bride Test by Helen Hoang.


Interview by Brooke Hunter

Long Way Home 
MIRA
Author: Nicola Marsh

ISBN: 9781489281166
RRP: $29.99