Independence Island Contemporary Romance Series
Welcome to the Independence Islands page, where you can stay up to date with fun giveaways, background information and lots more about each of the books in this fun contemporary series
This month's release: Rebuilding Hearts by Carolyn Miller
What happens when a chatty bookworm meets a shy-guy horticulturalist who just might be the hero of her dreams?
Bookworm Bella Dwyer just wants to feel safe, especially after she's saved by a mysterious stranger during a bank robbery, a man who made her believe there might be guys who live up to her fictional heroes. But when he proves impossible to find, she settles for a relationship with a commitment-phobic man instead.
When Bella is offered a job on tiny Sparrow Island, she encounters Tim Franklin, the quiet budding landscape architect with Hemsworthy arms, who soon gets her wondering whether there really can be a future with a man who can't commit.
In a leap of faith, Bella dumps her boyfriend, even before shy-guy Tim can make a move. But in wanting to live by faith and conquer fear, has she made the right choice, or are her hopes for freedom and a future destined to fail?
The Independence Islands Series: beach reads aren’t just for summer anymore.
Buy your copy of Rebuilding Hearts at Amazon.com
You can also enter the giveaway to win an ebook of Rebuilding Hearts here AND a $5 Amazon gift card. How fantastic is that?
Visit all the blogs and enter the giveaways & find out each author's posts about best friends with the authors of the Independence Islands series.
Carolyn Miller - June 28
Chautona Havig - June 29
Melissa Wardwell - June 30
Kari Trumbo - July 1
Rachel Skatvold - July 2
Tabitha Bouldin -July 3
Sandy Barela - July 4
My Favourite Book
I've been told it's cruel to be asked to choose a favourite book, but as my main character Bella Dwyer is a librarian, I'm sure she has favourites.
But for me, I have many books I've considered my top picks, which have included everything from LM Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion. But when talking Christian fiction, I've had a fairly consistent top contender for many years now, and I've often mentioned it, so it should come as no surprise to learn it's...(drumroll, please)...My Stubborn Heart, by Becky Wade.
So why do I love it?
A) well written B) great spiritual points that pack a punch C) banter D) hot hockey hero E) & a redheaded heroine - which I firmly believe we need to see more of in fiction.
If you haven't read it yet, do yourself a favour.
(Then if you like reading about hockey heroes, make sure you check out the Original Six series by yours truly!)
RESTORING FAIRHAVEN ~ now available
Samantha Green of Greener Gardens gets more than she bargained for when she is employed to restore the overgrown gardens of the estate owned by a reclusive writer, whose romances about unrequited love have become bestsellers and movies, despite never having a happy ending. New to this role, Sam is determined to succeed, despite facing challenges with the business and her family.
Max Fairhaven just wants to be left alone. But the green-thumbed intruder to his island hideaway is stubborn, and her quick wits and sunny disposition
soon get under his skin. Between banter and garden renovation she gradually brings some much needed life to this widower, as he begins to engage with the real world.
Can happily-ever-afters be found in real life as well as fiction?
REGAINING MERCY ~ now available
A mother ready to do anything for her son. A man determined to win the woman he loves.
Going on Love at First Glance had seemed like such a good idea. She didn’t care about finding Mr. Right. Mindy Murray chose the reality TV show for more mercenary reasons. A mom’s gotta do what a mom’s gotta do when it comes to feeding her son.
When Mindy returns to Elnora, the girl from the “wrong side of the island” just wants a chance to rebuild her reputation. Too bad the folks at church don’t practice what the preacher preaches.
Enter Dermott Reilly. The interim boss at Greener Gardens has always had a soft spot for Mindy and her son, but with his new responsibilities and an important garden contest, he finds it difficult to prove himself to her. A tropical storm and a missing child prove that sometimes grace appears in the most unusual ways.
RECLAIMING HOPE ~ now available
Opposites attract - but can they last?
Callie Steele might be a bit… focused on work, but despite what her employers say, she enjoys her well-ordered, productive life. When she’s sent to meet the owners of an estate requiring post-hurricane landscaping, Callie meets their son, Kai Brody, a super-chilled pro surfer, who is as opposite from her as they come.
Though initially smitten, Callie knows a relationship with Kai is a bad idea—a very bad idea. Kai, however, can’t help but be intrigued by someone who challenges him to make something of his life again. He’s determined to pursue her, if she’ll give him half a chance.
The more time they spend together, negotiating the challenges of work, illness, and family, the more their opposing outlooks clash and connect. What do these unlikely friends really want from life? Kai and Callie must consider if such complete opposites have enough in common to make a relationship last.
REBUILDING HEARTS - Out June 28, 2022
Who knew a bank robbery could show a girl that good guys still exist?
Tim Franklin. Quiet, shy, almost incapable of speaking to a girl, and a budding horticulturist. Oh, and he survived a bank robbery five years ago, not to mention its resulting trauma.
Bookworm Bella Dwyer just wants to feel safe, and Tim’s actions during the robbery made her believe there might be guys who live up to her fictional heroes. Trouble is, a chance with Tim seems as remote as this year’s celebrity heartthrob. Instead, she settled for a relationship with a guy who’s commitment-phobic.
So when Bella encounters Tim on tiny Sparrow Island, the challenges of her past and present collide, and she questions whether there really is a future with a man who can't commit. In a leap of faith, Bella dumps her boyfriend, even before shy-guy Tim can make a move. But in wanting to live by faith and conquer fear, has she made the right choice, or are her hopes for freedom and a future destined to fail?
REFINING JOSIE - Releasing December 6
What’ll it take for the prodigal daughter to share her deepest secrets… and her heart?
Josephine Green returns to the islands in an attempt to reconcile with her family, but with a cloud over the family business, and little in the way of gardening skills, Josie’s painful past and flaky ways prove less than endearing for Greener Gardens’ hardworking crew. Stuck without any other options, Josie is forced to accept her sister’s offer of a job that takes her to Breakers Head where she encounters Aussie exchange teacher, Lachlan Jones.
A long-lost relative might’ve brought Lachie to a tiny music recording studio on the Independence Islands, but it’s also brought questions about how to care for someone he barely knows, especially considering he’s the last family she has. Questions regarding his future soon pale when he encounters the vibrant-haired Josie, whose sass and attitude takes some getting used to.
Neither imagined more until they begin to bond over music & environmental causes and both discover that first impressions need not be lasting ones.
But with the future of Gardens Gardens looking shaky, and Josie’s faith and self-worth just as tenuous, can deepening a friendship into something more ever work? And what happens when Lachlan’s work means he has to return to Australia after Christmas? What’ll it take for two hearts to heal and make a future possible?
This Breakers Head novel is Carolyn Miller's final book in the Independence Islands Series featuring five islands, six authors, and a boatload of happily-ever-afters.
My Garden >
I suppose it was inevitable that my Independence Islands books would focus on gardening. Anyone who knows me knows I love gardens - perhaps that's partly due to the fact that I'm married to a horticulturalist. When we moved into our house our garden was very bare. Over the past twenty years my hubby has planted many decorative and useful plants, including a pear tree with over twenty different varieties grafted on it!
Australian plants >
These are just a sample of some of the flowers, trees and plants you can find here in Australia
Gardens Around the World >
I've been very fortunate to visit a number of gardens in interesting parts of the world. In England, many of the grand estates have equally fascinating gardens and grounds to explore. My husband worked at Lyme Park, the setting of the 1995 production of Pride and Prejudice (with Colin Firth as Mr Darcy)! Poison gardens are another fascinating thing to explore, as have been gardens in the US, Canada, New Zealand and closer to home.
If you enjoy looking at pictures of plants, flowers and gardens, then please follow me on Instagram, where I regularly post pictures of what's growing in my garden, as well as fabulous pictures from my travels - in addition to my bookish posts, too.
Follow me on Instagram at @carolynmillerauthor