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 -which includes my first published contemporary novel, Restoring Fairhaven (now available!)
This month's release: More Than a Heartthrob by Kari Trumbo
Whoever said beauty is only skin deep lied. Beauty begins from within.
Jazzy is comfortable in her own skin, but the world cringes at it. Her personal armor since her teen years, makeup hides the scars that make anyone who sees them wince. The true test of any friend is: will they accept her without it?
Chris races to Hooper Island to escape a life-altering situation. The only person he knows and can trust there is a woman he met once. It wasn’t a good meeting. Lost and lonely after being the center of attention in Hollywood, he won’t risk losing the one friend he has.
Befriending Chris poses a risk Jazzy is loath to take. If anyone will reject her for her scars, it’ll be a guy whose life is focused on beauty. But as she helps him work through his own problems and his struggles with faith, will she gather the courage to pluck the plank from her own eye?
Once alone and vulnerable, will Jazzy and Chris rely on one another? Or will the force of their polar opposite lives push them apart—for good.
More Than a Heartthrob continues the Hooper Island stories of the Independence Islands Series featuring five islands, six authors, and a boatload of happily-ever-afters.
Like what you see? You can buy your copy of More than a Heartthrob here
You can also enter the giveaway to win an ebook of More then a Heartthrob 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.
Kari Trumbo - September 28
Rachel Skatvold - September 29
Tabitha Bouldin - September 30
Carolyn Miller - October 1
Chautona Havig - October 2
Melissa Wardwell - October 3
Sandy Barela - October 4
Favourite Makeup Tip
Here in Australia, it's important to slip on a shirt, slop on some sunscreen, slap on a shirt and stop sunburn and skin cancer
Confession time:
I'm not really one for makeup. Maybe it's because I've never really bothered to learn how to apply it properly. Maybe it's because of my latent feminist principles that question why females need to 'mask up' to be considered acceptable. Maybe it's because I remember a youth group leader who used to wear heaps of makeup and then seeing her one day without her cosmetics and I DIDN'T RECOGNISE HER!
Having said all that, there are a few things I try to do.
1. As a redhead in Australia, I've always known the importance of sun safety. I freckly, I burn, and I'm in the high risk category of developing skin cancer because of my fair skin. So I always use a sunscreen in my daily moisturiser to help prevent that.
2. I love getting my eyelashes tinted. My eyelashes are very fair, and not all mascaras are easy to work with, so taking a little time out (especially when something important is coming up) is a nice little luxury.
Otherwise, I like to keep it real, baby!
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 ~ Coming December 7, 2021
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?
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