Showing results by author "Rhonda Forrest" in All Categories

At age fifteen, Evie is uprooted from the familiar embrace of her small-town life, leaving behind her father and childhood sweetheart, Chris. The year is 1977, and her new home in North Queensland becomes the canvas for her rebellious awakening, a place where the mixture of sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll paints the backdrop to her newfound independence.

Thriving on structure and organisation, Lachie's life is a tapestry of travel, surf and sea. Working and living in the breathtaking Whitsunday Islands, he finds solace in the ocean's embrace. But when carefree Irish traveller Kat crosses his path, he senses a disruption looming - a whirlwind of chaos where she treads. Kat's arrival in Australia prompts playful jokes from her family about husband-hunting, yet her desires lie in travel, work and the simple joys of life. Romance is merely a distant possibility if fate allows it.

In 1941, Queensland drover Michael McTavish leaves behind his young daughter Gracie and joins the 2/22 AIF, his destination, Rabaul, New Guinea, a small town surrounded by impenetrable jungles and steep jagged mountains, its shores lined by tranquil bays and active volcanos. Joanie has also arrived in New Guinea, with a chance to manage a trading store with her father, Reg, too exciting an opportunity to pass up.

When Jess discovered love with Daniel in the tiny outback town of Gowrie, her previous troubled life was cast aside. However, differences in their backgrounds, her doubts about real love, and the urge to return and support her twin brother Johnno forced her to make a decision to leave. A new home in the small community of Tamborine Mountain provides an opportunity to contemplate how she really feels and what is important.

When Amy takes up her first teaching position in an outback Queensland town she feels like her life is going ahead in leaps and bounds. However, her new boss doesn't make life easy and she begins to question her choice of career. Angus, a third-generation local, also struggles with life in the small town. A mistake made in his youth haunts him and stops him from letting anyone get too close. As the two become friends and hostilities within the small town come to a head, Amy and Angus are faced with decisions that could take them in an unknown direction.

When Jess heads west for a fresh start in a small mining town, she soon learns that the dusty outback plains are a far cry from her former life in the city - but she finds herself loving the isolation and local people she lives with. All she has to do is keep her head down and work hard to create a better life for herself and Johnno, the only person she has ever truly cared about.

In the small town of Matfield in outback Queensland, Elsie embarks on a fresh chapter of her life, leaving behind the shadows of a tough upbringing and a challenging neighbourhood. As she steps into her role as a teacher, the complexities of her past give way to the promise of exciting new beginnings. When she meets Matt, a rugged fencing contractor, a connection forms and a tentative friendship unfolds. Both carry responsibilities towards their families, and soon find they share similar interests.

The 1950s are a carefree time for a young woman like Grace. The war is over and when her family moves to Brisbane, plans are made for her to complete her studies at the University of Queensland. Ewan is also studying the same course and when he meets the beautiful, head-strong Grace, the differences in their backgrounds are pushed aside as they plan their future together. However, not everyone is happy with the romance and when the young couple are forced to separate, decisions are made that will determine their path in life.

A small garrison of Australian soldiers is left to defend a town and its people against the might of the Japanese forces. This is a story of those who were left behind and those who waited for them to return.

After three tours of duty in Afghanistan, Liam Andrews is home safe in Queensland. His weekly life drawing class, full of colourful local artists, helps him manage his post-traumatic stress disorder. But he's struggling to open up about a past that still haunts him. Belourine, 'Billy', is an Afghan refugee who lost everything before arriving in Australia as a child. She finds joy in her daily swims in the lake. After years of upheaval, she's still searching for a place to call home. But her past makes it hard to trust people.