I’m so excited to have Iris Blobel back with us today! I think we all need to take a trip like this one day! Let’s dive in and find out about the trip, and the book it led to!
What inspired you to write this book?
I love this book. We went to the USA a few years back, travelling in a motorhome through five different states, having the time of our lives. After returning home, looking through hundreds of photos, I came up with the idea to turn our itinerary into a story. Fresh Beginnings was born. I hope the readers will enjoy this little journey and hopefully my love for the places we went to is shining through.
For first time readers, what book (of yours) should we start with and why?
Readers can start with any book of mine, but I have two series where the books can be read as a standalone, but to get a “feel” for the characters, I’d recommend to start with the first one. As for Fresh Beginnings, the first book in the series is New Beginnings
What do you hope readers take from reading your work?
I always like to use the cliché “I like to spread love”. My books are about family and friendship, something that is very important to me, and reviews are telling me that is what readers are appreciating.
What is one of your favorite quotes? What about it speaks to you?
“Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. But today is a gift.” Having finished cancer treatment only a few months ago, I’m appreciating life, try not to worry about matters I cannot change, but enjoy the little things in life as well as the big ones. I used to stress so much about all sorts of issues and had a need for success that I’d forgotten to love what I have now.
What song could you listen to on repeat and not get sick of?
I LOOOOOVE music, so picking “just” one was a challenge, but I’ve narrowed it down to three songs that have been important to me that last year: Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song”, Savage Garden’s “Affirmation”, and Louis Tomlinson’s “Just hold on”
What is your favorite cocktail or drink?
Hands down – Coke Zero (which they took off the market, quite to my displeasure ☹)
What’s next for you?
“Echoes of the Past” will be re-released later this year or early next year. But there’ll also be a book set partly in New Zealand – another travel inspired story. I’m really looking forward to releasing this book. The main character has a Maori background
Blurb
Jared Fraser, a landscape business owner in Hobart, Australia, sets out for a holiday to the USA to travel along the Route 66 in a motorhome. Looking forward to his first holiday overseas, he’s excited as he prepares himself for the journey. But little could’ve prepared him for crossing paths with a beautiful hitchhiker.
Will he be able to put his past aside and grab onto happiness?
Ivy Bennett thought leaving her boyfriend would be the hard part. It doesn’t take long to figure out how wrong she was. As she struggles with making a new start in her life, the last person she expects to lead her to happiness is a laid-back Australian on vacation.
But she will have to say goodbye again. And not only to Jared.
Buy Links
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/d/B074Y3KMYG/
Barnes and Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fresh-beginnings-iris-blobel/1120056863?ean=2940154527429
iBooks https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/fresh-beginnings/id1275979573?mt=11
Kobo https://www.kobo.com/au/en/ebook/fresh-beginnings-1
Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/744769
Check out the whole series!
Excerpt
Ivy enjoyed being with Jared. During their drive towards the Grand Canyon he told her of his home and described as much of Tasmania as possible.
“I always imagined Australia to be hot with white beaches and beautiful water.”
“That’s up in the north in Queensland,” he explained. “We have spectacular beaches as well. Tasmania is a small island in the very south. The last step before the Antarctica, so to speak.”
“That sounds cold!”
He laughed. “It clearly isn’t Queensland.” Settling his gaze on her, he continued, “But it has beautiful beaches as well. And a wonderful marine life. And the mountains. We have some stunning mountains in Tassie.”
“Tassie?”
“Tasmania.”
“It sounds beautiful.”
He agreed. “Yes, it is. One of the best places on earth.”
Once they arrived at the National Park, they found a parking spot and walked towards the edge of the Canyon. She touched his arm to get his attention. Not that she needed to. His attentive nature drew her to him, and she couldn’t get enough of listening to him.
“I feel bad that you pay for everything,” she said in a low voice.
Jared waved his hand. “Nah. It’s only money and luckily the Australian dollar is—”
“Whether you can or can’t afford it, it doesn’t matter. I don’t like it.”
He stopped and turned towards her, causing heat inside her body. Her breath caught but she kept walking, yet, it took him only a few steps to catch up with her and, by way of placing his hand on her shoulder, to stop her.
“Wanna tell me why?”
Avoiding his stare, she lifted her shoulder in a casual shrug.
“A shrug is not really an answer, ya know that, right?”
Yes, she knew that. How could she tell him that she’d left Dylan because he’d spent all the money she’d worked so hard for? She didn’t want to be in the same situation, as in spending someone else’s hard-earned money. But deep inside she didn’t want to hurt Jared, either. She was enjoying her time with him so much, she wasn’t ready for it to end because of some silly pride.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a little squirrel in the bushes and despite some guilt inside, it was a perfect distraction.
“Look!” she said louder than she’d intended. “A squirrel.”
With great relief, she noticed how her devious plan had worked. Jared quickly grabbed his camera and kneeled down to get the best shot possible of this little creature.
Kneeling next to him, she asked, “Don’t you have squirrels?”
Still trying to get that perfect photo of the little creature, he whispered, “Nope.”
Author Bio
Iris Blobel was born and raised in Germany and only immigrated to Australia in the late 1990s. Having had the travel bug most of her life, Iris spent quite some time living in Scotland, London as well as Canada where she met her husband. Her love for putting her stories onto paper has only emerged recently, but now her laptop is a constant companion.
Iris resides west of Melbourne with her husband and her two beautiful daughters.
Next to her job at a private school, she also presents a German Program at the local Community Radio.
Author Links
Website: http://www.irisblobel.com
Blog: http://www.irisblobel.com/blog
Twitter https://twitter.com/_iris_b
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/IrisBlobel
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4067254.Iris_Blobel
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Iris-Blobel/e/B00FNFP3LI/
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bQ68rL
