Sophie Green’s stories of fresh beginnings, unexpected friendships and the power of love in small country communities are Top 10 Best sellers, and they’re all built around Sophie’s personal passions for, among other things, music, yoga and swimming.

Hi there, I’m your host Jenny Wheeler, and today on Binge Reading Sophie talks about her varied career as a country music podcaster and aficionado, how she came to write two Home and Away spin offs, and why she thinks writers can learn a lot from musicians.

The giveaway this week is Sadie's Vow, Book #1 in my new Home At Last series...

Book #2 Susannah's Secret will be published late October, or early November.

An unconventional woman. A handsome European. Together, they plunge into dirty mob dealings and certain danger.

Limited Time Offer - Five Days Only.

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Martin Walker's Encore episode on his latest book To Kill A Troubadour goes live to general audience today.

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Links to the episode:

Bellbird Country Choir playlist:  https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPpYyaC9JNGvmSsJeT3nwXHi5MQm1TGii

Home and Away: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_and_Away

Michael Connolly: https://www.michaelconnelly.com/

Richard Osman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Osman

Kayte Nunn: https://kaytenunn.com/

Kayte Nunn on JOBR: https://thejoysofbingereading.com/kayte-nunn-desire-revenge-courage/

Kazuo Ishiguro: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazuo_Ishiguro

The Cowra Breakout: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0135848/

Tamworth Country Music Festival: https://www.tcmf.com.au/

Singer Jenny Mitchell and Sophie Green interview on Sunburnt Country podcast: https://sunburntcountrymusic.com/2022/08/14/jenny-mitchell-on-her-sublime-new-album-tug-of-war/

The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club. https://www.amazon.com/Inaugural-Meeting-Fairvale-Ladies-Book/dp/073363656X

Cover designs by Christa Moffit: https://abda.com.au/tag/christa-moffitt/

Links:

Where to find Sophie Green:

Website: https://www.hachette.com.au/sophie-green/

Instagram: @sophiegreenbooks

Facebook: @SophieGreenAuthor

Twitter: @sophiegreenauth

Tik Tok: @Sophie Green Books

What follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to the show notes in The Joys of Binge Reading.com for important mentions.But now, here’s Sophie.

Introducing author Sophie Green

Jenny Wheeler: Hello there, Sophie, and welcome to the show. It's so good to have you with us.

Sophie Green - Small town, second chance women's fiction

Sophie Green: Hello, Jenny. Thank you very much for having me.

Jenny Wheeler: You have made this area of small communities a real winner for yourself. The books you've written about small communities have been Top 10 bestsellers, practically all of them, and the most recent one is The Bellbird River Country Choir. It’s about a group of people drawn from disparate backgrounds and places who all meet in this small country town and join a choir. What is it that attracts you to small towns?

Sophie Green: I think partly it's because we all form our own small communities within larger communities. I'm Sydney born and bred, but I live not far from where I grew up and I have friends that I've met in the same area and met in other small communities, like working in a book shop.

I think we do tend to find our little communities within the larger, and also from a storytelling point of view, small communities are good to work with because I don't have to think about a whole massive cast of characters. I can focus on one particular place and the people who live there.

Jenny Wheeler: That's interesting because the book does give a real sense of you understanding ...