Love Stories.

	AN ANTARCTIC AFFAIR Everyone loves an epic adventure and doubly so when it’s also an enduring love story. Great-granddaughter EmmaMcEwin’s book about her grandfather Douglas Mawson’s Antarctic exploration and the love he had with his wife Paquita is truly inspiring. McEwin tours Adelaide, Sydney and Hobart next month. East Street (Bookwise International), AU$32.95, ISBN 9781921037306.
	BEFORE YOU MET ME This memoir by former Good Weekend columnist Alan Close has him telling it like it is, describing his painful search for that lasting relationship. Male readers will fi nd parallels in their own lives, while women will fi nally understand why men can be so contrary. Random House, AU$34.95, ISBN 9781741661866.
	COUNT ME THE STARS The fi rst commercially published work by Brisbane-based visual poet and ceramicist Kylie Johnson, this gorgeous fabric-covered book is a balm for those quiet moments. Pier 9 (Murdoch Books), AU$29.95, ISBN 9781741960655.
	HEAD OVER HEEL – SEDUCED BY A SOUTHERN ITALIAN If anyone needed a confi rmation that love strikes like lightning, they only need to read Sydney-born Chris Harrison’s memoir. Yes, it’s the year for men writing memoirs about looking for love, but this time, Chris did end up marrying Daniela. Oops, did we just give the ending away? Out in March. Pier 9 (Murdoch Books), AU$29.95, ISBN 9781741960815.

FUELLING DESIRE

Brisbane-born Anna Campbell’s Untouched is her second romance novel in as many years and was released to rave reviews. She has been described as a “rising star of Regency noir”. We speak to Anna about her latest book and her love for romance.

Was there much pressure to come out with a second book as good as, if not better than, your first, Claiming the Courtesan?
There was no pressure on me when I wrote Untouched, as the first draft was complete before Avon bought Claiming the Courtesan, so it was just one more manuscript that would go under the bed. It took me 27 years to get published so by that stage, I was writing for the love of it rather than any commercial imperative.

Why did you set Untouched in 1822?
I love the Regency period in historical romance, loosely the first 30 or so years of the 19th century – the elegance, the wit and associations with Georgette Heyer and Jane Austen. Not to mention the heroes in boots! When writing these dark books, I wanted a time that had a decadent atmosphere and the 15 or so years before Queen Victoria were full of scandals, darkness and sensuality.

Who would you cast as Lord Sheene if there’s a movie?
I often start with people who are a template for what my characters look like. With Untouched, I think I’d cast the gorgeous Richard Armitage from the BBC’s serial North and South. He’s shown he can wear sideburns with the best of them and he’s got that lovely quality of tenderness so essential to Lord Sheene’s character. And he’s long and lean which suits the physical type of this particular hero.

What is it about the romance genre that appeals to you?
I love that it’s a genre where the positive elements in life will triumph, no matter the trials on the way. I don’t think romance shirks the harder facts of life but it offers a kind of justice. If you persevere and you struggle on, you will get your happy ending.

People read romances as a form of escapism. Do you think romance is dead in real life?
Far from it. Perhaps most people aren’t battling to prove their sanity or being kidnapped as a rich man’s plaything, but there’s plenty of love on show in real life.

What was the first romance novel you read?
I was a talkative child and also an avid reader from an early age. When I was about eight, my mother shoved a Mills and Boon into my hands to keep me quiet. It was A Touch of Silk by Aussie author Joyce Dingwall. Mind you, in those pre-sexual revolution days, you could give an eight-year-old a Mills and Boon!

Who is your favourite literary romantic hero?
Oh, no, that’s like asking me to pick my favourite child. Impossible! I love Mr Darcy. He’s the prototype for so many heroes that have come after. The strong, honourable man whose life is turned on its head when he falls in love is almost a cliché of the genre. But I love the Bronte heroes too: Mr Rochester, Heathcliff. I love the raw passion in those books.

Untouched is published by Avon, the romance division of HarperCollins, AU$27.99, ISBN 9780732287276.