Will Jack and Sophie finally put aside their family history and let love guide them into a future together?
He’s found a new home with her family while his own holds secrets to her past…This heart-wrenching 300+ page rural romance novel will have you gasping and keep you guessing as mysteries unravel, and as Jack and Sophie discover whether their love for one another can survive the deepest of wounds and darkest of betrayals.
Jackson Garland is one of the few people who know what really happened to Sophie all those years ago, but he’s terrified of sharing the truth. To do so would jeopardize his happy sanctuary and newfound home at Bitterbark Creek. Upon reconnecting with Sophie, he realizes that while her extended family may have accepted him as one of their own, she’s going to take a little more convincing. Although he tries to charm and distract her to keep his secrets safe, it isn’t long before he’s at risk of falling under her own tantalizing spell.
As children, their love for one another kept them close until a car accident took one life and hatred tried to steal another. But dark truths can’t be hidden forever when ghosts from the past step into the light. Might the revelations be too daunting for them to handle? Or will Jack and Sophie finally put aside their family history and let love guide them into a future together?
A GARLAND AT BITTERBARK CREEK is about heartbreaking loss, rediscovering love and the healing ability of forgiveness and acceptance. If you love reading the novels of Mandy Magro, Alissa Callen, and Rachael Johns, then you will adore this heartfelt, second chance love story by award-winning author, Tammy Mannersly.
What inspired you to write this book?
A Garland at Bitterbark Creek is based just the tiniest bit on real life. From about the age of six months, I was lucky enough to spend every week day with my aunt and uncle, and my cousins—a girl slightly older, a boy slightly younger. We were very close and they are still like a second family to me, however there was one event that happened when I was very young that has haunted me pretty much all my life.
The three of us—all three children—were playing tag downstairs, running though the house out through the open sliding-glass door around through the little attached greenhouse area and back through another open sliding-glass door. I honestly can’t remember who was it at the time, but I do remember that both glass doors were open. Unfortunately, neither had markings on the glass to help indicate when they were closed, though I doubt that would have stopped me much in the moment. I was close behind my female cousin—let’s call her Jane—but not close enough to see her. I could only hear her giggling. When I rounded the corner, heading for the glass door, I was thinking nothing more than about catching up to her. Then I crashed through the glass, shattering it, and shocking myself. I stopped dead in the middle of the broken door. I remember my aunt screaming and that’s about all.
Apparently, I had a very fun ride in an ambulance. However, from that moment onwards, no one believed my story about the door being open for multiple laps beforehand and many, many jokes were had at my expense about being wary when I was around glass doors or walls. I totally get it. I probably should have noticed that the door was closed, but it was the fact that no one believed me that always got me. I started to actually believe that maybe it had been closed all along, that we were opening and closing the door as we went. Anyway, my lovely cousin Jane, who I still deeply adore, kept her involvement in the entire fiasco a secret for about twenty years when she then finally told me that it was her who had closed the door, that the door had been open the whole time before that, and that she’d kept the secret to herself all that time. That got me thinking about life-altering secrets, about how a small decision in one crazy childhood moment can affect so many lives and so many opinions. And so A Garland at Bitterbark Creek—a story about finding love, peace and acceptance twenty years on from a serious childhood transgression —was born.
And yes, my cheeky cousin Jane is aware of the book and its inspiration!
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
I thoroughly enjoyed researching the different locations for the setting of this book. I think Warwick, Queensland is a beautiful town and the countryside around there even more stunning. As a child, I visited a farm-stay just out of town a couple of times and it is still one of my most memorable holidays. Going horsing along rocky trails in the bushland, roasting marshmallows over the campfire, learning how to crack a whip, and bushwalking along the creek. Writing this book brought back all those beautiful memories. I wanted to do my best to instill my love for the location into the story, to make the setting its own character, and to make the farm-stay in the story—Bitterbark Creek—feel much like the picturesque place I visited as a child.
Did the characters in your book have any special traits/characteristics?
One of the most important features I included for my FMC and her family was to give them an Italian heritage. My beloved great-grandfather was Italian and his eccentric and good-humored personality will always stay with me. I was lucky enough to grow up with both pairs of great-grandparents on either side of my family until my twenties and while they were all interesting, unique and loving individuals in their own way, Benito holds a special place in my heart. He was an excellent cook—I still recreate his recipes today, he hated to lose—he used to hex the pool table to stop anyone else from having a good shot, and he absolutely adored his grandchildren—even though we weren’t his blood. I was lucky to have loved him and known him for so long that I felt since my new book A Garland at Bitterbark Creek was already so inspired by my own family, there should be a part of him in there as well.
If you could spend time with a character from your book whom would it be? And what would you do during that day?
That is such an easy question. Definitely Laura. She is the closest in personality to me and we would have such a fun time together. I would love to share in all the adventures that her and Sophie get to experience together in my new book A Garland at Bitterbark Creek. They play around in the farm-stay’s swimming pool, visit the scary troll’s cave near Ella’s cabin, and go horse-riding up to Bitterbark Creek’s lookout. But I know we would have even more fun together if I took her out on the town in sunny Brisbane. We could visit the charming cultural precinct along South Bank, the excellent bars and restaurants in West End, and party on at The Beat—renowned dance club and safe space for the LGBTIQ+ community—in Fortitude Valley.
Convince us why you feel your book is a must read.
My new book A Garland at Bitterbark Creek is a captivating mix of romance, heartache, self-discovery, and intrigue. The story centers around a terrible accident that occurred in childhood, something so distressing that it tore friendships and loved ones apart, and forced my FMC Sophie and her mother to leave their idyllic life and their extended family at the farm-stay, Bitterbark Creek.
Twenty-year later, they have returned to celebrate Sophie’s cousin’s wedding but the desire to unearth the secret of what happened all those years ago is too tempting and Sophie sets out to discover the truth. In the midst of it all is my MMC Jack Garland, whose wicked family could definitely have a recurring, villainous role on Days of Our Lives. While Jack is initially torn between doing the right thing and supporting his family, his whole world is suddenly thrown into disarray when Sophie returns and the feelings he had for her as a child—that sweet childhood crush—come flooding quickly back into something much stronger.
A Garland at Bitterbark Creek is about the healing ability of forgiveness and acceptance, of knowing the truth, loving yourself and moving forward so that you can open your heart to another. It’s a beautiful story, and one I wrote not just for my readers, but also for myself.
I’m the author though, so I’m obviously biased. Why not get your own copy and let me know what you think?
A Garland at Bitterbark Creek is based just the tiniest bit on real life. From about the age of six months, I was lucky enough to spend every week day with my aunt and uncle, and my cousins—a girl slightly older, a boy slightly younger. We were very close and they are still like a second family to me, however there was one event that happened when I was very young that has haunted me pretty much all my life.
The three of us—all three children—were playing tag downstairs, running though the house out through the open sliding-glass door around through the little attached greenhouse area and back through another open sliding-glass door. I honestly can’t remember who was it at the time, but I do remember that both glass doors were open. Unfortunately, neither had markings on the glass to help indicate when they were closed, though I doubt that would have stopped me much in the moment. I was close behind my female cousin—let’s call her Jane—but not close enough to see her. I could only hear her giggling. When I rounded the corner, heading for the glass door, I was thinking nothing more than about catching up to her. Then I crashed through the glass, shattering it, and shocking myself. I stopped dead in the middle of the broken door. I remember my aunt screaming and that’s about all.
Apparently, I had a very fun ride in an ambulance. However, from that moment onwards, no one believed my story about the door being open for multiple laps beforehand and many, many jokes were had at my expense about being wary when I was around glass doors or walls. I totally get it. I probably should have noticed that the door was closed, but it was the fact that no one believed me that always got me. I started to actually believe that maybe it had been closed all along, that we were opening and closing the door as we went. Anyway, my lovely cousin Jane, who I still deeply adore, kept her involvement in the entire fiasco a secret for about twenty years when she then finally told me that it was her who had closed the door, that the door had been open the whole time before that, and that she’d kept the secret to herself all that time. That got me thinking about life-altering secrets, about how a small decision in one crazy childhood moment can affect so many lives and so many opinions. And so A Garland at Bitterbark Creek—a story about finding love, peace and acceptance twenty years on from a serious childhood transgression —was born.
And yes, my cheeky cousin Jane is aware of the book and its inspiration!
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
I thoroughly enjoyed researching the different locations for the setting of this book. I think Warwick, Queensland is a beautiful town and the countryside around there even more stunning. As a child, I visited a farm-stay just out of town a couple of times and it is still one of my most memorable holidays. Going horsing along rocky trails in the bushland, roasting marshmallows over the campfire, learning how to crack a whip, and bushwalking along the creek. Writing this book brought back all those beautiful memories. I wanted to do my best to instill my love for the location into the story, to make the setting its own character, and to make the farm-stay in the story—Bitterbark Creek—feel much like the picturesque place I visited as a child.
Did the characters in your book have any special traits/characteristics?
One of the most important features I included for my FMC and her family was to give them an Italian heritage. My beloved great-grandfather was Italian and his eccentric and good-humored personality will always stay with me. I was lucky enough to grow up with both pairs of great-grandparents on either side of my family until my twenties and while they were all interesting, unique and loving individuals in their own way, Benito holds a special place in my heart. He was an excellent cook—I still recreate his recipes today, he hated to lose—he used to hex the pool table to stop anyone else from having a good shot, and he absolutely adored his grandchildren—even though we weren’t his blood. I was lucky to have loved him and known him for so long that I felt since my new book A Garland at Bitterbark Creek was already so inspired by my own family, there should be a part of him in there as well.
If you could spend time with a character from your book whom would it be? And what would you do during that day?
That is such an easy question. Definitely Laura. She is the closest in personality to me and we would have such a fun time together. I would love to share in all the adventures that her and Sophie get to experience together in my new book A Garland at Bitterbark Creek. They play around in the farm-stay’s swimming pool, visit the scary troll’s cave near Ella’s cabin, and go horse-riding up to Bitterbark Creek’s lookout. But I know we would have even more fun together if I took her out on the town in sunny Brisbane. We could visit the charming cultural precinct along South Bank, the excellent bars and restaurants in West End, and party on at The Beat—renowned dance club and safe space for the LGBTIQ+ community—in Fortitude Valley.
Convince us why you feel your book is a must read.
My new book A Garland at Bitterbark Creek is a captivating mix of romance, heartache, self-discovery, and intrigue. The story centers around a terrible accident that occurred in childhood, something so distressing that it tore friendships and loved ones apart, and forced my FMC Sophie and her mother to leave their idyllic life and their extended family at the farm-stay, Bitterbark Creek.
Twenty-year later, they have returned to celebrate Sophie’s cousin’s wedding but the desire to unearth the secret of what happened all those years ago is too tempting and Sophie sets out to discover the truth. In the midst of it all is my MMC Jack Garland, whose wicked family could definitely have a recurring, villainous role on Days of Our Lives. While Jack is initially torn between doing the right thing and supporting his family, his whole world is suddenly thrown into disarray when Sophie returns and the feelings he had for her as a child—that sweet childhood crush—come flooding quickly back into something much stronger.
A Garland at Bitterbark Creek is about the healing ability of forgiveness and acceptance, of knowing the truth, loving yourself and moving forward so that you can open your heart to another. It’s a beautiful story, and one I wrote not just for my readers, but also for myself.
I’m the author though, so I’m obviously biased. Why not get your own copy and let me know what you think?
“We can’t just go back to the way things were,” she told him.
“Why, Soph? Haven’t we been hurting and hurting each other for far too long? Isn’t it time to put the past behind us?”
How could she when she still didn’t fully remember what that past entailed?
Sophie sighed and eyed the bodily barricade before her. She could step over him. Her escape could be that simple, but she didn’t trust him to behave if she got too close.
“Come on, Sophie. I’m not asking you to act as though everything is fine. Just talk to me. See where we can go from there.”
“It’s the talking that’s the problem. You’re not the same little boy I used to tell all my secrets to.”
“Well, I’m not some stranger.”
“Close enough.”
Jack studied her. “No, I don’t believe it.” He grinned again. “I know you missed me. You wouldn’t still be standing here fighting with me if you hadn’t.”
“Excuse me?” Sophie scoffed. “Did you hit your head too hard falling from your ivory tower? I knew narcissism ran in your family, but I didn’t realise stupidity followed.”
He sighed with satisfaction. “I missed you, too, Soph. Why don’t we hug it out?” He reached for her, and she stumbled backwards in surprise.
“There’s such a thing as consent, you lunatic.”
It was only after she’d regained her composure that Sophie realised Jack hadn’t been serious—and that he’d started laughing.
“Shut up,” she grumbled, feeling a little silly. She bit her lip to stop herself from sharing his good humour. When they were kids, she’d often made Jack laugh so hard he’d caught hiccups. His genuine laughter still warmed her heart.
“I’ve really missed this, Soph.”
She wouldn’t dare tell him she felt the same. He was making it harder for her to keep hating him. But she wasn’t ready to let her pain go.
“Why, Soph? Haven’t we been hurting and hurting each other for far too long? Isn’t it time to put the past behind us?”
How could she when she still didn’t fully remember what that past entailed?
Sophie sighed and eyed the bodily barricade before her. She could step over him. Her escape could be that simple, but she didn’t trust him to behave if she got too close.
“Come on, Sophie. I’m not asking you to act as though everything is fine. Just talk to me. See where we can go from there.”
“It’s the talking that’s the problem. You’re not the same little boy I used to tell all my secrets to.”
“Well, I’m not some stranger.”
“Close enough.”
Jack studied her. “No, I don’t believe it.” He grinned again. “I know you missed me. You wouldn’t still be standing here fighting with me if you hadn’t.”
“Excuse me?” Sophie scoffed. “Did you hit your head too hard falling from your ivory tower? I knew narcissism ran in your family, but I didn’t realise stupidity followed.”
He sighed with satisfaction. “I missed you, too, Soph. Why don’t we hug it out?” He reached for her, and she stumbled backwards in surprise.
“There’s such a thing as consent, you lunatic.”
It was only after she’d regained her composure that Sophie realised Jack hadn’t been serious—and that he’d started laughing.
“Shut up,” she grumbled, feeling a little silly. She bit her lip to stop herself from sharing his good humour. When they were kids, she’d often made Jack laugh so hard he’d caught hiccups. His genuine laughter still warmed her heart.
“I’ve really missed this, Soph.”
She wouldn’t dare tell him she felt the same. He was making it harder for her to keep hating him. But she wasn’t ready to let her pain go.
Tammy Mannersly is an award-winning Australian author frequently praised for her heart-warming stories full of romance, dedicated friendships, and stunning Australian locations. All her books ensure a great Happily Ever After and a love story that will sweep you off your feet. Tammy has a Bachelor Degree in Creative Industries majoring in Creative Writing from Queensland University of Technology. She lives on the coast near Brisbane, Queensland and loves to write about her favorite Australian destinations.
You can find more information about Tammy and her work on her website: www.tammymannersly.com or by visiting:
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Thanks so much for sharing this! ❤️
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure! Sorry I crashed your book tour, but I totally had to share this!!!
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