You've found the home on the net for romance writer, LaVerne Clark. Thanks for visiting! :)

I write suspense and light fantasy/paranormal set in the beautiful country of New Zealand. A land of myths and magic, Aotearoa (Maori for Long White Cloud) has always been a storytelling nation and it is my pleasure to share mine with you.

Make yourself your drink of choice, stay a while and feel free to leave comments. I love to meet new friends.



Heartpounding suspense and fantasy Downunder



Saturday, February 15, 2014

SALE! SALE! SALE!!

Beyond the Shadows is on SALE!

BTS was chosen as Book of the Month from one of my groups on Goodreads. I was shocked and honoured that they chose it, so wanted to give whoever hasn't got it yet a chance to nab it at a great price. Thanks so much, ladies and enjoy! :)


So - grab it while it's hot and Happy Valentine's Day! 





Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Short story competition time for NZers!

The Nelson chapter of Romance Writers of New Zealand run a bi-annual short story competition to encourage and foster new and aspiring writers to get their stuff out there. The fact there are some amazing goodies up for grabs from our generous sponsors for the prize winners sure don't hurt anyone either! 

Check it out - and get busy writing! We can't wait to read your submissions. 

Good luck!

*Permission granted and appreciated to share with interested parties*


Friday, February 7, 2014

What a Girl Wants - Jennifer Snow

Please help me welcome Jennifer Snow to Novel Natterings. I met the lovely Jennifer online and was immediately struck by her effervescent personality and warmth. A perfect fit for Harlequin Heartwarming!



Its lovely to have you here, Jennifer! Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I am originally from Newfoundland on the East Coast of Canada, but now I live in Edmonton, Alberta with my husband and three year old son. I write contemporary romance for Harlequin Heartwarming, Secret Cravings Publishing, and The Wild Rose Press.

When you’re not writing, what do you do for fun?
I don’t understand the question. LOLJ

LOL. Silly me! You've got a bit on your plate there, for sure! When did you first consider yourself a writer?
At age four, but I seriously started submitting books to publishers at sixteen…a couple of years later, here I am lol.

Yep. Being eighteen was not THAT long ago, surely? Sure doesn't seem that way. I blame having children for making time fly! :) Do you remember what inspired you to write your first book?
Honestly, my first divorce (I say first, because I tend to make a habit of them lol j/k). The inspiration for my heroine’s character Madison Grey from Mistletoe Bachelors was me. I was annoyed with men, my ex in particular and a story about a woman jaded in love, with an aversion to men felt like a good story to write at the time. Luckily, it wasn’t published until seven years later and many revisions lol.

I love call stories. Can you tell us about yours and your reaction?
I was working when Victoria Curran, Senior Editor at Heartwarming called so of course I missed the call and it went to voicemail, but it actually turned out to be a good thing, because then I had a recording to listen to over and over again, and share with family and friends, and strangers at the bank lol. I was thrilled. I had targeted my story for that line because I feel my stories belong there, and I couldn’t be happier.

Good choice! What drew you to write your chosen genre?
I know nothing about history or  paranormal, scary, suspenseful stories creep me out and I can’t write a love scene to save my life lol, so that left sweet contemporary lolJ

If you could be one of your characters, who would it be and why?
At one time or other in my life, I’ve been a part of all of them. As noted above, Madison’s heartache was based on my own. Molly’s lack of funds and independent streak to do everything on her own without help in Mistletoe and Molly was me at age 24, Piper’s crazy dating scenarios in Mistletoe Fever-yep, those were mine…and Victoria Mason in my November Heartwarming release-The Trouble With Mistletoe probably represents my what if moments in life.

Ahh...those what if's. Great fodder for the imagination! What’s the most challenging part of the writing process for you?
None of it is easy, but the most challenging is not writing-I need to write everyday, otherwise I get agitated and annoyed.

Has anything coincidental happened in the real world while writing one of your books in terms of the characters, scenes or world you’ve created?
I think the basis of most of my stories comes from something inspired from real world events. For example, the top secret screenplay that my mom and I are writing stemmed from a real life what if moment for me. I was waiting to turn left at a stop light and a big transport truck sat waiting across from me, and I couldn’t see around him, so at one point, he indicated that it was okay for me to turn, so I did. And immediately, I realized how much faith I had put in a complete stranger. What if the coast hadn’t been clear…and that’s where our movie starts.

Ooo! Keep us posted about your screenplay! It sounds great. Which one of your books is your ‘baby’ and why?
I will always love Mistletoe and Molly just because it’s such a fun story.

What are you working on right now?
Books three and four in the Brookhollow series that are set to release in Sept and Nov. And a few other side projects.

My goodness you're a busy lady! But I bet your readers are pleased about that! Latest news?
I’m happy to say that an article I wrote about being a romance writer and real life love will appear in Edmonton’s coolest magazine this month-Avenue!! Very excited for that.

Where can we find you and your books?
And the books are sold at any of the e-retailers and at Harlequin.com. Print books will be on store shelves in the UK and Australia this year, but not North America at this time.

Check out the cover for Jennifer's latest release and have a read of an excerpt. 


Ethan snatched the phone away before Jim could answer the text, which he knew he was aching to do, and slid it into his shirt pocket. He pulled the truck to the side of the highway behind an old, rusted red Volkswagen Jetta and jumped down onto the gravel. He positioned two traffic cones in the inside lane, forcing the oncoming traffic to take the outside lane, as Bailey’s tow truck pulled in front of the Jetta and she climbed out, clipboard in hand.
“I’ll be here if you need me,” Jim called from inside the truck, reclining the seat and shutting his eyes.
“You’re not even going to get out of the truck?”
“It’s a simple backup call. I only came along to get out of clinic duty.”
Ethan shook his head as he closed the truck door. It amazed him how their work ethic differed so drastically. Jim was four years older, yet he’d never shown any interest in advancing his rank at the fire hall. Ethan had worked hard, proving himself to his senior coworkers and landing  the position of captain by the time he was twenty-four.
He approached Bailey at the front of the vehicle where she spoke to a short, frazzled-looking bald man. “I’ll just need your driver’s license and your credit card…and I’ll have you hooked up and ready to go in just a few minutes. Feel free to sit in the truck to wait. The air-conditioning is on and it’s much cooler in there.”
The man disappeared inside the cab of the tow truck and Ethan waited until he was out of earshot before saying, “This car has to be at least thirty years old.” He leaned against the bumper to watch her work and the metal frame creaked in protest.
“That thing looks about to fall off,” she warned as she put the tow dolly’s coupler in open position by lowering the locking lever all the way down and inserting the locking pin to secure it in place.
Good point, he thought as he stood. “So, before I forget, we’re holding Luke’s bachelor party at the fire hall tonight—poker, darts, beer, the baseball game.… If you’re not doing anything, stop by.” Bailey was a regular at their weekly poker games, much to the dismay of the other guys, whose wallets she emptied.
“Stop by? To Luke’s bachelor party—the ultimate boys night?” She sounded incredulous as she inserted the electrical plug from the dolly into the switch on the back of the tow truck. That way the brake lights and turning signals on the dolly would work while en route to the shop.
“Yeah, why not?” He knew Luke wouldn’t mind. Bailey had always been like a third, less-annoying sister to the groom to be, and she kept his ancient, rusted-out truck on the road.
“I have Victoria’s bachelorette party tonight. A wine and cheese  in the backyard of the Brookhollow Inn.” She crisscrossed the chains and connected them to the eyelets on the bumper of the car.
“That sounds awful.”
“You’re telling me.”