Broome Enigma by Meryl Brown Tobin

          In 1986, while on a working holiday in Australia's cosmopolitan Outback town of Broome, Jodie Winter, a young book designer and artist is open to romance and adventure.  At the holiday village where she is staying, she meets Joe, a young man who works there. Despite the strong attraction between them, the many unknowns about his earlier life keep them apart. To try to uncover his mysterious past, they travel to Perth and back to Broome and are drawn into not only bizarre but also dangerous situations.

Is Joe the person she thinks he is, or is he some alter ego? Can Jodie and Joe stop their relationship from developing until they have answers and know if he is free to love her?

 

Wild Women Authors is pleased to feature Meryl Brown Tobin and Broome Enigma, a romantic-suspense/adventure set in Australia’s Outback. First up is Jodie Winter.

Good day to you, Jodie. Thank you for joining us today. Let’s start with where you are from. Perth, Western Australia, Australia.

Tell us a bit about Broome Enigma. Much of the action in the book is set in Broome; the main male character, Joe, is a mystery man and there are mysterious things going on in the underbelly of Broome.

What did you think the first time you saw Joe? When I saw a young man with a stunning tan dressed in jeans and sandals and shifting sprinklers, I took a second look. He was too handsome to be true.

Hah! Works for us. What was your second thought? When my       younger sister Tiffany went to talk to him and he didn’t smile at her, I wondered what his problem was.

    Do you feel it was love at first sight? No, attraction at first sight, but not love.

    What do you like most about him? Apart from his looks and his gentleness, I was intrigued by the little boy lost look about him.

How would you describe Joe? Though he was attractive with his dark curly hair and his tanned torso and looked as though he could have stepped off a surfing movie set, his dampened-down personality didn’t match. He didn’t smile, and he seemed preoccupied with his thoughts. He was a maintenance man at a caravan park, but the occupation didn’t ‘fit’ him unless he was a backpacker which he wasn’t.

How would Joe describe you? Small, slim build, blonde hair cut in a bob and reluctantly playing the role of big sister, constantly looking out for her slightly dizzy younger sister.

What made you choose book designing for a career? I am an artist, and love graphic design. I got work experience with a publisher and found I enjoyed designing book covers and laying out books for publication.

What is your biggest fear? That the injury to Joe might cause problems for him in the future.

How do you relax? Lie on the beach with Joe or swim with him.

Who is your favorite fictional character?  Tarzan, as played by Johnny Weissmuller.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received? This is something I once read in a magazine: There are six people in a relationship: the person you think you are, the person your relationship person thinks you are, and the person you really are, the person you think your relationship person is, the person they think they are, and the person they really are. The closer the three persons on each side of the relationship are, the more chance there is that the relationship will work.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us, Jodie. Now we’d like to chat with Meryl.

What movies or books have had an impact on your career as a writer? Movies, books and TV series featuring detectives, including Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, Poirot, Inspector Tom Barnaby from ‘Midsomer Murders’ TV series, Inspector George Gently and Vera. Judge John Deed is another TV hero who made a big impression.

Is there an event in your private life that you were able to bring to this story and how do you feel it impacted the novel? I have included some of my travel experiences in Broome Enigma, including the opening scene, where the heroine first sees the hero in a caravan park. I adapted a real life meeting to suit fictional purposes. I also know people who have lost their memory, including myself, and I have also melded these into this story.

Tell us a bit about your publisher: how did you hear about them and what influenced your decision to submit to them? On the Internet I read that The Wild Rose Press had won awards for being authors’ favourite publisher, so I tried them and found their editors gave helpful feedback. You submit five pages and then, hopefully, are asked to submit a complete manuscript. It takes about a year to be published. However, it would be a bit quicker if you didn’t take as long as I did tweaking galley proofs.

What book[s] currently rest on your TBR pile? The Wild Rose Press author Randy Overbeck’s Cruel Lessons.

Last, what's up next and when can we expect to see it on the shelves? I have just sent off another romantic suspense novel set in Australia to Ally Robertson, my editor at The Wild Rose Press. If all goes as I hope, it will be on sale by the end of 2025.

Meryl brought an excerpt for us:

     A big gust of wind rocked the van and flung Jodie hard against Joe. He pushed her off.

     “Joe, it’s me, Jodie! Wake up, wake up!”

     “Jodie, is that you?” He threw his arms around her and buried his head in her chest.

     She brushed his hair back from his sweating face. “Take it easy, Joe. Take deep breaths. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”

He stopped shaking and pulled back from her. “What’s happening?”

“It’s the cyclone. Don’t you remember?”

Another huge gust shook the van and sent Jodie sprawling on Joe’s bunk and into the wall. “Ow, that hurt!” She picked herself up and rubbed her head.

The van rocked violently again. Joe and Jodie grabbed for handholds. “Quick, come into my bed with me, Joe. It will be safer there.”

Tripping and feeling their way along the wall, the two made their way to the double bed and clambered in.

Her breathing coming in short spasms, she lay on her back and took deep breaths. The storm whined and screeched about her, and the roof creaked and scraped.

“Oh, my god, the roof’s going to take off any minute!”

Joe’s arms enveloped her. “Hush, everything will be all right. But will you be okay if we have to make a run for it?”

“Yes.” She let out a sob. “But I like our chances better in here than out there.”

Joe kissed her forehead. He pulled her closer and they lay locked against each other while the storm raged around them.

To learn more about Meryl Brown Tobin go to:

https://sites.google.com/view/merylbrowntobin-author

https://www.facebook.com/meryl.tobin.18

https://amazon.com/author/meryl-brown-tobin23

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6422807.Meryl_Brown_Tobin

 

Broome Enigma is for sale on over 40 websites, including https://amazon.com/author/meryl-brown-tobin23 and https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199746026-broome-enigma.