Interview: author Karly Lane on why we cant get enough of rural romance

Its not uncommon for a chick lit novel to begin with a small-town girl moving to a large urban metropolis in order to escape a failed romance or to engineer a career change.

Interestingly, a similar opening is often found in the burgeoning genre of rural romance, although the context is inverted: these books often begin instead with a heroine moving from a major city to a rural or small-town environment.

Romantic suspense and rural romance author Karly Lanes recently released novels'North Star'and'Morgans Law'both feature city-to-country shifts, and Lane suggests that this sort of escapist scenario offers something that most readers can identify with.

I think the fresh start and fish out of water aspects appeal to readers because theyre something that everyday people can relate to, she says.

Breakups are something just about everyone has gone through at some stage and the chance for a fresh start over is like having a blank page- a chance to start somewhere without any reminders of your old life.

Like author'Margareta Osborn, who suggests that many people feel a desire to'move to the country, Lane believes that'rural settings are appealing because readers have had some kind of connection to the country in the past or they have some kind of image of what they think a rural lifestyle would be.

She adds that the beauty of the new wave of rural titles out there is that they arent all solely for rural readers. Rather, many of these books tease out the fantasy of escaping from the daily grind and starting anew.

Its'something that the everyday person could picture themselves doing. Its real, and readers are able to relate to the possibility that something like that could'actually'happen in real life. As'opposed, she says, to the multi-billionaire sheikh coming in to save the day.

Lane has written for both the American market and the Australian one, and notes that although the broader context of her books translates well, not everything does. Like self-promotion, being able to tailor a work to appeal to a broad audience is a key element of a modern day romance writer.

Occasionally American readers dont get some of the'Australian-isms'in the books, so I do get asked to either explain them or change them for the American audience, she says.

But this is something that Lane is used to now: the market is such that its essential to be on top of thingsboth in the off-line and online worlds.

Self-promotion is'becoming a necessary requirement. Especially for new authors wanting to get their names out there, its vital. There are just so many books out there that you really do need to promote your books in order to get them noticed. On the upside, I really enjoy connecting to readers and love Facebook and Twitter. I probably spend too much time chatting to readers and not enough time writing sometimes!

But while Lane admits to a slightly too passionate relationship with social media, shes certainly no slouch in terms of her output. Though her latest novel'Morgans Law was released just last month, readers can expect another,'Bridies Choice, to be released in December.

Shes also looking forward to a 2013 release that she describes as very special to her.

Its based on a woman who discovers a diary from a young girl and a returned soldier, during WW1. I saw an old newspaper article from 1920 about a real event that took place in my town from that era and I knew I had to write it into one of my books. Im so excited about it and cant wait to find out when itll be due for release.

Books by Karly Lane:

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