Okay, I'm a bad, bad author.  I did something that is not allowed in the authoring world.  I took a week off.

**record scratch**

​I did what?  Yeah - me.  I took a holiday with my family and spent a week near the beach.  And subsequently forgot to post this last week.  So we are now a week behind.  I'm sorry.

​But here is the third and next instalment in the interviews I've done of interviewing myself.  Chronologically, the next release I had after The Blinding Light​ was a little short story in an anthology called ​A Taste of Honey.

Name of book:  Bear Chasing
Date Published:  18th August 2014
Available in: ebook / print as a part of the A Taste of Honey anthology.
Other forms coming:  Will probably rerelease as a standalone when rights have expired.
 
When did you start writing this book?  April 2014

What gave you the inspiration for the story?  I saw Dreamspinner put a call out for short stories to go into an anthology about bears (the gay bear type, not the furry, four-footed ones!)  I loved the idea and made a mental note to buy the book once it was released.  Some months later, I saw BG Thomas put out another plea for good, romantic stories.

At that stage I didn’t know BG – and of course he didn’t know me.  Loving Jay hadn’t been published yet.  No one knew my name.  But there was something pulling me toward this anthology.  So I set myself a challenge to write a bear story in under 12,000 words – for BG.  I know that sounds silly, but I wrote this story for BG.

And my favourite pairing?  Oh, yeah.  The big bear and the skinny little bear chaser…

What was the working title?  I originally called it “Bear Love,” but then changed it to Bear Chasing when I finished.

Where did the title of the book come from?  I didn’t know much about gay bears before starting this story, so I began to research it.  Information sites, dating sites, gay blogs – they are great sources of information.  And the first thing that popped out at me was the term “bear chaser.”  I realised that’s what I wanted my story to be about – the fact that people prefer bears over others.  Some guys like bears.  Some guys like being bears.

It was a natural progression to call it Bear Chasing.

What challenges did you face with writing this?  Research, research, research.  Always!

Then there was the fact that I’d never attempted a short story before.  That was a challenge to wrap up the story in a HEA (or at least HFN) in less than 12,000 words.

Tell us about MC1 – where did the inspiration come for him?  Okay.  I confess.  Gavin, Frank and Brett were based loosely around my neighbours.  There is a bunch of guys who live together in the house across the road from me.  I assume they’re straight.  I pretend otherwise. 

Tell us about MC2 – where did the inspiration come for him?  There is a guy I went to school with – Ashley.  He was into computers and computer games before it was cool to be, was skinny and socially awkward, and he loved his sister to bits.  I haven’t seen Ashley since we were 12, but Neil is what I assume Ashley turned out to be.

Is there anything special that happens in the story that you think readers would like to know about?  I fell in love with writing bears.

What is the best thing that has happened about this story, post-publication?  My friendship with BG Thomas has blossomed.  One day, I will give him a hug in real life.  One day.
​
Do you plan a follow up story?  I love this story.  But it’s not on my priority list.  One day I will write the next chapter in their story.  I really, really want to.

Goodbye 2015

I sit at my desk writing this blog with only a couple of hours to go on 2015. 

To be honest, I’m glad.

There’s something about “wiping the slate clean” and starting again fresh for a new year.  Okay, most of our resolutions probably don’t last a month, but it’s wonderful to put the past behind you and say that you’re never going back there.

That being said, 2015 was a wonderful year for my writing and for me learning. 

I had two new novels released – Shawn’s Law and You Are the Reason.  They are very, very different books, and I’m proud of them in two very different ways.
​
Shawn’s Law was for me.  You often see a writer say that, and I can tell why.  This book was just the inside of me all bubbling to the surface.  I’m the Crazy that you get when you read this book.  Some people really connected with my Crazy.  Others weren’t sure.  I know my editor wasn’t sure about it either.  But I wanted Shawn’s Law and I hold it close to me.

​On the other hand, You Are the Reason is for my readers.  Yes.  This one is for them.  I had no intention of writing Davo’s story.  Nope.  Jake and Patrick were it.  You would have to leave the rest of their story to your imagination.  But the readers of The Blinding Light weren’t satisfied.  They hounded me until I broke and gave into their demands for a story about Davo.
​
I’m not sure if they got what they wanted.  When you write a story, you need to take the good with the bad.  Davo’s character had some bad spots to it.  He needed something very pure to make it to a good place.  Lee was perfect for him, but this is no white-washed story.  There were some tough yards that one had to go through to get there.  However I’m a so glad the way the story turned out.  Didn’t you love it?

2015 also saw me release two short stories – Hard Feelings in the Queermance Anthology and Out of the Rain as my first self-published story.  Both of them taught me very valuable lessons.  I adore the story in Hard Feelings and I have begun to expand the love affair between Moe and Sam to make the story more in depth, so if you can wait a little longer, I will put this out as a standalone.

Out of the Rain was a little project I worked on to dip my toe into the self-publishing pool.  I’m not quite sure if it was successful.  I will need to be more courageous and self-publish more books.  Although the pet peeve from reviewers about this story seemed to be that it was too short.  Hmm.
​
On the writing side of things I’ve added a lot of words to a lot of stories during 2015.  Now the push will be to get these stories out to the public (the ones that are finished) and finish off those that aren’t.

I’ve been nominated for a swag of categories in the Goodreads M/M Romance Group’s Member’s Choice awards which has me BURSTING my buttons with pride.  I’m becoming more comfortable with telling people “I’m an author” which was really hard in the beginning, and I’m getting more comfortable with bragging about my work.  So I’m going to put these pictures right here.
​

I’m very satisfied with how 2015 went professionally.  It was the other parts of my life that tumbled out of my control.  My husband has continued to have health problems, and now my son has a mystery illness and symptoms that the doctors can’t nail down.  We did the hard yards with one teacher this year, and I’m hoping for a much better teacher next year.  And my baby-girl finished Pre-Primary with only one anxiety phase in the whole year.  Yay her!

So, do I have New Year’s Resolutions?  Not really.  There are things I want to do better this year, and I write them down here to remind myself if I get stuck:

1.  A more organised approach to my profession.  This will mean less fum-bumming around on social media when I should be working, more working when the kids are at school, and making my family appreciate this is my work and they have to respect the boundaries.

2.  A more balanced home-work life. Ugh!  This one will be hard.  But I need to spend less time in front of the computer, and more time attending to my hobbies and my garden.  So I’m going to try for a more structured routine so that my writing time is more productive, so I have more time for other things.  I’m going to make time for other things.

3.  Try out a new form of social media.  There, I said it.  I need to do more on the promo front.  I need to expand my horizons, hopefully find some new readers, and keep at it.

4.  Write more and write better.  Okay, this one’s a little silly.  But I’m currently going through first edits of a new story, and during first edits I always think I’m the crappiest author to walk the earth.  I can’t construct a sentence, my editor has told me so many aspects of the story don’t work (okay – she doesn’t, but it seems like it), we argue over word usage and Australian-vs-American terms.  So I’m feeling like I need to take ten courses in creative writing before I attempt another story.  But it is also true, I need to work on my craft and improve.

There you have it.

Now, for my 2016 plans, you will have to wait another two days and read it on my Café Risque blog.
​
Happy New Year!  Thank you for all your support, and here’s to a great 2016!

I sit here writing this blog with a great big goddamn lump in my throat.  I am so overwhelmed with pride and disbelief, I'm not sure whether I'm Arthur or Martha.  One thing I know I'm not, is Renae.  No, this couldn't be happening to little ole Renae.

No one can deny that 2014 has been a big year for me.  Not only did I release my first (ever!) novel, but I released my second and third, and my fourth is but days away.  And let us not forget my short story inclusion in the A Taste Of Honey Anthology.  It was always going to be a big year for me - but I never, ever, ever in my wildest dreams even hoped for the love for my books that has showered down on them.

And for that, I am truly humbled.  I can't even say it is a dream come true, because I never dared to dream that big.

So this year, when I saw the Goodread's M/M Romance Group's awards open, I hoped, just a little bit, that one of my books would be nominated.  I thought to myself, wouldn't it be nice if I could get nominated for just one of these categories?

So, it is with pride and tears of joy in my eyes, that I announce my nominations for the 2014 M/M Romance Member's Choice Awards.

This last one chokes me up.

I wish to thank every single person who nominated me, or who wanted to nominate me, or even thought about nominating me. I'm honoured beyond belief.  And if you want to vote for me, I thank you as well.

Voting will open on Friday, and only members of the M/M Romance Group are eligible to vote.  Once the links are up, I'll let you know. 

When I started writing, I had an aim.  That aim was to entertain.  To make people laugh and fall in love with the characters.  I'm grateful I've succeeded.  I hope you've enjoyed the ride.

Don't forget, Safe In His Arms is release on FRIDAY 28th November.  For those in the US, this is Black Friday.  So instead of fighting the crowds, how about having a nice leisurely shower with Lon and Casey?

The book is available for pre-order from:
Dreamspinner
Amazon
All Romance eBooks

Always laugh,
Renae Kaye
Humbled Author
 

I’ve been tagged by my lovely neighbour Meredith Shayne (if you can call New Zealand next door to Perth).  We are creating a blog hop, the idea being to talk about your character from your latest release or Work In Progress (WIP).

Meredith’s latest release is called Cutting Out and is a wonderful shearing novel, much like my own.  You can find her post here (http://meredithshayne.com/2014/10/27/meet-the-character-blog-hop/) for her character, Shane.

(Click to buy from Amazon)

Blurb:  A twenty-year veteran of the shearing shed, Aussie Shane Cooper loves his job, and the home he’s made for himself in New Zealand. If he’s a little lonely, he’s got good mates to keep his spirits up. When a hot, cocky young shearer named Lachlan Moore catches his eye at a competition, he’s content to look but not touch, knowing the young man is out of his league.

Lachie wouldn’t mind a piece of Shane, but the gorgeous gun shearer from Australia is soon forgotten when the Christchurch earthquake hits, and tragedy strikes Lachie’s family. Lachie deals with it the best he can, cutting himself off from all he knows. A year later and he’s back in the shearing shed, out of practice and lacking confidence. That Shane’s there to watch him flounder doesn’t help his nerves.

As Lachlan struggles to re-acclimatise, Shane can’t resist giving him a hand to get back on his feet. As they move from friends to something more, Shane finds himself wanting to know everything he can about Lachie. But Lachie’s got secrets he desperately wants to keep, and when things come to a head, those secrets might just mean the end of them before they’ve truly begun.

I can’t wait to read this story!

My shearing story was released a number of weeks ago and is called The Shearing Gun.  For those who don’t know, a shearing gun is a super fast shearer.  They are top class and well sought.  The Shearing Gun is the story of a firmly closeted shearer by the name of Hank who finds the closet door not shut so firmly when newbie doctor, Elliot is around.

What is the name of your character?

Hank Woods.  His real name is Henry, but he dislikes that, so he calls himself Hank.

When and where is the story set?

The story is set in present day and its central location is a little town called Dumbleyung in the rural south-west of Western Australia.  Dumbleyung is a very real town, and some of the scenes take place in the historic pub there, but the characters and other locations are fictional.

What should we know about him?

Hank is a shearing gun – one of the top shearers in the state.  He was kicked out of home when he was twenty when his father found out he was gay.  You see, Hank’s uncle is also gay.  Twenty years previous, when the local lads found out about his Uncle Murray, they beat the man rather badly.  Hank is scared that he will receive the same sort of attitude.  He knows that no one will hire a queer shearer or buy stock from a gay man.  So he keeps his orientation firmly to himself.

What is the main conflict?  What won’t he talk about?  What messes up his life? 

Enter the new doctor in town – Doctor Elliot Stockton-Montgomery.  Elliot is fresh from the city, a bit out of his depth with the country stuff and more than a little lonely.  When Hank is injured during a football game, he ends up getting the doctor into the clinic on a Sunday.  Elliot accidently lets a couple of lustful glances go, revealing himself to Hank.  He comes to Hank’s place to apologise and there starts a great friendship.  But will friendship be enough?  What happens when they become more than friends?

What is the personal goal of the character?

Hank’s a pretty simple man.  He wants a home, a job and to be working the land.  He’s never considered a partner in all this – he never thought it was possible.  But when he falls in love with Elliot, he is lost.  Elliot will be leaving at the end of the year.

He now finds his goals changing – he wants the man too.

Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it?

This book is called The Shearing Gun.

Blurb:  At twenty-five, Hank owns a small parcel of land in Australia’s rural southwest where he supplements his income from the property with seasonal shearing.  Hank is a “shearing gun”—an ace shearer able to shear large numbers of sheep in a single day. His own father kicked him out when his sexuality was revealed, and since no one would ever hire a gay shearer, Hank has remained firmly closeted ever since.

Elliot is the newbie doctor in town—city-born and somewhat shell-shocked from his transplant to the country. When a football injury brings Hank to Elliot’s attention, an inappropriate sexual glance and the stuttered apology afterward kickstarts their friendship. Romance and love soon blossom, but it’s hard for either of them to hope for anything permanent. As if the constant threat of being caught isn’t enough, Elliot’s contract runs out after only a year.

When can we expect the book to be published or when was it published?

The book was released in September 2014 and is available from:
Dreamspinner
Amazon
Barnes & Noble 
All Romance eBooks

Now the fun bit, I get to tag two people:

Beany Sparks is a newbie author and a fellow Perthite.  Her newest story out is called Ryan's Wizard.

Blurb: An alpha ends up with more than he bargained for when he finds his mate...his wizard mate.

After years of no contact, Oliver “Olly” Grey was finally able to reunite with his cousin Aiden. He’s surprised to find that Aiden now has a mate—a male, shifter mate—named Lex. And it’s Lex’s pack mates that Olly is there to help save. What he hadn’t expected was Lex’s brother Ryan.

Ryan Shepherd was happy to have found his brother Lex, and even happier to know that his brother was happily mated. But there is something about Aiden’s cousin Olly that Ryan doesn’t trust, especially when he also smells like the man currently holding his pack members captive. Yet that doesn’t stop Ryan from wanting to hold and comfort the man, and eventually he realizes why—Olly is his mate.

Now the four of them need to plan a rescue mission, but what happens when they run into the two men that had held Lex captive and those same men come to the cabin in the middle of the night?

Safe in His Arms

Now available 
for pre-order from Dreamspinner:  Click here.


Release date:  28th November 2014  
(Perfect for Black Friday reading.  Don't be bored!)

Blurb:  In the late-night quiet of the caravan park shower room, Lon Taylor washes away the filth of the Western Australian mines. He’s not looking for anyone, but when Casey offers, Lon doesn’t turn him down. 

Welcoming the young man in his big, hairy arms, Lon provides a safety to Casey that he has never known, and Casey wants to stay forever. Still reeling from the breakup of his family years ago, Lon’s not sure he’s ready for the responsibility of the comfort and security Casey craves. 

But perhaps Lon can risk opening his heart again and hoping for a brighter future. Casey has some pretty big skeletons in his past to deal with. And Lon wonders what Casey will do when he finds out how badly Lon failed at protecting the ones he loved eight years ago.

Blurb:  In the late-night quiet of the caravan park shower room, Lon Taylor washes away the filth of the Western Australian mines. He’s not looking for anyone, but when Casey offers, Lon doesn’t turn him down.

Welcoming the young man in his big, hairy arms, Lon provides a safety to Casey that he has never known, and Casey wants to stay forever. Still reeling from the breakup of his family years ago, Lon’s not sure he’s ready for the responsibility of the comfort and security Casey craves.

But perhaps Lon can risk opening his heart again and hoping for a brighter future. Casey has some pretty big skeletons in his past to deal with.  And Lon wonders what Casey will do when he finds out how badly Lon failed at protecting the ones he loved eight years ago.

Scheduled release date:  28th of November 2014
From Dreamspinner Press.  (Links to come)

Whaddya think??  I'm so in love with it!  My cover artist was Anna Sikorska and I think she has done a FABULOUS job.  Thank you Anna!

Gah!  I'm going to print this one off and plaster my writing space with it!  

I have a theory – which you shouldn’t take too seriously, because what would I know?  But my theory so far stacks up.  The evidence is not conclusive, but it is an interesting conversation point.

What is the difference between an author and a wanna-be-author?  Talent?   Ideas?   Luck?

No – my theory is tenacity.  An author sticks at it.  An author is simply someone who managed to finish the job of writing a manuscript.

You can all argue with me about this – and I look forward to the debate – but at this moment, I stick by my statement.

Which means, at this moment, I’m firmly in the wanna-be-author camp.

I have lots on the go, but nothing finished.  There are two more releases of mine to come – Safe in His Arms which is about 6 weeks away from publication (watch this space for the cover reveal next week) and then another story called Shawn’s Law which will be coming in early 2015, but I’m still working on other stuff.


<------------  OMG - Cover hint for my new book!!  Cover reveal coming next week....

My problem has been too many ideas – and that has come from the readers. 

By far, the most-asked about book has been Loving Jay – will there be a sequel?  My answer, at the moment: no.  BUT I do have the beginnings of a book where Jay and Liam feature heavily.  It takes place about nine months after the end of Loving Jay.  It’s the story of Jay’s friend – Kee.  He’s had some relationship troubles, and has been out of the dating scene for a while, so hasn’t met Liam yet.  It turns out that Kee and Liam get along really well.  Therefore the readers will get look at how Liam and Jay are travelling in life.  Will Jay and his dressing room fit into Liam’s apartment?  How is Liam finding life as a “gay man”?  You will also get to find out why Jay is sulking in the bathroom.  I’ll give you a hint – Liam is denying him something extremely… ahh… pleasurable because he’s been a bad boy…

The second most asked about book has been The Blinding Light.  I was leaving this story alone, until someone said to me:  What’s Davo’s story?  The ideas flooded into my brain and I have about a third of this book finished.  Davo’s story starts when Maxine is three weeks old.  Davo is not really into the girly stuff – you know, like babies and domestic partnerships and clothes and dancing and anything pink and everything else that may get you labelled as one of those gays.  So when he sees Jake embracing family life, it scares the shit out of him.  Then Davo meets Lee.  **cue the romantic music and the white doves**

In 6 weeks, you'll get to meet Lon and Casey, my next couple.  I’m sure that when this book is finished, you will be asking me about their friends.  So, I’m busily writing more on their stories.  (So don't ask - because the answer is YES!)

Therefore you can see I’ve got a lot on my plate – and now the test comes.  Will I be able to knuckle down, finish these novels, and get them out to you?

Feel free to bug me about them every couple of weeks to make sure I’m doing my work.

So today, between caring for my sick child and pouring endless cups of coffee for her Mummy, I suddenly realised that OMG - it's only 9 days until The Shearing Gun is released!  Only 9 more days to be nervous and only 9 more days to drive readers insane.  (*wink* - that's how authors get their jollies).  I promise to give another sneak preview before release day. (*wink* - see!  Author jollies again.)

The Shearing Gun can be purchased from Dreamspinner Press:  Link Here.

So without further ado, I would like to introduce you to Hank and Elliot.  Hank is my big, tough shearer who is so far in the closet, you need a smoke bomb and a ten-foot pole to yank him out.  Thankfully Elliot arrives on the scene to save him from being eternally alone.  

In this scene, Hank knows that Elliot's gay, but Elliot doesn't know that Hank's gay as well.  (Yeah - that closet is pretty big for ol' Hank.)  Paul, Hank's brother, knows that Hank's gay, but doesn't know that Elliot is. (Confused yet?)  Hank, the only person who does know all the gay people in the chapter, is busy keeping secrets from everyone.

Excerpt from The Shearing Gun:

I closed the gate, then pointed to the nearby dam. “Who’s up for a dip before lunch?” 

Paul frowned slightly in my direction, and Elliot looked surprised. “You swim in that?” he asked. 

“Hell, yes,” I replied. I was sweaty and I often took a dip before lunch. “I’ll even leave my pants on today just to stop your maidenly blushes.” 

Both my brother and Elliot looked discomforted. I laughed because I knew why, and neither could say anything. Elliot, I knew, fancied me and was probably looking forward to seeing me without my clothes. However, he couldn’t look his fill or show interest because my brother was there. 

Conversely, my brother thought that, since I was gay, I shouldn’t be undressing in front of any other bloke—straight or gay. He had this weird idea that I should actually cover myself up and not make myself “available.” But with Elliot within hearing range, he couldn’t tell me that. 

I left the two of them to make up their own mind and strolled toward the inviting water, taking off my sling as I went and unbuttoning my shirt. I didn’t bother to look back, even as I heard the Rover start up and follow me down the hill. I sat on the edge of the dam, took off my boots and socks, and carefully looked for vicious thorns before I waded in—still in my pants as I’d promised. I struck out, making for the middle of the dam, before lying on my back and floating for a while. 

A nearby splash caught my attention, and I looked up in surprise. Elliot was wading in, still in his black jeans but without his shirt and sunnies. He was pale and lean, but my dick didn’t care if he was green and warty. Male flesh, naked and dead ahead, was all my nether regions cared about. I was infinitely alarmed. Usually I could temper my reactions to other men when I was around “work.” It was only in the darkness of nightclubs or the privacy of a house in the city that I let my dick do the thinking for me.

“Shit! It’s cold, Hank,” Elliot complained as he walked in. “Don’t you know it’s winter?” 

“Wuss,” I threw back at him, ducking down in the waist-deep water so my arousal couldn’t be seen. Elliot took a deep breath and plunged in, ducking under the water and coming up not too far from me. He surfaced with a flick of his hair and floated on his back next to me for a moment. “Good?” I asked. 

He didn’t bother opening his eyes against the midday sun. “Ask me again when I stop shivering.” 

“Oh, bullocks. It’s not that cold. You don’t even have goosebumps.” He sat up, still floating with his toes above water, but only his head sticking out. 

“You have goosebumps,” he pointed out. 

Yeah, but they’re not from the cold. 

“Put your eyes back in your head, Quackle,” I whispered low enough so my brother, sitting on the hood of my car, couldn’t hear. 

Elliot chuckled and swam around until his back was to Paul. His gazed flicked down, taking in the breadth of my shoulders and my nipples, tight with cold and arousal. He had a smirk on his face as he whispered back to me. “I’ll stop looking if you stop putting it on display. You did it on purpose, didn’t you?” 

I don’t think I was doing a very good job of not smiling as I replied, “You can’t prove anything.” 

Paul chose that moment to bellow across the expanse, “Have you two pansies had enough yet? Can we go and get some grub before my stomach thinks my throat’s been cut?” 

I chose to ignore my older sibling and focused on Elliot. “So have you had enough yet, Quackle?” 

He gave a huge put-upon sigh. “Not nearly enough, but I guess we should go.” 

I bit my tongue and teased. “Can you control yourself enough to get out, or should I go and distract Paul for a bit?” 

He laughed and cupped a handful of water and threw it in my direction. I had to swallow hard. No fishing, Hank! 

“You know, Hank? You really shouldn’t tease a man who has easy access to Ketamine. One simple injection and you’re out to it. I could do all sorts of things then. I could make you sing soprano if I wanted to.” 

We were laughing madly as we sloshed out of the murky water. Paul was muttering to himself and had already decided he would drive back— he had impatiently taken his place behind the wheel of my Rover. My pants were soaked, so I tossed my dry clothes in the back and hitched a ride on the outside of the vehicle. Elliot followed suit, clambering up on the step behind me.

I’m pretty sure he checked out my arse the whole way home.

As an Australian writer, there is nothing more frustrating than being picked up on my use of slang in my manuscripts.  My American editor is forever telling me that I can’t use a term, or I need to explain a term I’ve used in my stories.  The frustrating bit?  

I don’t even realise that I'm using slang!

When I told some Aussie friends and authors that I had written a rural Aussie romance, they were happily encouraging.  We are proud of our Aussie roots, and we like to show it.  But in writing a rural romance, there is the inevitability that slang is going to be used.

I floated the idea past my editor of using a glossary at the beginning of my story, and I believe she almost melted in thankfulness.  So I began to browse my story for words that would stump the non-Australians.  Sure there were some obvious ones: thongs, esky, smoko.  But there were some surprising ones that I had to enter too.

There was an outcry from my fellow Aussie authors.  They wanted a peek at my glossary.  So without further ado I present it to you.  Here are the terms you are going to need to know in order to read The Shearing Gun.

AFL – Australian Football League.  The country-wide league for teams playing Aussie Rules.
Anzac biscuit – a sweet biscuit made from oats and golden syrup, named for the Australian soldiers who fought in WWI in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzacs).
Blow or strike – when referring to shearing, a blow is a rounded, smooth movement of the shearer’s arm across the animal while removing the fleece.  A strike is a downward or upward movement.
Border Leicester – a breed of large sheep, grown especially for their meat.
Bottle-of-beer! – in the shearing shed, should the person sweeping the floor drop the broom, they are said to “owe” the shearers a bottle of beer.
Bull-bar – a large type of nudge bar, especially designed to protect the vehicle in the case of a frontal collision with large stock such as cows (and bulls).  See also: Roo-bar.
Bushie – a person who lives in the bush.  One who lives in the rural areas.  See also:  The Bush.
Caravan – a trailer home.
Chook – the Australian term for a chicken/hen.
Chook pen – chicken coop.
Classer – see: Wool classer.
Copper – a policeman.
Corriedale – a breed of sheep, good for both meat and wool.
Countryman – a weekly newspaper publication for people in the farming communities.

Cuppa – a cup of tea or coffee.
Daks – pants.
Esky – a cooler box.
Footy – football, especially Aussie Rules.
Gas-bagging – slang for chatting, talking, gossiping.
Granny flat – a small apartment (usually single occupancy) built near to the main residence, but with independent access.  Mostly used for widowed, elderly parents.
Grub – slang for food.
Lubricate the arm – to have a few drinks at the beginning of the night, i.e. to loosen your drinking arm before getting seriously drunk.
Merino – a breed of sheep with extremely fine wool.
Missus – slang for wife.
Mongrel – usually refers to a dog of mixed breeding, can refer to a person as a derogatory term.
Mozzie – slang for mosquito.
Panadol – brand name of a common painkiller.

Red turkey – slang for the ball used in a game of Aussie Rules.
Roo-bar – abbrev. from Kangaroo-Bar.  A large type of nudge bar, especially designed to protect the vehicle in the case of a high speed frontal collision with a kangaroo.  See also: Bull-bar.
Rousie – shortened term for roustabout, a farmer’s worker who helps with the livestock.
Pavlova – a dessert similar to meringue made with egg whites.  Historically fought over as to whether it is of Australian or New Zealand origin.
Potbelly – an indoor, wood-burning stove used for cooking.
SAO biscuit – a savory cracker.
Shearing gun – a super-fast shearer, capable of shearing a large quantity of sheep in a single day.
Singlet – tank top, undershirt.
Smoko – a short break, usually for morning tea or afternoon tea.  Slang for a smoking break.
Sunnies – sunglasses.
Taking the mickey – to mock or scoff.
The big smoke – the city, usually referring to the capital city of the state.
The Bush – slang for the rural areas.
Thongs – footwear, flip-flops.
Triple-zero – Emergency call number.  911 in US.  999 in UK.
Wether – a castrated, male sheep.
Wool classer – a person responsible for rating the quality of the fleece as it comes off the animal.
Woop-woop – a fictional town that is supposedly in the middle of nowhere.

Are you confused yet?  The Shearing Gun is now available for pre-order: (link to Dreamspinner here.)