The picturesque vistas of the Snowy Mountains are the setting for romance author Alissa Callen's latest romance novel.
Snowy Mountains Cattleman takes place in Bundilla, the same fictional town as Callen's previous novel, Snowy Mountains Daughter.
It follows interior stylist Grace Davenport, who has come to the mountains for solitude and a place to heal after her parents' death, and sets about restoring a local mansion for the summer.
Meanwhile cattle farmer and stonemason Rowan Parker has been hired to rebuild the mansion, and alongside Grace, discovers a hidden trove of post-WWII secrets about the house's former occupants.
As they're rebuilding the mansion, a landslide threatens everything they've worked hard to achieve.
Dubbo-based author Callen said Bundilla, though fictional, was based close to Tumut and inspired by the townscape of Mudgee.
"As I live near Dubbo I needed a town close by that I could visit for research," she said.
"The experiences of the Bundilla community are also grounded in reality and often reflective of what has been happening in my real rural world.
"I really enjoy research and often go down rabbit holes following an interesting fact or event. One of the inspirations for Snowy Mountains Cattleman was a true story about a Parisian apartment that was unlocked after decades and appeared frozen in time.
"Further story aspects that led to interesting research revolved around the history of the Snowy Mountains Scheme as well as the construction of dry-stone walls."
Callen said she was inspired to start writing about Snowy Mountains settings after basing her previous novels in dusty, drought-stricken areas.
"I wanted to go somewhere where it rained a little more," she said.
"I'd always had an affinity with the Snowy Mountains, even before my family bought a farm near the Victorian border, so when I needed a new setting I basically just packed my writing bags and headed to the high country."
Callen encouraged hopes readers will be transported from their worries by Snowy Mountains Cattleman.
"When I started to write I thought a great deal about what type of stories I wanted to tell and the answer was feel-good fiction," she said.
"As a past counsellor, I know life doesn't always go to plan, so I hope anyone reading my stories will find them authentic, heart-warming and hopeful and that within their pages they can smell the wildflowers and be provided with a little respite from real life for a short while."
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