Writers are often asked what books inspire them. One novel that I read long ago and have never forgotten is Red Diamond by vintage Australian romance author Dorothy Cork. I have mentioned it on here before as a title that stays by my bedside and in my mind.
Red is a rough and tumble rancher with little use for the softer things in life, including romance. Martyn Verity is the ingenue who inspires him to change his perspective. He calls her waterbaby and mermaid because she is from a coastal area, whereas he is from the iconic outback.
Two male antagonists pursue Martyn, Bastian Sinclair while she is still at the beach and David Bower after she goes outback. The author must have liked the name Sinclair, since in a later book, Breakers on the Beach, the hero is Sinclair Watermount, Sin for short (okay, that’s a later post). David’s sister Fay is the female antagonist, and another interesting supporting character is Red’s stepmother Poppy, who plots to throw Martyn at Red’s head.
Opening line: “Martyn, lying on her stomach on the beach behind the bungalow, took up a handful of golden sand and let it trickle slowly, slowly through her fingers.”
Teaser: “And his mouth — it didn’t seek hers, but it was on her eyelids, her temples — her throat. Gently, gently — hovering only.”
Published by Harlequin in 1976, Red Diamond is a short, sweet, hot read, and if you own your own copy, lift your glass and join me in a toast to the inimitable wordsmith, Dorothy Cork. http://www.romancewiki.com/Dorothy_Cork
