A Whole New Ball Game

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Lauren K. McKellar is an author, mother, editor and creator of meals that her children do not eat. She lives in a beachside town north of Sydney where she spends her days working on books written by herself and other international bestselling authors.

Lauren has released 19 books in the romance genre. The Calendar Mums (March 2025) is her first foray into women's fiction.

Photo Credit: Jessie Walker Photography

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Cotton Field Dreams by S.E. Gilchrist

Sasha comes to the small town of Mindalby to recover from a traumatic event with vengeance on her mind — the last thing she wants is a relationship. Local single dad, Cole, is drawn to this smart determined nurse, but could Sasha’ secrets destroy the relationship before it has begun?

Starting Over by Susanne Bellamy

When fashion designer Serena Quinlan arrives in Mindalby for the annual cotton festival she meets local leather worker Paul Carey and commissions him to create accessories for her designs. Their mutual attraction is powerful, but hampered by Serena's search for her father and the arrival of her ex-fiance. When Serena uncovers the truth of her birth, will it blow their budding relationship apart?

More than a Promise by Lauren K McKellar

Asher is struggling to keep her head above water. With her job at the real estate agent, her father’s addiction to the bottle, her absentee mother’s increasingly pushy text messages and trying to be a good mum to daughter Dakota, she has no time for relationships…even if Flynn Carmichael is the most beautiful man she’s ever seen.

A Daughter’s Choice by Lee Christine

Lynsey Carter’s relationship with her father is fraught, so when she hears that the cotton mill that is her birthright has closed down (and her father is lying low), she returns to Mindalby to support her mother and seek out answers. Torn between family loyalty and duty to the community and an old passion for Julian Stone, her high school sweetheart, Lynsey has a lot to deal with. More than that, she has built a life for herself away from Mindalby. How can she stay there now?

","rating":"4.00","stock":10,"date":{"__className":"DateTime","date":"2018-07-23 00:00:00.000000","timezone_type":3,"timezone":"Australia/Sydney"},"sale_date":{"__className":"DateTime","date":"2018-07-23 00:00:00.000000","timezone_type":3,"timezone":"Australia/Sydney"},"product_id":23297,"isbn13":"9781489263674","title":"Heart Of The Town","seo":"heart-of-the-town","summary":"Cotton Field Dreams by S.E. GilchristSasha comes to the small town of Mindalby to recover from a traumatic event with vengeance on her mind — the last thing she wants is a relationship....","image":"https://harpercollins-millsandboon-au.imgix.net/covers/9781489263674.jpg?auto=format&w=298","hide":true,"categories":[{"name":"Undefined Category","type":"bic","seo_name":"F00R0D000"},{"name":"Contemporary","type":"bisac","seo_name":"FIC027020"}],"scheduled":[]},{"description":"

One promotion, two dedicated employees, one very inconvenient attraction...

Claire Roberts wants one thing this Christmas: to land the big promotion at work and finally shake free of the office gossip that haunts her. What she doesn't need is more competition, especially from a man who is nothing but trouble.

Hamish Christianson's Christmas wish is to get that same promotion so he can support those he loves. What he doesn't need is for his 'nice guy' personality to get in the way, or even worse, to fall for his biggest rival.

With everything on the line, will Hamish and Claire discover what it truly means to win? Or will their naughty games ruin everything?

A delightful holiday novella from our favourite Australian storyteller Lauren K McKellar.

PRAISE

'A quick-paced novella with a lot of heart. The main characters are replete with longing, competitiveness, and hope.' - Goodreads review

","rating":"3.42","stock":0,"date":{"__className":"DateTime","date":"2019-10-12 00:00:00.000000","timezone_type":3,"timezone":"Australia/Sydney"},"sale_date":{"__className":"DateTime","date":"2019-10-12 00:00:00.000000","timezone_type":3,"timezone":"Australia/Sydney"},"product_id":28318,"isbn13":"9781489284259","title":"Naughty or Nice","seo":"naughty-or-nice","summary":"...","image":"https://harpercollins-millsandboon-au.imgix.net/covers/9781489284259.jpg?auto=format&w=298&blend=https://supadu-imgix.s3.amazonaws.com/harpercollins-millsandboon-au/EBOOK.png&blend-mode=normal&blend-size=inherit&blend-y=0","hide":false,"categories":[{"name":"Undefined Category","type":"93","seo_name":"KJW"},{"name":"Undefined Category","type":"93","seo_name":"WH"},{"name":"Undefined Category","type":"93","seo_name":"FR"},{"name":"Contemporary lifestyle fiction","type":"93","seo_name":"FQ"},{"name":"Undefined Category","type":"bic","seo_name":"F00R00000"},{"name":"Romance / General","type":"bisac","seo_name":"FIC027000"},{"name":"Contemporary","type":"bisac","seo_name":"FIC027020"},{"name":"Romance / Romantic Comedy","type":"bisac","seo_name":"FIC027250"},{"name":"Romance / Holiday ","type":"bisac","seo_name":"FIC027290"},{"name":"Romance / Workplace","type":"bisac","seo_name":"FIC027430"}],"scheduled":[]},{"description":"

She thought she had her future sorted, but life has other plans...

Get the reference, get the job, get out of here: I know what I want. What I've always wanted. What I've been raised to want. The only thing standing between me and my dream overseas nursing job is a reference from my boss – and a very special little girl in the hospice care where I work who I just can't say goodbye to yet.

The last thing I need is Sawyer Benson, the AFL legend and an arrogant smile, coming in to visit the kids at the hospice and interfering with my life.

But when Emily tells me that girls can't play football, I know that I have to prove to her that girls can do anything they want. So Sawyer and I strike a bargain. I'll play his girlfriend when the camera's on, and off–camera he'll train me up for the Women's Aussie Rules league try–outs. Together we'll show Emily that girls are brave and strong and can do anything they dream of.

I still know what I want. I can walk away from footy and go back to my original plan. Football and arrogant smiles can't be my future.

Can they?

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Moody, atmospheric, and just a little bit punk, Finding Home takes contemporary YA to a new level of grit...

When Amy's mum dies, the last thing she expects is to be kicked off her dad's music tour all the way to her Aunt Lou in a depressing hole of a seaside town. But it's okay – Amy learned how to cope with the best, and soon finds a hard–drinking, party–loving crowd to help ease the pain.

The only solace is her music class, but even there she can't seem to keep it together, sabotaging her grade and her one chance at a meaningful relationship. It takes a hard truth from her only friend before Amy realises that she has to come to terms with her past, before she destroys her future.","rating":"3.46","stock":0,"date":{"__className":"DateTime","date":"2013-10-01 00:00:00.000000","timezone_type":3,"timezone":"Australia/Sydney"},"sale_date":{"__className":"DateTime","date":"2013-10-01 00:00:00.000000","timezone_type":3,"timezone":"Australia/Sydney"},"product_id":5104,"isbn13":"9780857990914","title":"Finding Home","seo":"finding-home","summary":" Moody, atmospheric, and just a little bit punk, Finding Home takes contemporary YA to a new level of grit...When Amy's mum dies, the last thing she expects is to be kicked off her dad's music tour...","image":"https://harpercollins-millsandboon-au.imgix.net/covers/9780857990914.jpg?auto=format&w=298&blend=https://supadu-imgix.s3.amazonaws.com/harpercollins-millsandboon-au/EBOOK.png&blend-mode=normal&blend-size=inherit&blend-y=0","hide":false,"categories":[{"name":"Undefined Category","type":"93","seo_name":"FXD"},{"name":"Undefined Category","type":"93","seo_name":"FXB"},{"name":"Undefined Category","type":"93","seo_name":"FBA"},{"name":"Family life fiction","type":"93","seo_name":"FS"},{"name":"Romance / New Adult","type":"bisac","seo_name":"FIC027240"},{"name":"Friendship","type":"bisac","seo_name":"FIC071000"},{"name":"Family Life","type":"bisac","seo_name":"FIC045000"},{"name":"Contemporary Women","type":"bisac","seo_name":"FIC044000"},{"name":"Coming of Age","type":"bisac","seo_name":"FIC043000"}],"scheduled":[]},{"description":"

A gorgeously warm, funny and heartbreaking book about what it means to be a mother.

The Hickory Creek Community Centre is a lifeline for new mums. So when a bad case of black mould threatens to end the only women's services available in their small town, a new mothers' group bands together to save it. Their plan? Create a fundraiser calendar featuring themselves ... in the nude.

As the mothers bare all, it doesn't take long for them to start baring their secrets too. Stay-at-home mum Rhea is hopeful this project will be enough to distract her from the gnawing guilt she's been feeling about her dissatisfaction with being 'just' a mum. Single mother Samantha is recovering from a heartbreaking loss and isn't sure if the anxiety she's feeling is normal or not. And everyone says new-to-town Tahlie is so lucky to have such a present and supportive partner in Hamish, the town's golden boy. So why does she feel so lonely?

As the calendar takes shape, the women begin to reclaim their identities, embrace their imperfections and forge new friendships. And perhaps the most unexpected result of all, in their bid to save the community centre, they just might also save a life ...

Perfectly balancing light and dark, this stunning debut touches on issues of identity, post-partum mental health and community, and is a reminder to mothers that they were women first, women who are strong, capable and not to be underestimated.

PRAISE

'The Calendar Mums is one of my favourite reads of the year. It's warm-hearted and wise, while also being utterly compelling and unputdownable. Lauren McKellar has written a beautiful celebration of the strength of women and the power of female friendship. This is one to read with your book clubs!' Bestselling author Rachael Johns

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Asher is barely keeping her head above water, which is impressive given the drought–stricken land around her. Between her job at the real estate agent, her father's reliance on the bottle, her estranged mother's pushy texts, and her gorgeous daughter, Dakota, she has no time for relationships…even if Flynn Carmichael is the most beautiful man she's ever seen. But Flynn is only in Mindalby for a short time, and Asher and Dakota have no space in their lives for a man not willing to put down roots.

Mindalby, a small town, a community, a home. But when the mill that supports the local cotton farmers and employs many of the town's residents closes unexpectedly, old tensions are exposed and new rifts develop. Everyone is affected and some react better than others, but one thing is certain: living on the edge of the outback means they have to survive together, or let their town die.

","rating":"4.00","stock":0,"date":{"__className":"DateTime","date":"2018-07-22 00:00:00.000000","timezone_type":3,"timezone":"Australia/Sydney"},"sale_date":{"__className":"DateTime","date":"2018-07-22 00:00:00.000000","timezone_type":3,"timezone":"Australia/Sydney"},"product_id":23219,"isbn13":"9781489263629","title":"More Than A Promise (A Mindalby Outback Romance, #3)","seo":"more-than-a-promise-a-mindalby-outback-romance-3","summary":"...","image":"https://harpercollins-millsandboon-au.imgix.net/covers/9781489263629.jpg?auto=format&w=298&blend=https://supadu-imgix.s3.amazonaws.com/harpercollins-millsandboon-au/EBOOK.png&blend-mode=normal&blend-size=inherit&blend-y=0","hide":false,"categories":[{"name":"Rural communities","type":"93","seo_name":"JBSC"},{"name":"Undefined Category","type":"93","seo_name":"FRM"},{"name":"Family life fiction","type":"93","seo_name":"FS"},{"name":"Undefined Category","type":"93","seo_name":"FR"},{"name":"Undefined Category","type":"bic","seo_name":"F00R00000"},{"name":"Romantic Suspense","type":"bisac","seo_name":"FIC027110"},{"name":"Family Life","type":"bisac","seo_name":"FIC045000"},{"name":"Small Town & Rural ","type":"bisac","seo_name":"FIC066000"},{"name":"Romance / Western","type":"bisac","seo_name":"FIC027100"},{"name":"Contemporary","type":"bisac","seo_name":"FIC027020"}],"scheduled":[]}],"scheduled":[],"products":[]}