Q&A with Australian romance author, Nina Hamilton

I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with Australian romance author, Nina Hamilton about her debut novel with Escape Publishing. You can read my review of Rescue Heat here.Welcome Nina! Please describe Rescue Heat in five words.Fast paced, sexy love story.What inspired you to write Rescue Heat?I have always really admired those first responders, paramedics, chopper pilots and doctors who go in and make sense of the chaos of an emergency. I wanted to create a love story about the strong emotions, which can blossom in that high-pressure situation. Rescue Heat is not my first book but it was the easiest to write because I was so interested in and passionate about the subject matter.The characters, Brigid and Matt in Rescue Heat both have medical backgrounds. What kind of research did you undertake for your story?My younger brother is a doctor and was an occasional consultant on some of the medical issues in the novel. He wants me to assure everyone that any mistakes are my own. I looked at some of the trauma protocols that are readily available online and tried to get as many of the details as right as possible, while still keeping the focus on my characters’ love story.After years of watching All Saints, Grey’s Anatomy and most other hospital dramas out there, I am also an expert in television medicine and can diagnose an actor’s spider bite from my living room lounge.What do you love about writing contemporary romance?Rescue Heat is a contemporary romance with a medical setting twist. Most Australians fall in love in the workplace and I really enjoyed writing a story that reflected that. Romance is absolutely what I read and we are so lucky in Australia to have such a great tradition of popular romantic novelists.Rescue Heat is set in North Queensland. What do you enjoy especially about writing stories with Australian characters and settings?Setting a helicopter rescue book in Cairns felt right because of the wide range of communities their helicopter rescue base services. They attend everything from dive accidents out on the reef to the farming families who are many hours’ drive from hospital emergency rooms. Cairns is a great travel destination and I so wanted to show my characters enjoying the physical beauty of that part of the world.Writing about helicopter rescue reminds me that we are so privileged here in Australia with our health care and emergency services. Isolated communities who face emergencies have teams of highly trained professionals who fly in and are able to provide excellent trauma care as they transport patients to the nearest suitable health care facility.What are you currently working on?I’m working on another book in a Rescue series. My next book has a conservative English doctor learning to work in helicopter rescue all the while dealing with a beautiful but bolshy female paramedic.What do you do when you’re not writing?I work in the local library where I get to share my love of reading and am the go-to-girl for readers who want romance recommendations. Outside of work and writing, I am a popular culture addict and am all about television and movies.Living in the very beautiful Byron Bay I also get to spend time on some of Australia’s best beaches.And just for fun, when writing do you prefer…Coffee, tea or hot chocolate? Even though I live in Byron Bay, home to some of the trendiest cafes in Australia, the only coffee I drink is in a mocha. Other than that, I’m a total tea girl.Plotting, pantsing or both? My training as a journalist is probably why I have notes of each scene carefully laid out in advance. The joy of writing my own book, however, is that it allows me to go off script and sometimes let the characters make their own decisions. I just feel better having the plotting on hand.Quiet solitude or background noise? I do love some quiet solitude when I’m trying to get my daily word count accomplished. Although, you will often find me out and about and scribbling down some notes when I get ideas for a scene.A warm, sunny day or a rainy day? There is something very special about writing in the rain.Typing or pen and notepad? I did write a lot of Rescue Heat longhand, as I enjoy the control over language you have when you are transcribing your notes. It does give you an immediate chance for revision. However, that might not be the best time management strategy.Thank you so much for stopping by Nina.Thank you for having me. I love reading a blog so supportive of Australian writers.Rescue Heat can be purchased from Escape Publishing and other leading ebook retailers.

Blurb: Hanging, strapped together, ten metres above a sea platform forces a quick intimacy between workmates. For Dr Brigid Adair, dangling from a helicopter wire is an everyday occurrence in her job working for the helicopter rescue crew in North Queensland, Australia.   For Former US Army medic Matt Roberts, Australia means a new future; a place to escape from the war zones of his past. Despite his significant wealth, he’s taken a job as an elite helicopter paramedic, wanting to make a positive contribution to his new community.   Matt Roberst knows very well the destruction that romance can reap on a unit, so when he first arrives and sees the gorgeous single doctor, Brigid assigned to his rescue crew, he’s nervous. Very nervous. Dr Brigid Adair is going to need more than just her medical training to lead Matt back from his self-imposed isolation. High-pressure situations hovering over some of Australia’s deadliest land and sea and the ignition of a passionate flame might just do the trick.