Juliette Lucas

Thank you!

Oh thanks so much!

Hugs hit deep with the right person. #ContemporaryRomance #Writesky #WritingCommunity #AmQuerying

When a guarded, heartbroken Romy temporarily moves back to the coastal hometown she swore she’d never return to, she's swept into an unexpected summer romance that helps mend her painful past and reimagine her future #WIPSnips #ContemporaryRomance #Writesky #WritingCommunity

“Big fat leech aside,” he says, “you seem happier. Than last week.” “I am,” I realise. “I didn’t think it would help, but being here, taking a break from the city, is good.” “Why didn’t you think it would help?” I consider lying, changing the subject, uncomfortable with the attention, with the burden being honest might place on him. But I’m so tired of pretending, and there’s something about his presence that turns my steel armour into silk. “Visiting Palm Heads is a reminder of how lonely I often felt growing up. It’s hard to appreciate how beautiful it is. Like wearing the opposite of rose-tinted glasses. But this time… it feels different.” “What’s changed?” he asks gently. “I’m trying to figure that out,” I say as I look up at the thick canopy of trees.

Oh, but he's just what her pulpy heart needs #WIPSnips #ContemporaryRomance #Writesky #WritingCommunity

I’m so relieved they are prepared. But then warmth trickles down my leg and I find a thick line of blood flowing all the way to my heel. A second wave of panic floods through me. Santi gasps. But Will goes through his bag again and pulls out gauze and a bandage. “I didn’t want to scare you,” he says, voice low, “but when leeches latch onto your skin, they leave this anticoagulant behind. Basically, you bleed a bit for a while.” “A bit?” I’m not at all reassured by the medical supplies in his hand, or the blood still dribbling down my leg. “It looks like more blood than it is, I promise.” Will is focused as he places the gauze on the leech bite and begins wrapping the material bandage around my calf to hold it in place. He is gentle while also pulling the bandage firm to stay put, and the repetitive, soft tugging sends searing jolts of heat down my body. I look at his thick, long eyelashes and the pout of his full lips.

Heads up: leech and blood! It's a good thing he's prepared 😏 #WIPSnips #ContemporaryRomance #Writesky #WritingCommunity

Gah, leeches! It's a good thing he's prepared 🙂‍↕️ #WIPSnips #ContemporaryRomance #Booksky #Writesky #WritingCommunity

We couldn’t have picked a better day to come here. As we drive along the beach on the hard sand, I admire the glittering ocean. The waves are glassy and bright turquoise, the golden sun dancing on the lip of each wave as they slowly break. The sky is completely cloudless and that ultra blue that is unique to the coast, as if the ocean and sky are competing. We slow once we get to ‘the spot’ at a flat area of beach up near the dunes. Alex and Jayde are already there unpacking the car. “How was the drive?” Jayde asks us, shielding her face from the sun with one hand. I go to reply with a simple, “Good,” but Santi beats me to it. “Sexually charged!” she shouts. A blush creeps up my neck. I’m waiting for fanfare or intense ribbing. But Jayde and Alex just roll their eyes and return to unpacking. Okay, so it’s not news. In Will style, he stretches his arms above his head as casually as if we were talking about the weather, then whirls to face the waves.

The only 'charge' in my summer romance 🤭 This beach camping trip was my favourite to write
#ContemporaryRomance #WIPSnips #WritingCommunity

The only 'charge' in my summer romance ❤️‍🔥🤭 This beach camping trip was my favourite to write
#ContemporaryRomance #WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #Booksky #Writesky

Woman sitting on couch with laptop

For the writers who listen to music while writing, what song or album is soundtracking your WIP? It can't just be me playing the same songs over and over again. Mine atm is Mallrat's album Light hit my face like a straight right #WritersofBluesky #WIP #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

Who doesn't love a tension-filled darkroom scene.

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #ContemporaryRomance #WriteSky

OBSESSED! (as you well and truly know)

Title: Meet my characters (and me) Romy, 26 years old [image of woman on couch] - Guarded and heartbroken - Back in her hometown to regroup and plan her escape back to the city Will, 26 years old [image of man at waterfall] - Local surfer and builder - Romy’s high school crush and everything her pulpy heart needs About me, Juliette [image of author] I live in a sunny coastal town in Australia. I write about women falling in love while grappling with the messy realities of life.

Meet my characters (and me!)
Romy is a journalist, heartbroken mess and terrific escaper of childhood ghosts. Stuck in her sleepy coastal hometown, all she wants is to find a job and resume life back in the city. But the past has other ideas, starting with her high school crush #Romance #AmQuerying

If writing has taught me one thing it's that you need to be delusional in your belief in yourself. There are SO many moments that make you want to give up. There's no option but to pretend you're going to make it and to hold on to the glimmers of magic that arise every now and then #WritersofBluesky