Author Annie Seaton on Why We Love Small Town Living

by Annie Seaton

Why do we love living in small towns? I live in a small coastal town in Australia and when I visited Half Moon Bay a few years back, the small town feel of the towns dotted along the coast appealed to me.

Here are the top five things you need to know about small town living and some examples of the lovely town of Nebbiton I invented on the beautiful Half Moon Bay.

1. You may not see all of your fellow community members often, but when there is a crisis, everyone rallies together. Same goes for a celebration… like the wonderful welcome garden party for Liam in Half Moon Bay.

A welcome reception? He seemed pleased about it, by the grin on his face. Maybe she’d read him wrong. Maybe it was just her he didn’t like?

And unfortunately for her, he exuded even more hotness when there was a hint of a smile on his face. God help her if he actually smiled at her. She went weak at the knees just imagining it.

“Oh, but you have to come. Liam doesn’t have a car yet and we’ve organized for you to drive him to our place.”

Why did they always do this to me? She swore that Mitzi and Thelma had completed People Manipulation 101 right before they’d taken up Matchmaking 101. She tried to stare them down but they both quickly looked away from her and back to Liam.

2. For some reason, there always seems to be more time and life happens at a much slower pace. Time for smelling the roses, homemade baking and enjoying the good old country air. What’s not to love! You get back to your roots and great pleasure is taken in…things like baking, woodwork, sewing and walking the dog.

Liam whistled as Georgie called out and they were rewarded with a scuffling noise a short distance ahead of them. She stopped and put her hand up. “Wait up. If we keep walking, he’ll think we are going down to the beach.”

“In the dark?” Liam peered ahead but couldn’t see the dog, nor could he hear it any more.

“He’s not real smart.” He could hear the grin in Georgie’s voice, despite the rain that was getting heavier by the minute. Water was beginning to trickle down beneath the collar of his shirt but he didn’t care.

He squeezed her hand as they kept walking. He was beginning to love this dog.

3. If you think back to your childhood, when life was not quite as chaotic and cities were smaller, you may be lucky enough to remember a wide open sky with a carpet of stars. An inky black sky where the stars are etched like crystals.

The storm had blown itself out, not that they had heard much of it… Liam had whispered sweet nothings in her ear before taking her to delightful places. Now the night sky was filled with stars and the silver sheen from the rising moon polished the ocean.

4. Less traffic and you can always find a parking spot. But the time you save doing that, may well be spent chatting to those you meet on the street.

Cliff Cottage, Ana’s house, was six miles south of Nebbiton, and Thelma and Mitzi lived on the edge of town, so it was only a short while before she turned the truck onto Main Street, past the BB Hardware store, to where Main Street turned into an unpaved road and meandered through the vegetable farms.

“It’s like being out in the country,” Liam commented, as Georgie parked the car on the road outside the old farmhouse. She pulled on the handbrake and turned to him with a smile, determined to keep her cool. “You are in the country. Even though we’re not far from the city or even from Half Moon Bay, the Nebbiton Chamber of Commerce does all it can to preserve the old feel of this town.”

Liam smiled at her as she opened the door. “I like it. It has a nice vibe.”

Georgie laughed as she slid from the car. “Let’s see if you still feel that way after an afternoon in Thelma and Mitzi’s clutches.”

5. Another thing we don’t realise until we have spent any time in a small town is the sheer amount of noise – in the city noise is our constant companion.

After he put the coffee on, Liam crossed to the window and looked out over the ocean. There was not a breath of wind and the silver sheen of the calm water soothed him. Nothing moved; the trees were still in the quiet before sunrise, and there was no birdsong.

I hope you enjoy Guarding His Heart and the sweet romance that takes place in the lovely small town of Nebitton! I’d love to move there and meet all of the lovely folk that live there.

Don’t forget it is Book 3 in the Half Moon Bay series, after Tangling with the CEO, and Brushing Off the Boss.

Get your copy today! On sale for just 99¢!

GHH_Recover_1600

About the Book:

Some people get under your skin.
Some get into your heart.

Bestselling author Liam Wyndham needed an escape, and Half Moon Bay, with its small town charm and beautiful ocean, is the perfect place to enjoy his writer’s block in sweet isolation. But all of his plans to become a surly recluse disappear when spitfire carpenter, Georgie Sacchi, marches into his house.

Georgie wants an adventure, and she has a plane ticket that promises her everything she needs—excitement, independence, and a way to escape the memory of her last ruined relationship. Still, she has one last job to complete before she can leave the country. The last thing she needs is a recalcitrant author with a gorgeous face (and a hot body) distracting her from her plans.

But life doesn’t always give you what you think you need…