Hide Your Heart: A New Zealand Small Town Romance (Sexy New Zealand Beach Romance Far North Book 1) (23 page)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I live in the Coolest Little Capital in the World (a.k.a Wellington, New Zealand) where I’ve
yet to be buried under my to-be-read book pile by our infamous wind—my Kindle’s a lifesaver! Married to
a wonderfully supportive IT guy we have two teens who would love to be surgically linked to their electronic devices.

Fuelled by copious amounts of coffee, I’m the author of contemporary romantic fiction set predominantly in New Zealand. Small-towns, close communities, and families are a big part of the heart-warming stories I love to write. Oh, and hot, down-to-earth heroes—Kiwi men, in other words.

When I’m not writing, thinking about writing, or procrastinating about writing, I can be found reading sexy books of all romance genres, nibbling on smuggled chocolate bars or bribing my kids to take over the housework.

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Questions or comments? E-mail me at
tracey@traceyalvarez
or find me on the following social networks:

Website
:
www.traceyalvarez.com

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TraceyAlvarezAuthor

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:
@TraceyAlvarezNZ

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to the many RWA competition judges who gave me such amazing feedback on this story and helped hone it into the best it could be.

Also thanks to my wonderful editor who is still so patient with all my dangling modifiers and impossible simultaneous action.

I lived in the Far North region for over a decade and it still remains very close to my heart. Thanks to my husband’s family who bought the land up there and welcomed me into their
whānau
.

I am most at peace when walking on the beautiful sandy beaches or listening to the sound of
kererū
swooping through the Kauri on our land.

It truly is the home of my heart.

Glossary of Maori Words

These are simplified for the sake of brevity.

aroha
– love

hangi
– traditional New Zealand Māori method of cooking food using heated rocks buried in a pit oven

kai
– food

kai moana
– seafood

kauri
– largest forest tree in New Zealand

kererū
– New Zealand wood pigeon

kia kaha
– be strong/stay strong

manuka
– a common native bush/small tree

pohutukawa
– Evergreen tree that produces brilliant crimson flowers around Christmas time in New Zealand

teina
– younger sister

whānau
– family

One Last Thing...

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