She wants to find a way to live again; he wants to close a deal and move on. Until sparks fly and these opposites attract in this contemporary romance filled with heart and humour.

For Kara Browne, hiding out in Eden Cove provides a chance to heal after her life fell apart. Now, without a family or career, she juggles jobs while trying to find her feet again, thankful for this tiny community that has taken her to their heart. When a handsome Irishman appears in Eden Cove with his plans to take over the local luxury hotel where she works, his obvious wealth combined with a series of unfortunate events convince her that they’re worlds apart. Which they soon will be, seeing she’s already booked her ticket to the other side of the planet.

For Colin Fairall, his time in Eden Cove was supposed to be about closing a deal on a hotel to add to his family’s portfolio. He didn’t expect to become intrigued by a snarky barista who moonlights as a hotel cleaner and a barmaid, who obviously doesn’t care about his money or connections. He recognizes that she’s been bruised by life and wants to help her smile again. But despite shared faith and a fondness for 80s music trivia, Kara has plans for a fresh start on the other side of the world – unless he can convince her to trust him with her heart…

The Lost Daughter’s Irishman contains heart-wrenching poignancy and laugh-out-loud moments in this opposites attract Christian contemporary short novel from bestselling author Carolyn Miller.

What is something interesting readers would enjoy learning about you?

I enjoy doing ballet. I used to dance ballet, tap and jazz when I was a lot younger, but last year picked it up again. In fact, some of my ballet teacher’s experiences formed some of the scenes in my recent novel Pointe, Shoots and Scores, about a former pro ballerina, a reluctant hockey hero and a Dancing with the Stars scenario.

Oh, and I love travel. Recently my husband and I were blessed with the opportunity to travel to Thailand, and one of my highlights was swimming with a baby elephant! 

What does a day in the life of your characters look like?

For Kara Browne, she’s a busy bee juggling three jobs: a barista at the Moo and Two, cleaning at the fancy hotel Greton Hall, and working as a barmaid at the local pub The Lion and the Lamb. She barely has time to breathe! When she does find down-time, she enjoys beach runs and watching TV and plotting her escape to the opposite side of the world. Keeping busy and escaping into TV and books is the way she likes it, so she doesn’t have time to think about all she’s lost. 

Colin Fairall is also kept busy with his travels for his family’s company, which means a lot of negotiations, pen-pushing and boring report writing. When he gets a chance he likes to blow off steam with a beach run—which might be where he spots a certain barista-cleaner-barmaid who also shares a penchant for such things. At the end of the day he enjoys winding down with a nice meal and a Guinness, and catching up with his family—who share a quirky love for 80s pop music. 

What was the inspiration behind your story?

Imagine what it would be like to lose all your family, to feel lost and adrift in the world. Then imagine someone who appears to be your total opposite coming into your life, and making you further question your self-worth. I wanted to create a story with poignancy, a heartbroken heroine and a hero who helps her find her feet—and faith—again. And it’s always nice to have a hero who discovers he’s not the ant’s pants and has to work a little harder to win his lady’s heart! For this story as well, I was thrilled to include some scenes set at my ‘family castle’ in Ireland, a place I visited with my sister back in 2015, that will be the setting for a new series set in Ireland I plan to release down the track.

What encouragement do you hope readers will take away from your story?

That whatever circumstances we face, God is right there in the midst of it with us, offering us strength, grace, wisdom and rest in Him. I hope people read The Lost Daughter’s Irishman and know that God loves us, He is faithful, and we can trust Him with all aspects of our lives.

Carolyn Miller lives in the beautiful Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, with her husband and four children. A longtime lover of romance, especially that of Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer and LM Montgomery, Carolyn loves drawing readers into fictional worlds that show the truth of God’s grace in our lives. Her contemporary romance series includes the Original Six hockey romance series, Muskoka Romance series, and the Independence Islands series, and her historical series include the Regency Brides and Regency Wallflowers series.

Kara wended her way through the red-checked tableclothed tables to outside, hands on her hips as she surveyed the street. Really, it wasn’t any wonder that people loved Eden Cove. The village with its quaint shops, situated between the clifftop castle ruins and the North Sea lighthouse, could be on a chocolate box somewhere. It was almost too pretty. 

She sighed. As pretty as it was, she didn’t think she’d miss it come December, and her chance to finally escape to the other side of the—

“Look out!”

A man on a high-tech road bike swerved and nearly knocked her down. She staggered back to safety in the doorway, her heart hammering. But apart from his yelled warning, Mister Lycra Pants seemed oblivious to his near-accident as he rode on. Protest rose within her. She swallowed it. Turned away. She had no interest in watching the non-skills of a Middle-Aged Man in Lycra negotiating hazards while pretending he was twenty years younger than he was. 

“Are you okay?” Denise asked.

“Just a near-miss with a MAMIL without a clue.” 

Denise wrinkled her nose. “I thought they saved that for weekends.”

“Apparently not.” 

“Personally, I don’t understand why a man’s mid-life crisis can’t involve a flashy sports car rather than a flashy road bike. They might look a tad like a gigolo cruising Lake Como but at least that way there’s less beer belly on show.”

Kara chuckled, accepted the cream bun Denise offered, and bit into it as she moved back to her place. Denise was good value.

A scan of her phone alerted her to several new notifications, including one from an overseas car hire company. One of her big challenges was figuring out how to get from point A to point B in a country thirty times larger in size than the UK. Kara sure couldn’t use a bike for travelling around Australia when she got there, even though she used one every day here. She’d rarely driven a car since the accident, even though her father’s—decidedly non-flashy non-sports—car was available to use. She couldn’t. It still smelled too much like him.

She blinked hard against the burn in her eyes that thoughts of them always produced and exhaled slowly, licking her fingers as she scoffed the last of the bun. 

A shadow drew across her, and she looked up. Blinked. Mr Lycra Pants had returned, but he definitely wasn’t middle-aged. Or if he was, he was doing even better than Theo James in his prime The Gentlemen days. Dark hair, cropped short but not so short she couldn’t detect a curl, and dark blue eyes offset by a healthy tan. The lycra bike top was now unzipped, revealing a V-shaped peek at his chest and abs. A beer belly was not his problem.

Her gaze trailed back to his face, where he’d arched a masculine thick-but-not-unkempt brow, his gaze studying her intently, like he was Adam and she was Eve. Her heart thudded with anticipation.