AustLit

'Tall, blond and extremely good looking, with impeccable manners to boot, the seemingly unattainable English aristocrat James Alexander Wentworth was surrounded by an aura the opposite sex found hard to resist. From the beautiful, rich and vivacious Lady Catherine of Hamilton Hill Castle, to the playful and insistent young wife of a much older Outback cattle station owner, blue blood James was the subject of much admiration but also a toxic sibling rivalry. The younger of two sons born into the wealthy Wentworth family of Rosengarten Castle, England, James was the product of a French beauty and rascal of a father. Inspired to adventure by his equally rapscallion Grandfather - whose colourful stories of his beloved cattle station in the wilds of the West Kimberley captivated the young aristocrat - James had from an early age realised his destiny lay somewhere in the red dirt of the Australian Outback.

'But a series of bizarre tragedies would cut short James's Outback adventures and dramatically alter the course of his life forever. However, before he could accept his legacy, James would need to survive the pull of the realm and its mischievous women, a mysterious and gruesome murder, a chilling crocodile attack in the dark of night on the Murrakai River and the very near loss of the real love of his life to the hideous jealousy of another woman.' (Publication summary)

'Sheryl McCorry is a woman in a million. In her bestselling memoir Diamonds and Dust and its follow up Stars over Shiralee, Sheryl shared her amazing life story from a childhood in the Top End to mustering cattle in the outback to becoming the first woman in the Kimberley to run two million-acre cattle stations.

'In Love on Forrest Downs, Sheryl's inspiring story continues as she and her soulmate Michael battle to keep their cattle property running. With her characteristic down-to-earth honesty, Sheryl reveals more stories of hardship and humour from her incredible life in the bush. And with the courage we have come to admire her for, Sheryl fights on to preserve the country she so loves and protect her family from the forces that would tear them apart.

'Sheryl McCorry's memoir Diamonds and Dust was a runaway bestseller in 2007. Now, in Stars over Shiralee, Sheryl brings her story up to date, picking up from the death of her husband Bob McCorry.

'Having moved from the Kimberley to a property called the Shiralee, Sheryl is rocked by the death of her ex-husband. While continuing to run the Shiralee, Sheryl at first leans on her parents and her children for comfort. But soon, she meets a new man - one who pursues her with ardour and is seemingly a wonderful match for her. Sheryl agrees to marry him, but not before she is diagnosed with breast cancer.

'Sheryl McCorry grew up in the outback carrying crocodiles to school for show and tell. When she was 18 her family moved to Broome, and it was the first time she'd ever used a telephone or seen a television.

'A year later, only hours after being railroaded into marriage by a fast-talking Yank, Sheryl locked eyes with Bob McCorry, a drover and buffalo shooter. When her marriage ended after only a few months, they began a love affair that would last a lifetime and take them to the Kimberley's harshest frontiers.