Community & Business
30 March, 2026
Local author publishes second book
Goombungee author Sheryl M has published the second book in her rural romance River Flats series.
Set 20 years after the first installment, Enduring Your Love is the second in a series of eight books which are yet to be published.
The story’s synopsis goes like this:
“One summer. One tug of war. One love that could change everything - if it survives the truth.
“When Tom O’Loughlin returns to River Flats to take over the reins of his family’s farming legacy, he expects to face long hours, a life he can’t run from, and decades of family expectations.
But what he doesn’t expect, is Beth Kennedy - a fierce and driven local with dreams far beyond this small rural town.”
The book’s setting, River Flats is a archetypal rural Aussie town, but there are hints of the author’s home town, Goombungee.
As an example, the story’s publican yelling “Last Call!” late at night was taken from her experiences with former local publican Kevin Trost.
A central theme of the River Flats series is “little choices have a ripple effect.”
Another theme is “Community doesn’t work unless we support each other.”
There is some interest in rural Australian romance from overseas and copies of the book have been sold in Ireland, Canada and the UK.
A small but interested crowd at an author’s talk at the Goombungee Library asked Sheryl questions, such as who would play the characters if a television series was ever made.
The third book in the River Flats series is set to come out next year.
