In Conversation with Clare Fletcher

‘Funny, warm, and real…. Cements Clare Fletcher’s position as queen of the Aussie country town romance. Long may she reign!’
– Hayley Scrivenor

The highly anticipated spin-off from Five Bush Weddings will have readers falling in love with footy, fashion and fabulous 1960s flashbacks.

Clare Fletcher’s latest instalment from the fictional – and all too familiar – regional town of South Star, follows town sweetheart Sarah Childs after she’s publicly dumped.

With her parents reluctant to put her in charge of the family property until she “proves” herself in the local community, Sarah rekindles old friendships and throws herself in the dating deep-end – recruiting Mabel Peters (AKA The Bush Telegraph) as her match maker.

Love Match beautifully and brilliantly combines contemporary and historical timelines, exploring the history of deb balls, country dances and the beauty pageants of the 1960s when Mabel shares her memories with Sarah.

An all-girls rugby sevens team takes centre stage in the story, with the author admitting her own return to team sport gave her the discipline and motivation she needed to write her books.

“I wanted to put my evangelism for amateur team sport into the story, and I thought a sporting team would be a great vehicle for a young woman who’s not really sure who she is, who’s going through the motions and cutting herself off from her desires,” Fletcher said.

Ultimately, Love Match is a romantic comedy about finding your place in a small town and figuring out who you are.