Source : PERTHNOW NEWS
For most of her life, Jacinta Peachey had never thought about writing.
Except for the occasional penned referrals and emails, the extend of her writing was that of being a dentist. And thought of putting pen to paper, let alone writing a novel, never crossing her mind.
But now, aged 60, the Cottesloe local can say she’s written three books, after her first published novel “A Little Bit Country” was officially released on Monday.
“Looking back on it now, it’s insane to think that I was able to do that,” Peachey said.
For most of her working life, Peachey was a dentist, working out of a clinic she started in Midland.
But in 2018, she was forced to stop working after her arthritis worsened.
“I realised my condition was getting worse. In 2018, I sold my practice, but stayed there until COVID,” she said.
“At that point, I realised I couldn’t keep doing this and so I left.”
At the same time, while she was pondering the realities of early retirement, Peachey’s friend reached out.
“I was bored one day talking to my friend on the phone. She was going on about how she was trying to refurbish her parents hotel in South West,” Peachey said.
A spark of inspiration bloomed in the moment.
“It just gave me this idea that when life’s terrible, that’s when you meet the man of your dreams,” she said.
“So I wrote this brief synopsis about how she met her future husband as she was trying to redo this hotel.”
Unfortunately, the story didn’t come true. But what failed to become a real-life love story for her friend, ended up becoming one for Peachey — in the form of writing.
“My friend read it and she said ‘This is really good. You should write a story’ and I said to myself, ‘maybe I could. Maybe this is what I do when I retire, right?’,” Peachey said.
From then on, she started expanding the idea into a bigger one — joining online classes and local writers groups to try to soak up as much knowledge of writing as she could.
“As a dentist, my extent of writing was the odd email about Joe Bloggs and his wisdom teeth… so not very creative,” she said with a laugh.
“So I had to learn how to write creatively, as well as how to write a book.”
Peachey also joined Romance Writers of Australia — a volunteer-run organisation with about 800 members across Australia.
“That was a fabulous support for me. And so with that, I slowly started to enter contests, volunteering and working in chat rooms,” she said.
She then embarked on writing “A Little Bit Country”, which won her the First Kiss Award from Romance Writers of New Zealand and the Ripping Start Award from Romance Writers of Australia.
The accolades got publishers interested, and in 2024, she signed a three-book publishing deal with US-based Tule Publishing.
“A Little Bit Country” is the first book in Peachey’s Outback to the Sea series, set in the fictional coastal town of Dolphin Cove in Western Australia’s South West.
Inspired by the synopsis she wrote years ago, the story follows Jasmine Kennedy, who flees the outback for a fresh start in Dolphin Cove.
It’s here she meets Ben Stewart, a local handyman rebuilding his life after losing a leg in an accident.
When their paths cross again after a brief encounter, both are forced to confront their pasts and decide whether they are ready to risk love.
“I read a lot of small town romance, and I quite liked the world-building element of it,” she said.
“I also go to Dunsborough a lot, and so it became an inspiration to me when creating a small-town environment and the people who live there.”
The e-book version of the novel was officially released on Amazon on Monday, and hard-copy books were set to hit local bookshops across Perth in the coming weeks.
The second novel in the series, A Little Taste Home, is scheduled for release on September 16, and a third title is planned for February 2027.
Reflecting back on the past few years, Peachey said was grateful for the support she had received from the writing community.
“I have this vague memory of feeling out of my depth as a dentist back when I was young, but I hadn’t felt like that for so long,” she said.
“When I started to write, even as an older woman, that sort of insecurity or imposter syndrome crept back up. And when you’re writing your own book, it’s a very lonely job.
“so having the support of other writers was so important for me. I wouldn’t have got to where I am today without them.”
A Little Bit Country may be Peachey’s debut, but it’s far from the end of her story — with two more books already in the works, her next chapter is just beginning.
“I’m nervous… It’s a big change but it’s one I’m so excited for.”
