Burnt Out

Book excerpt: How do you start again when your life is a smoking ruin? She lost everything in a bushfire and became the celebrity face of climate change. But is fame and living with a billionaire all it's cracked up to be? A warm and witty story for our times. 'Here's to rising from the ashes ...' Calida Lyons is having a very bad week. She's long past deadline for her still unwritten second novel; her husband has just left her; and her Blue Mountains community is being threatened by bushfires. Just as she hits rock bottom, she's forced to shelter with neighbours while a fire incinerates everything she owns. Devastated and emotional in front of news cameras, Cali delivers a blistering, unfiltered rebuke to the nation's rich to do something. Her rant goes viral, and she quickly becomes the latest celebrity face of the climate movement. Soon she's offered a harbourside refuge by handsome tech billionaire Arlo Richard, her publisher is delighted with the new novel she's writing, and she's the darling of high society. But things aren't as they seem. It's all built on lies, and Cali's pretty sure that the precarious house of cards she's built is about to come tumbling down. 'The story zings along with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, great characters and page-turning tension. It also has a huge heaping of heart and wisdom thrown into the mix, making this a wonderful read.' The Australian 'Has everything you want in a summer read: a page-turning plot, intriguing characters with wonky moral compasses, and enough political heart to make you feel like you've done something good for the world just by reading it' Jessica Dettmann, author of This Has Been Absolutely Lovely 'Satisfying, surprising, funny and full of observations about the ineffective blame-game that passes for action on Australia's climate emergency. The fact it's also a page-turner is down to Victoria Brookman's quick wit. Read it if you want a rom-com with bite.' Holly Wainwright, author of I Give My Marriage A Year 'Blisteringly wise and funny, Burnt Out makes you want to hide from the world until you've turned the last page, then compels you to get up and 'Do Something' ... Searingly smart, heart-warming, and perfect for the world we have now.' Tori Haschka, author of Grace Under Pressure 'A page-turner with a big heart' Rose Hartley, author of Maggie's Going Nowhere 'The story zings along with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, great characters and page-turning tension. It also has a huge heaping of heart and wisdom thrown into the mix, making this a wonderful summer read' Better Reading 'A true-blue Aussie summer read' Woman's Day