Rebecca Loughton is thirty-four going on twenty-four; at least that’s what her family thinks. She’s bumbled her way through life and made a few major cock- ups along the way. Of course, these wouldn’t be so glaringly obvious if she didn’t have an older sister with a picture-perfect life.

With her best friend Melissa along for the ride, Rebecca decides it’s time she left behind the pressures of singledom in her hometown of Christchurch, New Zealand. Hoping to fill her empty Friday night with something, or someone, memorable, Rebecca confidently totters around the buzzing city of Dublin in a pair of strappy Versace party shoes. Three—or is it four?—drinks later, all Rebecca has to show for her newfound love life is an embarrassing one-night stand and a dollop of flirtatious banter now and again with her boss. Not that the latter means anything, because Ciaran Cahill is not only an extremely attractive partner in a prestigious Irish law firm, but he’s also the office lothario.

Despite her boss’s notorious reputation, Rebecca looks forward to their office trip to the Galway races. That is, until the firm’s receptionist, Rebecca’s old adversary, invites herself along in a bid to seduce Ciaran. Not that Rebecca wants him for herself, she assures herself, but he can definitely do better than that gold digger. Amidst plans of preventing such a merger, Rebecca’s phone rings bringing devastating news: for the first time ever, her older sister Jennifer sounds vulnerable.

Jennifer’s flawless life has a big fat crack down the middle in the form of a philandering husband. Playing all her guilt cards, Jennifer convinces Rebecca to come home to manage her internationally acclaimed cooking school as well as her two children while she and her husband take time out to try and mend their marriage. Family comes first, so Rebecca cancels her trip to the races and books her flight home where she’ll spend her two-week vacations leave in luxury accommodation nestled in the hills of the tranquil South Island village of Akaroa.

Meanwhile, Melissa lands the plum position of personal assistant to Irish singing sensation, Tamara Lewis. However, stardom and squeezing into a pair of hot pants for her latest video leave the pop singer exhausted, and a moment off the music industry merry-go-round sounds like the perfect escape. That’s when p.a. extraordinaire Melissa has a brain wave. With Rebecca heading home to New Zealand, it would be the perfect getaway for her and Tamara. Rebecca arrives with two uninvited guests in tow and finds that the reality of looking after two young children along with the bizarre array of guests booked into the cooking school (the Nifty Knitters from Timaru and the Mississippi Branch of the Xena Warrior Princess Fan Club) is grim. The only bright spot on Rebecca’s immediate horizon are Ciaran’s e-mails under the guise of seeking answers to an internet 80’s music quiz—a thinly veiled ruse at romance. And then she meets David Seagar.

It’s David that helps take the sting out of the news that Ciaran has lived up to his standing by succumbing to the charms of the Lycra-loving receptionist in Galway. When David invites Rebecca to partake of one of Akaroa’s major attractions—swimming with the dolphins—romance is set to blossom between them- or is it?


ABout the Author:

Hi my name is Michelle Vernal and I hail from New Zealand’s beautiful South Island. I’m thirty-six years old and struggling to come to terms with the fact that I now fall into the bracket of women over the age of 35 who may, from time to time, suffer from weak bladder complaint. This is thanks to my two beautiful sons Joshua and Daniel though of course the ultimate blame must lie with my lovely husband Paul.

A mix of chick-lit / yummy mummy, the Brazilian job is based on what I strive to be on a daily basis. However having recently moved out to the country I have found myself morphing into ‘Tracksuit Pant Woman’ and the only male to show any interest in me and my grey fleece pants other than Paul was a randy goat who took it upon itself to chase me down the main street while I was out jogging. Hence, my street cred is currently up for renewal. As for the chick- lit side of things well this is a genre of fiction I earned the qualification to write after having served on the front line of singledom for over half my twenties. I spent the remaining quarter working as a Legal Secretary both here and in Ireland while trying to get my, now, husband to put a ring on my finger.

Writing was always something I planned to get round to doing but work and socializing always seemed to get in the way until all that stopped with the arrival of my first son. While he was having lovely long day sleeps I began to get on the computer and write. After attending several courses at Canterbury University I’ve gone on to have a dozen or so opinion style pieces published in various New Zealand parenting magazines. Of course these magazines require a certain amount of political correctness and that has been the joy of writing my first novel - The Brazilian Job - the freedom to be a little bit un-PC!

I sincerely hope you enjoy browsing my site and should you decide to purchase a copy of The Brazilian Job and, if it makes you laugh out loud at least once while you’re reading it, then I know I can consider myself to be a successful writer.

Cheerio - Michelle