Introducing Leearna Shaw: The debut author behind ‘A Farm in Golden Clouds’
Get ready—because today we’re diving into the world of one of small-town romance’s most exciting new voices!
We’re thrilled to sit down with debut novelist Leearna Shaw, whose heartfelt and utterly charming novel A Farm in Golden Clouds is set to shine its way onto shelves in April 2026.
With its blend of love, loss, grit, and golden-country magic, Leearna’s story is already generating serious buzz. Now, she’s giving us a peek behind the scenes of her whirlwind debut journey, the surprises along the way, and the joy of bringing Indi and Ben to life. Let’s jump in!
Credit: Chelsea Wilson, Willow Moments Photography
FWH: Congratulations on your debut! What was the moment you thought, “Oh wow… this is really happening — my book is going to be out there!”?
LS: When I announced my book deal with Allen & Unwin, I was blown away by the response. Not only did friends and family reach out to celebrate with me, but people I barely knew came up to me in the yard of my sons’ school to tell me how excited they were to read my book. Those were the moments it really hit home for me that it was going to happen!
FWH: Give us a teaser about your upcoming book (no spoilers!)
LS: A Farm in Golden Clouds is a heartwarming rural romance about what happens when you find the love of your life… and then lose them. It follows Indi, a widowed farmer and self-help author staring down the barrel of her spiralling debt and fighting to save her home, and Ben, a washed-up actor struggling to cope with his own grief while attempting to get his career back on track. When Indi and Ben’s lives intersect in Kestrel Creek, life suddenly gets a whole lot more complicated. With their children acting stranger than ever, a best friend determined to get Indi back in the dating saddle, producers breathing down Ben’s neck and both Indi’s future on the farm and Ben’s career on the line, they’ll both need to decide if falling in love while their lives are falling apart is the best idea.
FWH: What’s been the most surprising part of the publishing process — the thing no one warns you about?
LS: The steep learning curve! I thought I knew a lot about the publishing industry, but I quickly discovered there was so much more to learn. The long waits, the deadlines and quick turnarounds, the team involved in the entire process, and how much work is done in the background to get a book from early drafts to printing and onto bookshelves… It’s been crazy and so much fun to experience it all for the first time.
FWH: Who was your behind-the-scenes cheerleader — the person who kept you writing when things got tough?
LS: It wasn’t necessarily one person, but the entire writing community. So many authors and aspiring writers have been firmly in my corner since day one, and it’s thanks to their support, encouragement and endless cheerleading that I’m here now, less than four months out from releasing my debut novel.
FWH: Every new author has a quirky writing habit. What’s yours? (Snacks, playlists, procrastination rituals… we want the truth.)
LS: Coffee, coffee and more coffee! I love writing to chilled music in my office, where I’ve got a beautiful view of the mountains to keep the inspiration and creativity flowing.
FWH: If you could go back and give pre-book-deal you one piece of advice, what would it be?
LS: I’d tell myself not to give up; to keep going, keep trying and keep writing, because it’s crazy how your life can change in just a few months. I went from being an aspiring writer to an award winner, to having a two-book deal with one of the big five publishers within the span of six weeks. You never know what might just happen if you give it another shot.
FWH: What’s been the most joyful or surreal milestone so far — the cover reveal, holding the first proof, telling someone “I’m an author” for the first time?
LS: Definitely the first time I saw the cover of A Farm in Golden Clouds! Seeing my name right there on the cover was both surreal and magical, a moment I’ve dreamed about since I was a little girl.
FWH: Now that A Farm In Golden Clouds is about to reach readers, what are you most excited (or nervous!) for them to discover?
LS: I’ve been writing this book on and off for almost six years now and this world and these characters are so real to me I sometimes forget they’re fictional. I can’t wait for readers to meet Indi and Ben and dive headfirst into their charming—but somewhat chaotic—lives.