The Promised Land: A story of love, loss and romance in post-war Australia (Promises)

Loretta was forced into an arranged marriage to a much older man who she did not love, by her strict Italian father. She suffered under his abusive control until World War II intervened and the handsome Italian Prisoner of War arrived on their farm in The Promised Land, NSW, Australia.

Their story of emotional conflict and forbidden love unfolded, and a child was born. When the war ended and he returned to Italy he made her a promise to return for her and their child. But her fairytale did not end the way she had hoped.

This is a story of love, betrayal and courage.

Sometimes our destiny has a way of surprising us.

Marianne Delaforce is an adventurous, brave, take-no-prisoners kind of woman with a big heart. Marianne grew up on a dairy farm at Telegraph Point, NSW. She has raised two sons and has two small grandchildren.

Marianne will have a go at anything if it interests her and believes if you're not happy and don't like what you're doing, don't whinge about it, change it! She can drive a road train, ride a motorbike, likes skydiving and bungy jumping.

She has worked as a shop assistant, waitress, axeman on the Forest Commission, sales rep, remote camp cook, furniture removalist and truck driver. She has owned and operated a transport company employing forty staff driving twelve trucks out of two depots, one each in NSW and NT. She has also owned and operated a Mediterranean restaurant on the riverbank of Port Macquarie. Over the past thirty-five years her real passion has been singing and entertaining. She currently works as a marriage celebrant, produces videos and sings.

She sold her company and restaurant four years ago, packed up and took off on the adventure of a lifetime to find herself again on the Free, Fabulous and 50 Tour.

Marianne has travelled Australia with her trusty blue heeler dog, Elly, by her side.

Towing an off-road caravan with her Land Rover, they have made their way around Australia twice in that time, through the Gulf of Carpentaria, up to Cape York, across the Nullarbor, and have traversed both The Gibb River Road and The Outback Way, Australia's longest short-cut.

Broken Promises is Marianne's second novel in the series Promises.