“Nobody supports you

like a social media friend

you’ve never met.”

This month’s feature is a rather special one. You see, I have been friends with this woman for probably around four years, and we have NEVER met…until now!

Our relationship started right at the start of my small business journey, when we ‘met’ online through a shared love of rural photography. We were both just starting to share our work on social media, plucking up the courage to post our images of sheep and rural life and I guess we found connection through that. Since then, we have supported each other, cheered successes, shared wins and encouraged each other as our businesses have evolved over time.

And thus my introductory concept for the month is this; why is it that quite often, our biggest supporters when we start a journey in small business, are complete strangers?

I’ve had this conversation with many women who are baffled that the people who they would think should be the ones in their corner, are quick to shoot down their dreams or remain silent, but the ones who are always the first to give the best feedback and turn out to be their most genuine supporters, are indeed, people they’ve never met in person!

I’m sure there’s a whole lot of psychological reasons for this and I really don’t want to go down that rabbit hole but it really is easy to support a stranger! There’s no expectations, no past history, no insecurity, no emotional baggage, just pure connection with someone who shares your interests and vision.

I feel extremely lucky to have built a supportive ‘online community’ on this photography journey of mine. Be they fellow togs, mums, artists or farmers, the support of strangers, who I now call friends, has been one of the best things to come out of starting my small business.

Welcome to The Bigger Picture; a blog that is all about building NETWORK and CONNECTION. Each month, I feature a woman in small business within my community with the sole purpose of showing support, building solidarity and sharing stories of passion.

I am so fortunate to be surrounded by incredible small businesses in the South West run by mums in their spare rooms or out in their gardens and they each have a unique story to be told; a BIGGER PICTURE to be discovered.

My feature for August is a very talented rural woman indeed. She is a true creative, who uses her love of country life and storytelling to create heartfelt, rural romance fiction to warm the soul. I’m very pleased to introduce you to rural mum, wool classer, farmer and author…

Laurelle Cousins

Author

Tell us about your business and what services you offer.

I am @laurellecousins.writes, an author of Rural Fiction / Romance and a wool classer, working mostly in Victoria in the superfine wool industry. Wool is a passion for me, and I also (on a very small scale) breed superfine merino sheep, both because I love it, and because I like to keep a fresh perspective on what I’m looking for when I class. But as of this year, I’m mostly concentrating on writing my novels. I love using my farming background and love of all things country to create stories that end in a happy ever after, but only after I’ve put my heroes and heroines through the mill first! While my first novel: The Lonely Paddock, was published by Harlequin, I’m now self-publishing my books. It has been a challenging but very rewarding avenue to go down, and my second book: Sheep Gully Road, was published in April. My third novel: The Reluctant Farm-her, is due out on August 29, 2025, and my fourth title: A Shearer’s Run, is coming out between October and December 2025. And there’s usually a misbehaving animal somewhere in each book!

Where does your inspiration come from?

My inspiration comes from everything around me, both from where we live, to where I’ve worked, and the stories I’ve listened to along the way over smokos and during shearing runs. It was very ‘normal’ for me to run and place a fleece in a wool bin, then race to my bag for my notebook and scribble down a fresh idea or some story I’d just heard, so I wouldn’t forget. It’s a great place for hearing things you might not think of yourself, and you never know where you might find just the right spot for one of them in a book or setting.

What is your favourite part of your job?

My favourite part of being an author is writing for my readers’ enjoyment. There’s nothing quite like having them message to say how much they loved my book and ask for another character to have their own story. When I write, I’m in a happy place, although there are days when I wrestle with characters and the storyline. Even with all the planning in the world, my characters sometimes lead me off in a different direction because they reckon they know better, and I love that. I explore topics like grief, tragedies and loss, confronting fears, community spirit, natural disasters, restoring love, and forgiveness to name a few, and I hope that’s what makes my stories memorable and heartfelt.

What do you offer your clients that no one else does?

I thrive on giving my readers stories that make them ‘smell’ the shearing shed, stick their feet in muddy puddles and hang around with misbehaving animals that shouldn’t be allowed to act the way they do. I’ve bred various animals all my life, and had many vet visits to boot, so I hope that’s given me a little insight into how animals behave, and what mischief they might be able to get up to!

What’s the biggest thing you’ve learnt since starting your business?

If there’s something I’ve learnt, it’s to stop doubting myself, and yet I still manage to do it. Comparison is way too easy to do, especially with so many incredible writers out there. And now that I’m self-publishing, that inner niggle of ‘you’re not good enough’ or ‘people won’t like your work’ is very real. I just have to remind myself I can do this, give myself the nudge I need to keep going, and then sit down and do it.

Laurelle and I had the most wonderful afternoon together; immediately at ease and chatting a mile a minute! Just two old friends catching up. Sitting in the garden, with her gorgeous kelpie Jazz (who had the serious zoomies) and her pet magpie ‘Pockets’, hopping around hoping for a piece of cheese, Laurelle’s down to earth nature and love of rural life was so relatable and shines through in her writing.

I have read all Laurelle’s books and I’m eagerly awaiting her next release. I think I have been engaged so much because I can identify myself in them. Set in rural townships (which could easily be your own), with engaging characters struggling with life’s hard lessons; love, loss, forgiveness, trauma, redemption and secrets, not to mention loveable animals, like the very cheeky Monica, who makes herself comfortable in the kitchen despite being a sheep, her novels are like a warm hug!

And I guess the other little takeaway I’d love for you to have from this blog, is that supporting someone else’s dreams won’t dampen your own. Support your friends. Support your peers. Share their posts. Listen to their podcasts. Celebrate their victories and cheer loudly! A little support can go a very long way in someone’s life.

Edwina xx

If you are looking for your next heartwarming read, then I strongly recommend a Laurelle Cousins novel. For all information on upcoming publications and how to get your hands on a copy, give Laurelle a follow (and your support) on her social media pages…

Website: www.laurellecousins.com

Instagram: @laurellecousins.writes

Face Book: Laurelle Cousins Writes