Juliette Hyland’s new Medical romance, Reawakened at the South Pole has a slightly more unconventional setting than many of our romances. We caught up with Juliette to find out more about what inspired her South Pole romance!

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Like many parents in 2020 and 2021, I spent more time at home with my children doing schoolwork than ever before. Teachers, you do not get paid enough! My oldest has always been my science kid, and she wanted to look at the geology related to the poles. I wrongly considered the north and south pole to be largely ice caps, but they are full ecosystems with uncovered mountains that geologist study. 

We spent a few days looking at very snowy webcams trying to find a time when they were not obscured by the weather. I became fascinated by the men and women working at the base and the lives they live. Particularly the eight-to-nine-month winter rotations where the weather is so harsh there is no hope of evacuation.  

 Fascinating scientific discoveries have come from the Antarctic and the first telemedicine surgery was performed in 2002 by a family physician at the Amundsen-Scott base guided by a remote surgical team in Boston! After finding this out, I knew I had to put two characters at the South Pole. I researched the Center for Polar Medicine to get more information and then found out that my father worked on the logistics supply chain. He never made it to the South Pole, but he was in charge of helping with the food supply to ensure they had everything they needed for eight months on the pole.   

Setting the story at Amundsen-Scott Base let me play with the idea of forced proximity in the extreme. This isn’t a case where Carter and Helena can get away from each other if things go bad. Only in extreme circumstances are winter airlifts authorized, and a breakup does not count!  

I also loved the idea of the unexpected. Helena is trying to prove herself after an accident and the last person she expects to find in the remote location is her brother’s former best friend who disappeared when his parents divorced. And Carter never expected to see the quiet, reserved Helena at the end of the earth.  

Forcing these two lovebirds together, in a place so remote, was a fun adventure. Giving them their happily ever after brought me joy when I was trapped in my own home, though the snows in Ohio would be considered light dustings to those at the poles. I hope you enjoy this love story, set in one of the remotest places on earth! 

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Pre-order Reawakened at the South Pole by Juliette Hyland now!

By Lauren Gardiner