Violet has been on a strict budget ever since she and her insurance salesman boyfriend, Michael, started saving up for a house. She even switched from her university research assistant role to an unfulfilling job with a cosmetics company to make more cash. When Michael splurges on a motorbike without telling her, she decides she's had enough. Bumping into an old crush again in the form of hospitality worker and part-time musician Chris Campbell, Violet soon finds herself throwing caution to the wind and buying herself a one-way ticket to Hong Kong to visit Chris. But with Chris being a restless soul, what follows is a series of adventures as Violet follows his trail through Asia armed with bountiful supplies of hand sanitiser. This is an enjoyable story about a girl breaking out of her mundane existence to discover adventure - and possibly love. The travel aspects were engaging, and it was easy to vicariously live through her experiences.
Genevieve Gannon's latest novel, Chasing Chris Campbell, is about a woman who goes travelling trying to catch up with a past love. The summary says: "Violet is saving money: living on rice and beans and denying herself chocolate eclairs all in the name of saving for a home deposit. Once they save enough, she and Michael can buy a house, settle down and live happily ever after. But when Michael does the unthinkable, Violet is forced to rethink her life choices. A chance encounter with Chris Campbell (first love, boy-next-door, The One That Got Away) spurs her into travelling to exotic locations she never dreamed she'd explore - Hong Kong, Vietnam, Varanasi - on a quest to catch up with Chris and lead a life of adventure. Armed with hand sanitiser and the encouraging texts of her twin sister Cassandra, will Violet find true love before it's too late? Or will the nerve-wracking experience of travelling send her back to Melbourne in search of safety and stability? Can she work out what she really wants before she is left with nothing?" Chasing Chris Campbell is out in June 2015.