Several years ago, before I joined One More Chapter, I decided to try my hand at writing a series. I’d been reading a lot of them, and enjoyed the fact that the characters I’d got to know in the first book were also in the next, though the focus had shifted.
Full of enthusiasm, I started to scope out a series of books, based around a group of friends, three men, three women. I had what I thought was a great set of titles; Yellow is for Sunflowers, Red is for Roses, White is for Lilies. For good measure I even added a touch of suspense, because I’d not really tried that and really, how hard could it be?
Bloody hard, is the answer. Both the suspense, and writing a series where characters and parts of the plot have to thread through the books.
I realised belatedly that I’d been reading far too much Nora Roberts – in my opinion, the absolute champion of writing both series and romance with suspense. She makes it all look far too easy.
But I did finish the first book, and went on to write a second in the series – they each stand alone. Alas, though it didn’t find a home with a publisher, Yellow is for Sunflowers is the reason I ended up writing for my current publisher. They didn’t think they could market it, but thankfully they liked my writing enough to ask me to write a book they felt they could market. That became the The New Guy, my romcom series was born and I’ve never looked back.
For that reason, Yellow is for Sunflowers is very special to me. And though I’m massively biased, I also think it’s a lovely story. For that reason, I’ve decided to self-publish. So if you fancy the idea of it from the blurb below (which I’ve had to come up with myself – again, a lot harder than it looks), I hope you’ll give it a try. It’s available for pre-order here, out on 13th September 🙂
The blurb
Dean Baxter was everything a sensible thirty-two-year-old teacher should avoid. Five years younger, cocky, with a playboy reputation. Oh and guardian to Tom, one of her most promising students. But Lia was a rebel at heart.
Lia Stapleton was everything that was out of reach for an uneducated garage mechanic who’d made too many mistakes. Cambridge-educated, gorgeous and from a well-heeled background, she was his brother’s teacher. But Dean couldn’t resist her.
As Dean and Lia’s tentative relationship begins, can it survive Tom’s disapproval, her parents’ interference. And the dangerous return of his past.
And here’s the cover – a huge thank you to Emma Irwin of Emma Irwin Designs (who also happens to be the daughter of a very dear friend) for the fabulous design. Not easy when your client brief goes something along the lines of I don’t know how it should look. It’s romance, but not a romcom because it’s got a bit of suspense, but not enough that it’s actually a romantic suspense…
By the way, the second book, Red is for Roses (Archie and Kerry’s story), will be available later in the year. As for the third, I’d love to write it, but other books are jostling in the pipeline so unless they invent more hours in the day, or there is a massive outpouring of demand for it – a writer can dream! – it will have to wait.