NEW RELEASE - "One Summer Night"

 I'm so happy to have this book released!  I LOVED writing it, something I never thought would happen. Why? First I don't write pure romances. If you've ever read any of my novels, they are mysteries with what I call a 'splash' of romance. So when my publisher said they were starting a new category of books, Romance Over 50, and asked if I would write one, I said yes, but wasn't really sure how it would turn out.

Young love is always written about... boy meets girl, falls in love with girl, loses girl for some reason and finds her again and wins her over in the end. It's a recipe, but in an older romance, I wasn't expecting all the complications that come into a life over fifty - divorce, a grown child, and in this case, a profession that's dependent on the MC being able to write about the feelings of new love, the depth of love that one can feel, of being in love... something she hadn't felt in years.

My mysteries always require lots of research... a crime, a criminal, his mindset, how is he cornered and caught, how does the suspense rise, etc. but the over fifty romance had a different set of challenges, life challenges -- balancing a family, career, a know-it-all mother, a lost love, a cheating husband, the shame of his escapades and the feelings surrounding a divorce, the self isolation.  I invested about six months writing it and when I finished, I really liked it.  I was even happier when my publisher's editor said, "It is a good story and deserves a good readership." and he never remarks on the stories.

I think the back cover says it all:

One Summer Night Blurb

A cheating husband, a contentious divorce, and a hollow meaningless mausoleum of a house bring best-selling romance author Isabella Randall to a cliff-side cottage in the quaint Cape Cod fishing village where she had spent all her happy young summers with her grandparents.

Since the divorce, her writing spigot had run dry not allowing a single drop of love to flow into a new romance. Her agent and publisher are pushing her to release a book in the coming year before her readers move on. With deadlines looming, she imagines being back here in this quiet writer’s haven; she can clear her mind, dig deep to find those romantic feelings again and write.

Yet this so-called peaceful town causes her summer to take one unexpected twist after another—a bike accident, a hospital visit, her cheating ex pursuing her, and…him.

Isabella never expected that in returning here, she would come across a lost piece of her young life. She now stands on a precipice—does she forget the past and take the leap with him or retreat back to her safe solitary life? 

So, now I'm returning to the full story of Jenna and Brett who I introduced to you in "Broken Christmas Promise" a few years ago.  I received great feedback on the novella from the 2020 Book Pipeline Adaptation; they said they loved the premise but thought the novella didn't carry the story far enough or make it layered and complicated.  So I've rewritten it and am now spending time revising and editing!

That's All I have time for today... keep writing,

Till,
Judi