My inspiration for “His Small Town Fresh Start” came from several different places.
I was reading a list of romance tropes and “playing house” was one of them.
Do you remember “Whose the Boss?” The television show from the ’80s? It was based on a man and woman living together and playing house–even though there were strict boundaries: she was his employer. I liked that dynamic. Tony–from the show–never lost his man card. He was an alpha male who kept house and cooked meals. While Angela was a successful, no-nonsense business woman who was feminine and beautiful. Together, they raised their two children and eventually fell in love.
So, that was one if the inspirations behind the storyline for “His Small Town Fresh Start.” We have Swayzie–a no-nonsense cowgirl with gorgeous long hair and impossibly pink lips; and Lucky–a risk-taking, bronc rider, alpha male brought together to take care of their nephew. (Swayzie’s brother is married to Lucky’s sister. It’s not THAT small of a small-town romance. 😜)
I don’t usually give my characters names right off the bat. I work with their story and then choose a name that fits their personality.
However, some names have a personality that comes with them. Swayzie was one of those names. I fell in love with it when I saw it on a rodeo program. I didn’t meet the cowgirl with the wonderful name, but I didn’t have to in order to picture her. She’s tough, doesn’t take crap from any cowboy who thinks he’s all that, and has a heart as big as the sky. I couldn’t wait to write her love story.
I hope you enjoy meeting her and finding out that kind of guy captures her heart–it’s certainly not the guy she’d thought it would be!
The box set is doing incredible on the charts. Readers and reviewers are loving it. Check it out:
Can’t Forget a Love Like That by Lucy McConnell This is my favorite story in the collection so far! It was like a combination of An Affair to Remember and While You Were Sleeping. Iris and Reggie work in the same building. They’ve been flirting on the elevator for months, but don’t even know each other’s names. They finally kiss (he’s pretending to be her boyfriend to get her out of a set up). The kiss is amazing, but Reggie isn’t at work the next day, or the next. He’s just gone. When Reggie awakes in the hospital, he can’t remember his name, or anything except the face of a beautiful woman and one amazing kiss. He knows they must be in love. This leads to the sweetest comedy of errors! He thinks they must be really close, she doesn’t know much more about him than he does, but you can’t forget a love like that. This story was so darn cute! It will leave you smiling, and going back for more. ~Jessie C.
Yay!! Reading that made my day.
I hope reading this excerpt makes yours. 🙂
From Can’t Forget a Love Like That
Maybe it was silly to worry about seeing a guy in the elevator for less than two minutes a day, but he was my only romance. I didn’t have a boyfriend. I didn’t even have a man who was a friend right now. My life consisted of work, yoga, and hanging with a group of girls from the apartment building where I shared an impossibly tiny space with my best friend Zelda.
I hit the elevator button, ready to pretend I forgot something at my desk if the doors slid open and he wasn’t there.
Zelda used to think I was desperate for male attention—until she saw the guy. Now she’s a firm supporter of my mission to hit the elevator between 5:10 and 5:16 every day. I mean, the man has a jaw sculpted by da Vinci. Not to mention he filled out a suit like a Greek god come to visit us mortals. And his brown, wavy hair … it made a girl want to run her fingers through it until the wee hours of the night.
The best part of this whole thing was that we were strangers. I could dream about him being an Olympic swimmer, a cowboy on horseback, or a Hollywood heartthrob here to sweep me off my feet, and nothing he said contradicted my daydreams.
The doors whooshed open, and my elevator boyfriend lifted his gaze from his phone and broke into a smile. “’Ello, love.”
Did I mention he had an English accent? Because … yeah—there’s that too.
I’ve been a reader much longer than I’ve been a writer and I love talking about books. Reading reviews is like sitting in on a bookclub anytime I want. I’ll peruse the review section of a book before I pick it up. What about you? Do you read them, write them, or ignore them?
I have an absolutely fabulous ARC team who not only post thier reviews quickly, but they send me typos they find in the books and I’m able to get them fixed before publication. Their input is SO valuable and I value them as a last set of eyes on a manuscript before it goes to publication.
So I read reviews because I want to know if my latest book was up to snuff. 🙂
As I’m reading through, I also get to see the verified purchase reviews. These come in from people who have bought the book and been kind enough to leave a review. I say kind, because taking the time to leave a review is a wonderful service to the author and to other readers.
Here’s a few of the fun reviews for one of my latest books, His Broken Heart Antidote: A McKnight Family Romance.
“This is my first time reading a book in the McKnight Family series. It was soooo good that I must go back and read the earlier books as well. … This book kept me completely engaged and left me feeling uplifted and happy.” ~VVV
“I’m not sure why, but I always thought Carter was a serious type. Must be a surgeon stereotype. I enjoyed getting to know him and see his playful side.” ~Kindle Customer
“There aren’t words! Every time I read one of the books in the series, I am certain it can’t get any better than this! This one was amazing! I absolutely loved reading Carter and Ellise’s story!!” ~RB
You know what’s fun about these reviews? It’s that the reviewer talks about the characters as if they’re real people!! It’s fun to have the people in my head land on the page in such a way that others get to know them too. 🙂
(If you want to read this story, you can find it here.)
Some books flow like sweet, warm caramel. Others are like carving rocks out of a mountain.
Thankfully, I’m in a caramel book right now. 🙂 “Can’t Forget a Love Like That” is a sweet romance that’s going to be part of the Love In The City box set due to release on February 15, 2021.
If it seems like that’s a close deadline, it’s because it is. Don’t worry, I’m almost done.
While the writing went smoothly, the edits are a bit tricky. My internal editor can get hung up on a single word. It’s important to know when to let her dig in and when to pull back. But I guess it’s like that in most aspects of life. If we obsess over insignificant things, we can miss the big picture. The trick is knowing what’s important and what’s not.
When it comes to editing, my top priority is the flow of the story. Does it make sense? Are the motivations clear? Is there enough romance? Are they falling in love too fast? (I have a tendency to rush into love. 😉)
Well, I’m off to get this book done.
Happy reading,
Lucy
P.S. If you’d like to preorder your copy of Love in the City, you can get it here:
Did you have a favorite Christmas story when you were a kid?
I was lucky. My mom started a wonderful tradition that truly brought the spirit of the season every year.
Each night in December, we would read a Christmas story by candlelight.
There’s something magical about candles isn’t there? They chase away so much harshness and soften the edges of the world. 🕯
Anyway, we would light the candles and read a story. Some she’d collected from magazines or newspapers, others were xerox copies from friends or neighbors. One of my all-time favorite stories was of a little shepherd boy who, after seeing the Christ child, spent his life giving. As he grew up, he noticed he didn’t grow older–though he did grow a long white beard. As he grew more generous, including every child in the world in his Christmas Eve trek, his ability to give was increased through the Grace of God.
You guessed it, the little shepherd boy became Santa Clause.🎅🏻
Not all the stories were that deep. Some were just for fun. Like this one:
It’s a tribute to the 80’s and Santa and cows all rolled into one. You have to understand, my grandpa was a dairy farmer so cows were a part of life.🐄🐮 And this book SPOKE to me. 🙂
It’s a funny book that brings just enough silly into the holiday to make you feel like a kid again. I looked it up on Amazon today and it’s out of print. 😢I still have a copy of the book on my kids’ reading shelf. Maybe I’ll pull it out tonight, turn on the tree, and light a few candles and read them the magical story of “Santa Cows.”
Do you have a favorite Christmas story from when you were young? There’s so many classics out there!
A newer movie I discovered last year was “The Man Who Invented Christmas”. It’s about the writing of a Christmas Carol and it holds me captive every time I watch it. If you’re looking for a great show, that’s one I’d recommend.
If you have any movies or books that you’d love to share, leave a comment below.
Picking a name for a character can be difficult. Not as hard as naming your children…but still. Spending time with these characters means you have to like what you call them.
Choosing side-characters’ names is much easier. I have a list of most popular baby names and I draw from it.
Main characters get a lot more attention.
For example, in the Marrying Miss Kringle series, each daughter’s name has a meaning that reflects either their physical appearance or their natural Kringle talents.
Robyn–The new bird of winter. Robyn is the first born and was suposed to be an only child. BUT, she was also supposed to be a boy. So, when she came out a girl, it was a surprise–like seeing the red breast of a robin.
Lux– Light. Lux Christmas Magic is made of light. Light is also knowledge. Lux is a smartie. Her addition to the family enlightened them that things were going to be very different.
Ginger– Spice. Ginger spiced things up when she was chosen to be the next Santa. Her spice is the kind that welcomes everyone into a warm home or soothes nerves after a hard day in the workshop.
Stella–Star. Like the star on the top of the tree, Stella draws the eye. She’s a charmer who works to bring Christmas cheer to one and all.
Frost–Fresh, white, pure. In this case, Frost was named because of her frosty white hair. But, it’s kind of misleading because she is the one Kringle who can tell a lie. She’s also the one Kringle who would never have the desire to mislead someone.
The other names in the series also have holiday connections. Gail Kringle is named after a neighbor I grew up with. Her husband is a full-time Santa and her birthday is on Christmas. She’s a wonderful woman and I couldn’t think of a better example of a Mrs. Kringle.
I hope this sheds some light on the process of picking names. In my latest release, One Tough Christmas Cookie, I named the female lead Faith, because she needed a dose of faith in her holiday. 🙂
What character names do you like best? I’d love to know. Drop me a comment below.
Lucy McConnell 