What Path Led to “Happily Ever After”?
Early in my life, my mother’s insistence that romance books were “trash” shocked me with her decision to confiscate and throw away a book I had purchased. She had never censored my reading before. The book’s merits were not debated. Instead, she gave me a book where horrific themes of war, brutality, and inhumane treatment of prisoners were predominant. There was a small sub-theme of a doctor being in love, but the door was “closed” when the actual love took place.
Judgments about films and video games are similar. The “body counts” can be high, but adolescents are considered mature enough to handle that level of death and destruction. Nudity and love are given a tighter review and many people see loving behavior as more destructive than the mowing down of dozens of human beings in war, films, and publications.
Fast forward to the early 2000s. I “dared” to read a few mainstream romance writers. I didn’t find anything that clicked for me until . . . Susan Mallery’s Three Sisters had me in tears while reading it. It touched me. Her characters were real.
After years writing newsletters, and as a journalist, I realized I’d enjoy writing stories that people could enjoy with an “HEA”—the Happily Ever After promised to romance readers.
That led me to join RWA, where I met several generous, successful romance authors who shared advice and their passion for writing with new writers.
In my journalistic capacity, I interviewed the hugely popular author, Diana Gabaldon, about her books and her upcoming series that was being developed for streaming. She welcomed me to her home, where she shared her enthusiasm for writing and the excitement of being in a walk-on role in her series, Outlander.
I was hooked—on both reading her books and the idea of writing my own. An earlier attempt to develop a romance series led me to honor those who’d struggled on the Jersey shore after Hurricane Sandy. I wrote three books when I realized they were taking a dark turn. About that time, Covid-19 was attacking the world. Dark was not a good approach then, and I shelved the books.
In 2021, on a trip to Temecula, California Wine Country, I woke up my second morning with a full set of characters and plots that grew in my head. I started writing.
My decision to pursue this new “cast of characters,”—and they really are quite funny, real characters to me—has given me joy as I’ve now written three full books, almost finished a prequel and have ideas for three additional books (at least) in my Louisa’s Vineyard series.
I’m thrilled with the lives my characters are enjoying. Sharing them with you is exciting. Please stay with me on the journey as we find out what happens with Louisa, Will, Sophie, Joe, John, Randy, Karin and the other characters. They sometimes surprise me!
I promise not to leave you hanging between stories for too long. It takes time to write, have BETA readers react, edit, format, develop a cover, and ready the books for launching—On that, I can and will write at least one more blog post.
Happy Reading! Please share your thoughts with me.
Warmest regards,
Shelley Sommers
Author
PS E-Books are now available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, but will be sent automatically on May 16th. Only 99¢! Until May 18th. Please tell your friends!
The paperback on Amazon can be purchased now and soon on B & N. Also, we’re working on Apple Books, Google Play Book, and other platforms to launch the Louisa’s Vineyard series. It takes time.