Ah yes, a mere thirteen years after joining a romance writing group, I’m pleased to say that I’ve written one. My contemporary romance Finding Hayden is finally released into the universe.
Of course, this isn’t my first romance. I wrote at least three, that were not exactly ready for public consumption. My first romance consisted of a lot of narrative. Oh yes it did! Did I have scenes and sequels? Not really. Did I understand hooks, pacing, telling versus showing? Ah, that would be a no. But I did have a lot of fun. That’s for sure. And I did have a Harlequin bite on the first manuscript. And if that novel had been accepted it would have been, as they say ‘premature publication.’ I had a lot to learn. And still do. I guess that’s why I keep my ‘toes in the writing waters’. Writing fiction is a challenge and hopefully, it keeps the neurons connected.
During this writing journey I sent my work into contests, pitched my writing at conferences and along the way met fabulous authors who have supported me on my quest. We laughed, we cried and indulged in champagne and wine. As the kids say ‘it’s all good’.
Hope that you will take a chance and dive into Finding Hayden. I’d love to hear your impressions. Feel free to make a comment here. Or in the best of all possible worlds, post a review on Amazon.ca or Amazon.com or Goodreads.
Hang in there my writerly friends.
Here’s a toast to not giving up!
I’m so happy you’re living your dream, Jodie! This book is sure to be a winner because the writer is amazing!
Wow Jacquie! Thanks for the compliment! I sure would like it to be a winner!
I’m adding it to my TBR pile. When you’ve talked about Hayden he sounds fascinating.
Hayden’s entire family is unique. He was an intriguing character to write about. Thanks for dropping by.
Great blog and wise words to never give up or to stop learning, Jodie. Congrats on your new release!
Many thanks Jacqui! I haven’t given up, that’s for sure. I’m so glad to release this novel into the universe.
Just started reading Finding Hayden and loving it!
One question, how did you come up with the names for your characters?
Hi there,
Hayden’s mother named all of her children after famous composers. She’s an opera buff. Doing the research was a lot of fun.
Well. I wanted to use the names of composers (because the mom Suzanne is an opera fan) then I just used the names that appealed to me and gave them modern spellings. Glad you like Finding Hayden.
Well, the entire Cooper family was named after composers. The mother of the family is obsessed with opera. So I did some research and came up with a buffet of names. It was a lot of fun!