Readers will have noticed that I write summer books – sunshiny holiday reading, albeit will some dark deeds under the surface, and maybe not always so far under. Publishing for romance stories seems to have polarised a bit lately – with authors producing a summer book for the holidays and then a Christmas book. Me? I’m a slow writer and only manage to produce one book a year. I’m not big on Christmas books – although I have written one, and am tossing ideas around for another, but that is only at the ideas stage – so summer is my usual choice.
With Halloween just passed though, it has made me think about the turn of the seasons. I’ve always had a bit of a thing for Halloween – as a teenager I always had a party. Although I don’t celebrate that way or decorate the house these days, I would really like to write a Halloween book. It has been an ambition for years, although I’m not a big fan of autumn generally – the end of summer and the arrival of cold and darkness. I write with a strong element of darkness, but I find it rather depressing in real life. Autumn seems to be rather a neglected season in romance terms and anchoring a book to Halloween might be thought to limit the readership to a few short weeks in October, but I would still like to do it. Maybe with a series like the Riviera books it would work?
Spring is less neglected, as in the run up to summer the seasons slide into each other – warmth and light on the way – although with the UK weather we can have snow in May, so who knows? I’m also tossing around an idea that would be anchored in spring – specifically the season for daffodils and tulips – but that s also something that has been incubating for a while and will probably continue to do so for a while longer.
I like to attempt something slightly different when I write, although that can get me into trouble sometimes. It took a bit of manoeuvring to create a scenario of a runaway groom for A Wedding on the Riviera, but having read a couple of ‘runaway bride’ books, one after the other, I wanted to try it. It seems to have worked!
Can I write two books set in seasons that are less well travelled?
Still thinking about that one. It will likely be a while, but the idea is there.