Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
Today, I am happily able to spotlight a #newtomeauthor whilst participating in the final tours for Brook Cottage Books – today’s author has written a *Sweet Romance* kicking off a new series of which she is publishing through her self-published imprint ‘King Park Press’. I love finding authors who are taking the reins of their writerly careers into their own hands. I regularly *celebrate!* authors like Ms Robertson-King on my blog – such as Brenda S. Anderson, Nicole Evelina, MK McClintock and many others who have decided the best route for them in their publishing endeavours is to create imprints & publish their stories themselves. They undertake the creative freedom this provides them whilst being the keeper of their destinies.
An author I haven’t yet had the pleasure of joy to share my ruminations of thus far along is *Julie Lessman* who went from being traditionally published in the world of INSPY Romance to a bonefide Indie Author with the publication of her second series – she is someone who will be shining a light on my blog starting this holiday season when I can finally reveal my thoughts & musings on behalf of the prequel to the Daughters of Boston trilogy which kicked off a saga of *3!* trilogies following the O’ Connor family! This will be a specially keen part of my first year of joining #blogmas!
So you see, I have a healthy appetite for seeking out #IndiePub & #IndieAuthors who are re-defining the book world by seeking out alternative methods to publish. This time round – the story is set in Quebec – an unexpected blessing finding a Canadian Lit setting – where you happily find similarities to some of your favourite films which take the quirkiness of placing oppositional characters into a story about second chances, alternative paths to romance & the curious way in which fate intervenes on the plans you feel can’t be deviated from once you’ve established the path your walking.
These are the kind of stories you like to curl up inside just to see ‘what becomes’ of the characters – what do they decide is more important!? To walk through life alone, to risk their heart and take a chance on a love they never expected or to struggle to keep open to the possibilities that life has a way of giving you what you really want even if you never owned up to what it is yourself?
I must confess when I first saw it was being cross-related with two of the films I personally have always loved watching (ie. ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ & ‘Sleepless in Seattle’) I had a feeling it was the kind of novel I could get lost inside due to the uplift and heartwarming after effect it would have on me! Those are the kind of films I miss seeing release more regularly – we’ve lost a bit of that kind of afterglow in the cinema – we’ve lost so many lovely writers and directors (think Marshall & Ephron) it is a wait/see period now to see who will step forward and bring these kinds of gems back onto the silver screen.
Be sure to brew a cuppa of your favourite tea whilst your reading this convo!
It Happened on Dufferin Terrace
by Melanie Robertson-King
Miracle on 34th Street meets Sleepless in Seattle.
Toronto business consultant, Serenity Layne, knew the only person she could depend on was herself. Married to her career, she has no time for other pursuits and life’s intangibles.Widowed for three years, Roger Scott, a data security specialist in Quebec City, is a single parent to his ten-year-old son, Adam.
On a day out on the Plains of Abraham with their black Labrador retriever, Roger’s cell phone rings incessantly. Adam has played matchmaker and put his father’s profile on a number of online dating sites.
The week before Christmas, Serenity is heading up a series of meetings after a six-month study of the Canadian retail chain, jonathans. After an unpleasant encounter with one of the store managers, she escapes from the boardroom of the Château Frontenac Hotel, only to be bowled over by Roger and Adam’s dog.
Guilty over the accident, Roger invites Serenity out for a drink by way of apology. Over the course of the week, and spending time together, feelings long dormant for Roger are re-awakened. At the same time, emotions foreign to Serenity fill her with contentment and happiness.
Will the couple get their happily ever after?
Places to find the book:
ASIN: B07FD9JQVB
Published by King Park Press
on 22nd July, 2018
Published by: King Park Press (self-publishing imprint of author)
Formats Available: Paperback and Ebook
It Happened series
It Happened on Dufferin Terrace (Book One)
*more installments to follow, could be as many as *six!*
Converse via: #HolidayRomance + #CanLit and #SweetRomance
How did you approach writing the back-story about Serenity Layne being an expert in sales and store efficiencies? Did you approach a similar business to ask about how to round out this character or was there another method of research you used which clued you into how this character might best come to life? What was your favourite takeaway from her job?
Robertson-King responds: I wanted Serenity to be a successful businesswoman, but have to work harder than most to achieve this, rather than land the position because of wealthy family members. Thanks to grants, bursaries and student loans, she put herself through University and secured a position at Thacker, Price & Associates, where she worked her way up into the position she holds when the book opens.
Serenity had to be in a job where her motives are perceived by others as suspicious. Hence, retail consultant. In this field, she has to have a strong personality, yet be empathetic to the needs of the people. Because of her position, she must be knowledgeable with computers, and cloud-based software applications. The company I work for recently switched over to cloud-based accounting software, so I drew on the situations that unfolded in front of me. I’m a bit of a computer geek myself (studied programming in College) so shades of me creep into that area.
As far as my favourite takeaway from her job, I would say the travel. Although I didn’t go into great detail, she travelled across Canada from coast to coast. I love to travel and dream of one day visiting my country from east to west.
I love how you turnt this character into a quasi-autobiographical composite of your own experiences! I give you credit for being able to understand the concepts behind cloud-based technologies and programming pursuits overall; I attempted coding and programming as a child but I soon learnt I’m a creative (ie. writer, artist, photographer, etc) rather than someone who can do the technical bits ‘behind the scenes’. I love how you set the stage for what Serenity needed in order to handle this position as well. I would love to see Canada the way she had – travelling from one Coast to the other had to be a wicked incredible experience – as each Province has its own uniqueness of personality and setting.
Blessed you’ve given such a keen insight into your lead character and the back-history in how you’ve set the foundation for both the series and this first installment!
What was the hardest part about keeping Roger and Serenity in a ‘meet-cute’ situation – where their crossed paths would feel serendipitous rather than planned? What did you love most about how a dog pulled these two together?
Robertson-King responds: Bringing them together too soon. Yes, they met on occasion, but those meetings were random and awkward. Even when Roger takes her on a ‘guided’ tour of Vieux-Québec, they’re both nervous.
I love dogs, so there had to be one in the book. Initially, I didn’t plan on the black lab knocking Serenity to the ground, just a tail wagging the dog and a carefully placed sniff or two. Well, Tori had ideas of her own. She was a matchmaker in her own right. Mind you, things could have turned out very different. I mean, Serenity could have been afraid of dogs, or taken an instant dislike to this one in particular after the incident.
Serenity is a workaholic and Roger was settled into his life as a single parent – what intrigued you most about these seemingly independent characters who were not in wont for a relationship?
They want different things from life. Serenity isn’t interested in a relationship, other than her career. For her, material things are what matter. Her condo, her occupation. If she can’t see it, touch it, or accomplish it, it doesn’t exist, which is why she gets so flustered when she and Roger are together.
Roger on the other hand, wants nothing other than to be a good dad to his son, Adam. He’s content with his life as it is. He has a nice home, and a good job, but dating is the last thing on his mind. His priorities lie at home and he spends as much quality time with the boy and their dog as he can after work and on weekends.
They claim opposites attract, and in this case, it worked. At least I hope it did for all the readers.
I could imagine that would be a tricky bit of balance writing relationships and romance – when to introduce your characters and would their ‘first meeting’ feel authentic & real or would it fail to meet the expectations of the readers!? I do wonder about that as I read Roms myself… how writers pull off the initial bits which lead into the relationships themselves.
lol I love how you were talking about Serenity as if she were a part of our IRL world – I can completely relate to this sentiment as I’m a writer myself – our characters become so dearly real to us, it is like we’re merely the historians of their lives rather than the ‘creator’ of their worlds. There are moments where it feels like we’re not creating them but rather we are writing down the life they have already lived. It is a bit curious how we find what is right for a character even if it isn’t something we projected as being the case or am just as surprised as the reader about what turns out to be true of a character.
I really love this dynamic you’ve created – the career woman and the single father – not just from different worlds but have reached different places in their lives overall. I agree – it would be keen to watch how they evolve together and how they affect each other for introducing the different ideals and perspectives they would naturally have within them to share. Opposites can definitely learn and grow together – they simply have to decide what they really want vs what they felt they wanted because life can throw you a few curves about your priorities and where your goals can shift at moments where you felt your life had a trajectory set in stone. Life’s never like that – but for a workaholic I can see how she would feel her life was just fine being ‘neat and tidy’ so to speak.
What would surprise readers most about writing this Romance?
Robertson-King responds: It took me over two years to write from the time I started. Back then, the working title was Christmas in Quebec. Bleurgh… In September 2017 I attended a writing conference in Scotland and sat in on a couple of workshops on Scrivener. When I got home, I treated myself a MacBook Air, the most recent version of the software, and essentially started the book from scratch. Some of the scenes from the original story are still there, but a lot hit the cutting room floor.
I made a list of titles, and ran them through a ‘title scorer’ to see which ones had the best ranking. Those with It Happened scored the highest and that’s how this book and the series is named. It Happened on Dufferin Terrace, It Happened at Percé Rock, It Happened in Gastown, etc. If all goes according to plan, there will be six ‘It Happened’ books.
I believe your the first who told me about a way to ‘score’ which titles react better with readers – I was quite confused by the choice myself until you explained it. I can’t say I’ve come across titles previously which started off by ‘It Happened’ so it is rather curious how that score was calculated? The best bit you’ve revealled is how many stories will knit into the series in-progress! I personally adore finding series to entreat inside… I love one-offs but series give you the chance to re-visit characters and/or settings – seeing what has changed or evolved forward whilst getting to meet new characters as well. I look forward to seeing how this series continues to develop!
For a writer whose had her own writing life on a start/stop momentum for over two decades, I can appreciate how tabling one version for a new one of a draft-in-progress can become beneficial to the writer! Sometimes, despite feelings to the contrary the best thing we can do for ourselves is to step away from manuscript and re-queue it lateron. I definitely knew why the new computer & programme was helping you – I oft find writers in Twitter chats talking about the benefits of Scrivener. It isn’t something that would work for me as I’m really old school about writing – notebooks, pens, vintage typewriters (restored/retrofitted), etc but for those who like high tech approaches I know this is the route to take to allow your writing life to go to the next level.
Which scene of the story was your favourite to write and why?
Robertson-King responds: I had fun with a couple of scenes involving the Drake family, but overall, it would have to be the initial encounter between Serenity and Roger. As I wrote it, I saw Tori charging out of control towards Serenity then launching herself in the air. I used to have a black lab. His name was Charlie and was as goofy as Tori. Not everyone will agree, but there’s nothing better than doggie loving and kisses.
You’ve described the exact reason why my favourite scene from ‘You’ve Got Mail’ involves Barkley! When their at the park and sorting out who is whom for the very first time – as Kathleen and Joe Fox never thought of themselves as anything more than casual adversaries in the commerce & trade of books – seeing the dog and how Barkley both wanted them to be together and felt he needed to be more vocal about their relationship was quite brilliant, I felt! Similarly I love how in “Must Love Dogs” Mother Teresa plays a key role in how Diane Lane meets John Cusack!
As you might have remembered from my last showcase featuring Rachel Dove – I’ve been on the look-out for light-hearted Romances – this one is Sweet Romance which truly sounds like not just an uplifting read but one which tucks you into a relationship two characters never expected but seriously needed in their lives! I love those stories of where fate intervenes on someone’s plans – where people who never see themselves outside of the experience their currently living are giving a ‘second chance’ to see a future they never knew they wanted!? Those make brill stories!
Towards that end – which authors / stories would you rec for me to seek out!?
This author interview is courtesy of: Brook Cottage Book Tours
Be sure to visit this lovely page via Brook Cottage Book Tours to enter the giveaway for this novel! I normally link to the blog tour route when I’m hosting but this time round I’m sending you directly to the source! As this is one of the final authors being spotlighted this is also one of my final authors I’ll be showcasing before Brook Cottage Books goes on sabbatical. Good luck!
Similar to blog tours where I feature book reviews, as I choose to highlight an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog. I provide the questions for interviews and topics for the guest posts; wherein I receive the responses back from publicists and authors directly. I am naturally curious about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of stories and the writers who pen them; I have a heap of joy bringing this content to my readers.
{SOURCES: Cover art of “It Happened on Dufferin Terrace”, book synopsis, author biography, author photograph of Melanie Robertson-King and the tour badge were all provided by Brook Cottage Book Tours and used with permission. Post dividers & My Thoughts badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Conversations with the Bookish and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2018.
Thanks so much for hosting me on your blog today. I hope your readers enjoy discovering my creative process and how I brought my couple together, thanks to a black lab named Tori.
Hallo, Hallo Ms Robertson-King,
You’re quite welcome! It was a joy of mine to feature you as I love finding these kinds of stories to read. The blessing of course is getting to get these ‘behind-the-scenes’ conversations brought to my blog as it adds a new layer of interest into the stories themselves. I believe they will be delighted as I love spotlighting #newtomeauthors and focusing on #IndieAuthors in particular whenever I can. So far, this has become quite the popularly read post and that delights me. Thanks for such a lovely convo to share!