When I spotted this artwork (see website), I immediately thought of my book Masquerade—Choosing Family Book 1. Preorders now available. It’ll drop into your mailbox on 5 March.
I liken getting Masquerade from idea to publication as giving birth to an elephant. Elephants have one of the longest gestation periods of all living mammals—nearly two years. To be brutally honest, at times it seemed like this baby did not want to see the light of day.
The concept was simple—write a series. Identical twins seemed like a good way to start. After all, I had protagonists for two books straight up.
I started with the idea of one identical twin taking the place of another in a perfectly innocent swap. Think—one twin is directing and starring in an advertisement and finds it easier to get her twin to step into the acting role. Why wouldn’t you help your sis?
But drop a pinch of magic into a witch’s cauldron and unexpected things happen.
A second pair of identical twins appeared, this time males. Now I had four leads to play with—gosh, I could make those books multiply.
Early versions of Masquerade got mixed reviews and scores in competition. Some readers loved it and others politely, and not so politely, said rewrite. I even submitted that early version to a major publisher. That was before I realised I write a different kind of book. I got feedback rather than silence, which I took as a positive—an intriguing storyline, too much back story too soon, a lot of characters to be juggling on the page, and too complicated.
So I moved on. I started writing about the second male twin. I gave the usual nods to characters in the first book and introduced some new characters. Quinn, by design had broader appeal, placing second in the Romance Writers of Australia 2022 Emerald Award for unpublished authors.
What to do? Quinn, by design (Book 2) was getting positive attention, but I couldn’t proceed without nailing Masquerade (Book 1). I just couldn’t let Masquerade go.
Then someone reminded me of the old joke:
Q. How do you eat an elephant?
A. One bite at a time.
I took a deep breath. I reread the critiques and did a monumental rewrite, pulling it apart and stitching it back together. I did more research, took a road trip, retracing parts of the route taken by my mutually attracted but wary couple. I stripped out complexity, I added lightness in the form of more dialogue, and upped the sensual beat. Inkspell Publishing’s editor helped with the final polish.
My baby elephant is ready to rumble in the jungle, and I’m delighted with how she turned out. I’d love to know what you think of Kate and Liam’s story.
Notes:
- Privacy Policy update—I have updated the privacy policy on my website, added terms and conditions and refreshed a few pages for legal and aesthetic reasons. Have a look around to see what’s new or different.
- Book signing: I will be at the Australian Romance Readers Association (ARRA’s) A Romantic Rendezvous in Sydney on 10 March 2024.
These multi-author signings will be held in three other cities Brisbane (9 March), Melbourne (16 March ) & Perth (17 March) and will feature up to 30 authors at each event. Meet a new author or come along and say hello to someone you know and love. You can find the full list of signing authors here: https://australianromancereaders.com.au/events/arr2024/. Tickets are now on sale: https://www.trybooking.com/1123090
3. Getting my ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) together:
ARC readers get advance copies of new releases with the request to post an honest review on one of the major sites, for example, Goodreads, Bookbub, Apple, Amazon, Kobo or Barnes & Noble.
If you’d like to be an ARC reader for Masquerade—Choosing Family—Book 1. Release 5 March 2024, you can sign up to Booksprout, where you’ll have a choice of my book or the books of other authors.
Alternatively, you can contact me directly via the contact link on my website. Let me know a little about yourself. I always post the blurb for my next book on the My Books page of my website, so have a read of that and see if Masquerade is a story you’ll enjoy.
By agreeing to be part of my ARC team, you are in no way obligated to leave a review on any site, although I’d appreciate it. I welcome all reviews, good or bad, as long as they are honest.
Find me on
- Instagram https://www.instagram.com/romanceauthorjen/
- Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/jenniferrainesauthor
- Goodreads—https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22577889.Jennifer_Raines
- Bookbub – https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jennifer-raines
- Diana Kathryn Penn’s Indie Reads Aloud podcast has recordings of me reading the opening 20 mins of my books:
- Lela’s Choice (episode 143)
- Planting Hope (episode 101)
- The Anderson Sisters (episode 54 Taylor’s Law and 80 Grace Under Fire) http://www.dkpwriter.com/indie-reads-aloud-podcast.html
You can also contact me directly via the contact page on my website if you have any other questions.
Jennifer Raines 