Today I dug out an old manuscript from my bottom drawer. You know the drawer? The drawer of discarded dreams.
I was thrilled with it when I set it aside. I’d had some nibbles from editors of the bigger publishing houses—well-written, very evocative of Finland, and I should know because a family member is married to someone from Finland, but it’s the wrong length for our current series.
I reread it, and as you can imagine, was devastated to discover it wasn’t the masterpiece I remembered, or hoped it was. For a start, point of view (POV) was all over the place. My excuse for that is that I was experimenting. The result? Characterisation suffered. It was also a bit of a mishmash of tropes, and as an expert on romance recently said, readers have certain expectations of certain tropes and an author who doesn’t deliver them is likely to be punished in the socials. Oh dear!
Given the passage of time, there are also historical inaccuracies. I used the very public 1986 unsolved murder of Olof Palme, then Prime Minister of Sweden, as a starting point. The Swedish Government recently closed the case, saying they’d identified the assassin. Not everyone’s satisfied with this decision.
So where does this leave me? Helsinki is a long way from Australia, so is instantly exotic to us. A murder mystery—case closed, but with enough hanging threads to be intriguing. My female lead is guarded, but her caution can strike people as grumpiness. My male lead’s a natural optimist and has enough positives in his life to project a sunshine persona, but hey, there’s more here than meets the eye. A completely accidental meeting. She distrusts coincidences, especially when they involve journalists or writers interested in her famous dead father. He’s wow! Serendipity. This is my lucky day.
So, I’m feeling a tickle of excitement about tackling this manuscript, but it’s forced me to ask—why do I write? Why particularly do I write on those days when the muse has better things to do than hang on my every word? Something compels me to. I set my writing aside and say, No, I’ve had enough. It’s not working. But I go back every time, because I want to get this right. I want to tell the story of these people well, so you, the reader, are on their side. Finding Cleo (working title) is a standalone contemporary romance.
In the meantime, I’ve signed contracts with Inkspell Publishing for two more books in the Choosing Family Series.
- A Just Man—Choosing Family Book 4 (release March 2025)
- An Accidental Flatmate—Choosing Family Book 5 (release July 2025)
A Romantic Rendezvous March 2025
Meet me in Sydney – 23 March 2025.
Tickets on sale from 15 September 2024. Follow on FaceBook
The Australian Romance Readers Association will again host A Romantic Rendezvous in Brisbane (22 March) Sydney (23 March) Melbourne (29 March) and Perth (30 March). Special guests will be Nalini Singh & Julie Ann Walker There will be panels, an author luncheon and a signing in each city. You can nominate the sessions you’d like to attend.
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:
- Masquerade—Choosing Family Book 1 (episode 188)
- 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 