The countdown has begun!
In just over three weeks, on March 29th, my next book, It Happened One Season, will be hitting the shelves.
It's a Regency-era historical anthology, with novellas by Stephanie Laurens, Mary Balogh, me, and Candice Hern. The stories we wrote were the result of nationwide contest where readers submitted the plot points they wanted us to write. How did this all come about? Well, back in 2007, Mary, Candice and I were on a book tour together and we bonded like glue to paper. We decided that since we all wrote Regency-era historicals, it would be fun to write an anthology together. Mary had an idea for one that Candice and I fell in love with: what would happen if you gave a group of authors the same exact plot to write? Would they all write the same story? We brainstormed a very simple plot with three key elements: 1) The hero and heroine knew each other, but hadn't seen each other for a decade, 2) they meet up ten years later at an inn, and 3) the story had to take place in a 24 hour period.
The book that started it all
We decided that it would be fun to include a fourth author in the anthology so that each of us could have our story take place in a different season of the year. We asked Stephanie if she'd like to participate and she said yes! Avon loved the idea, and the following year It Happened One Night was published. The four of us didn't collaborate at all during the writing process and didn't read each others' stories until after each was edited and copyedited. The book went on to be a New York Times and USA Today bestseller and Stephanie won a RITA award for her novella.
Me with Stephanie Laurens and her RITA award
Because the book was so much fun to write, the four of us decided we'd like to do it again, only this time we wanted our readers to decide the three plot points. Avon sponsored the contest which drew more than 2,000 entries. The four of us narrowed those entries down to a final four (no easy task, let me tell you!) then the readers voted on which one they wanted us to write. The winning entry was: The hero is a battle-scarred and world-weary recluse, 2) the shy heroine is facing yet another season without a suitor, and 3) the hero's older brother who has only daughters requests that the hero marry to carry on the family title.
Once again, the four of us wrote the exact same plot. Did we write the same story? I hope you'll pick up a copy of It Happened One Season on March 29th and find out!
In the meantime, what are you reading now? Hope you're enjoying your weekend!
