This is the novel that grew out of my most recently-published novella, A Secret Chord. There was so much more story to be told, but the direction I wanted to take it required a different point of view. Click the image below for product link!
Three key things about A BRAID OF LOVE:
It’s a M/M/F polyamorous romance novel about finding the balance between freedom and commitment;
The action is split nearly 50/50 between England and California;
The POV characters are the two men, whose relationship is complicated by their respective commitments to the woman, who is a high-profile entertainer.
Like so many of my stories, A BRAID OF LOVE deals with careers and outside-world challenges much more than with interpersonal conflict. The people in this relationship don’t really question why they are doing what they are doing - only how to make it work. And when you are talking about three adult professionals, that is consequential.
Now: how can a romance novel be about three people? Well, it’s not that unusual. A love triangle is a very common device. It’s usually presented as competition, though: two people vying for the love of the third. In this case, it’s three people who all love each other. That doesn’t mean everything’s totally peachy. Each person has to give up something, if only a measure of control. The person in the middle - and there inevitably is one - has to give up a lot.
We are socialized to believe that the ‘natural’ form of a love affair is two people. But if two people who are in love can’t actually meet each other’s needs, what’s the solution?
At the beginning of A BRAID OF LOVE we revisit a scene from the end of A SECRET CHORD, and follow it forward not from the point of view of Janis Vaughn, but from those of Niall Phelps and Geoffrey Anand. Janis is a professional musician; Niall is her tour manager; Geoffrey is a writer they meet in London.
Niall is also English. Both men are university-educated. They both love language and theater. They comprehend the power of words. Golly, they were fun to write. I hope readers love them as much as I do.
Adult situations, themes, and language; 92000 words and a happy ending.