My second-ever novella, ‘All the Bars on Sunset,’ was written because a supporting character in the first novella needed his own romance. Since those two things were published way back in 2012, my romance universe has expanded to eighteen novels and a slew of novellas. My characters Vince Connor and Kelli Lopez - the stars of ‘All the Bars’ - turned out to be important actors for the whole series.
And that meant their short romance deserved to be a book. SMOOTH launches October 1 - click the image below for product link!
Cover image by Preillumination SeTh @7seth unsplash.com
Three key things about SMOOTH:
The storyline runs from 2012 to 2018, in the course of which Vince and Kelli get married and have twins;
It is really chock-full of dancing (hence assigning it to the series ‘Lead and Follow’);
It’s an examination of how a good relationship evolves in response to real life. The first part of this book is the whirlwind of new romance; the second part looks at how love matures in a changing landscape.
There are content alerts for SMOOTH. In the interest of preventing unpleasant surprises, please note: difficult pregnancy; reference to miscarriage; death of a friend; jealousy.
There are also good friends, loving families, supportive colleagues, and the fulfillment of ambitions.
I will confess to drawing on my own life more with SMOOTH than I generally do. The husband and I met because of ballroom dancing, and for many years dancing was the basis of our social life. We performed, competed, and made a lot of friends in the dance community. Vince & Kelli have the same experience. Plus, they get involved right away with my fictional semi-pro dance company, the Underground Cabaret.
Vince & Kelli are not and never will be rich. They can’t do all the things they’d like to do. But with hard work - and support from friends and family - they make a good life for themselves. Their kids will have interesting stories of their own someday (though I probably won’t be around to write those).
I’m happy with where I’ve left these two characters, though this isn’t the end for them. We’ll see them again, as part of the community.
And if you like all the dancing, may I suggest FACE THE MUSIC or TAKE EVERYTHING? Happy reading.
