And now for something completely different …
I mean, really really different.
My June 2022 title SEXTETTE is not a contemporary, which is why it looks completely different. The cover is by Victoria Cooper (thanks Victoria!) and I hope it evokes the period. This book is set 1905-1907 in England and is a sweet, low-angst, ensemble Edwardian frolic (featuring F/F, F/M, and M/M romances among a group of friends in Oxford) in which basically everyone is queer. If that sounds like fun (it was definitely fun to write), click the image below for product link!
A few key things about SEXTETTE:
Structurally, this novel is three novelettes bound together by prologue and epilogue, devices I don’t normally employ.
The six main characters’ stories are interwoven somewhat in the manner of ‘Pulp Fiction.’
All six main characters’ stories are given in first-person point-of-view.
What else?
Well, this book has an interesting (to me) origin story. The first novel I ever wrote was a historical romance set during the French Revolution. I wrote a follow-up featuring a character from the first. (The first of those books is presently unavailable while I decide what to do with it.) I then began writing a third, featuring the redemption of the villain from book two, because who doesn’t like a good redemption story?
Except … his story was a hard one, and it involved historical elements that aren’t at all romantic, and despite some bits and pieces that I still like, I didn’t feel I had the wherewithal to complete the book in a way that would satisfy me (which is, when you are a largely-undiscovered writer, really important).
But … that character and his situation were perfect back-story for one of the characters in SEXTETTE. Which had also languished unfinished for years, because the initial concept (circa 2016) didn’t work with the way I actually write.
Anyway, I picked up the project again in April 2021 and started messing around with it in between writing other things. In September I had a brainstorm, realizing what I needed to do. I ‘finished’ the book in April 2022, finding and working with my cover artist along the way. Now it’s been polished to the best of my ability and I’m ready to release it into the wild.
This concept and cover may attract eyeballs that have slid over my previous books without connecting. I assure those eyeballs that elements important to SEXTETTE are present in my other work as well - diversity, found family, tolerance, creativity - and that the writing style (historical setting notwithstanding) is similar.
To whomever finds any of my work: if you enjoy a title, please consider leaving a positive rating or review. It really helps! Thanks for reading.