The 3rd part of our trip took us to the UK for time with the fam, catch ups with friends and a couple of bookish events.
Family is everything and spending proper time with my sis Victoria, brother-in-law Mark and Alex, our nephew (plus their three cats) was brilliant fun. And we caught up with our great aunt Joan, who at 94 is still sharp and funny (and always saves room for dessert). Alex who was 13 the last time we saw him and about my height has shot up to 6 feet. But most importantly, at 15, he’s the same loving, smart and (at times) hilarious boy we’ve always known.
They fam lives on the canals southeast of Rugby and Ben and I walked them every day – always something new to see and someone new to meet, like Mavis, Queen of the Canals (the wee tiny little puppy who rides on the top of her canal boat). It’s a quintessentially English town and we did quintessentially English things, like having picky bits for tea (Mark’s incredible spread) and going to the garden centre to buy lavender.
Next up were bookish events.
Fellow author Kim Nash invited me and Kiley Dunbar to her bookshop Fiction and Fairy Lights for a reader event and it was brilliant fun. I’d met them both before and they are such gorgeous and talented women. Great chat and met lots of new readers (one of the best parts of being an author).
The following week, we headed east to attend the Hertfordshire library event for Zoë Folbigg (writing as Victoria Prince) and Kathleen Whyman. When I originally told them I was coming, they didn’t believe me (because I live across the world) but it was a wonderful event and brilliant to catch up – and spend time with my sis and one of my oldest friends, Suzi, who we stayed with.
So, a fabulous trip to the UK, but it’s also good to be home in Denmark – even though it’s winter and often cold and raining, because it’s also beautiful and sunny sometimes (and we get to play with Fergus, my parent’s dog).
And in between gardening, yoga and catching up with my parents and our friends, I’m back to work.
In a couple of weeks, I’m presenting at the Romance Writers of Australia conference in Darwin. It’s my first time presenting for RWA and I am super excited. I am also looking forward seeing author friends, learning about writing craft and the publishing biz (always learning!), dancing at the gala with Ben – and it’s our first trip to Darwin, so that’s a plus.
I’m also working on Book 9 for Boldwood, plus a secret side project that I am in love with, and I’ve got a couple of manuscript assessments on my desk as well. My Aussie women’s fiction book is on submission – all appendages crossed it finds the perfect home – and I am already plotting Boldwood book 10 (the one set in Prague).
I am BUSY!
But I do love my job.
Okay, enough about me. Get back to your day and I hope it’s a good one.
Thrilled to welcome Laura Carter, one of my author gal pals, to Off the Beaten Track today, celebrating the release of her latest novel Out of Bounds.
LOVE this cover – the chemistry! Let’s find out more…
Welcome Laura and happy publication day! Tell us what inspired you to write Out of Bounds
Thank you! So, Out of Bounds, though a standalone novel, is set in the same world as my previous sports romance book, A Rookie Mistake. I was desperate to return to the world of Sunshine Ranch (the not-for-profit carer respite owned by the Quinn family), as well as the San Antonio Bears American football team. In A Rookie Mistake, we are introduced to a show pony, cinnamon roll, Tanner Pace, and I knew as soon as I met him (without meaning to sound entirely unhinged about my fictional friend) that I wanted to write his story. We also met Annie Quinn in A Rookie Mistake – young, single mom and little sister of Tanner’s teammate, Colton. It was already set to be the perfect storm, and I couldn’t wait to weather it with these characters. What surprised me, and I hadn’t realized about the book until it was complete, was how the book also became a story of a young woman’s strength and the influence of good men as fathers and father figures. How sometimes families can be unexpectedly found and unconventional. Ultimately, love of all kinds is the inspiration behind Out of Bounds.
I love that you’re writing in the same world and giving Tanner and Annie their own story. What do you hope readers take away from Out of Bounds?
I hope readers are left feeling light and fluffy by the end of Out of Bounds. It has depth and heart but is ultimately intended to be a feel-good and swoon worthy sports romance, with incredible but fallible main characters we can all love and respect. As well as some pretty funny driving lesson and animal excrement disasters!
I know you’re an avid reader as well as an author. What’s your most recent read that you’d like to recommend?
Swept Away by Beth O’Leary. It’s a slight pivot on Beth’s usual romcoms (which I adore), with a suspense element. After a one-night-stand on a houseboat, the characters are swept out to sea. It’s full of love, comedy and a fight for survival. Pure escapism. I loved it!
Beth is brilliant. I think The Switch is my fave of hers. I’ll have to check out Swept Away.
What would you say has been your biggest author highlight over the last year?
My young children finally realising what Mummy does as a job. They’ve started proudly telling their teachers and friends that Mummy is an author. It’s incredible to think they’re growing up seeing a hardworking mum but also learning that life is their oyster. Their dreams and passions can become their work. It has been a real life moment for me.
That’s awesome – and I totally agree about instilling that belief in the next generation. My niece is a budding author and I love that she sees it as a career option.
Can you tell us what you’re working on now, or is it a secret?
I’ve recently finished writing the third book in the Wild Card series – another standalone sports romance to follow A Rookie Mistake and Out of Bounds. This time, we’re going to New York and the world of professional ice hockey, though we’ve already briefly met the characters 😉. The Game Plan releases in November. It’s fun and high energy. It was a blast to write and I hope readers will love it! And there will absolutely be cameos from A Rookie Mistake and Out of Bounds.
Brilliant. Well, thank you for telling us about the series and I just know this one will fly!
More about Out of Bounds
A BRAND NEW spicy sports romance ❣️🏈🌶️perfect for fans of Elle Kennedy, Chelsea Curto and Tessa Bailey! ✨
Every book in the Wild Card series can be read as a standalone.
Tropes: 🏈 football romance 💕 friends to lovers 🤠 cowboys 👶 single mother 📚 working for a better life 🌶 spice
She knows better than to fall for another football player – especially her brother’s best friend…
As a single mother, Annie Quinn knows she should steer clear of football players, if her son’s absent father is anything to go by. Determined to prove she can raise Nelson on her own, she’s decided to go back to school. There’s just one problem: she refuses to rely on her brother Colton for rides into the city.
Tanner Pace has always known Annie Quinn is strictly off limits. Colton is his teammate and best friend, so she’s more like a sister. When he offers to teach her to drive, it’s just to help out a friend. At least, that’s what he tells himself. Because these days, Annie has transformed into a strong and independent woman – one he can’t seem to stay away from.
Somewhere between unpredictable drives and slow Texas sunsets, sparks fly and Annie forgets why she decided never to trust a sports star again.
As much as Tanner wants something to happen, he knows it can’t. Annie is his best friend’s sister. Completely, undeniably out of bounds… but are some rules meant to be broken?
Laura carter is an Amazon top 10 and internationally bestselling author of romcoms and sports romance, translated into multiple languages. Exploring relationships and getting under the skin of her characters is Laura’s passion. She takes inspiration from everything she loves from sports to law, from music and books to on screen romances, and from her own friends and family (shhhhhh, don’t tell them!). Laura lives in Jersey and loves nothing more than being active outdoors.
If you’ve read My Big Greek Island Ex-scape, here’s a little something for you – a bonus scene that happens long before the book begins…
I almost didn’t go out the night my life changed forever.
But with my best mate, Duncan, standing in my doorway giving me shit about studying on a Friday night – going on and on for at least five minutes – I finally relented. If only to shut him up.
Turf Tavern was stuffed to the gills that night, but Duncan pushed through the crowd to the bar to get us each a pint while I did my best to stake my claim a square foot of floor near the back.
A Britney Spears song came on – ‘Womaniser’ – and that’s when I saw her. A gorgeous girl about my age – long dark-blonde hair, heart-shaped face, enormous blue eyes, and her body… she was tiny in stature but curvy and I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
Neither could anyone else – unsurprising considering she was standing on table belting out the song. Badly. She couldn’t sing to save her life, and she only knew half the words, filling in the gaps with made up lyrics and gibberish. But none of that stopped and she performed the hell out of that song.
When it ended, the crowd erupted with hoots, whistles, and cheers, she took a bow, and I rushed over to offer my hand to help her off the table.
She locked eyes with mine and I swear to god my heart stopped for at least five seconds. Then she took my hand and carefully stepped onto a chair then the floor. I towered over her, even though she was wearing these super high heels.
‘That was amazing,’ I said, stooping to talk in her ear.
‘I know,’ she replied, and I burst out laughing.
‘Can I buy you a drink?’
She was about to answer when Duncan found me, shoving a pint at me and sending a tiny wave of lager onto the floor.
‘Sorry, mate,’ he said, then he noticed her – the girl I’d already fallen in love with – and a sly grin spread across his face. ‘Hi, I’m Duncan.’
He stuck out his hand and she shook it.
‘I’m Ally, and your friend just asked if he could buy me a drink.’
Duncan’s gaze swung in my direction, then he looked between me and her – twice.
‘Ah. Well, then all yours, mate,’ he said before patting me on the arm and disappearing into the crowd.
When I turned back to the girl – Ally – she was watching me with an amused look on her face. I shook my head quickly to clear it.
‘Sorry, uh… let’s get you one of these, eh?’ I asked, holding up the pint.
She broke into a smile that lit her from within, and the entire Turf Tavern – the people, the music, the bar – receded into the background. There was just Ally and me. I was a goner.
‘Lead the way.’
I didn’t want to lose her in the throng – or ever – so I reached for her hand. Her tiny hand fitted into mine perfectly and I led her towards the bar where I asked her what she wanted.
‘A pint’s good,’ she replied – not a white wine, not a vodka soda – a pint. If I hadn’t already been falling hard for this girl, that might’ve sealed the deal.
While we waited to get served, I spent every second trying to think of something clever and interesting to say and failing miserably.
When we each had a drink, she signalled for us to move to end of the bar and I followed.
‘Cheers,’ she said, tapping her pint glass against mine.
‘Cheers.’
I watched in awe as she drank deeply, then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. I took a sip, sensing I’d need to keep my wits about me.
‘So where did you learn to do that?’ I asked.
‘Drink from a glass? I’ve been doing that since I was about two.’
I sniggered, taking the jibe good-naturedly. ‘I meant the performance,’ I said.
‘Ahh, my sister, Claude. She’s been sneaking me into pubs and clubs since I was sixteen. My first time was a duet.’
‘She sounds a bit wild.’
‘Oh, she’s a lot wild. You have no idea.’ And that was coming from the girl who’d just performed to the entire bar.
‘So, you’re studying here?’ I asked. It was a fair assumption but not everyone in Oxford who was my age was a student.
‘Yep – English Lit and PPE.’
‘PPE?’ I asked.
‘Philosophy, Politics, and Economics,’ she replied, giving me a funny look. I probably should have known that. ‘What about you?’ she asked, eyeing me up as if my appearance alone would reveal the answer.
‘Engineering,’ we said at the exact same time.
She nodded at me knowingly – some might call smugly.
‘How did you…?’ I asked with a laugh.
‘Engineering students have a certain way about them.’
My brows shot up. ‘Is that so? Should I be insulted by that?’
‘Absolutely not. Without engineers, the world would literally fall apart.’
She took another drink of her pint, her eyes fixed on mine, and I basked in the glow of her compliment.
I knew right then that I never wanted the night to end.
And if that has you intrigued and you haven’t read My Big Greek Island Ex-scape, check it out here.
Talk about a pinch-me moment – especially when seven years I was still in the querying trenches, waiting for my one yes. It came on January 31, 2019 and you can read about it here.
But back to now… what does a publication day look like?
The lead up
My author copies arrived last week and it’s always a thrill to do the unboxing.
Check out my unboxing video here. With thanks to my Aunty Candyce for being DoP for the shoot.
Then I record the publication day video (super fun this time) and take promo photos of my book. This is my fave from this year’s photo shoot featuring Coco (wearing black) and Pumpkin (wearing orange). The puppies aren’t mine (I wish) but were visiting at the time with my aunt and uncle.
In the lead up to publication, I keep an eye on NetGalley reviews from early readers, such as these two. Early reviews for this one have been terrific and I’m thrilled that Ally and her adventures in Greece are resonating with readers. After wrapping up a 5-book series, this was a departure for me and I really got to play, especially with the sub-plot and the heat level. If you want to learn more about my inspiration for this book, you can read about it here.
I also keep an eye on pre-sales, rankings and charts.
Today
Well, I’d intended to sleep in but at 4:30 this morning, my over-active (menopausal) brain tossed up THE BEST plot idea for my work-in-progress. By 5:00, it had grown legs (and arms and a torso), so I got up and went straight to my desk to sketch out the next two chapters.
Next up is social media, posting across my accounts. You can check those posts out on Instagram, Facebook and Threads (and follow me if you don’t already). But part of the marketing for this book is that Ally Novak is the Divorced Diva, an influencer and we created her social media grids.
While getting back to writing Book 16 (Book 15 is already in the editing stages), I check socials and sales throughout the day.
And these beautiful flowers arrived from my publisher Boldwood Books.
I love getting flowers, but publication day flowers are super special because they celebrate the 100s (if not 1000s) of hours that goes into writing, editing and launching a book.
And this evening, we went for a publication day dinner at one of our new locals Flame Trees. As always the food was sublime and thank you to my darling Ben for spoiling me rotten.
So, there you have it – part celebration, part workday and all of it living a dream come true.
Thank you to my editor, Emily, and my agent, Lina, and the teams at Boldwood Books and Ulverscroft (who publish my audio and large print versions).
And thank you for reading my books. It’s a pleasure and a privilege to be an author, but I only get to do it because of you.
I love a good love triangle. I love reading them and watching them, and I love writing them, especially the romcom version.
Where the non-comedic love triangle will often explore deeper, darker themes of heartbreak, loss and forever wondering ‘what if?’ – not just for the person who is left alone, but also for the person who makes the choice – the romcom version allows a ‘lighter touch’, finding the humour in the situation.
In The One That I Want, book 3 in the Ever After Agency series, I had a great time exploring the love triangle trope, especially as for some time our heroine, Greta, has yet to meet one of the love interests. He’s Greta’s first match with the matchmaking agency and it’s terrific fun (for us) when she develops an attraction to a man she’s never met, based solely on a biography and a photo. With her imagination running wild, her bestie questions whether he can live up to the version of him she’s created inside her mind.
Another aspect of love triangles I enjoyed exploring was the complexity of making the ‘right’ decision – the one that will have readers cheering our heroine on and shouting, ‘Yes!’
Wanting to make the right decision comes with a hefty dose of conflict, as well as to-and-froing between the two love interests. And even when Greta decides which man she wants – in true romcom fashion – the path to finding love becomes even trickier, making for an even juicier read.
For those who loved Season 2 of Bridgerton (or the book it was based on, The Viscount Who Loved Me), Anthony’s internal conflict – him wanting to make the ‘right’ decision – was a battle between duty and desire. This battle was compelling – often comedic, but also leading to some of the sexiest (but not raciest) scenes of the season.
I also enjoy when the love triangle leads to the main character’s growth and development, with both love interests bringing out something special in the main character. As readers and viewers, we see this play out in one of my favourite romcom series, Bridget Jones’s Diary.
There’s Daniel Cleaver, the sexy bad boy who awakens Bridget’s sexuality, sassiness and grit – a downturn in their relationship prompts her to quit her ho-hum job and get into television. And, of course, Mark D’Arcy is the curmudgeon, who despite all outward appearances tells Bridget he likes her ‘just the way you are’ (swoon). Bridget is transformed by her relationships by both men, gaining both confidence and self-acceptance.
And if you haven’t seen the latest movie, Mad About the Boy, there’s a whole new love triangle. It’s also BRILLIANT by the way.
In The One That I Want, Greta becomes much more self-aware about what she does – and doesn’t – want from a relationship, largely from her interactions with both love interests.
I hope you enjoy reading Greta’s romantic escapades and I’m sure you will love who she eventually chooses. I did.
Hi. If you’re new here, I’m Sandy. I’m a menopausal Gen-Xer in my mid-50s and I write romcoms.
This is the most recent photo of me (I promise) and yes, that is Sam Heughan and no, I will not stop sharing this photo
I do other things too, but the two things I want to talk about today are menopause and romcoms (but not in that order).
And if you think that mid-50s is a little old to be writing romcoms, then [spoiler alert] I’m about to blow your mind.
I know a LOT of romcom authors — a MEET CUTE of romcom authors (for that must be the collective noun, right?) — and most of the romcom authors I know are 40+, with a lot of us in our 50s and 60s – and yes, even 70s. There are a handful of 30-somethings in my (large) romcom-y circle, but guess what? They will soon be 40-somethings and very likely will still be writing romcoms.
Now why, when most romcom MCs (that’s main characters if you’re here solely for the ‘menopause’ part of today’s proceedings,) are in their 20s and 30s, are so many 40+ romcom authors doing such a brilliant job at writing romcoms people enjoy?
To address this question, I’ve prepared a list:
Because we’ve lived it. We’ve lived our 20s and 30s so we know what it’s like to be 20- or 30-something
That’s it—that’s the list. And sure, we may need to research the latest vernacular or stay abreast of pop cultural references, but writing the truth of falling in love and heartbreak and moving on and happily ever afters? We excel at that. Because we’ve lived it.
Now, this is not to disparage younger authors — NOT. AT. ALL. There are brilliant authors in their 20s and 30s writing hilarious and heartfelt romcoms and smashing it. Emily Henry is the reigning queen of romcoms for a reason — or one of them. Not playing favourites, I promise.
But back to the middle-aged romcom authors…
I started writing my first book — a romcom — when I was in my 40s. It sparked a series and in the final book A Wedding in Tuscany the main character turns 40 (which, as an aside, is a very sexy age so I wrote lots of sex into that book). By the time this book was published, I’d turned 53, but I was writing late-30s into the 40s and that felt authentic to me. I could draw on my (fairly) recent past.
Now I’m in my 50s, I’ve been asked to write 20-somethings (because most BookTokers — TikTokers who create content about books — are 20-something), which I can do, but feels less authentic. My publisher and I have settled on 30-something MCs, which suits us both. For now.
The thing is, middle-aged people want romcoms too (and we have the disposable income to buy them, but that’s a whole other post).
We want romcoms for us, about us — about finding love later in life when we’re established in our careers and know who we are and what we will and will not put up with, when we’re well travelled and financially secure, when we’re divorced or single parents, when we’re menopausal (or manopausal) and ache all the time, when we have good credit and can buy expensive things without it becoming a plot point, when our friendships are decades old and our college years are a distant memory…
And there are middle-aged people falling (hilariously) in love on our screens — Ticket to Paradise, Mother of the Bride, Shotgun Wedding…
So I really thought, this many books in, that I would get to write those romcoms, get to tell the stories of my contemporaries — become the Nora Ephron of the publishing world (I know, I know, in my dreams — maybe Nora Ephron’s second cousin, once removed’s barista).
But alas, no. Maybe one day when the BookTok juggernaut has had its moment and the Booktokers age out of romcoms solely about 20- and 30-somethings and the publishing world wants to find the next Kathy Lette or Marian Keyes.
Which (clumsy segue) bring me to my second topic of the day: menopause.
It’s a really unsexy word, I know, but there’s something incredible happening across the world right this very second. Gen-X is in MENOPAUSE! Well, not all of us, but the majority. Let’s just agree that it’s enough of us to launch a MENOPAUSE REVOLUTION.
Gen-X is tackling menopause the same way we tackle everything: unapologetically, loudly, and head (fucking) on. We are educating ourselves, we are sharing our experiences, we are proudly being menopausal.
And to the younger generations of women who are coming up behind us, you’re welcome. You will not have to wander blindly into peri-menopause and menopause, having to decipher what the hell is happening to you and convince your doctor that you are not just imagining it. You will have knowledge and resources and support, because Gen-X is in the menopausal trenches right now and we are not putting up with society’s hush-hush-it’s-too-taboo-to-talk-about-menopause BS!
Phew, it felt good to get that off my chest.
Anyway, my contribution to the menopause revolution is that I wrote a book. It’s called What the Fuck, Menopause? The ABCs and WTFs of Menopause. It’s one of those laugh-out-loud gift books that you buy for your girlfriends and sisters and besties and work wives — and for yourself, of course.
I wrote it a couple of years ago when I was feeling particularly pissed off with the world (which definitely comes across in V1) and it’s gone through several iterations since. Now it’s an I-see-you-I-got-you-we’re-in-this-together kind of book — and it’s arguably the funniest thing I’ve ever written (although, my next romcom is fricking hilarious, so maybe second-funniest).
Since my agent started submitting it for publication, we’ve gotten close three times with three big-name publishers on three continents. All three editors saw what I see — this could be a bestselling book that launches an entire brand. And that the time is now. NOW!
The first rejected it because, while the 30-something editor LOVED it, her menopausal colleagues were squeamish about how unapologetically loud it was — so, Gen-Xers not being true to our generation. The second publisher rejected it because it was too close to something else they had in the pipeline — could have been bundled, could have be cross-promoted, but no.
And the third publisher has just rejected it because the menopause market is now crowded, which it wasn’t two years ago when we started shopping this around. Gah! They also want me to become a TikTok sensation in this space and then come back to them — maybe then they will publish it.
Oh, the irony of TikTok being such a strong influence over two different trajectories of my writing career when I have purposefully steered clear of it — and for no other reason than I simply cannot carve out the time to become good at something else when I am writing 3 books (each at various stages), marketing my backlist, and doing paid consulting work.
So, what next for this menopausal romcom author?
I will noodle on what to do with my menopause book — watch this space (but it won’t be starting a TikTok channel) — and I will continue to write heartfelt and hilarious romcoms, because (quite frankly) I’m bloody good at it.
And pssst… I’m also working on two non-romcoms, but that is another blog post as well.
My latest book baby is out in the world today. I Knew You Were Trouble is the 5th and final book in the Ever After Agency series, which I started writing in November 2022 for Boldwood Books. If you’ve yet to pick it up, I’d recommend starting with Book 1 Match Me If You Can, which introduces Poppy Dean, matchmaker extraordinaire, and the cast of characters who continue throughout the series.
This one is a revenge romcom, our villain a spoilt, conniving ‘trust fund baby’ who collects fiancées like he’s making a human charm bracelet. Our heroine Kate discovers this when fiancée number two’s brother, the scrummy Dutchman Willem, shows up on her London doorstep to tell her his sister is engaged to her fiancé. Follow that?
What ensues is a deliciously fun romp revealing a third fiancée who lives in Verona, jet-setting between cities to uncover, then fix this mess, a revenge plot involving Kate’s former matchmaker Poppy, and a will-they-won’t-they, it’s-really-a-bad-idea romance emerging between Kate and Willem.
I set it in London, like the rest of the series, as well as Amsterdam and Verona, inspired by my own travels and my little homage to three destinations that featured in our 2024 sabbatical.
I absolutely LOVED living in Amsterdam. We housesat for friends over the summer, giving us time to immerse ourselves in the city and providing inspiration for a setting and a love interest. It’s such a vibrant, beautiful city and many of the locations in the book are places we went to.
We also spent time in Verona, our first trip there, and I fell in love with it. I’d already planned to include it in this book, but walking the streets, eating the incredible food, engaging with the culture and history… those parts of the book practically wrote themselves.
And the revenge plot? That idea came early on, but we wanted to leave it until later in the series as Poppy is matchmaker, not a vigilante. And yes, Poppy features in this book as she does in every other book in the series, her point of view giving us insight into the love story – almost like a narrator.
I really hope you enjoy this book. And for series readers, I’ve prepared something special, an epilogue for each of the five couples. I’ll be posting it soon, or you can have a sneak peak here. WARNING! Major spoilers for this book, so don’t read it first if you don’t like spoilers.
Very excited to reveal the cover for 12 Tropes of Christmas, a Christmas romance story anthology I’ve contributed to along with 11 other romance authors. Yes, that’s 12 Christmassy romances, each based on their own trope! Read about my story below.
Battle for the Christmas Bonus (Enemies to Lovers)
Brilliant advertising creative, Sophie Christou, has an excellent idea for Thompson & Co’s annual Christmas advert, and is confident she’s got a shot at pitching the winning campaign. The only potential obstacle? Bad Boy Drew Parker, the sharp and savvy work rival Sophie has been secretly lusting after for years.
Drew, who has been taunting Sophie for years to mask his true feelings, knows his concept for the Christmas ad is a slam-dunk. But how can he convince her to be his ‘second’ on the campaign, when she can barely stand the sight of him?
When the winning campaign goes south due to an unforeseen development, how will the rivals set aside their differences – and ignore their growing attraction – to deliver a world-class Christmas advert in time?
Other authors, titles and tropes
And look at the rest of this lineup!
Ida Brady – Holly and the Bad Beau (Good Girl/Bad Boy & Second Chance)
Heidi Catherine – Ho, Ho … Whoa! (Holiday Fling)
Anna Foxkirk – Merry Hell (Jilted Bride)
Anne Freeman – Sing it Again, Carol (One Married, Twice Shy)
Louisa Duval – ‘Twas the Grump before Christmas (Grumpy/Sunshine)
Jodi Gibson – Under the Mistletoe (Friends to Lovers)
Nicola Marsh – Christmas Castaways (Brother’s Best Friend)
Megan Mayfair – Merry Quizmas (Fake Relationship)
Cassandra O’Leary – Girl in the Snow (Forced Proximity)
Davina Stone – Angel for Christmas (Sports Romance)
Sharyn Swanepoel – The Reality of Christmas (Reality TV Romance)
Pre-order your copy now!
12 Tropes of Christmas will be available in paperback and eBook through Amazon from the 1st of October. Pre-order now from only 99c.
Just touching base to see if you are following me in all the places you will hear my bookish news, including price drops and new releases and cover reveals.
So excited to reveal the cover for my next book with Boldwood Books, Shout Out to My Ex.
Out February 14, 2024
About the book
Fashion designer, Elle Bliss, is unlucky in love.
She’s still hung up on her first love, Leo, who ended things abruptly, then mysteriously disappeared – and a decade on, no one else can measure up.
But Elle’s all-time dream of showing in Paris Fashion Week is about to become a reality, and she has no time to dwell on her dismal love life. That is until Leo – now going by Lorenzo – comes back into her life.
A celebrated up-and-coming shoe designer, ‘Lorenzo’ is nothing like the man she fell in love with. Rude, brash and with an ego the size of Paris, he’s too caught up in his own celebrity.
But as they constantly cross paths in the city of love, Elle begins to question how much of ‘Lorenzo’ is an act – a persona for the cameras. Because deep down, she can see glimpses of the man he was, and feelings from all those years ago become impossible to ignore…
Join Elle in the most romantic city in the world in this laugh out loud enemies-to-lovers romance, perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Emily Henry.
Praise for the Ever After Agency series
‘…another brilliant romcom – a series set in a matchmaking agency is a match made in heaven and I am fully signed up!’ ~ Pernille Hughes
‘Sandy Barker’s books are the bookish equivalent of a perfect serve: two parts romance, one part humour with a generous dash of escapism. I can never wait to dive in!’ ~ Nina Kaye
‘Full of fun – a fast-paced, exciting new series with love, heart, friendship and joy.’ ~ Kim Nash
‘You can’t really go wrong with a Sandy Barker romcom – charm, romance and humour.’ ~ Julie Houston
‘I love Sandy’s writing and end up falling in love with all of her heroes!’ ~ Katie Ginger
‘…warm, witty and wonderfully romantic. Knowing there are more to come definitely makes me happy ever after.’ ~ Kathleen Whyman
‘This series is witty, fun and, of course, wonderfully romantic.’ ~ Anita Faulkner
Sandy Barker | Author 
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