Second Time Around
This novel started off as a fanfic. I decided to take the original plot and create original characters. I won’t go into the fandom. The story itself is no longer on the forums. Most of the book is original material anyway. Only some passages, which have nothing to do with the fandom itself, have remained.
The premise is that the two main characters knew each other years ago. Quinn, who has his own company, was married and about to be a father. Georgia was still young but goes on to start a career in journalism. Quinn’s wife dies in an accident. He decides to leave New Zealand for England, returning 13 years later. Georgia, meanwhile, has got married, and divorced and is a mum of a little boy.
When they begin dating, they both have reasons to be hesitant about the relationship.
The point I wanted to make about this is that it’s not wrong to go on to another relationship. It doesn’t mean you have to forget about your previous relationship. Especially if there is something that keeps you connected to that person.
This was a sweet romance that was less formulaic in my mind. I’ve grown up reading romance books, which are great if you just want something light. I usually prefer something a bit deeper. Romance novels have their place though. Not all of us are intellectual readers and do prefer light, almost formulaic stories. I wanted to stay away from that by using the relationship to explore the issues of falling in love the second time around.
I’ve gone off writing romances with more explicit scenes. I’m just not as comfortable with them. Anyway, my feeling about intimacy is that it’s far more than just sex. Intimacy is about sharing part of yourself, in my mind. It’s being comfortable enough with someone to tease them. That’s partly explored in the story.
One of the things I do love is the father-daughter relationship. I noticed I’ve tended to write male characters that can be bad husbands or fathers. But in this one, he’s a great father.
There’s a lot of humour in the book too. I think that’s just as important as action or romance.
It was a fun story to write, and probably one of the easiest since I didn’t have to do much research on it.
And finally, the cover. The story is set in Auckland. One of the things I do like about the city is the lights at night. Especially the Sky Tower, which does feature in a chapter. When I was getting my friend Carol to create the cover, she thought about a daytime scene. But the lighting is just so pretty! So that’s the background to the cover.
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