Falling for the Secret Princess – Kandy Shepherd

Sometimes I write a book and a secondary character clamours to be heard. They nag away at me until I know I just have to give them their own story!

Princess Natalia of Montovia was one such character. She’s the sister of Crown Prince Tristan, and appeared briefly in Tristan’s story Crown Prince’s Chosen Bride (Harlequin Romance 2016). 

I really liked Natalia (I know that sounds kinda weird as she’s a fictional character from my own imagination, but we writers really feel we know our people!) and loved giving Natalia her own wonderful romance with gorgeous hero, Finn O’Neill.

Falling for the Secret Princess will be published by Harlequin Romance in September this year, in both e-book and print.

Here’s the blurb: 

A reunion…

…fit for a princess in disguise!

At his friend’s wedding, millionaire Finn couldn’t take his eyes off the gorgeous stranger whose naivety intrigued his cynical heart…until she suddenly fled! 

So while on business in Montovia, he’s shocked to come face-to-face with her—as Princess Natalia!

Finn’s once again compelled by their instant connection, but Natalia’s duty makes a future impossible. Unless he can convince her their love is worth breaking a few royal rules for…

I hope you enjoy Natalia and Finn’s story!

Kandy Shepherd is a multi-published, award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She lives on a small farm in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her family and a menagerie of four-legged friends.

Visit Kandy at her website

www.kandyshepherd.com

Connect with Kandy on Facebook, Twitter,Pinterest and Instagram

How I start a story – Kandy Shepherd

I’m starting to write a new book—if all goes well, it will be my sixteenth for Harlequin Romance. My fourteenth is out now, Second Chance with the Single Dad and the fifteenth will be out in September.

So how do I start? I have a character from an earlier book who has been clamoring for his story. (I won’t go into any detail as who knows what might change after these preliminary thoughts!) It’s his time. I think I’ve found him the perfect woman, however neither he nor know this yet. There’ll be quite some mind changing to do to get them together!

I like to have a clear idea of what my characters look like, what they wear, where they live. I start a Pinterest board for each story and have a lot of fun with it. If you’d like to see my boards for my published stories, why not visit my Pinterest Boards?

 I have a special notebook for each book I write, to jot down ideas, try out paragraphs, keep by my bed in case I wake up at night with a brilliant idea that will be forgotten by morning if I don’t write it down.

Isn’t this notebook with the wisteria beautiful? It’s probably my favorite. I think I’ll have to include a scene with wisteria in the new story in honour of it! Yes, I do have nightmares about losing the notebook but so far that hasn’t happened. Fingers crossed it doesn’t!

 Some writers use computer programs to keep track of everything for their book. If I was writing a big book with lots of research and multiple story lines, I might try that. In the meantime, it either goes in the notebook or in a file on my computer. A timeline for a story is a must or I can get very muddled. But my version of a timeline is very simple, just a roughly sketched calendar for the months the story spans. 

 Now I’m working on the first chapter, the most important to get readers hooked into the story. It takes me forever! I might rewrite it many times until I get it right and move on to the next chapters which tend to flow more smoothly.

 So that’s where I’m at and I have to get cracking! A deadline that seems comfortably months away has a habit of sneaking up on me at a remarkable pace… So wish me luck as I set off on a new writing journey!

Second Chance with the Single Dad is a February 2019 release from Harlequin Romance in North America; Mills & Boon True Love in the UK; and Mills & Boon Forever Romance in Australia and New Zealand.

Kandy Shepherd is a multi-published, award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She lives on a small farm in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her family and a menagerie of four-legged friends.

Visit Kandy at her website

www.kandyshepherd.com

Connect with Kandy on Facebook, Twitter,Pinterestand Instagram

The appeal of the single dad

There’s something very appealing, isn’t there, about a loving dad and his sweet baby?

I had a friend who was a single dad with a dear little girl. He went on a walking vacation with her in a backpack and said he couldn’t get over how much female attention he attracted. I told him I didn’t know why he was so surprised!

I like to challenge myself in my writing. My February release for Harlequin Romance, Second Chance with the Single Dad, is my first “single dad” story. It’s also my first “friends to lovers” story.

Girl-next-door schoolteacher Georgia Lang and handsome self-made millionaire Wil Hudson go way back as “just friends.” They know each other so well they claim to read each other’s thoughts. But not everyone wishes the platonic friends well and the friendship ends abruptly and painfully. What happens when Wil becomes a single dad to adorable baby Nina and asks Georgia for help? Can they salvage the friendship—and perhaps acknowledge the tiny flickering flames that just might have been there all along?

Here's the blurb for the story:

From long-lost friends...

To newfound family?

“Georgia and Wil were best friends until he married and disappeared from her life. Now he’s back, asking Georgia to forget the past and help him secure his future—the daughter he never knew he had! Georgia’s heart goes out to new dad Wil, but there’s an uncharted chemistry fizzing between them and she must protect her heart. Can they confront their unspoken attraction and finally become a family?”

I’m always seeing on social media happily married couples saying they married their best friend. Do you think friends-to-lovers is a good basis for a happy relationship? Or do you prefer the quick flare of instant attraction?

I’d love to see your comments! Post a comment to be in the draw for a signed copy of my new release Second Chance with the Single Dad. Please include your email contact if you’d like to be in the draw.

Second Chance with the Single Dad is a February 2019 release from Harlequin Romance in North America; Mills & Boon True Love in the UK; and Mills & Boon Forever Romance in Australia and New Zealand.

Kandy Shepherd is a multi-published, award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She lives on a small farm in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her family and a menagerie of four-legged friends.

Visit Kandy at her website

www.kandyshepherd.com

Connect with Kandy on Facebook, Twitter,Pinterestand Instagram

Merry Christmas to all! - Kandy Shepherd

Wherever you are in the world, I’d like to wish Tote Bags ’n’ Blogs readers a very Merry Christmas and for those who don’t celebrate a very happy holiday season.

I haven’t got my tree up yet, or even thought about the festive menu, but I know I’ll get it done as I do every year with the help of my family! (My kitties do their best to “help” with the tree, too.)

I have a new book out in February 2019. Second Chance with the Single Dad is a friends-to- lovers reunion story, with an adorable baby girl in a supporting role. Oh, and a cat and a few horses too in this emotional, feel-good story from Harlequin Romance! 

 Christmas is a time of sunshine and outdoor living in Australia where I live. Whether summer or winter,  I hope you’re having good weather to get into the festive season!

Thank you to everyone who has read my posts throughout the year and a big thank you to Lee for having me as a contributor. 

Second Chance with the Single Dad is a February 2019 release from Harlequin Romance in North America; Mills & Boon True Love in the UK; and Mills & Boon Forever Romance in Australia and New Zealand.

Kandy Shepherd is a multi-published, award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She lives on a small farm in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her family and a menagerie of four-legged friends.

Visit Kandy at her website

www.kandyshepherd.com

Connect with Kandy on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram

A touch of spring - Kandy Shepherd

 In this topsy-turvy world where it’s Autumn in one part of the world and Spring in the other, my little farm garden is welcoming in the new season.

It’s very early Spring in my part of DownUnder. We’ve had an unseasonably cold Winter with heavy frosts and bone-chilling winds. Worse, our state is officially 100 percent in drought. This weekend, however, we had some rain, the most we have had in eighteen months.

While my Spring garden is very pretty, the plants are more subdued in their growth this year, no doubt because of the lack of water. But the fruit tree blossom, daffodils, jonquils and snowdrops are doing their best to cheer up the garden.

For those of you longing for crisp Fall days and even snow before too long, we are looking forward to warmth and sun and, please, some more good rains!

Whatever time of year it is, I always find time to curl up with a good book. That is, when I’m not writing one. My next book for Harlequin Romance, Second Chance With The Single Dad, comes out in February 2019. In the meantime I’m writing, writing, writing!

Wherever you are in the world, I hope you’re enjoying good weather!

My most recent book Best Man and the Runaway Bride was a July 2018 release from Harlequin Romance in North America; Mills & Boon True Love in the UK; and Mills & Boon Forever Romance in Australia and New Zealand.

Kandy Shepherd is a multi-published, award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She lives on a small farm in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her family and a menagerie of four-legged friends.

Visit Kandy at her website

www.kandyshepherd.com

Connect with Kandy on Facebook, Twitter,Pinterest and Instagram