Celebrating romantic love - Kandy Shepherd

I baked this cake for my husband’s birthday a few weeks ago and people are suggesting I make it for him again for Valentine’s Day. But I most likely won’t—because we don’t tend to make much of a fuss about Valentine’s Day.

My husband believes Valentine’s Day is only for unmarried people—and as we’re coming up for twenty-seven years together that kinda counts us out! There’s also the fact that February 14 falls between his birthday in late January and mine in February and Valentine’s Day seems to fall through the cracks.

It’s not that my husband isn’t romantic, he’s known for his thoughtful gifts. One memorable one was the heart-shaped amethyst ring he bought me for our tenth wedding anniversary. (Okay, so I had pointed it out in the jeweler’s window accompanied by a big hint, so he had help!)

Amethyst is also my birthstone (February) and purple my favorite color so I have lots of reasons for loving this ring. Interestingly enough, the Christian Roman martyr St Valentine, remembered for supposedly conducting clandestine weddings for soldiers forbidden to marry, is said to have worn an amethyst ring. So my heart shaped amethyst ring seems truly symbolic of romantic love and a Valentine’s reminder all year round. That said, I certainly appreciate flowers and heart-shaped chocolates!

What about you? Is Valentine’s Day important to you? Romantic? Over-commercialised? Exclusionary or exciting for single people? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

I can’t gift you with cake or jewelry for Valentine’s Day, but I can share a copy of my latest Harlequin Romance A Diamond in Her Stocking.

Make a comment to be in the draw for a signed copy of A Diamond in Her Stocking. Please include your email address in your comment if you want to be included in the draw.

Kandy Shepherd is an 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.

Watch out for Kandy’s next release for Harlequin Romance From Paradise to…Pregnant! in June.

Visit Kandy at her website

www.kandyshepherd.com

Connect with Kandy on Facebook and Twitter

Book at the beach - Kandy Shepherd

Look at that lucky book of mine! I wish I were sitting on that beach towel with it in beautiful Byron Bay in northern New South Wales.

Sadly no such luck—A Diamond in Her Stocking is with my daughter as she takes a break from her university studies. It’s summer Down Under and the long summer vacation still stretches out in front of her. She’s having so much fun I doubt any reading is being done!

Meanwhile I’m at home writing. I had three books for Harlequin Romance released in 2014 and hopefully the same number for 2015. That’s why I’m writing, writing, writing and not lying on the beach. But I’m also rejoicing that I work from home, my time is my own and I’m doing what I always wanted to do—writing romance.

When I left my “day job” I thought I was sliding into semi-retirement when what I really did was head into another fulfiling job. It was a change I’m so very glad I made.

I’m not great on New Year resolutions. It’s a tad too embarrassing when the year rolls on and the ridiculously unachievable resolutions still haven’t happened. But I find the new year is a good time to think about change.

This year I really am thinking about making regular exercise an indispensable part of my daily routine in response to all this time sitting in front of the computer. So far, so good because it’s summer I’m able to swim which is no hardship at all! (I just wish I was at that beach with my book!)

Have you got change in mind for this year? Or did you make a change last year that turned out for the best?

Whatever you live you live in the world, whether the new year starts in winter of summer I hope you’re enjoying a fresh start to 2015!

Kandy’s third Dolphin Bay story for Harlequin Romance, A Diamond in Her Stocking, was a December 2014 release and is available now.

Kandy Shepherd is an 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.

What’s in a (hero) name? – Kandy Shepherd

When it comes to naming a romance hero, there are certain names that do it for me: Matt, Nick, Sam, Tom, Joe and Luke have all starred as heroes in my novels.

But one of my very favorite guy names is Jesse. I don’t know why it conjures up tall, dark and super sexy for me but it always has.

I’ve met a few Jesses in my time—and they’ve all been charming. Did their mothers have some intuition about what kind of men their infant boys would become? Or did they just like the name?

Because Jesse is such a favorite with me, I don’t know why I used it for a secondary character in my first book for Harlequin Romance The Summer They Never Forgot.

The hero of that book, Ben Morgan, had a brother Jesse. That Jesse was quite a heartbreaker became apparent both in that book and the second Dolphin Bay book The Tycoon and the Wedding Planner. Had I thrown away that wonderful name on a secondary character?

All made sense when I went to write the third book in the series, A Diamond in Her Stocking. This was going to be Jesse’s story—Jesse the handsome heartbreaker was going to fall very hard in this book.

Before writing the story I had a strong image in my of what my Jesse looked like:  “Jesse Morgan. All six foot three of him—black haired, blue-eyed, movie-star handsome.”

Jesse Spencer

So did I look for inspiration in gorgeous celebrities named Jesse? How about Jesse Spencer from House and Chicago Fire? I’ve always liked him, even when he was in Australia soapies and teen flicks.

Jesse Metcalf

Then there was Jesse Metcalf. It wasn’t just the Desperate Housewives who swooned over him in the role of John.

No. Handsome as those two are, I knew exactly who could model for my Jesse Morgan. Ian Somerhalder (The Vampire Diaries) fitted the bill in every way—except of course for his name. Ian. I’m sure there are many wonderful romance heroes named Ian. It’s just not a name that does if for me.

Ian Somerhalder

So with an image of Ian Somerhalder (who I think is totally swoonworthy and especially because he is an animal lover) and the name of Jesse Morgan, the hero of A Diamond in Her Stocking came to life. Then, of course, as I wrote he became entirely his own person. I relished every moment of making Jesse worthy of lovely, feisty Lizzie Dumont, the heroine.

By the way, my next book for Harlequin Romance From Paradise to…Pregnant! (June 2015) has a gorgeous hero named Mitch. Mitch is another of my favorite guy names. I’ll share more about Mitch some other post...

What about you? Do you have a favorite romance hero name? Are there certain names you love/hate in a romance hero?

Make a comment to be in the draw for a signed copy of A Diamond in Her Stocking. Please include your email address in your comment if you want to be included in the draw.

Before I go, I’d like the chance to wish you all a wonderful festive season—see you in January!

Kandy’s third Dolphin Bay story for Harlequin Romance, A Diamond in Her Stocking, is a December 2014 release and is available now.

Kandy Shepherd is an 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.

In bloom - Kandy Shepherd

It's spring Down Under and this month I'm sharing some recent snaps from my farm garden.

I wish I could share the glorious fragrance of the climbing rose Zepherine Drouhin that grows near our vegetable garden

My dear husband put in a lot of work over the winter (I was too busy writing to share much of the burden!) and our cottage-style garden is looking its best.

Our flowering cherry - sadly no fruit!

We have a cool winter and a hot summer and fruit, iris, roses and spring-flowering bulbs thrive.

I love columbines

In the last weeks the iris have been superb and the roses have just started.

Our climate is perfect for iris

We had the threat of bushfire last week but thankfully all we could smell was the fragrance of roses.

I love the bold shape of artichoke, here with clematis and sage in flower at the front

We grow vegetables too though it can be a hit or miss affair as to when we actually get them planted!

Lots of lettuce!

The cats are constant companions in the garden and tend to photo bomb any opportunity they can.

Rhubarb, too - those are its flowers that I cut off so all the growth goes into the edible stems

The horses, little bulls and chickens all contribute to the garden with fertilizer. 

Cindy is always nearby

My husband often lets the horses into the garden but not so much at the moment as the lettuce is a huge attraction. They nibble on the camellias too which makes me rather cranky!

Ivy helps too

At the moment I’m writing a story that features a rather grand garden. Mine is not on such a scale but it is lovely to be able to walk outside and feel inspired.

My husband worked all his winter weekends to put in this new path

Are you of the green-thumbed or brown-thumbed type of gardener? Do you have a favorite flower? Do you enjoy growing vegetables or herbs? I’d love to know!

Make a comment to be in the draw for a signed copy of my Christmas book for Harlequin Romance Diamond In Her Stocking. Please include your email address in your comment if you want to be included in the draw.

Kandy’s third Dolphin Bay story for Harlequin Romance, A Diamond in Her Stocking, goes on sale on December 1, 2014 and is available for pre-order now

Kandy Shepherd is an 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 and Twitter

Dolphin Bay revisited - Kandy Shepherd

I didn’t set out to write a series when I had my first book for Harlequin Romance, The Summer They Never Forgot (February 2014) accepted. It is a deeply emotional reunion romance between Sandy Adam and her first love Ben Morgan and set in the fictional coastal town of Dolphin Bay.

But Ben has a good friend, Kate Parker, who is determined that Ben won’t get hurt again by the city interloper, Sandy. I really liked Kate and thought she needed a story of her own. Kate meets gorgeous Sam Lancaster when she’s organizing Sandy and Ben’s wedding in The Tycoon and The Wedding Planner (July 2014), my second Dolphin Bay book.

Sandy from the first book has a feisty sister Lizzie Dumont and Ben has a movie-star handsome brother Jesse Morgan with a reputation as a heartbreaker—they’re secondary characters in both books. I was determined to get Lizzie and Jesse together—against all odds. I really loved writing this story, Lizzie and Jesse are so right for each other but they have some real problems to overcome. You can read their story in my upcoming December release for Harlequin Romance, A Diamond In Her Stocking.

So three books set in Dolphin Bay among a community of people linked to each other in some way. The books are completely independent but share some characters and, of course, the setting. I guess I wrote a series!

Here’s the blurb for A Diamond In Her Stocking:

"Everyone loves a Christmas wedding! 

Chef and single mom Lizzie Dumont is moving on. Returning to Dolphin Bay to make her new restaurant a success, she has no time at all for jaw-droppingly handsome Jesse Morgan—even if she can't forget that incredible kiss they once shared! 

Jesse can't forget their kiss, either. But the betrayal in Lizzie's past has made her wary of him, and he hates the fact that she can't see past his reputation as a heartbreaker. Now he's on a mission to change her mind—and luckily it's the most romantic season of the year: Christmas!"

 Do you enjoy reading a linked series? Do you like Christmas-themed stories? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

I’ll soon be getting author copies of A Diamond In Her Stocking and I’ll be giving away a signed copy—you could be among the first to read this new story! Please include your email address in your comment if you want to be included in the draw.

Kandy’s third Dolphin Bay story for Harlequin Romance, A Diamond in Her Stocking, goes on sale on December 1, 2014 and is available for pre-order now.

Kandy Shepherd is an 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 and Twitter