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

Michelle Styles Perks of Being a Mills and Boon Author 2019

Yesterday was the annual Association of Mills and Boon Author’s lunch and afterwards the Toast to the Authors on the 17^th floor of the News Building in London. It is one of those times that I always feel like – yes I am a published author and yes this is a glamorous occupation.

Michelle Styles and Kate Hardy

For those of you who don’t know—AMBA was founded back in the 1970’s (so before the RWA) by Charlotte Lamb, Anne Weale and Sara Craven to promote dialogue between the authors and the company.  It was a time when few agents were willing to take on M&B authors so these ladies felt a way was needed to raise concerns. Because of the sensitive nature of the topics, membership is limited to those authors who have a contract. Sadly as many of you know Sara Craven, the lasting founding member, passed last winter. A toast was raised in her honour. 

The True Love/Harlequin Romance authors who attended AMBA

I was struck earlier this year what a privilege it is to attend because it is a chance for authors to speak directly to the Powers That Be in the company. This year was no exception. The entire UK marketing team attended along with senior editors, the president, executive vice presidents etc. It was lovely to chat informally with these highly influential people in publishing.

There were several new authors. Ella Hayes who writes for True Love (Harlequin Romance) had recently signed her first contract and it was a real pleasure to welcome her. Authors came from all over the globe –Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Ireland and US to name the ones I can recall.

Lunch -- main

The lunch was delicious – I had goat’s cheese panna cotta with beetroot to start. Fillet of Hake for mains and a selection of cheese. There was coffee and chocolates for afterward.

Lunch starter

After a brief hiatus where people had coffee or in my case water, we trooped over to the News Building which is right next to the Shard. After proving our identities to security as the News Building houses The Times and The Sun newspapers along with Harper Collins, we went up to the 17^th floor. The elevators are computerised and you have to make sure you go to the right one.

Not only were the senior executives there but all of the editors so it was lovely to catch up with my editor and speak to various other editors. I learned that one editor had the pleasure of phoning a woman to purchase her first book for the Historical line that morning!

The Goodie bag

At the Toast to the Authors, the champagne flowed and the canapes were passed around. There were cornucopias of fish and chips, sliders, smoked salmon and a wide variety of desserts.  Various authors were feted including Annie Burrows for her 25^th Harlequin Historical. Several of the authors stayed late but I left early to catch a train back up to Northumberland. The Mills & Boon Marketing team had arranged goodie bags for each of the authors.

 

In other news:

I received my cover for Sent as the Viking’s Bride which will be out at the end of December. It has such a lovely feel to it.

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance for Harlequin Historical in a wide variety of time periods. Her next Viking set romance will be out at the end of December. To learn more about Michelle and her books, visit www.michellestyles.co.uk 

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

Conference in Colorado – Kandy Shepherd

 Last month I travelled from Sydney, Australia to Colorado, USA for the Romance Writers of America annual conference. I love the buzz of the conference where romance writers and publishing professionals from around the United States and the world gather. Of course a lot of fun and catching up with friends is involved! (Not to mention yummy meals.)

I started the conference with three days in wonderful Colorado Springs with two friends. What an awesome landscape! I need to go back and explore even more.

Then the conference itself—four days of meetings, talks and inspiration. The RITA awards for best romance novels published in 2017 was exciting and I had several finalist friends to cheer. Meeting with my wonderful editors from Harlequin Mills & Boon was such a pleasure—culminating in the amazing Harlequin author party. Catching up with industry news, attending workshops and chatting with fellow authors was inspiring and enervating.

However for this conference for me the highest of highlights was meeting some of the readers who attended the book signings. It was heart-warming to hear them thank me for the stories I write and tell me how my books not only entertain them but have helped them through illness and dark times. As an author, what more could I want to hear?

Kandy Shepherd’s Best Man and the Runaway Bride is 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,Pinterestand Instagram

Stranded with Her Greek Tycoon—Kandy Shepherd

Have you ever met someone just fleetingly, yet you can’t get them out of your head?

That happened to me with a minor character named Cristos in my last novel for Harlequin Romance, ConvenientlyWed to the Greek (May 2017). Cristos was the cousin of that book’s hero. I didn’t know a lot about him other than he was extremely good looking. But I couldn’t stop thinking about Cristos. Why was someone so handsome on his own? Why did I sense secrets and sadness behind his happy-go-lucky mask?

I had find out more about Cristos Theofanis—so he had to have his own story! I discovered Cristos was estranged from the wife he’d adored, Hayley Clements. They’d married young but trauma and tragedy took the gloss off their marital bliss and they’d spiralled apart. When Hayley unexpectedly reappears, she and Cristos get a last chance to save their marriage.

Stranded with Her Greek Tycoon is set in the beautiful Ionian Islands in Greece. What a perfect place for a couple to reignite the spark of their passion and fall in love all over again—just in time for Valentine’s Day!

I’ve been fortunate enough to visit those beautiful islands and hope to return. Our visit was in September when the weather was hot but not too hot and the water glorious for swimming. People there told me, however, that they could have a cold winter on the islands. I discovered that sometimes it actually snowed.

What’s more romantic? Summer where clothes are minimal or winter where you can snuggle to keep warm? I decided to set Cristos’s story in winter—with snow!

Where I live in Australia, we get snow. Not in Sydney but certainly in the mountains. In fact I learned to ski on the Australian snowfields. We’re having a very hot summer DownUnder. But I know right now friends in the northern hemisphere might be snowed in. Is it actually as romantic as we authors suggest in romance novels like Strandedwith Her Greek Tycoon?

UK edition

What are your thoughts on snow? Comment here for a chance to be in the draw for a paperback copy of Stranded with Her Greek Tycoon.

US edition

Kandy Shepherd’s Stranded with Her Greek Tycoon is a February 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