Valentine’s Day, Pizza, and a Perfectly Happy Me
Valentine’s Day is such a sweet time of year…if you are in a healthy, committed relationship or you don’t care about what the rest of the world is doing. Haha. That was me, actually. So, what if I was alone on Valentine’s Day? I would leave work, detour past our local Mr. Gatti’s Drive-through pizza restaurant, pick up a medium black olive and mushroom, then go home and veg out on the couch with my high school daughter and my latest Stephen King book or an episode of Friends on TV (if it was Thursday, that is).
Solo Nights, No Problem—Just Me, Myself, and a Good Book
If said daughter (now Sara Swann-Barnard, author) was out on a date—as was often the case—that was okay, too. No biggie. Being alone didn’t bother me one whit. Of course, I’d been married for about a hundred years, so that made a huge difference. The fact that my hubby worked shift work and was often gone for what seemed like days at a time, that made no difference to me. We’d done the hearts and flowers and candy routine for years; now, V-Day was all about the words. Heartfelt, homemade cards full of words. Nothing fancy, just poetic. Hubby’s poem always begins with “Roses are red …” and no matter what, they always rhyme.
Inspiration Strikes: The Story Behind A Trace of Romance
Is that what gave me the idea for my novella, A Trace of Romance, a different kind of Valentine’s Day celebration? Perhaps, but not completely. I thought about it when I was asked to submit an article to The Author’s Lounge—such an honor—and I remembered, right away, that the book had been a response to a “call out” by one of my long-time publishers. It was a call for Valentine’s Day romance novellas, what they sometimes refer to as “two-hour reads.”
I was intrigued. Most of my books run a little longer, between two to four hundred pages, and they usually center around a bad guy who needs taking down. See Stutter Creek, Lilac Lane, The Remains in the Pond, and one of my darkest suspense novels.
From Holiday Tales to Haunting Stories: The Journey of My Short Fiction
Telephone Road. However, I’d recently done a Christmas story, A Copper Penny Christmas, for an anthology, and that put me in the mood to do another shortie. My other Christmas novel, A Crossbow Christmas, is a regular-length novel, but the first book in my ghost story series, Stevie-girl and the Phantom Pilot, is a shortie. It was a request from an editor who had read part of it as a short story. As a result of that interaction, my Muse took it upon herself to write three more titles in the series: Stevie-girl and the Phantom Student, Stevie-girl and the Phantom of Crybaby Bridge, and Stevie-girl and the Phantom of Forever.
From Apocalypse to Romance: Crafting A Trace of Romance
If you’re into horror stories, you might check out my speculative trilogy, Apocalypse in Eden. There are three books in all: Takers, Seekers, and Remainders. If you like apocalyptic scenarios and can envision befriending a deaf pit bull, you might like it.
Nevertheless, we were talking about A Trace of Romance. As I began to make notes for this Valentine’s story, it seemed that keeping it short, sweet, and including an HEA, might be something of a challenge.
Then I stumbled across an old journal entry I’d written about a few months I spent in Oregon. I remembered a small town, a neat flower shop, and an amazing overlook with a one-of-a-kind memorial. That got me thinking about weaving those things into the story so it would contain traces of my own experiences.
Thus, my hunky love interest, Trace, came to life. Just for good measure, I gave him a tough bit of background to offset all the saccharine. Afterward, I kicked it back to sweet with the childhood connection to the flower shop and its sensible owner, Laynie. Oh, what a pair they were back in the day …
Love, Music, and a Not-So-Typical Happy Ending
Romance practically floated through the air. On top of all that, I had read an article about Tom Petty and his last concert at the Hollywood Bowl. Being a huge fan, I had to fit that in there, too. Whew. There
were a lot of moving parts. Fortunately, they came together so easily it surprised me. As a bonus, I was able to give the newly reunited couple, Laynie and Trace, a happy ending… not typical, perhaps, but happy, nonetheless.
Lost Love, Second Chances, and A Trace of Romance
I think the book blurb told it best: First, they were best friends; then they were young lovers, but after tragedy struck, they were both forced to move on. It seemed there was nothing left. Not even A Trace of Romance. So why, after all these years, has he suddenly reappeared in the doorway of the flower shop, taking up all the space the way only he could do? What could he possibly want with her now?
Before I leave you, I want to thank Author’s Lounge for taking an interest in my little novella. Maybe I’ll write another one soon. But first, I have a longer book in production about a pair of sisters whose lives are forever changed one horrific night and how they learn to cope and grow in spite of it. It’s one of my “darker” novels.
But don’t despair; if you like it a little lighter, I’m also plotting a different one, a novel about four good friends meeting up at a reunion. I’m having fun with this one, just like I did with A Trace of Romance. I hope you like it. What am I saying? I hope you like them all!
If you would like to know more or keep up with my books and giveaways, just go to my website and sign up for my newsletter. I only send it out when there’s a new book release or I’m doing a giveaway.
I look forward to seeing your name on the mailing list or on my FB page. Happy Reading! Ann Swann
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