Posts

Who Doesn't Love a Romance Spin-Off?

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What do Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul have to do with my books? Not very much, honestly, except I am always hoping they'll decide to do a sequel that explores the life of Walt Jr. But we all love a good spin-off, don't we?  That's why I'm writing a spin-off series that takes up right where the Small-Town Secrets ends. The new series, Babies and Brides , focuses on some of the younger residents of good old Fairview, the sweet little small town where the first series too place. You already know all the hang-outs in Fairview. If you were magically dropped in, you'd know where to order a pizza (Sorrentino's, of course) and where to get the best ice cream (Remy's). And would you order a drink anywhere but at The Clipper? Heck no. This series launches with Claiming Haley . You may remember her from Crazy Little Thing and Laws of Attraction . She appeared in both. Now we learn her back story, and you've probably already deduced by the series name that t...

Let's Hear it for the Mom Tattoos: Stretch Marks!

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If you've ever given birth, there's a decent chance you now have stretch marks. There's also a decent chance you're not thrilled about this. But I'm here to say we need to try to think a new way about our stretch marks. I have so many stretch marks. My babies were large — my son weighed 10 pounds even! Ouch!  For many years, I was too upset about my stretch marks to show them to anyone. I felt embarrassed by them and always wore a one-piece bathing suit. The thought of any man but my husband seeing them was terrifying to me! Part of what made me so embarrassed was the way he spoke about my stretch marks. When he decided he wanted a divorce, he told me my stretch marks looked so bad that if I were dead on the side of the road, a vulture wouldn't touch my stomach. He had a few other choice things to say about my stretch marks, too.  In time, I dated plenty of other men who didn't have a problem with my stretch marks. They knew I was a mom and they k...

The Compleat Story

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One of the final issues. (Courtesy of Zoe York) I want to tell you a story. It’s about a crazy coincidence that allowed me to tell someone how much her late mother improved how I parent. And if I follow the daughter’s advice, she just might improve how I write. It started yesterday, when a fellow romance author recommended a book called Romance Your Brand: Building A Marketable Genre Fiction Series by Zoe York . The suggestion was timely; I’m in the early stages of planning a new romance series with the accidental pregnancy/secret baby tropes. I want to make it rain babies in my mythical town of Fairview, but I also want to make sure people find and love these books. I love babies, birth and breastfeeding so much I once considered becoming a midwife or doula. I love books so much that there’s seldom been a time in my life when I haven’t been reading or writing one. Problem is, my first small-town romance series ( The Small-Town Secrets ) has garnered strong reviews and enthusiasm but ...

Beagles and books!

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Lots of news in the Sophia Sinclair world, but here are the two I want to talk about today. First of all, I'd like everyone to meet Cashew! She is a three-legged senior beagle mix I adopted from my local animal shelter recently. She's very, very sweet and hangs out with me on the futon in my office while I write. She thinks the dog in Worth the Wait should have been a larger part of the story. Everyone's a critic. Second, I'm still giving away free prequels (click here to download!) to the Small-Town Secrets series. This is Happily Ever After All, and it's about an older lady from the early days in Fairview, reminiscing about her life. Here's a line or two from Carol Ann's remembrance of her first time, just to whet your appetite. This part of the story takes place about a week before her wedding, when she and her soon-to-be husband were painting the house they would move into after returning from their honeymoon: She had always imagined her first tim...

No More Last-Page Tears!

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Sometimes I cry when a good book ends. If I love the characters, I don't want to say goodbye forever. That's why I bring my characters back again and again in subsequent books. The main character in one book often shows up with a new baby in a later book. Each book features a different couple, and we follow them as they work to find their own Happily Ever After. I am so sure that you will love this series that I decided to write a prequel and give it to you free! All you need to do is click here , and it will send you to the page where you can download the book. It's the story of Carol Ann, the matriarch of Fairview, and it serves as an introduction to the little town where all the Small-Town Secrets are set. I recommend you make yourself a good cup of coffee (you'll know why I say that when you get into the book!), tuck yourself into a cozy spot and get ready for a happily ever after. Let me know what you think!

Get the free prequel to my romance series!

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I just got a sneak peak at the cover for my novella that is the prequel to the Small-Town Secrets series, and I can't wait to get the final version so I can share it here! It's called Happily Ever After All, and you can't buy it. It's ONLY available to newsletter subscribers! Click here to sign up. It's easy, and as soon as I have the final cover back from the designer, I'll send the prequel out to you. My working title was Carol Ann Drinks Her Coffee. It's the story of an elderly widow who reminisces about meeting her husband, Archie, who eventually became the editor of Fairview's newspaper, The Fairview Review . She remembers when he went off to serve in the Korean War while she was pregnant and what it was like when he retired. Carol Ann has strong opinions about some of the things going on in today's world. And, of course, as a former newspaper editor myself, I enjoyed writing about Archie's career. Truth to tell, there's a lot of me in ...

Are You Attracted to Magnets?

The Reader Magnet is Coming! Do you know what a Reader Magnet is? We writers make a deal with you. We agree to give you a free short book, and in return, you give us your email address. Win-win for everyone. If you sign up for my newsletter, I'll sent along my newly finished reader magnet. It's working title, so far, is Carol Ann Drinks Her Coffee . It is a prequel to the Small-Town Secrets series, and when I finished writing it, and explained the plot to my husband, I cried. You see, Carol Ann is an older lady who likes to make a cup of coffee and people-watch from her porch or through her living room window. She's a widow, and we learn all about how she and Archie met and married. Archie had my career (newspaper editor) and many of my bad habits, so it's almost like Carol Ann was married to a curmudgeonly male version of me, (although I never went off to fight in the Korean War and left behind a pregnant wife, so there's that). All my newsletter subscribers will g...