Behind the Scenes: Trust with Hearts (A Contemporary
Summer Romance)
By Kelli A. Wilkins
This “Behind the Scenes” blog is part of a
series examining my romance novels. In each blog, I’ll talk about why I wrote
the book, share my thoughts on the plot and/or characters, and reveal what I
loved most (or least) about writing the book. Warning: Blogs may contain
spoilers.
Trust
with Hearts is an example of how a story idea can come
to an author anytime, anywhere. One night I was waiting for a concert to start
and a premise for a romance popped into my head: A woman falls in love with her cousin’s best friend, but doesn’t
realize he’s a famous country singer. I knew I had to write it down, but
the only paper I had was the envelope the concert tickets came in. (Yes, this
was years ago!) I scribbled a brief outline and a character list before the
concert started. And that’s how Trust with Hearts was born—but not
right away.
I was in
the middle of revising another romance at the time, so I took a few hours and wrote
a detailed outline, snippets of dialogue, and character information about Trust
with Hearts, then set it aside. About a year later, I pulled out my notes
and started writing. The idea was still fresh in my head, and the book
practically wrote itself. (I always advise writers to take down ideas as they
appear—otherwise they might fade into oblivion.)
Trust
with Hearts was an interesting book to write. The
heroine, Sherrie, has left a bad relationship, and on the spur of the moment,
goes to West Virginia and moves in with her cousin Dave. Unknown to her, Dave
already has a houseguest—his friend Curtis. Curtis is a country boy and Sherrie
is all city.
I enjoyed
playing off their differences and had fun inventing vexing situations for them
to get on each other’s nerves. And boy, do they! Right on page 1, Curtis and
Sherrie start an on/off love/hate relationship—and soon realize there’s more to
their teasing and feuding. Before long, they discover they have a lot in common,
and begin a steamy summer romance.
Some of
my favorite scenes are when Curtis climbs a tree to rescue a kitten, when
Curtis and Sherrie realize they like each other, and the big bombshell scene
when Sherrie learns Curtis’s secret. I also liked writing the scenes where Dave
plays matchmaker and counselor to each of them. In his own way, he brought this
unlikely couple together.
But you can’t
have a good romance without drama, and the book is filled with it. Sherrie
confronts her abusive ex-boyfriend, reexamines her life, and finds her purpose.
Curtis is healing his wounded heart, dealing with a major family crisis, and
going out of his way to keep a huge secret from Sherrie. Throughout the book
Cutis and Sherrie face their pasts, work on their personal issues, and learn to
love and trust again.
Trust
with Hearts is not just a romance, it’s also a summer romance, so when I was writing
the book I made sure to include specific details to bring out the “summer
romance” theme: hot, sticky, sweaty days and nights, cool iced tea, gardening,
and even heat stroke. The details pull the reader into the story and into
Curtis and Sherrie’s world. And since Curtis is an expert in country music, I worked
those details into the plot and even had Curtis give Sherrie a very erotic
guitar lesson!
When I
was writing Trust with Hearts, I fell in love with the characters and considered
writing a sequel. (A few readers were interested in a sequel too!) The basic
plot would have been Dave falling in love with Curtis’s girl cousin (we briefly
meet her in the book). But I’ve since abandoned the project. If enough readers
want a sequel, I might be persuaded to write a novella-length version of my
book idea. (Readers: Let me know your thoughts about this on social media!)
Trust
with Hearts is a summer romance with interesting
characters, an unusual storyline, and plenty of sizzling love scenes. It will
make you laugh, cry, and root for love. I hope you’ll add it to your summer
reading list.
TRUST WITH HEARTS
After a bitter
breakup, Sherrie Parker seeks refuge at her cousin Dave’s house in rural West
Virginia. Early one morning, she runs into Dave’s other houseguest, a singer
named Curtis Taylor. The last thing Sherrie wants is to share living quarters
with a country music crooner – even if he is sexy, in a cowboy sort of way.
Thrown together by
circumstances, Sherrie and Curtis get off to a rocky start, but soon discover
they have more in common than they ever imagined. Unable to fight their growing
attraction, they give in to their desires and start a sizzling summer romance.
Everything is
perfect between them until Sherrie discovers that Curtis is keeping secrets
from her – and his biggest secret of all will change everything. Can their
newfound love survive, or will destiny keep them apart forever?
Order
Trust with Hearts here:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074422FHY
All other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/mgrK7R
Read
reviews here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/trust-with-hearts
I
created a Facebook page for my contemporary romances. Visit it here:
https://www.facebook.com/Contemporary-Romances-by-Kelli-A-Wilkins-1965702023664339/
I hope you enjoyed
this “Behind the Scenes” look at the making of this hot summer romance. I
welcome questions and comments from readers and other authors. Contact me via
the form on my site or on social media.
Happy Reading,
Kelli A. Wilkins
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kelli A. Wilkins
is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 20
romance novels, 7 non-fiction books, and 3 horror ebooks. Her romances span
many genres and settings, and she likes to scare readers with her horror
stories.
She
released Journaling Every Week:
52 Topics to Get You Writing in early 2021. This fun and innovative guide to
journaling is filled with hundreds of thought-provoking prompts designed to get
you writing about your feelings and emotions.
In 2020 Kelli
published Love, Lies & Redemption, a western romance set in 1877
Nebraska. This novel blends a sensual love story with mystery and danger.
Kelli posts on her
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and Twitter: www.Twitter.com/KWilkinsauthor.
Visit her
website/blog www.KelliWilkins.com for a full title list and to find all her social media
links.
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