When I first started outlining the Holiday Series, I wasn’t sure who Aria Bancroft was. I wrote down that she’s a player, and that was it. I didn’t know her story until I got to writing the paragraph synopsis that I usually do before I write a book. I’d written Weston’s and Talon’s already, and it was time to write Aria’s. I remember staring at the screen, trying to come up with the story to tell about her, and it hit me that because Talon’s book was hot and steamy, and Weston’s was a bit of a slow burn, I wanted Aria’s to be different somehow. Not exactly a slow burn, but not a super hot and steamy book, either.
I decided that Aria would probably be done with her player ways and that her book would be about that change, but I got the image of fireworks at the 4th-of-July party in mind, and I could see Aria standing there with someone else that she knew from her past. Since I wanted to start this book at the holiday instead of ending it there, like I’d done with Weston and Talon’s book, the premise became clear.
Aria would see her first love that night, and I didn’t want them to kiss under those fireworks, but have a moment under them. I also wanted Aria to have a very specific moment in the beginning of the book where she’s saying goodbye to hooking up with women and a friends-with-benefits relationship to cement this change in her. Then, I wanted her to see London and have them slowly and, at times, cautiously reconnect.
Once I knew that, I had my paragraph synopsis ready, so I continued that process for the other three books. Then, I went in and outlined each book with bullet points, and when I got to Aria’s book, it felt like if I could nail flashbacks, this would be a really good book to use them for. Since I feel that sometimes flashbacks aren’t necessary when I read books, I knew these would be critical to get right. To me, flashbacks have to move the story along in the same way the current story does; they’re just telling a story in a different timeline. So, I set about making sure I had the story moving in every flashback while I had them getting to know each other again as adults.
That’s how The Fireworks was born and Aria & London got to live happily ever after.
They deserve it!
The Fireworks
Holiday Series Book #3
Genre: Contemporary Lesbian Romance
Release Date: June 24th, 2022
Formats: Kindle, Audible, Paperback, Hardcover
Length: 76,820 words
Listening Length: 8 hours and 25 minutes
