by Bronwyn Jameson

My February book, Back In Fortune’s Bed, is exactly that: a February book. Except for a short prologue, it plays out over that one-month period and as it’s part of a continuity series–the Dakota Fortunes–that time period is non-negotiable. Each of the books takes place over the month of their release, making a six-month continuum from series start to finish.

The editor who conceived the series also provides the location, the set-up, a snapshot of the characters and their conflict, and a short synopsis of the story. Which may make it sound as though the author has nothing left to do but sit down and write the book…but, no. It is the author’s job to expand those character snapshots, to give the people depth and individuality, to provide motivation for their conflict, their behavior, their actions, to research details of the location and storyline, and to flesh out the short synopsis into a beautifully rounded whole.

I started out by saying Back In Fortune’s Bed is a February book and I used two facets of February to add lovely juicy meat to the bones of my story.

Firstly, the season. My book is largely set in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with several chapters in Lexington, Kentucky, and so winter takes a significant role. My heroine, Diana Fielding, has moved from California to South Dakota because she is a “winter person”. She never took to the L.A. lifestyle but relishes the mid-west cold. I might add that we don’t do snow and ice where I live in Australia, and so I love the fantasy romance of being stranded by a blizzard in the company of a deliciously hot hero.

Naturally, I had to include that forced proximity scenario in Back In Fortune’s Bed. Diana is stranded in the company of Max Fortune, my deliciously hot Australian outback cattleman hero, in a lovely, toasty-warm, luxury hotel suite. Barriers are broken down, secrets are spilled, the conflicted pair finally start to communicate…I loved writing this section of Back In Fortune’s Bed.

I also got a buzz from incorporating the other February facet. Valentine’s Day. In Max’s efforts to woo a reluctant-to-be-romanced Diana, he embarks upon a gift-sending campaign. Little things, quirky things, things that make her smile and which end up demonstrating how well he knows and understands her, despite the long time they have spent apart. Aside: did I mention that Max and Diana have a past, and that this is a reunion romance?

It was much fun deciding on the perfect gifts, and much fun including wintery February almost as an extra character in my book. No wonder I have come to think of Back In Fortune’s Bed as my February book. I have a copy to give away as part of a fun Aussie Pack (which also includes some little, quirky, make-you-smile things) for one reader who comments on my Tell Tale. The winner will be drawn February 28.