I was gonna be all smartassy and say you had done another Christmas one but that was HQN wasn’t it?

hee I loved The Officer’s Bride, great antho and I recall enjoying the HQN one (that I so can’t remember the title which is sad since it is sitting with about 20 other books for the grand prize) but you can’t go wrong with partners like Balogh tale and Nicola Cornick.

“Wedding at Warehaven” in the Hallowe’en Husbands anthology was the first one I’ve written. And the timing for it was perfect! I’d just finished my first Nocturne that had proved to be my personal book from hades and back, and wanted/needed a major break. Plus, I’d been trying to figure out how to tie the Faucon’s to the Drakes (Nocturne) to Jared the Dragon of Warehaven in the next medieval series. As soon my editor asked if I’d be interested in doing a story for the halloween anthology, I knew how I would tie everyone together. So it was way kewl to be able to write a short story for Jared’s parents where I’d be able to tell/show/figure out how the Lords of Warehaven became known as the Dragons.

And since I write short to begin with, writing the anthology didn’t pose much of a problem. It helped that the time frame was extremely limited and using an old wives’ tale to bring the couple together took care of the “how did they meet” problem quite handily.

While I’m more than satisfied with the story, in the end it’ll be up to the readers to decide. From this point on, I can only hope it works.

Denise Lynn

Since I always write long and have to cut, writing a novella is scary since it is by nature a much shorter venue. Focusing on just the h/h and a narrow time frame helps keep the story more manageable. I’ve enjoyed doing them–it’s a different sort of challenge from a full-length novel, but despite the page count restrictions I think a reader should not be left feeling “there should be more” when she finishes the book. Maybe there are other characters whose stories she’d like to have told or maybe she’s curious about the backstory of the h/h before they come together in this particular time and place, but their love story should be well and fully told so that the reader feels satisfied when she reaches the end.

Novella collections are a great way to “try out” a new author you’ve not read before and line up quick reads you can fit into a single evening. Plus the Christmas ones make great gifts for reader friends.