~~~GUEST POST BY NIKKI LYNN BARRETT~~~
Changing up the typical themes in stories.
Hi! I'd like to say, first off, thank you for allowing me to invade your blog space today. I really appreciate the opportunity.
There are common themes in romance novels that we all love (Or for some, don't love. Depends on the reader) But I like to go against the grain a bit and be different. I try to keep the unexpected in my stories, but still make them to where readers fall in love with the characters and the story.
While all three of my books have a somewhat different spin to them, I think the biggest one I did was changed up the friends to lovers theme. I love stories like that...but then it got me wondering. What happens when the friends to lovers don't work?
It especially hit me when I was writing Baby Stetson, and Jameson's character surprised me by how much I adore him! See, Avery and Jameson grew up together, in the small town of Harmony's Echo Texas. They've been best friends since childhood. Jameson has been in love with Avery since he was a teenager, and it wasn't until they started the band that he finally told her how he felt. Fast forward five years later, and in the beginning of the book Baby Stetson, things change for Jameson and Avery. She struggles with conflicting feelings because of something Jameson admitted to her. So now what for these two? It's not going to be easy to find that path back to friends after being together so long and being in love. But see, Jameson and Avery are two people that always try to put others first, and they've been through far too much to let their friendship fall away because of a broken relationship.
Can this happen in reality? Well sure. I think so. I've been through a similar situation, though my relationship wasn't as long as Jameson or Avery's and I didn't know him all my life, either. But we've been through a lot and even though we didn't work, we're still the best of friends and he's gotten me through so much in my life.
When I wrote The Melody In My Head, not only is Jameson struggling with so many losses, he's trying to find himself after that broken relationship. He's even good friends with Lucas, Avery's soon to be husband. I keep a strong focus on relationships with others as well as the main hero and heroine's romance. That definitely shows in the Love and Music in Texas Series. Jameson and Avery are figuring out their way back to friends without it being so awkward.
I think putting a different spin on some of the classic themes in a book is always refreshing. What about you? What are some of your favorite themes, and have you read any new spins on them? I'm curious to hear about it!
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Baby Stetson
Love and Music in Texas
Book 1
Nikki Lynn Barrett
Genre: contemporary romance/ suspense elements
ASIN: B00BWIE1GI
Number of pages: 455
Word Count: 103k
Cover Artist: Robert Barrett
Book Description:
In small Texas towns, strangers come and go...
Left in a Stetson hat, on the steps of the local bed and breakfast, Avery Callimer came into the world on a wing and a prayer. Raised by loving adoptive parents, she’s never lacked for love ... only the knowledge of her past.
By day she works at the inn, but by night ... Avery comes alive as lead singer in a band. Life was good ... stable, until new guests blew into town.
Some strangers come with secrets and lies.
Lucas Bennett is one such stranger. Drifting from one mess to another has left him jaded. Doesn’t matter the dramas are never his doing. Giving it one last shot to make a fresh start lands him Harmony’s Echo, Texas and smack dab in front of the tantalizing Avery.
Despite his best efforts to ignore the burn Avery’s ignited within, he’s intent to keep his distance. Secrets have followed him. Secrets he doesn’t want Avery to know.
Each time they’re near the other, things heat up like a brushfire on a dry Texas prairie.
But maybe, after the dust settles and the smoke clears, love can bloom with a fresh start.
Left in a Stetson hat, on the steps of the local bed and breakfast, Avery Callimer came into the world on a wing and a prayer. Raised by loving adoptive parents, she’s never lacked for love ... only the knowledge of her past.
By day she works at the inn, but by night ... Avery comes alive as lead singer in a band. Life was good ... stable, until new guests blew into town.
Some strangers come with secrets and lies.
Lucas Bennett is one such stranger. Drifting from one mess to another has left him jaded. Doesn’t matter the dramas are never his doing. Giving it one last shot to make a fresh start lands him Harmony’s Echo, Texas and smack dab in front of the tantalizing Avery.
Despite his best efforts to ignore the burn Avery’s ignited within, he’s intent to keep his distance. Secrets have followed him. Secrets he doesn’t want Avery to know.
Each time they’re near the other, things heat up like a brushfire on a dry Texas prairie.
But maybe, after the dust settles and the smoke clears, love can bloom with a fresh start.
The Melody In My Head
Love and Music in Texas
Book 2
Nikki Lynn Barrett
Genre: contemporary romance/ suspense elements
Book Description:
Welcome back to Harmony's Echo, Texas.....
Melody Roland is on the run from the one person she trusted completely. One who hid a dark past she could never have imagined. When a pregnant woman on the bus she's fleeing on goes into labor, Melody rushes to her aide. Now she finds herself stranded in a tiny remote town just off the highway, with no way to her original destination.
She's alone, on edge, and unsure who to trust. Her instincts scream to get far away and fast. But how and where?
Jameson Grant struggles through the roughest year of his life. Suffering from the loss of his father, one grief stricken night, he made a mistake. One which cost him the only woman he's ever loved. Each lonely day he's faced with the constant reminders of how quick things can change. Throwing himself into the one thing he has left, his music, helps dull the pain he fights to keep hidden. His last salvation begins to crumble as things spiral out of control and he has no choice but to face the 'music' of his past.
The last thing he needs or wants in his life is a woman with more trouble on her heels than the best of country music lyrics. But Melody sings a sirens call within him that can't be ignored.
Jameson and Melody bond in ways stronger than either could have imagined, but one dangerous person from her past may threaten it all...
If she doesn't flee before he can convince her to stay, and that some love songs last an eternity.
Melody Roland is on the run from the one person she trusted completely. One who hid a dark past she could never have imagined. When a pregnant woman on the bus she's fleeing on goes into labor, Melody rushes to her aide. Now she finds herself stranded in a tiny remote town just off the highway, with no way to her original destination.
She's alone, on edge, and unsure who to trust. Her instincts scream to get far away and fast. But how and where?
Jameson Grant struggles through the roughest year of his life. Suffering from the loss of his father, one grief stricken night, he made a mistake. One which cost him the only woman he's ever loved. Each lonely day he's faced with the constant reminders of how quick things can change. Throwing himself into the one thing he has left, his music, helps dull the pain he fights to keep hidden. His last salvation begins to crumble as things spiral out of control and he has no choice but to face the 'music' of his past.
The last thing he needs or wants in his life is a woman with more trouble on her heels than the best of country music lyrics. But Melody sings a sirens call within him that can't be ignored.
Jameson and Melody bond in ways stronger than either could have imagined, but one dangerous person from her past may threaten it all...
If she doesn't flee before he can convince her to stay, and that some love songs last an eternity.
About the Author:
Nikki Lynn Barrett lives in Arizona with her husband and son. She's an avid reader, a dreamer, and loves everything about books. She runs a book blog, an online used bookstore, and writes various genres of romance. Nikki can also be found outside with her camera when a storm is near, snapping photo after photo. Her dreams of becoming a writer started when she was young, when she started writing books in one subject notebooks by the fifth grade. The Secret Santa Wishing Well is her debut book.
You can visit Nikki's site at: www.nikkilynnbarrett.blogspot.com for more information.
She is working on her next book. Nikki would love to hear from readers.
@Stormgoddess925
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