THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY - DEAR EDITOR Series by Emily Sharpe

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
DEAR EDITOR Series

Get a behind-the-scenes all-access pass to Emily Sharpe's Dear Editor Series!

SYNOPSIS:

In Dear Editor (Book 1) we meet Jessica, her mother Carol, her friend and co-worker Donna, her ex Eric, her boss Worth and assorted others. Jessica meets her new editor by surprise, falls in love but wonders if the rash of arsons is somehow related to him.

 The Stonemason and the Lady (Book 2) keeps the characters but focuses on Donna and Eric. Jessica and Worth marry while Donna wishes that Eric would take a more active role in their shared S&M experiences. Shortly after their wedding, he has to work out of state. The city is plagued with Peeping Tom incidents.

 In Book 3, Mating Season, a relative of Carol’s new husband is featured- Kristina; Worth helps her resolve a problem from her past. She’s starting a new life in a new state. When her reclusive landlord arranges for her to practically be kidnapped, she meets half-white, half-Cherokee Ian. Can she let go of past trauma and welcome love again?

At the beginning of Running Hot (Book 4), Jessica and Donna meet Andy (Andrea) a talented (and bald!) female mechanic on their way to visit Kristina and Ian. When a reporter from Worth’s new national magazine is sent to interview her...and later, when his fiance surprises him there...sparks fly. 

What is the sub-genre and trope?  Did your characters lead you to this genre or was that decided before the story began?

For the R-rated romances, I started with a sexy short story with a Halloween theme for a writers’ group assignment. Everyone wanted to know what happened next, so I kept writing...for a year. 

I decided to submit it to Blushing Books and it was accepted, although they asked me to add material that caters to their particular audience - power exchange. 

Because my editor suggested a sequel with the two characters with whom I’d hinted at S&M, I went in that direction. The characters sort of decided where I’d go from there.

Are you more character or plot driven?

Can I say both? I start with an idea. In Dear Editor, the short story that began it all dealt with mistaken identity. 

Jessica thought her boyfriend had become suddenly more passionate than ever, but it was actually someone else wearing the same Halloween costume. From there, she found out the mystery man was her new boss, and so on. 

The characters and plot take on a life of their own and I just try to keep up!

With many main and secondary characters, how do you keep them separated in your mind?  Do you have a story/vision board above your workspace? 

In a new book, not yet published, there are four daughters in a family. I had to plan ahead, deciding on details like hair style and age in order to make them stand out as the story went along. 

I keep notes in a notebook so I can refer to them, but for me, the characters become so real as I’m writing that I feel I know them as friends. It was a little sad to finish the Dear Editor series - even I wanted to know what happened next in all their lives!

I know from previous interviews that characters take on a life of their own.  Were any of the characters in this series determined to take their own direction instead of where you initially wanted them to go? 

Actually, the genre for the Dear Editor books paved the way. 

Power exchange (spanking) wasn’t negotiable for the publisher, but Jessica and Worth’s characters just didn’t feel right for that, other than briefly. So Donna’s character stepped in with more of that emphasis. But yes, sometimes the characters surprise you.

Are any of the male POVs based on anyone you know? 

When I sent the Emily Sharpe series to my daughter, she was sure that Eric, who is a stonemason, was patterned on my husband, who was in construction for many years. 

Knowing the job, the terminology, etc. helped but Eric is definitely not my husband! I thought of particular people for appearance, job, lifestyle...but none of the men is based completely on someone I know.

Are any of the female POVs based on anyone you know? 

Actually, just one- a flight attendant named Rebecca is mentioned, and my sister Rebecca Burgess recently retired from American Airlines. 

The other women are figments of my imagination. with specific experiences, however, I sometimes pulled from my own life: Andy, the mechanic in Running Hot, had been molested by her minister as a teenager. That happened to me when I was 16, so I was able to draw from that to describe her feelings.

Was there any one character/scene that was harder to write about than the other? 

Because I was such a newbie to romance novels and power exchange, I had to do my research, especially for the S&M scenes between Donna and Eric. I guess my research paid off, because my editor actually asked me to tone down one scene.

What is your favorite book in the series?  

Mating Season - Kristina was drugged and raped during college and has put up walls. When she is stuck in a mountain cabin during the storm of the century with a stranger, she finds herself opening up to him, falling in love. 

I love the idea of second chances, of negative experiences losing their control over our lives, of moving on to better things.

I know that we aren’t supposed to have “favorites” as far as our children, but seriously, who’s your favorite character and why? 

Jessica is a writer in the Dear Editor series so I identify with her more than the others. 

I think even when we’re writing about experiences outside our own, our backgrounds and expertise help shape the stories and make them more real for the readers.

Series question - Who is your favorite couple and why did you decide on their dynamics? 

Jessica and Worth have a roller-coaster relationship because of Worth’s past and baggage, but they are so well suited to one another I especially enjoyed them. 

But as a “woman of age” I enjoyed seeing Jessica’s mother, a widow, find love and passion again.

How do you get inside these character’s heads to find their perfect HEA?

I’ll use Jessica as an example. She’s frustrated with Worth being passionate at times but detached at others. Because he’s her boss, he’s sensitive about workplace romances. She never experienced true passion with her former boyfriend and she longs for it. 

I could see where that frustration and longing would motivate specific thoughts and actions. But even when she can’t see a way that things would work out, she never loses hope. That positivity drives her.

What scene in this book/series sticks out the most for you?  Why? 

I keep coming back to the first book, Dear Editor, and the short story that prompted the whole thing. Jessica is surprised Eric even agrees to go to the Halloween party with her; he’s not a partier. The only costume left at the store was Darth Vader. 

When “Darth Vader” surprises her in the bathroom, turns out the light, and proceeds to make out with her in a way Eric never has, she is thrilled...until he leaves without a word. But he’s finally loving her the way she needs to be loved. Rushing out to find him, she sees him across the room and headed for him when another man, also in a Darth Vader costume, stops her. 

She suddenly realizes what’s happened and has all these conflicting emotions -- she feels bad for kissing (etc.) another man, but the other man rocked her world in ways Eric never has. All these years, she has settled for less, and confronted with the possibility of real passion, she’ll never be the same.

Series - Were any of the books harder to write than others? 

I’d have to say no. The stories unfolded naturally. With the first in the Emily Sharpe series, there was a learning curve, as I took notes from my editor so that it met the publisher’s expectations, but once I embraced the genre, so to speak, it flowed. 

This question is if you write in MULTIPLE POVs not just the hero and heroine - I love the multiple POVs in a book.  It’s not just the hero and heroine, but we get inside the heads of multiple characters throughout this series.  I feel that it gives the story further depth.  Do you think you will write another book or series following this multiple POV outline? 

In all five romance books I have used multiple POVs. I want to know what is going on in the man’s head, too. 

The Emily Sharpe books have a lot of different characters and most of them get at least some POV time. 

How long did it take you to write this book/series? 

I spent over a year getting Dear Editor finished and ready to submit for publication, but that was because I was writing one chapter a month for my writers’ group. They were and are an amazing source of encouragement. I dedicated each of the Dear Editor books to them. 

After that one was done, however, the other three were written in maybe two months each? Three? Then there’s the back and forth with editing, proofing. The pandemic definitely helped, because for months I wasn’t substitute teaching on the side or going much of anywhere and really focused on writing.

How did you come up with the title for your book and series? 

The first book dealt with a writer falling for her editor, so a play on letters to the editor that begin “Dear Editor” was fairly obvious. 

I liked the role-play sound of “The Stonemason and the Lady” which reflects the kind of relationship Donna and Eric have. 

“Mating Season” is set in the mountains of North Carolina so that appealed to me. 

And a book about a car mechanic led to the double entendre of “Running Hot.”

If you met these characters in real life would you get along?

Absolutely.

Series question – Did you know in advance that you were going to write this as a series or did one of the characters in book one demand their own story?

I didn’t plan on a series. I came up with a pen name for Dear Editor because I’d already invested so much time and energy. 

The whole power exchange thing was new to me, and I decided to follow through with it. And then the editor suggested a sequel. And so on. 

For over a year only a handful of people outside my writers’ group knew that Ellen Gillette was Emily Sharpe. I finally decided to “come out.” I’m proud of Emily’s books; without them I never would have written For Such a Time. 

Now, I’m working on the second of a three-book series. Each book has played a part in making me the writer I am becoming. Having said that, I would also add that each of the Dear Editor books COULD be read independently, but readers will get a better sense of the character development by reading them in order.

If your book/series were made into a movie, which actors do you see as playing your characters? 

Great question. There are a few appearance requirements in my mind - the editor Worth has a clean-shaven head with a moustache and goatee. That’s more important to me than who the actor is.

To me, believability is more important than a specific person. A military man needs to look like a military man and have military bearing. A stonemason will have great upper body strength, etc.

Can you give us a hint as to what we can expect next?  Whether a new book and series or a sequel to an existing series?  Can you share a small tease?

Whether Emily Sharpe will write a new book remains to be seen, but I do have a contract for Love in Yona Valley about a widower who inherits a house and land from an estranged brother. He moves there with his four daughters only to discover that the brother had some secrets. And of course, HEAs for the daughters … and their father… is all part of the fun.

I’ve begun on the sequel, Joy in Yona Valley that takes the various relationships further, and plan to write a third, Peace in Yona Valley - when I can finish the second around teaching, magazine writing, grandmothering and traveling around Florida for my own sanity’s sake!

BIO:

Emily Sharpe is the pen name of a south Florida writer who has written and edited several other books. "Dear Editor" is the first in a series, followed by "The Stonemason and the Lady," "Mating Season," and "Running Hot."

The series is intended for mature readers and contain graphic scenes and elements of mild power exchange.

Connect w/ Ellen:

EMAIL  WEBSITE  FACEBOOK

FACEBOOK AUTHOR PAGE  AMAZON  GOODREADS  

Writing as Emily Sharpe:

EMAIL  FACEBOOK  FACEBOOK AUTHOR PAGE

AMAZON   GOODREADS  BOOKBUB

 FACEBOOK GROUPS:

BLUSHING BOOKS  PEN IT! PUBLICATIONS 

CHILDREN'S BOOK AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS

BLURB:

Can a case of mistaken identity be the beginning of something new? Jessica is surprised when her boyfriend agrees to go with her to a Halloween party, as partying is not really his thing. And she’s even more surprised when he joins her alone in a dark room for an unusually passionate encounter. No sooner does she murmur his name, than he disappears. 

When Jessica realizes that the man who stirred new and exciting feelings is not her boyfriend at all, she is torn between her feelings for her sweet and decent boyfriend and the passionate stranger she will likely never see again. She’s even more confused when the stranger sends flowers and an apology and then reveals himself as the new editor of the magazine where she works! 

This story takes Jessica through the ups and downs of a unique relationship as the new couple navigate the waters of the work environment, disappointments and delays, and a troubling mystery from the past. Will the past help solve a series of present-day crimes? Will she find the love and passion she wants and needs or continue to settle for less?

Publisher's Note: This sweet romantic mystery contains a light theme of power exchange.

BLURB

Donna is about to marry Eric, with whom she has enjoyed their exploration of bondage, but she longs to switch roles. Can she bring out the dominant in him without driving him away? 

And who can stop the city's increasing number of Peeping Tom incidents? This second book in the "Dear Editor" series focuses on Donna and Eric but also looks into the relationships of Eric's ex-girlfriend Jessica and her husband Worth, as well as Jessica's mother and her new groom.

Publisher's Note: Contains steamy scenes as well as a theme of power exchange.

BLURB:

Kristina Edwards has the rare opportunity to remake herself after a traumatic event. She has a new job in a new state. Why not a new name as well? "Tina" settles into a rural North Carolina community, helped by her neighbor Chip and the elderly but beautiful new neighbor Eleanor, who has reasons of her own for moving to Poplar Gap.

Unbeknownst to Tina, Chip is also observing her, reporting back to his boss, an odd, reclusive man who lives on the mountain. Bill Cameron thinks he is dying and is obsessed with the idea of finding a suitable match for his beloved grandson Ian, half-white, half-Cherokee, if he can just bring the right woman to the mountain.

When Tina finds herself stranded on the mountain alone with Ian in the middle of the storm of the century, will she overcome her past and let love back in? Will Eleanor reunite with her true love from so many years ago? And what is Chip's true identity?

Publisher's Note: This sweet romance contains mystery, second chances, and a theme of light power exchange.

BLURB:

Does love at first sight really exist?

When Andrea (Andy) Cummings, the town's bald, foulmouthed, and talented mechanic, becomes the subject of a national magazine article, more will run hot than the reporter's car engine.

Reese Maverick is already engaged to Cammie, a spoiled rich girl, but Andy and her friends touch a chord with him, evoking feelings of family and friendship he's been missing.

Andy needs a man's advice, turning to Ian Cameron while his fiancée, Kristina, is out of town.

Sparks fly when Cammie and Kristina show up, but is Andy destined to be the town oddball? Will a man ever make her feel as special as the older man in her past who still haunts her memories?

Publisher's Note: This love at first sight contemporary romance contains a theme of power exchange.

Start the series now!