THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
Jet Set Romance Collection
Get a behind-the-scenes all-access pass to Cathrine Swift's Jet Set Romance Collection!
***Synopis***
British rocker Thur Brixton and grieving baker Laila O’Conner are both at a crossroads in their lives. One is about to have all their dreams come true, and the other is about to lose theirs entirely.
Both desperate to escape various aspects of what fate has in store for them, they find the perfect escape in one another during Laila’s post-college graduation summer trip to London, England—Thur’s hometown.
Caught up in an unexpected whirlwind summer romance, and the world of sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll, they set out to find themselves—and their own personal happy endings.
How are the books in the series related?
Each of the Jet Set Romances will focus on a new main couple and their friend group during their various around the world, with little callbacks to previous books and Easter eggs to later ones.
What is the sub-genre and trope?
Words & Music is a steamy summer British rockstar romance about true love, addiction, recovery and finding our inner truths.
Did your characters lead you to this genre or
was that decided before the story began?
Absolutely characters first. There was no stopping it after that.
Are you more character or plot driven?
Character driven for sure.
I’m one of those crazy authors who can hear their characters talk to them. And boy, do they talk.
With many main and secondary characters, how
do you keep them separated in your mind?
Luckily (though sometimes I’d be down for a break tbh) hearing them in my head makes it rather easy. At least in the way they all have individual voices/personalities/wants and needs. It is however, quite loud.
Otherwise, I try to keep pretty detailed records.
Do you have a story/vision board above your
workspace?
For my first novel, Let it Reign, I absolutely did. My daughter loved looking at all the pictures while she nursed and I would work at my computer.
For Words & Music, I’ve had the story in my head for nearly ten years. It’s vision is fairly imprinted in my brain.
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?
There is one side-plot I definitely didn’t see coming with the supporting characters of Phoebe and Quinton until I was literally in the middle of writing it when I intended to write another scene entirely.
Because of what happened between them, it changed quite a few things for the main couple, Thur and Laila down the plot-road in the book. Thankfully I was able to adjust.
Are any of the male POVs based on anyone you
know?
No one I know personally, but almost every character has a celebrity counterpart as I really want Words & Music to be a movie one day!
Are any of the female POVs based on anyone you
know?
See above.
Was there any one character/scene that was
harder to write about than the other?
Absolutely. I can’t really talk about it properly without giving major spoilers for new readers, but there is one scene in particular that had me near tears in the coffee shop I was writing it in.
Luckily, they had emotional support chocolate croissants available and I sort of managed to pull myself together.
What is your favorite book in the series?
Too soon to tell. But, I have a feeling I probably won’t ever be able to give a straight answer to this question.
I know that we aren’t supposed to have
“favorites” as far as our children, but seriously, who’s your favorite
character and why?
Cruel. Cruel question haha.
If I HAD to choose, I would choose Thur. Out of all the characters, he and I have spent the most time ‘together’.
Words & Music is multi-POV, with a huge focus on him and Laila, but he is absolutely the main character, and I believe has the most POV scenes of anyone.
Series question - Who is your favorite couple
and why did you decide on their dynamics?
Obviously, I love Thur and Laila. It’s their story, but my favorite couple is Marcus and Beatrice—who aren’t really a couple at all.
They could have been…and I briefly considered it, but it just couldn’t have been possible, no matter how much I loved their bantering and mutual sass.
Hopefully they inspire some wicked fanfiction though.
How do you get inside these character’s heads
to find their perfect HEA?
I have an EXTENSIVE plotting worksheet document where I interview the crap out of my characters and plot out every tiny detail I can think of at the beginning of the outlining experience.
I have to know everyone’s wants/needs/desires/fears and motivations before I start writing or it just doesn’t work.
What scene in this book/series sticks out the
most for you? Why?
The scene where Thur and Laila meet. It was one of the first scenes I ever wrote, because it was what started the whole story.
I saw a paparazzi photo of actor Arthur Darvil on Pinterest one day, and IMMEDIATELY Thur’s story was conceived for me. I could see him, hear him, and I knew his story had to be told.
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?
I really, truly struggle writing anything that isn’t multiple POV’s because I see everything so clearly in my head like a movie/tv show. And we don’t just follow one storyline or one/two characters on screen. We see a bit of everybody. Some more than others, of course. But if we’re writing multi-dimensional supporting characters, I want to get in their brains at least a little.
Plus, you never know whose someone’s favorite character might be. Gotta give everyone their time to shine.
I can and have written in first person POV and I do believe some projects call for it, but it’s definitely not my first instinct.
How long did it take you to write this
book/series?
If we’re counting conception to publication, almost ten years. But if we’re talking serious writing and publishing, I took the last draft that was written sometime in 2016 and re-drafted it from basically scratch for 2021’s Nanowrimo. And I’ll be publishing it in summer of 2022.
How did you come up with the title for your
book and series?
The series title came to me during Nano when I realized Words & Music could be combined with a few other books I had written years ago into a companion type series and since all include international travel of some sort, I wanted to play off that.
Words & Music’s title came from two places. The first, is a few lines of dialogue said in the book (keep your eyes open for it when you’re reading), and the second is a line from the movie Eddie and the Cruisers.
If you met these characters in real life would
you get along?
I think so! I made them pretty loveable. Except for Laila’s dad. He pretty much sucks.
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?
My alpha/beta readers definitely demanded some more stories about the characters in Words & Music, and while I think I’ll focus on publishing the rest of the stories in the series first, I am considering releasing a short story collection type thing after the series is over to wrap up any loose ends for the supporting cast(s) and give the fans what they want as the years go on.
In the meantime, I may release a few short stories here and there for newsletter subscribers as part of my marketing plan. And also, just because the supporting cast deserves to have their stories told and to get their happy endings, you know?
If your book/series were made into a movie,
which actors do you see as playing your characters?
When, not if, fingers crossed, Words & Music is made into a film, I would love for Thur to be played by Tom Felton and Laila to be played by Emily Rudd.
I basically wrote the parts of Phoebe and her father for Lenny And Zoe Kravitz.
Everyone else I could be a bit more lenient with when it came to casting, but those four are solid choices for me.
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?
In one scene during Words & Music, Thur and his band are being interviewed for a newspaper article by a minor character named Kyle Porter who is a journalist.
He is only seen once, but future readers will find him again in a future Jet Set Romance as the main characters love interest. That book will be set in Paris.
Check out all my interviews/reviews for Cathrine Swift!
https://readingbydeb.blogspot.com/2022/07/author-at-glance-cathrine-swift.html
BIO:
Cathrine Swift is an indie author and Youtuber with a passion for intentional living and steamy fanfiction.
Recognizing how authors have changed her life, she hopes to utilize her growing talent to do the same. To change the world, for at least one person. She's dedicated her adult life to learning, practicing her craft and uncovering her true voice through heartbreak, hardship and human interaction.
Cathrine lives in Alberta, Canada with her husband and wild toddler.
Connect with Cathrine:
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