From Sweden with Love!

 

New year, new books?

Happy January! I’m not one of those people who make resolutions just because it’s the new year. I tried it in the past and realized I never stuck to it. Instead, I ask myself what I still need to do. I still need to finish writing a few books (more of that later) and I need to decide if I want to continue indie publishing or focus on getting traditionally published (or some hybrid). The main thing I want to finish though is a book…or several.I want to publish at least two of them this year. I’m not going to swear that I will publish a book a month. I’m not one of those turbo writers (even though I sometimes wish I were). I am a slow writer. Pretty much, I am a tortoise. But I have a plan and it involves finishing and publishing at least two books this year.

 

Something new

I’ve always loved historical fiction but I never dared to write it. The amount of research needed for a historically accurate story felt daunting and I really didn’t feel like having to contend with debating readers who’d claim that Black and Brown people didn’t exist in Europe at a certain time (even though they did but just weren’t mentioned in history books) or forget about this wonderful thing called poetic license that we authors use to invent details to enrich our stories. But for a while now a story has been brewing within me. It’s set in the past and the present and involves a house by the sea, an inheritance and two sets of lovers separated by around 200 years. I’ve plotted the contemporary timeline. Now I am working on the part set in the past, which would be a few years following the Second Battle of Copenhagen, which took place 16 August - 5 September 1807.

 

 

I like the idea of these pairs of lovers who are somehow connected despite the centuries between them. Some details are based on history, some are my own invention. It’s just been so exciting delving into their stories and teasing it out. To keep me motivated as I write, I’ve made an inspiration image for my experiment, which has the working title of The Keepsakes House.

 Getting back in the swing of things

After an unintentionally long hiatus, I’m finally beginning to enjoy writing again but the words aren’t coming to me as easily as before. I think a lot of this is down to me trying to find a good rhythm again. I moved from a large city (with a multitude of cafés and coworking spaces where I could write) to a small town (with only three cafés and a library to use as writing spaces).

 I haven’t figured out yet which place is good for writing. The library is fine as long as it’s before the kids at the local school are done for the day. When they arrive, the library goes from calm and soothing to riotous. Apparently, kids here haven’t quite understood that you aren’t supposed to run, scream and act like you’re on a playground in libraries. And since my husband and I both work remotely thanks to COVID, I need a place to escape to where I can write without the distractions of home. I have a small home office, but it’s where I do my day job-related writing. I write there on the weekends but on weekdays I need another place to write.

I am sure I will find it soon.

In the pipeline

But, even with not quite finding the perfect rhythm, the words are coming. I’ve got several WIPs in various states of near-completion: a novella in the Maybe… series called Maybe Now; a travel love story set in Taormina, Sicily; a second-chance-at-love novella called Slow Song; a novel and novella set in the fictional Vermont town of Hunters Grove (from my debut holiday novel, Snowbound); two stories for my new series (Love in Sweden) that are both closing in on 60k words and my historical experiment.

   Which cover do you like for Maybe Now? I still haven’t quite figured it out yet.

 

  I’m aiming to get Maybe Now and the Hunters Grove stories done ASAP. I want to release the Maybe… novella by June and the Hunters Grove novel by November. And I hope you’ll love the characters and their love stories as much as I do.

Kim Golden lives and writes in southern Sweden. Originally from Philadelphia, she moved to Sweden in 1995 for love and is still with the Swede who stole her heart. Kim writes romantic women’s fiction featuring Black women who often live abroad and find love where they least expect it. Check out Kim’s latest release, Near Enough to Hold.  Follow Kim on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.