Kiss Me Again... Second Chance Romance

By Cassandra O'Leary

What would you say to the one who got away? Or the one who was never a 'thing' but you secretly hoped they would be… We're talking second chance romance.

I've been on a binge reading and watching spree lately, with the common theme of second chances. I love the tension and the emotional complexity of these stories, the push and pull between characters living simultaneously in the present and the past. Every look, every whispered remembering of what once was, or what might have been, adds layers to the superficial plot and dialogue. Now we're talking oodles of delicious subtext, people!

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Persuasion by Jane Austen 

The king (or really, matriarch) of the second chance or reunion romance is Persuasion. Often overlooked by casual Austen readers in favour of Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion is a book that unfolds slowly, pulls at the heartstrings and hits you hard in the feels. It's a more mature take on love than some of Austen's other works.

In Persuasion, the heroine Anne Eliot is twenty-seven years old, which is on-the-shelf in terms of marriageability in the Regency era. Anne was once engaged at age nineteen, but was persuaded to break-off the relationship by her manipulating family. Eight years later, she still hasn't married and the love of her life, Captain Wentworth, returns to the village where Anne's family lives. Captain Wentworth was once a poor sailor, considered beneath Anne in terms of social status. In fact, the Eliots have fallen on hard times and are forced to sell their fine belongings and move out of their grand home—a job left entirely to Anne as the practical, capable type. Captain Wentworth has since made his fortune as a sea captain, so their roles are reversed from what they once were.

As a reader, I adore Anne as a no nonsense woman, a non-typical heroine who people see as unimportant and uninteresting. In fact, she's highly intelligent, caring and probably would have been a great business woman in another time. She's put her family above her own desires for so long, it's become second nature. Anne has to overcome social and trust issues, and her own narrow view of what her life should be, to finally find her way back to love.

Captain Wentworth represents freedom as much as love, since a second chance with him would also allow her to live her own life. And of course he's a noble hero, wounded by Anne's rejection but still so in love under a gruff exterior. When the story hits its climactic moment, near the end of the story, Wentworth declares himself in a letter that's heart wrenching:

"You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago.”

Read it now, or try watching the excellent British movie version!


Persuasion, 2007 movie

Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

This romantic women’s fiction book by the fabulous writing duo, Christina Lauren, is an utterly gorgeous tale of teenage sweethearts/best friends reunited.

There's a lovely setup in this book, when Macy meets Elliot (yes, there are some Persuasion and many other book references in here!), her new, nerdy but beautiful next door neighbour at her holiday home. He's literally sitting in her walk-in wardrobe reading a book, and later, the same space becomes her library, and their private refuge from the world. Macy's father paints the ceiling of the library with stars, and I was reminded of the line from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet:

"When he shall die take him and cut him out into stars and he shall make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun."

I'm not spoiling the ending or spilling the reasons why these two young people were separated, so you'll just have to read it for yourself!

Roman Crazy by Alice Clayton and Nina Bocci

Who loves all things Italian? Me! So it should be no surprise I fell in love with this book, set in Rome. We meet Avery at the start of this novel in a most surprising context (with an amazing and funny first line that I can't share here due to this being a PG rated site!) and her life goes up in flames.

Her husband was cheating, and she decides to leave him and her comfortable life to visit her old friend in Rome. There she meets Marcello, gorgeous and charismatic Italian architect, who just happens to be the man she could never forget. They had been lovers in college, until Avery had to go home to America and she never saw him again.

What I loved most about this book were the authentic Italian touches, from descriptions of places in Rome, to the food and the depiction of Marcello's extended family who come together for a local festival. Also, it's both funny and heartfelt. Avery has to make some big decisions about whether to follow the safe route and return to her old life, or to find a new direction and herself in the process. Recommended reading!

The Boy Is Back by Meg Cabot

I haven't quite finished reading this novel, but it's great fun. Told in an unusual style mixing text messages, emails, newspaper articles, diary entries and even online reviews, this book is a modern version of an epistolary novel (a novel written as a series of documents, with other famous examples including The Color Purple by Alice Walker and The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky).

There's various point of view texts from many members of the heroine's and hero's families, so it's a fun look at the shorthand way we communicate these days and sometimes mis-communicate. Becky Flowers (love the name) is a woman who organises other people's lives for a living, but of course she kind of fell into it herself without a plan. Her high school boyfriend, Reed Stewart, is a multi-millionaire pro golfer who's back in town when his family asks for help with his aging parents. Old scores need to be settled, and the kooky old couple with a house full of cats and raccoons bring the couple together again. Anyway, I'm still reading but I'm definitely hooked.

Don't You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane

This story was gorgeous and also very British (which I love). The heroine, Georgina, meets up with her high school crush again when she applies for a job as a bartender at a renovated pub, owned by two Irish brothers. Of course one of them turns out to be her secret boyfriend, Lucas, from years ago. Only he doesn't seem to remember her at all. Can it be possible that one person can fall completely, madly in love, and the other person doesn't even remember it? Lucas is all dreamy but stern and standoffish (in a Heathcliff way, as noted in the book) whereas Georgina wears fluffy pink overcoats and is slightly off with the fairies. It's opposites attract and the kind of slow burn unfolding drama I love to read. With lots of laughs. And a dog.

Tree Love by Cassandra O'Leary (that's me!)

My own short story is a sweet bite-sized read about a couple who fall in love after first meeting at university. The hero (Dan The Man Mancini) ‘drops in’ on the heroine, Natalia Bianchi, years later, when he falls out of a tree in front of her! I hope the story conveys some of the longing and the temptation to try out another life that's typical of second chance stories, as well as being a fun, romantic read.

I'm working on another second chance story too, which will be either a long-ish novella or a full length book. We'll see when I finally finish writing…

About Cassandra O'Leary

Cassandra O'Leary is a romance and women's fiction author, communications specialist, avid reader, film and TV fangirl and admirer of pretty, shiny things. 
In 2015, Cassandra won the We Heart New Talent contest run by Avon Books/HarperCollins UK. Her debut novel, Girl on a Plane, was published in July 2016. Cassandra was also a 2015 finalist in the Lone Star writing contest, Northwest Houston Romance Writers of America, and a 2014 finalist in the First Kiss contest, Romance Writers of Australia. Her indie published romcom novella, Heart Note, is out now! 
Cassandra is a mother of two gorgeous, high-energy mini ninjas and wife to a spunky superhero. Living in Melbourne, Australia, she's also travelled the world. If you want to send her to Italy or Spain on any food or wine tasting 'research' trips, that would be splendiferous.
**Winner of the global We Heart New Talent contest. Nominated for BEST NEW AUTHOR in AusRomToday 2016 Reader's Choice Awards for excellence in Australian romance fiction** 
Read more at: cassandraolearyauthor.com 

Interview with author, Meg Cabot (whose last name rhymes with Habit!)

By: Marcia King-Gamble

www.lovemarcia.com

  http://amzn.com/B019RYLW24

 

A great big shout out to Generista, Sarah Raplee, co-founder of The Generistas, for giving up her spot on the blog so that I could publish this interview with Meg Cabot. Thank you so much Sarah.

Just a few days ago I had the pleasure of interviewing Meg Cabot (best known for her series- The Princess Diaries.)  Her last name rhymes with Habit.

On February 05th Meg will speak at a luncheon hosted by The Broward Public Library Foundation; a not-for profit, funded by the Broward Library. The information can be found below:

http://www.bplfoundation.org/litlunch-press-release

Me: How does a Resident Assistant at New York University become a successful writer?

Meg: I always loved writing stories. Romance is my favorite genre to read. I began writing my first story at age 7. My parents were always encouraging. My dad was a professor at a university and my mom was an English teacher. My mom told me I needed to take typing lessons and have a backup job. She suggested I become an administrative assistant as that would give me free time to write. When I graduated college I became a resident assistant and was able to take classes for free. My first book, a romance was published while I was at NYU.

Me: You refer to yourself as a high school freak, why is that?

Meg: I was in theater. My high school was rural. If you weren’t into basketball or football you were a freak. I never go back to my high school reunions.

Me: You’ve written over 80 books and you have a new one coming out.  Tell us about your journey.

Meg: I was published by St Martin’s press at age 30. My first book was a historical romance written under the name Patricia Cabot, because I didn’t want my grandmother to find out. Turns out her favorite author was Rosemary Rogers who was as racy as you can get back then. I write two to three books a year. YA (Young Adult,) Middle Grade and Adult books.  My first e novella, Proposal has just been released. 

Me. I read somewhere you love cats.

Meg:  I’ve never been without cats. We only have one now. She’s a typical Key West Cat.

Me: You mean she has twelve toes?

Meg: No, she doesn’t have multiple toes, but she does have the Key West attitude. She’s very independent. She has a cat door and goes in and out of it, but is always back for breakfast.   

Me: How many rejections have you gotten?

Meg: As a teenager I sent submissions to Seventeen Magazine’s contest and got rejected all the time.  But professors were very encouraging. It was the fellow students who didn’t understand. I would send out a query letter every day.  I got rejections every day. I’ve gotten thousands of rejections.  It was cheaper than playing the lottery with a bigger return. Then one day I got a call and it was that romance I mentioned published by St. Martin’s Press.

Me: You write for multiple genres. Do you write three books at the same time or do you complete one before you move on?

Meg:   I write one at a time. I’m a fast writer. My mother’s advice to take typing paid off. I think of a plot first. As a working writer it’s important to be flexible. Yes, everyone has a book of their heart. I have almost a hundred of them. My first book was about a basketball coach who solves crimes. It was a terrible book, a weird book. At times you have to let go. I knew nothing about basketball. My agent said it’s terrible. It’s going to ruin your career.  

Me: What’s in the pipeline for 2016?

Meg: I revisited a story that was initially a YA a series.  I thought it might be fun to see what they’re up to as adults. I wrote it so that anyone could read it without having read the others. It’s a stand- alone book.  It’s called Remembrance and is out in February. The heroine’s boyfriend is a ghost. My e novella is titled - Proposal.

Me: Will you be talking about your book at the upcoming library luncheon?

 http://www.pbglifestyle.com/pbglm-blotter/2016-litlunch-to-feature-bestselling-author-meg-cabot/

Meg: I’ll be talking about the meaning of life and about pursuing your dreams.  I want to talk about small topics. What are we here on the planet for? How to be empowered like a Princess.  I have another Princess book coming out in May for younger readers.

Me: What’s this fascination with Princesses? You wrote the Princess Diaries.

Meg:  My mother is obsessed with princesses. She grew up in the era of princesses; Princess Grace marrying the king of Monaco etc.  There is no princess I am not familiar with. When I was younger I saw Star Wars for the first time. I write about princesses who rule; the ones who rescue themselves and about embracing your inner princess.

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Me: How does the reading public get in touch with you? Are you on Instagram, Facebook etc.?

Meg:  I’m on Facebook and twitter etc. You can find me at http://www.megcabot.com. I’m still catching up with Instagram but I’m on it.

Me: Is there anything else you want to talk about? Your cat? Your husband?

Meg:  It’s been so cold in Florida that my cat is spending more time indoors. Recently my cat came in at 2 am and was screaming so loudly we thought another cat was in the house. We raced downstairs and it turns out it’s the first time she’d seen her own reflection in the mirror. She was trying to fight herself.  

Me: Is there something that keeps you up at night?

Meg: Besides my screaming cat and the election?   We’ll try not to talk about politics.  I feel so lucky and grateful to be doing something I love so much, and that I get to do it for a living is the best feeling in the world.

Me: Thank you for your time. You have a standing invitation to pop in at the Florida Romance Writers meetings. We meet the second Saturday of the month. http://www.frwriters.org/

Meg: Thank you and I look forward to meeting you soon.  Come say hi at the luncheon.