Valentine’s Day is not just about candy, flowers, and jewelry. It’s also about stories. For readers who enjoy relationship stories, I have two book recommendations that have Charlotte connections. One is The Plus One by Sarah Archer, and the other is Love and Valentines at Caynham Castle, a collection of five Valentine’s Day-themed novellas. Both books are perfect for Valentine’s Day.
I first got to know Sarah Archer in her role as a co-host of the Charlotte Readers Podcast. I heard her talk about The Plus One on the podcast, and I was intrigued when she described the novel as a romance story involving a woman and a robot. I contacted Sarah and asked her for more information about the book and how she came to write it. Here is what she sent to me:
I’ve always loved an off-kilter romance, so when I had the idea of a robotics engineer who builds the perfect boyfriend, I immediately began playing out scenarios in my head. At first, I envisioned the story as a female-led version of the 1980s comedy Weird Science, but I knew from the start that my engineer would spend more than one wacky day and night with her robot—I wanted to see where this pairing could go if given the time to truly develop as a relationship. And while my background up to that point was primarily in screenwriting, I had wanted to write a novel since childhood, and this seemed like a fun entry point, so I decided to give it a go.
This premise offered a playing field on which to explore issues around AI and robotics technology (the new ChatGPT bot is scarily similar to some of the mechanisms behind my robotic romantic interest, Ethan), but also allowed me really to explore my human characters: what they look for in relationships, how they define love. The protagonist, Kelly, balks at the traditional expectations for love and relationships that society—and especially her mother, who runs a bridal boutique—have placed upon her. When we meet her at the beginning of the novel, she would doubtless prefer to spend this Valentine’s time of year at home by herself in a Slanket, watching a favorite movie, “baking” a cake for one in the microwave. The heart of the book is really about Kelly finding not just who she wants to be with, but who she wants to be, and I hope we can all embrace that theme around Valentine’s Day.
I was fortunate to get traditionally published, and the process of writing and promoting this book has taught me so much about the fiction world, and created opportunities for me to meet many wonderful writers and readers who are now my critique partners, social media buddies, and friends. In particular, it’s been an excellent bridge into the local Charlotte writing community. When the book was released, I had only moved to the area a month before. But I made an effort to dive in and start connecting with organizations like the Charlotte Writers Club as soon as I got here, and when I gave a reading at Park Road Books right after the novel’s launch, I was so pleased to see the seats filled by some of my new literary friends. I knew already I had stepped into an engaged and supportive writerly scene.
Since publishing The Plus One, I’ve been working on other novels, as well as several screenwriting and poetry projects, and have more recently fallen in love with the short story form. While some of my newer works are more literary in bent, I continue to enjoy any writing that straddles some kind of boundary, whether it’s the intersection of rom-com and sci-fi in The Plus One, or the line between drama and comedy, or reality and the otherworldly. I’m excited to be part of an expansive writing community here in Charlotte that embraces writers of every stripe and genre.
For readers who want to know more about Sarah and her writing, please click on the following link: https://saraharcherwrites.com/
Even though Love and Valentines at Caynham Castle is set in England, the collection has significant associations with Charlotte since three of the five contributors are current or past residents of Charlotte. One of these writers is Nancy Northcott (who happens to be my wife). I asked her for more information about this collection, and here’s what she sent to me:
Love and Valentines at Caynham Castle is the fourth in a series of holiday-themed romance anthologies set around an ancient English castle that’s now a hotel. The authors in this collection of novellas include Charlotte’s Morgan Brice (pen name of Gail Z. Martin) and Nancy Northcott and former Charlotte resident Caren Crane. The anthology offers various types of romances. In addition to the stories referenced below, there’s a paranormal featuring Greek gods and an ancient pub and a romantic suspense tale centered on a racing stable and a set of cursed racing silks.
The One Who Got Away (by Nancy Northcott) is a second-chance-at-love story. Hastings Whitney grew up driven not only to succeed but to be seen to succeed. His focus on success cost him two marriages and any number of relationships. Now he has a second chance with the woman he never forgot, jewelry designer Corinne Lanier. Has he changed enough to balance work with a relationship? Or will a business crisis bring old habits back to the fore? And is there a sinister side to his problem?
Fae-ted Mates (by Morgan Brice) is part of the Kings of the Mountain MM romance fantasy series featuring Dawson and Grady King. Dawson and Grady King are honeymooning at Caynham Castle, hoping to take a break from monster hunting. They have one piece of family business to handle, involving a generations-long agreement with the Welsh Fae. However, things go wrong, and Dawson and Grady are in danger of being trapped in the Faerie realm forever.
Romance Sells Records (by Caren Crane) features a heroine who is not interested in relationships. After watching her mother’s hope for a grand romance get dashed time after time, Hannah Evans grew into someone with no tolerance for romance. Callum Hughes’ parents had an enviable relationship, and he wanted the same for himself: if only he could he convince Hannah to trust what they could build together.
The relationship stories included in these two books vary in significant ways, which is fitting since they feature characters who are quite different from each other. However, these tales all have Storied Charlotte connections, and they all are great stories to read on Valentine’s Day.