Notes on Innocent’s Nine-Month Scandal

You may want to read my notes on A Virgin to Redeem the Billionaire for how the idea for this duet came about.

After writing Book One, where Gisella loses one earring to Kaine, I now had to conjure a story for Rozalia, the mousier cousin, who winds up in Hungary, confronting rich, titled, gorgeous Viktor Rohan–who thinks the earrings were stolen, not gifted to her grandmother as Rozalia has always believed.

In some ways, writing the second of a linked book is easier than the first. A lot of the world-building is done. I knew a lot about Rozi’s family and back story. I knew certain things had to happen right away. For example, in Book One, Gisella takes a call from Rozi that is quite dramatic. I don’t want to spoil it, but I knew all the things that had to happen leading up to her making that call, so the first half of the book wrote itself.

Then. It. Stalled.

Fortunately, I was able to lean on my other child, Sam. He happened to call when I was groaning about my story hitting a rough patch. I said, “They’re in a mountain cabin, there’s a village in the distance. I’m not sure if they should go on a date or what. Usually dates are glamorous affairs.”

He said, “What if there’s a wedding or celebration in the village. There are lights in the trees and music playing and they go dancing.”

My hero! I wrote the scene and, sadly, several rewrites later, deleted it, but it got me writing when I was stuck. Rozi soon has more to worry about than whether she’ll take an earring home. She might be carrying the next Rohan heir!

As for who possesses the earrings in the end? I’ll let you read the books to find out.

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